France V Holland

[littlebabyjesus]

ashley cole, john terry, rio ferdinand, wayne bridge

beckham, lampard, gerrard, hargreaves

rooney, owen

I would take Ferdinand, Hargreaves, Rooney and that's it.

Holland's bench last night had a more effective attacking force than there is in that team.

 

[Diamond]

ok, i know that england were utter shit

but say playing a 4-4-2

you have


ashley cole, john terry, rio ferdinand, wayne bridge

beckham, lampard, gerrard, hargreaves

rooney, owen

i think all of those players would be starting on the croatia team. shit team, but a lot of good players

Modric, Ratikic, Krancjar, Olic, Da Silva, the Kovac's. I'd take all of them ahead of any of their England counterparts for the simple reason that they have done it. They have proved they are better.

 

[marty21]

I reckon the French would happily swap positions with England right now.

better to go out before, than have a miserable tournament

 

[Diamond]

It really is painful to see the French like they are now. Henry is such a spent force.

 

[Bonfirelight]

France and Italy have identical records -scored 1, conceded 4, 1 point-, Romania have two points and level goal difference, so if France and Italy draw and Holland really stuff Romania then it'll go to penalties between France and Italy.

But try this: Holland beat Romania 3-0, Italy and France draw 0-0, then Italy, France and Romania will all have identical records, and all the games between them will have been drawn. Then, presumably, it'll have to be down to the drawing of lots

as was posted earlier

Equality of points after the group matches
If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.
a) Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question.
b) Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question.
c) Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question.
d) Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question.
e) If, after applying criteria a) to d) to several teams, two or more teams still have an equal ranking, the criteria a) to d) will be reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria f) and g) will apply.
f) Results of all group matches: 1. Superior goal difference 2. Higher number of goals scored 3. Higher number of goals scored away from home 4. Fair play conduct.
g) Drawing of lots.

there will be no penalties to decide group positions.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

better to go out before, than have a miserable tournament

You've just destroyed the whole of Scotland's footballing heritage in one sentence.

 

[isitme]

if them lot were england players they would not have saved us

i'm not disputing that croatia are a better team, but england have much better players imo

 

[marty21]

baws. there goes my ten=spot....

i still have to pay my tenner to the sweepstake - i drew Italy

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It really is painful to see the French like they are now. Henry is such a spent force.

Scored one goal, was denied another by a defender's arm. Not quite spent.

 

[Phenotypic Dai]

Heh-he.

Wayne Bridge.

 

[isitme]

France vs Italy might actually be a belter of a game despite France and Italy being the two biggest queens of bore your oppponents out of the final football


and marcel deailly should be a fucking chess piece not a commentator

 

[Diamond]

as was posted earlier


there will be no penalties to decide group positions.

I'm pretty sure that's wrong.

 

[Diamond]

Scored one goal, was denied another by a defender's arm. Not quite spent.

Sure. Sure. A spent Henry is still better than the majority but it was simply painful to see him attempt to chase balls and make runs without even the merest hint of his former devastating pace.

 

[tarannau]

Scored one goal, was denied another by a defender's arm. Not quite spent.

I though Henry was ok, heavy touch on the attempted lob excepted. It's the balance of the team, particularly in ageing defence and midfield, that's the problem. I'd get frustrated with that service - he took the much harder chance with aplomb.

Better than England's forward options that's for sure.

 

[Maggot]

It really is painful to see the French like they are now. Henry is such a spent force.

The French weren't that bad. They got forward well and had a number of chances. They were unlucky in places and lost to two amazing goals.

 

[Phenotypic Dai]

Sure. Sure. A spent Henry is still better than the majority but it was simply painful to see him attempt to chase balls and make runs without even the merest hint of his former devastating pace.

Take him out to the back of the barn and give him both barrels. You'd be doing him a favour.

 

[nino_savatte]

Ribery was France's best player by far. They really miss Zidane, don't they?

 

[Diamond]

The French weren't that bad. They got forward well and had a number of chances. They were unlucky in places and lost to two amazing goals.

I've got to disagree. No width, no creativity, no invention. The best players on the pitch last night were insistent advertisements for the side that should have been fielded. Evra, Ribery, Govou. Why do you play Makelele and Toulalan (possibly worst international CM ever) when you have Diarra and Flamini at your disposal, madness. And what about Samir Nasri?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Ribery was France's best player by far. They really miss Zidane, don't they?

They do. Who wouldn't? But recent French success was built on the foundation of a solid defence. That's not there any more, but two sides that are great going forward and a little wobbly at the back make for a fantastic game.

 

[nino_savatte]

They do. Who wouldn't? But recent French success was built on the foundation of a solid defence. That's not there any more.

True, they're either too auld or just useless. Gomis is shite too.

 

[Diamond]

Not taking Cisse is starting to look like a major mistake. The pace option looks absent from France's squad at the moment.

 

[mrkikiet]

Gomis is shite too.

and that is why newcastle have put in a bid for him. remember Guivarch? well now we're going for Gomis.

 

[nino_savatte]

Gomis is shite too.[/QUOTE
and that is why newcastle have put in a bid for him. remember Guivarch? well now we're going for Gomis.

Gawd, yes, I remember Guivarc'h, what a waste of money he was.

Gomis: what a name for a striker. Talk about self-fulfilling prophesies - eh?

 

[nino_savatte]

Not taking Cisse is starting to look like a major mistake. The pace option looks absent from France's squad at the moment.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[marty21]

You've just destroyed the whole of Scotland's footballing heritage in one sentence.

a little different to scotland - they are always heroic failures, 1974 - went out on goal difference - couldn't beat zaire by enough goals - 1978 the gemmil goal

 

[editor]

if them lot were england players they would not have saved us

i'm not disputing that croatia are a better team, but england have much better players imo

England's current squad would have been destroyed by Holland and with their ever-changing managers, there's not much chance of a real team spirit developing.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Hargreaves has got his chops against European competition, so he could just about make the par for the tournament I guess.

I think the way Hargreaves turns in a performance every single game shows up those who learned their football here. Lampard, Gerrard and J Cole have had so many terrible games for England when they just went missing. There's something wrong with England at the moment.

 

[editor]

a little different to scotland - they are always heroic failures, 1974 - went out on goal difference - couldn't beat zaire by enough goals - 1978 the gemmil goal

We (the Welsh) dream of being a heroic failure. Like a dud firework, we usually fizz for a bit, start to look like something exciting's going to happen and then go out with a feeble 'puff'.

 

[marty21]

England's current squad would have been destroyed by Holland and with their ever-changing managers, there's not much chance of a real team spirit developing.

i saw capello being interviewed about croatia - he praised their team spirit - and said he wanted something like that in the england team

 

[TrippyLondoner]

England's current squad would have been destroyed by Holland and with their ever-changing managers, there's not much chance of a real team spirit developing.

Er, sven was in charge for a long time and still couldn't get any real team spirit going. How long must a manager be around before you're satisfied and can't critcize, then? Tbh, I never had full faith in Mcclaren as he never had the right experience. I have more faith in Capello.