The 20-21 season football thread

wibbly said:
Always one idiot....

I think the ref was relatively balanced. Not as good as the red in the Ita/Spa game.

Who has the final has it been announced.
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Bjorn Kuipers (Dutch)will be the referee on Sunday.

theathletic.com

England vs Italy referee: Bjorn Kuipers to take charge of Euro 2020 final

Bjorn Kuipers has been selected to referee Sunday’s European Championship final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium. The Dutchman will be joined by compatriots Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra as his assistants, with Spain’s Carlos Del Cerro Grande the fourth official. Kuipers has...
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 
Sterling has been in form for this competition, but it really niggled me when Sterling got the credit for "causing" the own goal, and they hardly mentioned the great run that Saka made to set it up. Also, Harry Kane got MotM.... How's that work then? He missed a penalty, then tapped the ball into an open goal. That's about all he did. Apparently Mason Mount was on the pitch too.....
 
Jelster said:
Sterling has been in form for this competition, but it really niggled me when Sterling got the credit for "causing" the own goal, and they hardly mentioned the great run that Saka made to set it up. Also, Harry Kane got MotM.... How's that work then? He missed a penalty, then tapped the ball into an open goal. That's about all he did. Apparently Mason Mount was on the pitch too.....
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Stirling put pressure on the Danish defender forcing him to play the ball so I would say he deserves the credit.
Yes, Saka made a great run and put the ball into a dangerous area but I'm pretty sure it was mentioned in the many replays of the goal.
Harry Kane had his penalty saved but was quickest to react to the rebound, who cares about the man of the match award.
 
tijuana taxi said:
We obviously see football in a very different way, both teams looked a cut above England to me.
Comfortable on the ball and passing it with intent rather than because they don't really know what to do next.
Italy have two exceptional central defenders, experience makes up for their lack of pace.
Verratti is the midfielder we would love to have, horrible niggly little git who keeps on going, reminds me a bit of Paul Ince.
Winning penalty was pure class, please god none of our lot try it.
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I'd say we're also exceptional & whilst Denmark 'looked' dangerous, we eventually dominated the game.
No fear of the Italians either, we have a great chance on Sunday, just hope the lads can deal with the occasion & bring it home.
 
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NeilA1975 said:
I'd say we're also exceptional and whilst Denmark 'looked' dangerous, we eventually dominated the game.
No fear of the Italians either, we have a great chance on Sunday, just hope the lads can bring it home.
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No outstanding team in this tournament, Italy and England have looked the best of an average bunch although the former had the harder draw
I'm still going with Italy to win a close game, want to see an entertaining match, its never been win at all costs for me.
 
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tijuana taxi said:
No outstanding team in this tournament, Italy and England have looked the best of an average bunch although the former had the harder draw
I'm still going with Italy to win a close game, want to see an entertaining match, its never been win at all costs for me.
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Thought Spain were stronger than Italy, lucky to win on pens in the end.
England thoroughly deserve their place in the final & only conceding once on route.
We'll see Sunday, but i'd say we have the advantage here.
 
Allan.H said:
Stirling put pressure on the Danish defender forcing him to play the ball so I would say he deserves the credit.
Yes, Saka made a great run and put the ball into a dangerous area but I'm pretty sure it was mentioned in the many replays of the goal.
Harry Kane had his penalty saved but was quickest to react to the rebound, who cares about the man of the match award.
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It was Kane's pass to Saka which made the goal, quality!
 
JohnC6 said:
Not quite like that. It wasn’t overturned by VAR as referee's decision couldn’t be deemed a clear and obvious error.
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There was contact, it was not a dive. It was soft, i dont think it was a pen but can see why it was given.
 
We can count ourselves fortunate that Spinnazola (full back) is out re that Achilles injury.I think it ruptured.

Two Reports....

ITALY star Leonardo Spinazzola has been named the fastest player of Euro 2020 - with three England players in the top 15.

Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker are also among the tournament's top speedsters.

Re 3-0 win over Turkey.

Player of the match – Leonardo Spinazzola

There were excellent performances all over the pitch for Italy on Friday night, but the man who seemed to be at the centre of nearly every move was actually the left-back, Leonardo Spinazzola. He linked superbly with Insigne and got into the Turkish box time and time again. His parried shot was tucked away by Immobile for Italy’s second.
 
