England vrs france

elbow316

Henry wouldn't have scored the free kick or peno, he always shrinks in the big games and this game was no exception.

Obviously he wasn't great but I don't think you can blame him much. The French were forced to just play into his feet, while he had 2 or 3 English players around him. Due to some good English covering from midfield really and the fact that with the way Zidane usually moves into a central position, they are reliant on Lizarazu to get in on the left side which didn't happen too much.

mike65

Oh Yeah before I log off I got to mention Rooney skinning Thuram! Good man


Mike.

Harry2001

I be seriously pissed of tonight if I was a Bayern Munich fan that supports England, I thought only Man Utd were that jammy :-)

Big Ears

Jammy enough to have a player who put the ball in the mddile of the left corner from set pieces twice in two shots

therecklessone

Originally posted by Big Ears
Jammy enough to have a player who put the ball in the mddile of the left corner from set pieces twice in two shots

And if James had dived left for the peno and Zidane had chosen the right-hand side you'd be saying "should he not have known he was going to choose the opposite side?"

KdjaCL

Frances main problem tonight was trez ,was he even playing? fair enough up against 2 big lads but still didnt do anything of note. Had a free header he should of done better with.


kdjac

Harry2001

Originally posted by KdjaC
Frances main problem tonight was trez ,was he even playing? fair enough up against 2 big lads but still didnt do anything of note. Had a free header he should of done better with.


kdjac

I think Italy will take heart from the way England nullified the threat from the French attacking players tonight.

I’m going for Italy now after tonight

Pigman II

Originally posted by Harry2001
Rubbish!!!!!!!!

Indeed! I couldn't have summed up Englands 2nd half peformance any better myself.

Originally posted by Harry2001
What do you expect them to do against the best team in the world? If Ireland snatch a goal against France what do you think they are going to do, all out attack?

Not all out attack (in fact I wouldn't reccomend that v France at any time), just maintain the game that got you there in the first place.

BTW I'm glad you mentioned Ireland as you can take their Dutch game last week as a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Like England we went in at HT 1-0 up against superior opposition but (unlike you'd (and Sven) have done) we didn't just spend the 2nd half of that game trenched five yards in front of our box with 10 behind the ball trying to run the clock down. Instead we kept playing the good stuff that got us to half time on the assendency and that's why we came out of it with the win. In fact the last time I remember us trying to play 'shut up shop' against anyone was Sep/Oct'99 v Croatia+Macedonia..... and look how successful that was!

So if you honestly think we have a better chance in Paris playing Svens game then we might as well give up now.

Originally posted by Harry2001
They played the perfect game for 90 minutes and defended very well but two mistakes cost them in the end.

I don't rate 45 minutes of Englands most creative midfield quartet running themselves into the ground, chasing shadows (just because their manager decides he wants to play 'basketball tactics' on a football pitch) as the 'perfect game'.

England could have easily won that game if they'd had the guts to go after it. They bottled it as they usually do when it comes time to play the REAL teams in world football and as a result you can chalk up another one for 'johnny foriegner'.

Originally posted by Harry2001
It was up to France to break them down and they failed until their two dead ball opportunities where Zidane showed his worth to the side. [/B]

Worth? I didn't realise Zidane had been just kicking his heels by the corner flag until it came time for a 90th minute 'cameo'? If you think Zidane did tonight was score a couple of goals then I don't think you were even watching the same game I was. He was by far the best player on the pitch tonight - even before he sent Beckham and his bozo's packing.

Big Ears

Originally posted by therecklessone
And if James had dived left for the peno and Zidane had chosen the right-hand side you'd be saying "should he not have known he was going to choose the opposite side?"

no I wouldnt , because I didnt have a clue where he would put it .

NightStrike

Maybe its a bit harsh in light of whats happened but I think its time James was dropped. He's always prone to doing something stupid and while Gerrard didn't help him out with a dreadful back pass there was no need to come out the way he did feet first. Possibly could've done better on the free too (like move at least).

