Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 3 hours ago, PunkStep said: As said before, I think we're getting the final on Friday- France VS Uruguay. Whoever wins that I think will go all the way. Completely agree with this. France were my pick before the tournament, with their ridiculous squad, but Uruguay are such a well drilled side. Uruguay know their limitations and strengths and the manager happily embraces and exploits them. Of course an injury to the front two is huge, but they are a bugger for any defence in the tournament, and if they score have fun trying to break down their defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenryck Pilchards Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 England's run is eerily turning into Middlesbrough's FA Cup run in 2008. Going into the quarter final against Cardiff we knew that Portsmouth and Barnsley had progressed into the semi-finals and the other quarter final was between Championship West Brom and League 1 Bristol Rovers. It was the best opportunity for Boro to lift the FA Cup for the first time ever since reaching the final in 1997. All the big guns had fell by the wayside, the only major obstacle was Harry Redknapp's mercenaries, surely it was our time to lift the famous silver trophy. But a horrifically weak and spineless display resulted in Middlesbrough getting beat by Cardiff 2-0. I have never seen such apathy on the pitch in a big match at the Riverside, we were only 2 years on from the incredible UEFA Cup run where we did the impossible against Steaua and Basel. As soon as the second goal went in on the 20th minute I was foaming with anger along with the rest of the 30,000 Boro fans in the stadium. We just knew that we could not breakdown the resolute defence of Cardiff with the pitiful firepower of the rotund Mido and expensive show pony Alves. We had blown it big style. The manager at the time? Oh Shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 The run in does look like it's Englands best shot at winning silverware, but the same can be said for Colombia as well as practically every team still left, it's brilliant. Obviously I don't want England to win but I find this current crop more likeable than previous squads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 How pathetic was Naymar's reaction to that little "stamp"? I would be fucking embarrassed if millions of people throughout the world say me screaming like bitch after something as small as that. I could understand why players "made the most" of tackles and stuff in the past before VAR, as they were easy for the ref to miss. But now we have VAR, even the most obscure offences can be caught and punished. The lads got all the talent in the world, but it's shit like that and generally acting like an overgrown child that he will be remembered for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 Yeah it was appalling. Ok it's not quite comparable to Rivaldo, because he did actually step on his ankle (although perhaps accidentally), but it was very light and you'd think Neymar was a front line victim at the Battle of Somme or something. This is only going to contribute to him being the most hated footballer on the planet, which is an honour he's well on his way to earning- if not already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Scott Malbranque Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 Neymar is a petulant brat. An outrageous talent but constantly lets himself down with carry on like that. Imagine Neymar in Maradona's shoes against Athletic Bilbao in 1984? I'll leave that there... I'm not piping up just coz Pickford is Everton (Can't see him being with us much longer anyway, to be honest). but is it true that Pickford is taking a hiding across the drink with calls for him to be dropped due to being 'at fault' for Belgiums goal? I can't wrap my head around that at all, if true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 6 minutes ago, Scott Malbranque said: Neymar is a petulant brat. An outrageous talent but constantly lets himself down with carry on like that. Imagine Neymar in Maradona's shoes against Athletic Bilbao in 1984? I'll leave that there... I'm not piping up just coz Pickford is Everton (Can't see him being with us much longer anyway, to be honest). but is it true that Pickford is taking a hiding across the drink with calls for him to be dropped due to being 'at fault' for Belgiums goal? I can't wrap my head around that at all, if true. I don't think he's taking an hiding as such, and I haven't seen many calls for him to be dropped due to conceding the Belgium goal in particular. I think it's more that a lot of people are not fully convinced by him in general(and the fact he hasn't kept a clean sheet yet). Personally, I rate Pickford and think he is the better of the 3 'keepers in the Squad. Butland isn't far behind though(although I am slightly biased from his time on loan at Oakwell) so Pickford is going to have to keep sharp the keep the No1 shirt... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Scott Malbranque Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 27 minutes ago, Cod Eye said: I don't think he's taking an hiding as such, and I haven't seen many calls for him to be dropped due to conceding the Belgium goal in particular. I think it's more that a lot of people are not fully convinced by him in general(and the fact he hasn't kept a clean sheet yet). Personally, I rate Pickford and think he is the better of the 3 'keepers in the Squad. Butland isn't far behind though(although I am slightly biased from his time on loan at Oakwell) so Pickford is going to have to keep sharp the keep the No1 shirt... Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up. Just been reading some stuff on Twitter, which may have confused me a bit. I don't think anyone was at fault for Januzaj's goal. It was just one of those shots that was placed perfectly, and Pickford was at full stretch. To be honest I'd probably have Butland ahead of Pickford myself as I think he's a more commanding presence. There's an awful lot of hype surrounding Pickford the last while and I don't think he's quite as good as pundits - and himself - have made him out to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Not having the genius of Rivaldo besmirched there. Had he not moved a muscle it would have still been a sending off. Matey was on a booking already and then kicked the ball in petulance at an opponent, so it's a second yellow. Rivaldo just highlighted it and for my money is one of the finest moments of a world cup. It has reminded me actually, Frankie and I were talking about top bastards in football and I was meant to start a BASTARDS XI so I'll get on that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Scott Malbranque said: Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up. Just been reading some stuff on Twitter, which may have confused me a bit. I don't think anyone was at fault for Januzaj's goal. It was just one of those shots that was placed perfectly, and Pickford was at full stretch. To be honest I'd probably have Butland ahead of Pickford myself as I think he's a more commanding presence. There's an awful lot of hype surrounding Pickford the last while and I don't think he's quite as good as pundits - and himself - have made him out to be. The biggest criticism I have seen levelled at Pickford for the Januzaj goal was from Coutois. He basically said Pickford was too busy trying to make the save look good, which compromised his technique and meant he went with the wrong hand. Not so sure myself, as I think sometimes you simply have o tip your hat to the scorer and admit it was a good goal. 1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said: Not having the genius of Rivaldo besmirched there. Had he not moved a muscle it would have still been a sending off. Matey was on a booking already and then kicked the ball in petulance at an opponent, so it's a second yellow. Rivaldo just highlighted it and for my money is one of the finest moments of a world cup. It has reminded me actually, Frankie and I were talking about top bastards in football and I was meant to start a BASTARDS XI so I'll get on that! Maradona has to be in there for all the obvious reasons, as does Ronaldo for the "wink" and Suarez fo the biting. To be fair, that's a tasty looking frontline(no Suarez pun intended) Harald Shumacher in goal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 2, 2018 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 The reason he hasn't kept a clean sheet is because England's defence is terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Maestro Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 What a game that was. Absolutely gutted for Japan but what a comeback from Belgium. What a tournament this World Cup has been! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted July 2, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2018 I reckon @Carbomb cried after that game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 That was a great breakaway goal, but absolutely heartbroken for Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 I've never felt so bad for a team, that first 10 minutes after the break were the best I've seen the Samurai Blues play. Edit: I think Honda just retired.. or something about a graduation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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