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JohnC6 said:
We can count ourselves fortunate that Spinnazola (full back) is out re that Achilles injury.I think it ruptured.

Two Reports....

ITALY star Leonardo Spinazzola has been named the fastest player of Euro 2020 - with three England players in the top 15.

Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker are also among the tournament's top speedsters.

Re 3-0 win over Turkey.

Player of the match – Leonardo Spinazzola

There was excellent performances all over the pitch for Italy on Friday night, but the man who seemed to be at the centre of nearly every move was actually the left-back, Leonardo Spinazzola. He linked superbly with Insigne and got into the Turkish box time and time again. His parried shot was tucked away by Immobile for Italy’s second.
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He was fantastic for them and a big loss. Crazy how that can go at any moment, played 5 aside with someone and it happened to him, nasty injury
 
cambsno said:
There was contact, it was not a dive. It was soft, i dont think it was a pen but can see why it was given.
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Yes, I appreciate that having seen more miles of footage of it than from here to Birmingham.I wasn't disputing it, I was responding to Neil saying that VAR was involved..It wasn't. He didn't say those words he said the "Ref AND VAR said so" ie said it was a penalty.

I'm guessing we've had our wires crossed a bit.
 
cambsno said:
He was fantastic for them and a big loss. Crazy how that can go at any moment, played 5 aside with someone and it happened to him, nasty injury
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I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that a player like that being forced out could cost them the game. Mouriho says he'll be out for two months with that sort of injury.

Do you know anything about Emmerson Palmieri..Chelsea. ? The word is that he's replacing him.
 
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wibbly said:
Who has the final has it been announced.
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As stated in my first response..the ref will be Bjorn Kuiper .I was listening to talkSport today..5-Live is all ..mainly..Wimbledon.talkSport is pretty well 24 hour Sunday's game. They had Mark Halsey on (retired english ref)and he said that Bjorn Kuiper is excellent and well known to players in the Champions League and that he's the The best in the pool of refs drawn on. He will let the game breath and let it flow. Uses the yellow card sparingly and refs with a smile on his face. He's refereed three of the games so far and given only one penalty. The staff monitoring VAR has been doubled which Halsey thinks should happen here but it won't due to costs and they don't have enough refs to call on. He suggested all they need to do is bring in retired refs. which I think he said had happened in this tournament. He lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of Mike Riley who he described as 'stubborn' .Stubborn enough not to heed calls to increase VAR staff.

July 10th last year.https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12091873/mark-halsey-var-premier-league-mike-riley-quit/
 
cambsno said:
There was contact, it was not a dive. It was soft, i dont think it was a pen but can see why it was given.
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He was already on the way down when that soft contact occured, it was a dive.

Some fans are a bit soft when it comes to neutrals having a say, one of my earlier comments which had zero malice got a nice sad face because [I can only imagine, no other reason] I predicted Italy to win ... I mean, how fragile do you have to be to get upset by someone's opinion/prediction on a football game?
 
cambsno said:
There was contact, it was not a dive. It was soft, i dont think it was a pen but can see why it was given.
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We hear this a lot now " there was contact so . . . " (not just here but from the commentators and pundits.) That phrase seems to justify players 'hitting the deck' as if being swatted by Kung Fu Panda. Most referees seem incapable of knowing the difference between players being 'chopped off at the knees' or touched in error by an out of control 5gram force. This is a contact sport for goodness sake, or it used to be ?
Anyone noticed how if any players get 'touched' on their face, or let's be truthful, they feel a draught from a nearby passing limb, they clasp both hands to their face, drop like a stone and roll around screaming ? Must keep their 'pretty boy' looks inviolate, eh ?
Sadly as modern players fitness and stamina has improved greatly their pain tolerance and their appreciation of what constitutes fair play has decreased exponentially. Frankly the 'beautiful game' has in many instances become an embarrassing watch.
Rant over.
 
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Cagey75 said:
I'm always amused when these pro footballers make great runs [example, Sterlings solo run through 3-4 defenders] only to fluff the final pass like a Sunday league bench warmer! SO many times this comp, and every other major tournie before it, we've seen excellent footwork, ball skills, speed, flair and then *HOOF*! a bog-toe shot over the bar or an attempt to pass that ends in the 2nd tier of the stands. The odd 'balls up' is acceptable but count how many times it happens in the final, from both sides. Take a shot every time and you'll be on the floor before half time

What are the predictions? anyone putting their money where their mouth is? As a neutral I see it being very tight, I think it'll be a bit of a bore fest first half but ramp up in the second - I think both teams will score but I see Italy just having that extra flair, being more solid in defence and taking it 2-1 [possible ET at 1-1]
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As I have been on a great roll so far, my money is going on England.
 