Paul Robinson is a much better 'keeper imo

Big Ears

Robinson has made a mistake in most of his England games unfortuantely . Mistakes he never makes at club lvl for some reason . He made one aginst Englands next opponents aswell , Croatia .

Harry2001

Originally posted by Pigman II

Worth? I didn't realise Zidane had been just kicking his heels by the corner flag until it came time for a 90th minute 'cameo'? If you think Zidane did tonight was score a couple of goals then I don't think you were even watching the same game I was. He was by far the best player on the pitch tonight - even before he sent Beckham and his bozo's packing.

Funny I don't remember typing that all I though he did was score the two goals but you can read what you like into it

England did very well tonight and did not deserve to lose

Dewey

well i'm still shock. i cant belive it. not since 1999 when it was man u vs. Bayern munich has a match ended in such away. I was delight when Zidane scored that brilliant free kick in the 91'minute and at 1-1 i was happy cause england didnt win.
But then Gerrard passes back to James for some reason when he could of blasted up over the stadium and henry wins the peno and zidane scores a brilliant taken peno in the 93' minute.

But if you remember i tipped France to beat England 2-1......and i put €4 euro on at 7/1 which gets me €32 so i will have a smile on my face for awhile.:D

But i was surprised with the way England just defended for the second half. King had a great game as did Campbell and they were dealing with everything france threw at them. I dont think France deserved to win because they didnt trouble James in the match but had alot of possision, but full credit to them.

Rooney had a good game and i was shock when Sven took him off, Owen was horriable. he just wasnt in the match. why was Heskey on the pitch?? you had Vassell up front with Ronney, i just didnt understand why Sven did that.

Zidane was brillant and was the driving force for France and i pray to god he retires after Euro 2004 cause Ireland will have a chance of getting something from the games.

Brilliant game, one of the best International matches i've seen for along time.

Nuttzz

heskey should never have come on, rooney was their only threat and heskey cost them the match imo

therecklessone

Originally posted by Big Ears
no I wouldnt , because I didnt have a clue where he would put it .

Sorry, I've re-read the original post and realised you were complimenting Zidane's skill and not criticising Calamity James.

My bad.

Harry2001

Originally posted by Nuttzz
heskey should never have come on, rooney was their only threat and heskey cost them the match imo

yep, Heskey should not even be in the squad never mind on the pitch

Ronan|Raven

England's first choice keeper imho is always injured! Chris Kirkland if he can manage to stop breaking parts of himself will in time be the next number one and make it his own.

therecklessone

Originally posted by Pigman II



Worth? I didn't realise Zidane had been just kicking his heels by the corner flag until it came time for a 90th minute 'cameo'? If you think Zidane did tonight was score a couple of goals then I don't think you were even watching the same game I was. He was by far the best player on the pitch tonight - even before he sent Beckham and his bozo's packing.

See, I thought that after the first 20 minutes.

And then I noticed his influence waned, for two reasons...

1. He was very tightly man-marked, and was on the receiving end of a few crunching tackles. Rooney, Lampard and Neville all had a go.

2. He started to get pis*ed off at his midfield colleagues who kept expecting him to do everything on his own. Every pass was to him in the centre then they stood back waiting for it to happen.

You could see it when he had a go at Lizarazu at a late stage in the first half. He looked tired in the 2nd half to be honest.

naitkris

Originally posted by Pigman II
Sven and co don't seem to have learnt a single thing in the two years since WC2002 and their attitude of stick 10 men behind the ball once you hit 1-0 is puzzling for any team that actually fancies themselves as potential champions.

