PunkStep

The sausage roll cunts are going for 5 in a row. Why don't you just fuck off?

33 minutes ago, Rossman said:

Not having a go here, but what does Declan Rice actually do? All I ever see him do is pass the ball backwards or sideways.

Breaks up play, dictates the tempo of the game to an extent, starts play from deep. I have no reason to be a fan of him (I constantly wind up my West Ham supporter friend by saying he's just a shit David Batty) but he's a very good player for that role. If you stick a Maddison or a Mount there instead, you're fucked. The shape is completely gone and the defence is exposed. We normally play a double pivot with him and one other (Phillips) but Southgate has been able to deploy him as the single pivot this tournament, such is the trust he has in him. 

38 minutes ago, Rossman said:

Except the part where he whipped in the cross for the winner.

His job isn't to man-mark him wherever he is on the pitch. Griezmann had chalk on his boots on the left flank for that cross, Rice shouldn't be anywhere near him. 

Rice has had a very good tournament, again. I think our entire midfield have. It's a shame yesterday Bellingham wasn't able to influence the game as much as he did for the others, but what a tournament he's had.

Fucking hell. 

There you go, so hardly a big jump like when the Euros went from 16 to 24 spots.

Right, onto Southgate. Obviously many experts on Twitter etc think he should step down immediately and most of these feel that with an elite manager we would've won these tournaments. Hmmm. Remember when we had the greatest group of players we'd ever had at our disposal 10-20 years ago and gave two elite managers the chance with them? How did that turn out? Any semi final appearances? Didn't think so.

What are people expecting. This is international football, Pep or Klopp aren't going to suddenly decide they fancy a crack at managing England are they? They're club managers/coaches. How many elite managers win the World Cup? Jogi Lowe was hardly turning heads before he joined the international set-up. Was Del Bosque ever considered a truly elite manager when he carried on the good work that old racist Aragones had started with Spain? What on earth has Franz Beckenbauer done as a manager before and after his Italia 90 success? Time to get real. 

I think he's done a great job. He's built a harmony within the squad(s) that you normally only see at club level. He's done a great job supporting his players. He's given chances to loads of young players. Perhaps he can be a bit too conservative at times (although I don't think he was at this World Cup), but that's evident with most teams at major tournaments. People say he continues to pick his favourite players even when they're not regulars for their club, but he has a valid point when he says the likes of Pickford, Maguire and Shaw have always done well for him. 

World Cup semi final exit AET, Euros final penalty loss, World Cup quarter final loss in a very close match against the reigning champions and favourites. I don't think anyone would have expected this when he took the job after...wait for it...Sam fucking Allardyce was fired.

Honestly, which shining knight can step in and categorically win a major trophy? I've already seen folk mention Sean Dyche's name this evening and that was my cue to leave social media for the day. 

8 minutes ago, SpiritOfTheForest said:

Stand an excellent chance of getting to US/Canada/Mexico too I reckon with the expanded format.

I think UEFA are only getting a couple of extra spots. The majority of them, and rightly so, are going to the other confederations. 

10 minutes ago, SpiritOfTheForest said:

Surely, surely anyone with working ears can hear that a John Champion or Clive Tyldsley along with Ally McCoist is by far the superior option. 

John Champion is fine but Clive is my personal favourite, I really do like him on commentary. And Ally McCoist is head and shoulders above the others as co-commentator. You can tell he genuinely enjoys watching football for a start, the same can't be said about the Danny Murphy's of this world. Miserable. 

A France VS Croatia would be the worst scenario, right? Croatia haven't been particularly exciting (and for the most part they've been quite poor), I'm all in for an Argentina VS Morocco final now. Give me either of those please. Messi lifting the World Cup would be the most fitting conclusion to end this generation. 

10 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

kept Mbappe quiet

Absolutely, England kept him completely out of the game. Wasn't through sacrificing a player by doubling up on him all the time either. 

11 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Saka was battered all game and he did nothing.

Every.single.Arsenal.game.

He needs protection ASAP because he's going to get badly injured on a regular basis before long. 

Outstanding! As soon as I heard Aguerd and Mazraoui were out I feared the worst- that's half of this brilliant defence out. And then you have Romain Saiss held together by sticky tape too. But they did it, and my god, how fucking sweet it is to see Ronaldo go out of a tournament. Time to retire now I think. 

And to all the African and Arab fans supporting Portugal because of Ronaldo rather than Morocco, have shame.

First African, Arab, Muslim semi finalists- unbelievable. What an achievement. Well done Maroc

6 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

I'll assume you mean Frenkie and not Luuk

Too fucking right

On 12/6/2022 at 10:54 PM, Jonny Vegas said:

How Not To Live Your Life's Christmas special

Massively underrated comedy, I don't think I've ever seen the Christmas special though. Does Don roundhouse kick Santa Claus in the dick?