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There could be an extra member of VAR staff watching the action and retrospectively awarding Yellow
cards when a player simulates injury after a no contact play-act..
 
When you're in full flight, it doesn't take much to knock you off balance, even your leg being "brushed" can make you think it's going to hurt. The fact remains, it was a penalty, and I don't think it was for the first contact, I reckon it was the second defender that gave it away. I hope Kane takes the next one much better than that....

As stated above, the free kick they scored from wasn't a foul either, but that's the other side, it doesn't matter does it....
 
What makes me laugh is people who say, because of Sterling's "cheating", they're going to support Italy in the Final.

Is this the same Italy whose player (Immobile I think) went down in the penalty area, was a hair's breadth from death and them, as soon as Italy scored moments later, leapt up and ran full pelt to celebrate the goal?
 
I think one of the most noticeable things in the tournament has been the LACK of diving.
Players who regularly play in the premiership and have diving as an integral part of their game have done much less of it because in general the ref has ignored it and played on.
If we did the same in domestic games it would soon stop.
Same as stopping the game for almost any "injury".
The whole "there was contact" is a nonsense. People don't go crashing to the ground because something brushed their sock.
 
Marc said:
What makes me laugh is people who say, because of Sterling's "cheating", they're going to support Italy in the Final.

Is this the same Italy whose player (Immobile I think) went down in the penalty area, was a hair's breadth from death and them, as soon as Italy scored moments later, leapt up and ran full pelt to celebrate the goal?
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I burst out laughing when I saw that, as the pundits said, sad and pathetic.
 
Marc said:
What makes me laugh is people who say, because of Sterling's "cheating", they're going to support Italy in the Final.

Is this the same Italy whose player (Immobile I think) went down in the penalty area, was a hair's breadth from death and them, as soon as Italy scored moments later, leapt up and ran full pelt to celebrate the goal?
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It's crazy that many more don't get booked for simulation (cheating).
 
Cockney said:
I think one of the most noticeable things in the tournament has been the LACK of diving.
Players who regularly play in the premiership and have diving as an integral part of their game have done much less of it because in general the ref has ignored it and played on.
If we did the same in domestic games it would soon stop.
Same as stopping the game for almost any "injury".
The whole "there was contact" is a nonsense. People don't go crashing to the ground because something brushed their sock.
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I agree, in this tournament 'some' referees have ignored the simulated fouls, bully for them.
I wouldn't include Danny Makkelie, the Dutch referee who did the England/Denmark game in that.
This 'going to ground' is so ingrained in modern footballers (all countries) I don't think they can help themselves and many times it would likely be far more productive to continue 'travelling' as opposed to throwing themselves on the floor ?
 
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Jelster said:
When you're in full flight, it doesn't take much to knock you off balance, even your leg being "brushed" can make you think it's going to hurt. The fact remains, it was a penalty,
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I disagree, and most of the 'experts' ? I have seen giving their opinion are doubtful it was a penalty,
 
badlywornroy said:
I agree, in this tournament 'some' referees have ignored the simulated fouls, bully for them.
I wouldn't include Danny Makkelie, the Dutch referee who did the England/Denmark game in that.
This 'going to ground' is so ingrained in modern footballers (all countries) I don't think they can help themselves and many times it would likely be far more productive to continue 'travelling' as opposed to throwing themselves on the floor ?
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Trouble is I remember a game nears the end of season. Player fouled and stayed on feet but off balance etc. Ref played on. So sadly if you do t go down you don t get the foul when. You should do.
 
badlywornroy said:
We hear this a lot now " there was contact so . . . " (not just here but from the commentators and pundits.) That phrase seems to justify players 'hitting the deck' as if being swatted by Kung Fu Panda. Most referees seem incapable of knowing the difference between players being 'chopped off at the knees' or touched in error by an out of control 5gram force. This is a contact sport for goodness sake, or it used to be ?
Anyone noticed how if any players get 'touched' on their face, or let's be truthful, they feel a draught from a nearby passing limb, they clasp both hands to their face, drop like a stone and roll around screaming ? Must keep their 'pretty boy' looks inviolate, eh ?
Sadly as modern players fitness and stamina has improved greatly their pain tolerance and their appreciation of what constitutes fair play has decreased exponentially. Frankly the 'beautiful game' has in many instances become an embarrassing watch.
Rant over.
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Completely agree, the players are more prima Donna than ever before. The only reason I see contact on this one is because people defending that penalty have uploaded replays in slow motion, and all it serves is to prove he was already dicing before the other players knee touched him.
 