Teams simply cannot maintain that type of 100% defensive game for 30-40 minutes against quality opposition and England should realise that just because they got away with it once (v Argentina 2002) that it not going to work the majority of the time.

as much as i hate to admit it, they played the old Swedish tactics of when you're up against a top team, get 1-0 up, defend like mad and win a boring win. if England had a manager from Brazil (or elsewhere) for instance you'd have seen a totally different (perhaps much more offensive) style of play after the first goal. that's Eriksson's problem, he's trying to play strong defensive tactics with a team who normally would not play too well defensively but would instead be more of an all-out attacking side keeping the ball moving upfield.

also, for David Beckham to take the penalty against Barthez was a huge mistake! Barthez and Beckham were teammates for goodness knows how long and Barthez would have practised saving Beckham's shots so many times!!! I reckon Rooney or someone who Barthez doesn't know too well should've taken the penalty.

all in all, England deserved to win and to be drawn, then lose - all in under 3 minutes in extra time is really devastating to any players and i can see this English team feeling very gutted for the next while.

Pigman II

Originally posted by Harry2001
Funny I don't remember typing that all I though he did was score the two goals but you can read what you like into it

Ok I will take you saying 'they failed until their two dead ball opportunities where Zidane showed his worth to the side.' as meaing just that.

Originally posted by therecklessone
See, I thought that after the first 20 minutes.
And then I noticed his influence waned, for two reasons...
1. He was very tightly man-marked, and was on the receiving end of a few crunching tackles. Rooney, Lampard and Neville all had a go.
2. He started to get pis*ed off at his midfield colleagues who kept expecting him to do everything on his own. Every pass was to him in the centre then they stood back waiting for it to happen.

Yeah you're right. There was a bit of a period when he was smothered (ie 1st half of 2nd half) but roughly around the time Lampard got booked caution (as well as exhaustion?) started biting at England and the space freed up again for him and he was back involved in everything France did.

Originally posted by therecklessone
You could see it when he had a go at Lizarazu at a late stage in the first half. He looked tired in the 2nd half to be honest. [/B]

I think Zidane was mainly having a go at Lizarazu because he wasn't pushing up quick enough during attacks and occupying the leftwing position in order to let Zidane move out of there and in to the centre. I don't think it was an unreasonable demand by him considering it's long been a setplay of theirs

vorbis

after tonights match, santini has been shown to be a woeful manager. With the best squad in the tournament he failed to send out a balanced team. England would have and should have won but for a bit of luck and skill at the end.

Zidane dug Santini out of hole HE created for himself. NO left winger which strangled the attacking flow of the team. Subs which were mind boggling, Wiltord for Pires!, Sagnol for Silvestre! wtf they were chasing the game!!

For the next match, they should drop makele and introduce rothern / govou as a right winger. Wake Trezeguet up. If that fails, Saha should start as a hitman instead. Pires should also play instead on the left. What idiot manager breaks up one of the most potent combinations at club level? i.e. Henry linking with Pires. Honestly Tottenham are DOOMED.

Dewey

Originally posted by naitkris

also, for David Beckham to take the penalty against Barthez was a huge mistake! Barthez and Beckham were teammates for goodness knows how long and Barthez would have practised saving Beckham's shots so many times!!! I reckon Rooney or someone who Barthez doesn't know too well should've taken the penalty.

Your right there naitkris. i said when England got the peno Barthez might save cause they were at United together. And it was a great Save. i dont think Rooney should of took the peno cause if he had of took it and missed then the papers would of jumped on him like they did in 98' on Beckham. Lampard hasent missed a peno for Chelsea this season and i think he would of been the best to take it.

Big Ears

Originally posted by vorbis


For the next match, they should drop makele and introduce rothern / govou as a right winger. Wake Trezeguet up. If that fails, Saha should start as a hitman instead. Pires should also play instead on the left. What idiot manager breaks up one of the most potent combinations at club level? i.e. Henry linking with Pires. Honestly Tottenham are DOOMED.

I was thinking of putting Makelele play as a left midfielder for the second half (he's played there for Real before ) , but thats a way better idea .But I think u mean left

therecklessone

Originally posted by vorbis


Zidane dug Santini out of hole HE created for himself. NO left winger which strangled the attacking flow of the team.

No left winger eh? Didn't do England any harm for 89 minutes, did it?

Pepe LeFrits

Originally posted by vorbis
after tonights match, santini has been shown to be a woeful manager. With the best squad in the tournament he failed to send out a balanced team. England would have and should have won but for a bit of luck and skill at the end.