On 12/6/2022 at 11:03 PM, Lorne Malvo said:

Click & Collect with Stephen Merchant and Asim Chaudhry

Forgot about this! We watched a few new Christmas movies last year and this was enjoyable. 8-Bit Christmas and Last Train to Christmas were also pretty good. 

12 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Every team since the dawn of time, has lumped balls forward to target men chasing a last minute goal. Why should Holland be any different? 

It shouldn't, hence why I said it worked. I enjoy watching Netherlands play attractive football, but sadly you don't tend to see that much these days beyond De Jong twisting and turning (and Klaasen to a lesser extent). 

Watching Netherlands play like Burnley towards the end of 90 mins was a bit depressing, but hey it worked. And my what an ingenious free kick- completely took Argentina unaware. Emi Martinez did well although I was hoping for some shithouse talking from him to the penalty takers.

Platini was thrown into the top 5 discussion during the 80s, even though the likes of Tigana and Giresse were just as good for France and aren't given a fraction of the recognition. Zidane quickly made people realise that Platini wasn't as good as people claimed, even if he lacked consistency himself. 

Also, Platini is a massive cunt so I'm all for talk of him not being one of the best of all-time.

Watching 2nd series of White Lotus and this is a fucking banger. Right up @Sergio Mendacious's street I reckon.

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Good read this on Griezmann.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/08/antoine-griezmann-greases-the-wheels-to-get-best-out-of-france

He's always been a good player obviously, but I've been really impressed with him this World Cup, his work ethic more than anything. He really puts a shift in every game, which makes his club situation even more frustrating I suppose. 

I still think Dembele is crap though*. The worst kind of "FIFA" player for me Clive.

 

*Will score 5 on Saturday now.

Was listening to Phillipe Auclair talking about how he's 'taking one for the team' in terms of how he's adapted his game for this tournament. He's been a brilliant link up for Giroud, Mbappe and Dembele so far. Quietly superb showing.

I have a France shirt from their extremely unsuccessful Euro 2008 campaign. I also feel no shame because I love France. 

5 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

Youssef Safri

Or Yersel Safri, for the Scotch out there. 

Matt Berry was in The Book of Boba Fett, voicing a servant droid at Jabba's Palace. 

2 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said:

Eden Hazard has retired from international duty with Belgium...

...Is this one of those 'fake' retirements though, where he skips the majority of friendlies and qualifiers and magically becomes available for selection again for the next Euros and World Cups, depending on if he gets on with the new coach or not? 

 

I doubt it. He's pretty much done for nowadays isn't he? He really shouldn't have been starting for Belgium this World Cup and someone like De Keteleare or Doku should have been given the opportunity to break through.

Born and raised in Spain, scoring the winning penalty to send Spain out...with a Panenka! Massive bollocks to do that. Spain looked so good against Costa Rica, but got progressively worse and more boring with each game. Well done Maroc.

As for the later game, who could've possibly known taking today's Ronaldo out of a team would instantly make them much, much better? 🤔

On 12/4/2022 at 12:18 PM, Thunderplex said:

Watched the Guardians of the Galaxy one last night, great fun.

Big Dave was boss as usual. If @Devon Malcolmcan get through his hatred for all things Marvel, 45 mins of Dave and Pom Klementieff bickering is a winner.

Knowing Me Knowing Yule, Black Mirror's White Christmas, Mr Hanky, The Office (UK) Christmas specials and Father Ted are ones I must watch every year. Usually when wrapping the presents, to take the focus away from my knees dying a slow death due to said wrapping.

Did I make this up, or back in the mid 90s Sky's big Xmas Day special was always Cliff Richard playing tennis with some celebrities? I'll be honest, I'd be up for that these days. 

I highly doubt it. If he goes with a back 5, it'll be Rice and Bellingham in the middle, as he did in the matches leading up to the World Cup.

So, France. 

Defence looks OK but a little on the thrown-together side. England benefit from having a defence that know each other extremely well from the past 6 years. 

Midfield looks good all things considering, Rabiot has surprisingly been alright but I still favour Bellingham, Rice and whoever plays alongside them. 

Attack is scary. Griezmann, Dembele and Giroud are linking up wonderfully together. However, England's front line are ticking nicely too and their depth in the three positions behind/either side of Kane are surely the envy of everyone, save perhaps for Brazil. 

But...they have Mbappe. And that's just enough for them to have the edge over England. This looks like it's his tournament. 

How the fuck can a 19yo be this good? He's going to captain England as soon as Kane retires and probably break Shilton's appearance record.  What a talent. I hope he stays in Germany forever though.