Roiling football blather
- Thread starter crackerjack
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- alan smith 17 arsene the glum aesthete basic schoolboy errors benitez the sad clown borderline rivaldo shithousing bromley spiritual healer chelsea :facepalm: dracula and his war council henry does an adam smith i am a holding midfielder of your face. jumpers for goalposts lads it's tottenham large samuel ole's at the wheel serie a epic fail shearer yawn shed ted square balls the special one traffordish waving imaginary cards
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
I've only watched highlights so far, but intending to sit down and watch some of the QF matches, esp France-US.
France v Brazil game looked good, some great finishing there. Very impressed with the attacking play in general, pity that a few big defending lapses have decided some of the games. Pity Spain didn't go further. I seem to have taken an irrationally intense dislike to Megan Rapinoe.
France v Brazil game looked good, some great finishing there. Very impressed with the attacking play in general, pity that a few big defending lapses have decided some of the games. Pity Spain didn't go further. I seem to have taken an irrationally intense dislike to Megan Rapinoe.
IdleRich
IdleRich
Ha, me too! I read about her celebrations v Thailand and thought "how bad can it be?" and then I saw her sliding along and kicking her leg like a dick when they went 9-0 up and thought "Actually that's pretty bad". Wanted Spain to win and thought they were doing pretty well but I had to miss the last thirty minutes so I dunno how it finished. I mean, I know the score and that it was a dodgy penalty (arguably) but didn't see it.
The second half of Sweden vs Canada was good. The goal was a cracker - fantastic pass... two fantastic passes in fact - penalty save etc Also enjoyed England v Cameroon. The only problem has been the use of VAR, not VAR itself of which I am in favour, but the way it's been used, and the way that the handball rule has changed so that people (eg Sweden) are being penalised for having the ball blasted at their arm from two yards away.
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
Yeah, it was fucking awful - classless. Will have to check Sweden v Canada highlights. yeah, some really incisive passing in the games/highlights I've seen so far. I caught a bit of Norway-Australia, that looked good.
Even without engaging fully with the tournament, I've got the impression that it's been a fantastic showcase for the women's game to a global audience, of the type that hasn't happened before. Seems like a genuine breakthrough moment. I'm at a loss to define exactly why it happened now, though... I guess the record crowd for the Atletico-Barcelona game was a major indicator that the audience for the women's game is much larger than a lot of people thought - Spain in particular seems to be really ahead of the game.
I do wish the England team would hire a top female coach instead of Phil Neville though. He's not an evil person I don't think, but he's a bit of an idiot.
Even without engaging fully with the tournament, I've got the impression that it's been a fantastic showcase for the women's game to a global audience, of the type that hasn't happened before. Seems like a genuine breakthrough moment. I'm at a loss to define exactly why it happened now, though... I guess the record crowd for the Atletico-Barcelona game was a major indicator that the audience for the women's game is much larger than a lot of people thought - Spain in particular seems to be really ahead of the game.
I do wish the England team would hire a top female coach instead of Phil Neville though. He's not an evil person I don't think, but he's a bit of an idiot.
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IdleRich
IdleRich
I normally prefer national team coaches to be from the same country - not cos I'm a xenophobe, just cos I think it's kinda cheating to get outside help that you wouldn't be allowed on the pitch. Maybe women's teams should have female coaches in the same way, I dunno... well that's not the rule so I'm happy enough with Neville I guess.
IdleRich
IdleRich
I think England have looked good too. Maybe that's cos I don't know (or at least properly understand) how good they are supposed to be so I see 'em knocking it around confidently against Cameroon or whatever and think "That's great apart from a few defensive lapses" whereas those who know expect that as a min without the lapses. Basically I'm judging them relative to the men's team and they look good.
IdleRich
IdleRich
OK, I made the last two up but you get the level of the imagination of these nicknames.
Anyway, great game between Japan and NL - spoiled by a shit penalty again, I hate the way they are interpreting the handball rule these days. Japan made so many more chances but failed to take them unfortunately. Could have made the refereeing academic.
Anyway, great game between Japan and NL - spoiled by a shit penalty again, I hate the way they are interpreting the handball rule these days. Japan made so many more chances but failed to take them unfortunately. Could have made the refereeing academic.
IdleRich
IdleRich
Really, who is he? What happened with Griezeman in the end? Is that funding it?
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
that is a new level of crazy - can't think of any immediate equiuvalents, mbappe had already showed he could do it at the highest level, so that one made sense. joao felix from benfica. Griezmann is going to Barca.
incidentally, mbappe to Liverpool sounds like a possibility. But could they fit him as a guaranteed starter without unbalancing the team?
incidentally, mbappe to Liverpool sounds like a possibility. But could they fit him as a guaranteed starter without unbalancing the team?
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
I was right to call this irrational. I'm actually very impressed by her - Thailand celebration apart - now that I've read more about her.
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IdleRich
IdleRich
Yeah a lot of what she says off the pitch seems to be fairly right-on. I guess if you've got cameras and crowds watching everything you do then it's hardly surprising that eventually you might do something in the heat of the moment that can make you look like a dick. But presumably what she actually chooses to say after consideration is a better guide to the person she actually is.
Anyway, I enjoyed the England vs US game; some great goals, a fantastic save (and some other decent ones) and a soft penalty softly taken. Again a marginal offside goal pulled back and disallowed by VAR which I think is not what it was introduced for and shouldn't be happening. But whatever, as entertainment it was all there.
And, I doubt anyone cares, but super exciting for me, finally found a five-a-side game here in Lisbon that I can join in. Weirdly enough there is a kind of "hidden" pitch behind a church near Bairro Alto and a friend put me in touch with a mate who organises a kick around there every Monday; well, a five-a-side game in fact, from 2000 until 2200! I haven't played for more than two years so was really worried about how I would do, especially for that insanely long time playing, but luckily the standard is such that I could join in pretty easily despite being well out of condition. Seem like a nice bunch of guys and if I play for two hours every week I think I should be getting fit fairly soon. Only thing is that once I do get fit I might find the game a bit easy but let's cross that bridge when we come to it eh?
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
i think she seems very sound, and very brave, because it's not easy to speak out as a public figure in America when doing so brings the danger of basically being branded a traitor to the national cause.
It was a good game, but left me with that familiar underwhelmed feeling when following English football teams. The offside goal was so unlucky though. Neville's tactics seemed bizarre but in keeping with the 'let's do something new that we haven't tried before, that'll confuse them!' philosophy employed by lots of managers eg Pochettino when a big game comes and they're scared to leave things be, in case it looks like they're not doing anything.
Are the Lisbon lads on a par with the Morons (RIP)?
It was a good game, but left me with that familiar underwhelmed feeling when following English football teams. The offside goal was so unlucky though. Neville's tactics seemed bizarre but in keeping with the 'let's do something new that we haven't tried before, that'll confuse them!' philosophy employed by lots of managers eg Pochettino when a big game comes and they're scared to leave things be, in case it looks like they're not doing anything.
Are the Lisbon lads on a par with the Morons (RIP)?
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
what'd u reckon to the final? Again I just saw highlights. Dutch keeper was fantastic, but Netherlands team seemed overwhelmed. Great second goal, but the Dutch defenders stood off her to a criminal degree.
luka
Well-known member
It was the only game I watched and caught it accidentally just nursing a hangover with two pints drunk at snails pace. Not much of a game. Americans notable for hustle, energy, aggression, harrying, clearly very fit. Reluctant to pull the trigger when presented with clear scoring opportunities. Dutch barely registered (keeper excepted). Final as formality.