Zidane dug Santini out of hole HE created for himself. NO left winger which strangled the attacking flow of the team. Subs which were mind boggling, Wiltord for Pires!, Sagnol for Silvestre! wtf they were chasing the game!!

For the next match, they should drop makele and introduce rothern / govou as a right winger. Wake Trezeguet up. If that fails, Saha should start as a hitman instead. Pires should also play instead on the left. What idiot manager breaks up one of the most potent combinations at club level? i.e. Henry linking with Pires. Honestly Tottenham are DOOMED.

Total overreaction. Like the English team, the French team is a difficult one to pick. It's a tough decision; does the manager pick players to suit the tactics, or tactics to suit the players?

I think it was Bill Shankly who said that the better the players you have, the less tactics you need, and that you should always pick your best players. Santini seems to follow this line. I think it's probably fair to say that Henry, Trezeguet, Zidane, Pires, Makelele and Vieira are France's 6 best midfielder/forward players, therefore they should be picked. The problem lies in that 3 of those are centre mids and Pires isn't really a winger, while probably the weakest player of the 6 (Makelele) is the only holding midfielder of the bunch.

France evidently need more natural width, but getting that means dropping either Trezeguet (for a 4-5-1), Pires, or Makelele. Personally, against Croatia i'd lose Trez and adopt a 4-5-1 with Makelele holding, Zidane & Vieira in the centre, Pires on the right and Rothen on the left. If Lizarazu can't play any better than he did tonight then he should he dropped for Evra. The dury is still out on the Silvestre/Thuram & Gallas aspect of the defence.

vorbis

No left winger eh? Didn't do England any harm for 89 minutes, did it?

um no left winger in the sense that there was NO ONE on the left side of midfield. Zidane was far worse than Scholes for moving off the wing. When you have Lizarou acting as a winger you know things are bad. An actual left winger being present would have allowed Zidane to occupy a central role. From there he would have attacking options left right and in front of him.

I'd disagree about the less tatics bit. You still need SOME tactics. Most of the french team play club football in a 442 formation. Also a good player in an unsuitable position is often worse than an average player in his favourite postion imo.

The fact is that the french team revolves around Zidane and Henry to a lesser extent. The rest of the players must fit them. Zidane as you could see tonight was frustrated by the lack of opptions infront of him. More width would solve that.

Secondly Vieira can do the job expected of Makalele. Having both of them in the same team is overkill. With proper wingers France would gain more width and would create more chances. Tonights formation was brutal. It simply congested four or five players into a small space.

Big Ears

em Viera can hold midfield , if asked once in a blue moon u know .:rolleyes:

Pepe LeFrits

Originally posted by vorbis
um no left winger in the sense that there was NO ONE on the left side of midfield. Zidane was far worse than Scholes for moving off the wing. When you have Lizarou acting as a winger you know things are bad. An actual left winger being present would have allowed Zidane to occupy a central role. From there he would have attacking options left right and in front of him.

First of all, whenever England had the ball Scholes was rooted to the center circle.

Secondly, Pires isn't a winger either. His strength for Arsenal is his ability to cut inside and drift into the centre, which is where he is at his best.

Pepe LeFrits

Originally posted by Big Ears
em Viera can hold midfield , if asked once in a blue moon u know .:rolleyes:

So can Gerrard, it's still wasteful of his abilities. He is much more about dominating the centre of the park, surging forward and spraying passes around. Constraining him to sit infront of the back 4 tracking the runs of the opposing attacking midfielders would be a massive waste.

Harry2001

Originally posted by Pigman II
Ok I will take you saying 'they failed until their two dead ball opportunities where Zidane showed his worth to the side.' as meaing just that.

Whatever gets you through the day

Big Ears

well if he is gonna play like he did today for the rest of the tournament , then he wont contribute much attack wise .

kamobe

A lot of people say that Henry is currently the best player in world. When the crunch came, I didn't see him even NEAR the free kick, or the penno.