Marc said:
What makes me laugh is people who say, because of Sterling's "cheating", they're going to support Italy in the Final.

Is this the same Italy whose player (Immobile I think) went down in the penalty area, was a hair's breadth from death and them, as soon as Italy scored moments later, leapt up and ran full pelt to celebrate the goal?
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I haven't seen anyone say this but have seen plenty of anti English rants on FB etc, just because it's England. Wouldn't matter who they're playing. I find it a bit pathetic too, same people support English clubs week in and out. Personally I'm not rooting for either, just predict Italy will edge it, if I'm betting that's how I'd go but might have a sneaky side bet builder with England taking it
 
cambsno said:
Trouble is I remember a game nears the end of season. Player fouled and stayed on feet but off balance etc. Ref played on. So sadly if you do t go down you don t get the foul when. You should do.
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I don't advocate that it is just the 'players' that have to change. There has to be a completely new 'root & branch' approach to this 'blot' on the game. The relevant authorities, the referees certainly. If we have to use VAR to retrospectively punish 'divers' lets do it ? Maybe a panel of respected former players to give a majority opinion. Sure there will be mistakes, there is always mistakes, we/they have to accept that. So much is subjective but we accept mistakes now, referees and yes even (or especially) VAR make errors. When you see instances like the Italian Immobile, which has already been heavily referenced do that, with the World watching, without a trace of embarrassment we have surely reached the 'breaking point' ? It will be drastically reduced once players realise:
a. They are likely to be punished and therefore shamed ?
b. managers lose players to match suspensions.
Rugby Union and League, now they really do have an excuse to 'hit the deck' and feign injury but you never see it, surely football has to learn from them ?
Our kids are watching these highly paid stars setting a terrible example.
The authoriities, rule makers etc, need to address this blight on the game now.
 
badlywornroy said:
Rugby Union and League, now they really do have an excuse to 'hit the deck' and feign injury but you never see it,
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It happens in rugby, certainly with League. When a player is tackle, you often see them thrash about tried to kid the ref into thinking he's being held down. They'll also clamp hold of the tackler's arm or leg. There's 1 player who, when he gets the opportunity, he'll flip himself upside down when being tackled to con the ref into giving a penalty or even a red card.

Don't think that these sorts of things happen only in football.
 
Cagey75 said:
There's pussies in all sports, except hurling, those guys are made of steel! You don't see them go down like a sack of spuds from a tip, have seen players get a hurl broken off their back and just play on

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uECDfjpJlQc
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My ex father in law was an all Ireland Hurly hero. Watched a lot of hurly with him (Kit Carrol). They're mad.

RIP Kit, my friend.
 
Cockney said:
My ex father in law was an all Ireland Hurly hero. Watched a lot of hurly with him (Kit Carrol). They're mad.

RIP Kit, my friend.
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Must mention the name to my Dad, he's a bit of a hurling nut/expert. As in, off the cuff ask him who played corner forward for Kilkenny in the '69 final and he'll not only know the name but how many points and/or goals they scored that year total! They're mad men mostly, gotta be tough to play it at high level. I played it as a kid, I was useless, only played for a few months and got 2 black eyes in that short time lol
 
Cagey75 said:
Must mention the name to my Dad, he's a bit of a hurling nut/expert. As in, off the cuff ask him who played corner forward for Kilkenny in the '69 final and he'll not only know the name but how many points and/or goals they scored that year total! They're mad men mostly, gotta be tough to play it at high level. I played it as a kid, I was useless, only played for a few months and got 2 black eyes in that short time lol
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Kit was a Cork man all Ireland Football too I believe.
Whenever he went home they had the bunting out.
He lived in Archway when I was courting his daughter. Got me in more fights than enough. The IRA would come round pubs collecting. Most would keep their head down and throw a few coppers in the bucket when asked to support "the boys back home". Not Kit , he would tell them to f*** off and the punches would start flying.
First met him in the Irish centre Camden town.
 
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