That was an absolutely fantastic finish to a game (from a neutral perspective) and I'm delighted to have seen it live. What a free!

Zidane really has done it, and continues to do it at every single level. A living (and playing) legend.

20 Times 20 Times

fantasic to watch (well the last few mins any way)

Raskolnikov

I don't know if some of you guys were even watching the same game as I was . . .

I thought England were good tonight, at the back they were very solid and let very little through. Gerrard had the clanger at the end and Scholes was terrible but other than that the midfield was solid. Upfront Rooney was lively with Owen a little disapointing. France on the other hand were woeful, Henry wasn't even in the game and Trezuguet had only a few touches. Pires wasn't great, neither was Makalele. Veira did reasonably with Zidane definitely showing his worth. Silvestre and Lizarazu at the back were awful, if it wasn't for Thuram they'd have been anihilated. At the end they were desperately unlucky.

My conclusions are that Zidane makes the French team, they cannot expect him to bail them out every time they're down though. As for England, they've effectively booked second place now, it remains to be seen wether English pride and spirit can take them to the final.

paddyduff

Yeeeeehaaaaaaa!!! Zizou is a legend!!

Owen and Gerrard... were rubbish!!! Soon to follow heskey out the anfield exit door!!! HAhahahah... what a climax to a game... couldn't have scripted it better!

Three cheers for zizou! Hip hip....

PHB

To give more width might require the dropping of one forward, it should be Henry definally, since if you have a one man attack, you need a striker not a forward, thats why it won't ever happen.

However a 3 man offense might give some width to france, with Wiltord and Henry on the wing forward positions, which I think we might see in the next match

MisterAnarchy

A very average match but exciting.
I was hoping England would not score first as they predictably then retreated back into their own third of the pitch.
England defended well but they showed how limited a team they are with their non existant attacking play.
They tried to suffocate France who will surely only improve once the tournament goes on.
Henry yet again failed to produce the goods on the big stage and Makelele should be dropped for the next match as he was rubbish.
England must finally realise that they are a very mediocre international side who struggle to pass fluently.
It would have been a travesty if they had won .
Listening to BBC and ITV one can only come to the conclusion that they will never change.
RTE's coverage was spot on though both before and after the match.
Nice to see Barthez play well after the unfair criticism he received from the English press..

As for England, they've effectively booked second place now, it remains to be seen wether English pride and spirit can take them to the final

I wouldnt count on that...

Makaveli

Originally posted by Raskolnikov
As for England, they've effectively booked second place now, it remains to be seen wether English pride and spirit can take them to the final.

Euro 2000 anyone?
Lost to Portugal in game 1, went on to beat Germany and then lose again to Romania.
Their confidence will have taken a serious knock tonight, going down the way they did, and I can now see Switzerland or Croatia taking points off them.

mike65

I'm amazed no-one has focued on Eiriksonns uesless tactics - Gerrard wasted so Owen isolated.

Cure - switch Gerrard to attacking role, keep Owen on.Take Scholes off bring Butt on and push Lampard to the left. or sub Lampard for Bridge on the left.

You cant defend for 90 mins and I'd have said that if they'd got away with it.

Mike.

Dewey

England didnt deserved to lose but didnt really deserve to win either. The players will feel sick, and they will be really low. I'm not so sure they will beat the Swiss. they have a good record against England and i could see a draw. Unless Croatia beat France, England will get second place.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by vorbis
after tonights match, santini has been shown to be a woeful manager. With the best squad in the tournament he failed to send out a balanced team. England would have and should have won but for a bit of luck and skill at the end.

Zidane dug Santini out of hole HE created for himself. NO left winger which strangled the attacking flow of the team. Subs which were mind boggling, Wiltord for Pires!, Sagnol for Silvestre! wtf they were chasing the game!!

For the next match, they should drop makele and introduce rothern / govou as a right winger. Wake Trezeguet up. If that fails, Saha should start as a hitman instead. Pires should also play instead on the left. What idiot manager breaks up one of the most potent combinations at club level? i.e. Henry linking with Pires. Honestly Tottenham are DOOMED.

I agree with your point about Makelele but thats about it.

Santini has won every competitive match since he took over and last night was the first time France conceded a goal since last June. He also won 2 consecutive league titles with Lyon who had never won the league in their history so I can't seem how he can be called a woeful manager.

What's wrong with putting Wiltord on for Pires? Santini usually plays Wiltord in the right wing and he scored 6 goals in the qualifiers so that was a good choice of substitution. As for taking Silvestre off, he was probably worried that he'd get a second booking or wasn't playing well.

"What idiot manager breaks up one of the most potent combinations at club level?"
- Plenty. France don't play to their potential in one match and Santini is suddenly the worst manager in the world.:rolleyes:

Originally posted by vorbis
Upfront Rooney was lively with Owen a little disapointing. France on the other hand were woeful, Henry wasn't even in the game and Trezuguet had only a few touches.

You've just shown how biased your post is. Owen was a little dissapointing yet Henry wasn't even in the game.


I think a draw would have been a fair result but I'd put most of the blame on SGE. Someone should tell him that it isn't a crime to leave a team unchanged for 90 minutes. Vassell for Owen was good decision but Heskey for Rooney, if its not broke...

vorbis

You've just shown how biased your post is. Owen was a little dissapointing yet Henry wasn't even in the game.

well I didn't even post that eirebhoy. :rolleyes: Raskolnikov did. You still haven't said why it was worth breaking up the pires and henry partnership. Just out of interest who was in France's qualifying group? The fact is Santini seemed frozen in indecision during last night's match. I'm kind of worried that you believed that Wiltord was worth bringing on for wiltord. Maybe to replace Trez but not Pires.

Big Ears

Slovenia and Israel were they're best opposition in qualifying

eirebhoy

Originally posted by vorbis
well I didn't even post that eirebhoy. :rolleyes: Raskolnikov did.

I know, sorry forgot to change the name.

Who knows, if Santini didn't make the substitutions the score probably would have remained at 1-0.

redspider

Wow, what a game, great twists, great drama! This is what makes football a great spectacle even for us “neutral” Irish fans. France left it late but deserved the win. They were the better team on the night, although they did play out of sorts at times. Their tactics in the first half were unusual with Henry playing tight inside and seldom looking for the ball out wide, his normal mode, and they generally lacked invention in the last third. Trezeguet’s header came closest and had James beaten but just went over. Pires was attempting to make runs down the right but was being snuffed out by Cole and any cross that did go in was dealt with by King and Campbell. Zidane was the playmaker and saw a lot of the ball.

England created few chances, evidenced by the fact that not once in the whole match did Owen and Rooney get a shot away (according to the euro2004.com stats). Their best chance was likely to come from a dead ball situation, and that’s just what happened with a Beckham in-swinging free kick and a solid header from close range by Lampard. It wasn’t as if England had put France under the cosh or deserved to be in the lead but that’s football, and the difference between scoring and not scoring is a fine line.

France maintained their possession dominance but created few unmissable chances. England defended in numbers and Rooney harried away. Owen was invisible. On a breakaway, Rooney was chopped down by Silvestre and it was a clear penalty. According to the rules as the last man Silvestre should have been sent off. Such are the vagaries of football that the ref only gave him a yellow. Beckham struck the penalty firmly but at the right height for a goalie to make a save and Barthez did just that. The pub (mainly Irish, ie: no French and only a couple of english) erupted for the first time.

This save gave France some confidence but they were still trailing. Henry looked a bit more lively as England brought on more fresh-legged subs to chase down the ball. France kept plugging away but as things were standing it looked as if England could just hold out to win, but there was always a chance that France could score. Heskey gave away a free kick in a shooting position about 25 yards out. Up stepped Zidane, Henry is second choice, and struck the kick over the wall and in the corner of the net – James didn’t move. The pub erupted again.

That was in the 91st minute. France deserved this draw position. But wait, this game wasn’t over. Gerrard slid a long back pass and Henry had his poaching mode on and picked the ball up with only James to beat on the edge of the box. James up-ended him never looking likely to get the ball fairly - penalty! The place erupted again. James got a yellow. Once again, this was a sending off offence.

Up stepped Zidane in a very tense situation and as cool as you like struck a perfect penalty with power and into the side of the goal, giving James no chance, even if he had dived the right way, which he didn’t. The pub erupted again. That was the 93rd minute, there was barely time for a kick-off and the game was over.

What a roller-coaster, what entertainment, that’s football ….

Hairy Homer

Originally posted by Pigman II
As opposed to in Ireland where 'God save the queen' isn't even played at Lansdowne Road b4 a soccer match? Yes, we're really ones to talk.

Your sentiments are admirable, but that habit has been discontinued. GSTQ is now played at Lansdowne Road before matches, rugby or soccer. (There just hasn't been a soccer match since the system changed) And we get Ireland's Call as well!!!!!!

Oh Joy!!!!!

[/B][/QUOTE]

BaZmO*

Just in response to whole argument of ABE's (Anything But England!).

The number one argument used by Irish people that are against England winning a major tournament is...

"We'd never hear them shut up about it if they won!!"

But personally I think that that is quite a silly argument. Cause in all fairness if we ever won a major competition do you think that we'd ever shut up? Don't think so!!!

But the really silly thing about that argument is the only reason that we would hear them go on about it is because through our own choice we associate ourselves with their culture so much but only when it suits. i.e. We watch their television programmes, we read their newspapers, we listen to their music, sure we even speak their language. We can't pick and choose an association with another culture only when it suits our own needs.

And also, about the the English fans booing the French National Anthem. Anybody remember the ex-Rangers players being booed at Landsdowne? Absolute hypocrites!!!

And in response to the English being the same as us, they most definitely are not!! I have a lot of family that live over in England and whenever Ireland are in a sporting competition all their friends get behind us, unbelievably so. (unless of course we are playing against, understandably!!)


Barry.

Hairy Homer

Originally posted by Harry2001
I be seriously pissed of tonight if I was a Bayern Munich fan that supports England, I thought only Man Utd were that jammy :-)

I be a Bayern Munich fan that doesn't and I say Es kommt darauf, es geht darauf.

Hairy Homer

Originally posted by BaZmO*
Just in response to whole argument of ABE's (Anything But England!).

I have a lot of family that live over in England and whenever Ireland are in a sporting competition all their friends get behind us, unbelievably so. (unless of course we are playing against, understandably!!)

Let's not overdo this. Maybe some of those who make a holiday in their heart any time England lose are hardline Provo bastards but for most of us it's just harmless rivalry, with a little bit of atavistic antagonism built in.

There are parallels elswhere:

rugby's my first game. I'm a Dublin 4 Leinster supporter. We have all the population, all the latent talent and little in the way of achievement to show for it.

Munster have no money, a crap ground, a smaller playing base but huge passion among their supporters as well as a hefty chip on each shoulder.

When Munster are playing in Europe, I always wish them well and delight when they do so.

When Leinster are playing in Europe do their fans reciprocate? Do they bloody hell. Some of them would support Leicester against Leinster.

But that's OK. I know it just means that I'm an inherently congenitally superior person to the hairy arsed riff raff that supports Munster. :-)

Sound familiar?

Pigman II

Originally posted by Harry2001
Whatever gets you through the day

Ok I will take what you said as meaning what you said.

Originally posted by Hairy Homer
Your sentiments are admirable, but that habit has been discontinued. GSTQ is now played at Lansdowne Road before matches, rugby or soccer. (There just hasn't been a soccer match since the system changed) And we get Ireland's Call as well!!!!!!
Oh Joy!!!!!

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Well that's good news, but shows the kind of inheirent mindset that exists in this country when the dropping of an anthem for a sporting occasion can be allowed to happen in the first place. Glad to hear its back anyway.

Also since it was mentioned I think if I had a choice I'd nearly rather hear 'God Save the Queen' played rather than that piece of phil coulter excrament.