This has NOTHING to do with Diabetes......

[gfmoore]

So South Korea were a waste of time. So looks like Chile may be my new hot fave.

I wonder what a footballers bg is after all that exercise - oh sorry this is not a diabetes thread!

 

[zand]

A Swindle legend, Don.
Have had fun there, who can forget the famous 'lights out' which cost my team automatic promotion back in the nineties!
Don't believe I've ever seen my team win there!

I think England will crash out tonight! The pressure and heat and humidity will be too much. Our great support won't be enough.

Well, I confess I had forgotten!.... you support Tranmere then ?? I thought everyone won at Swindon Town! I've had some great times there too, mostly in the 70's, but a few more recent games too. ( well, I liked Denis Wise!) never went to watch them with Di Canio in charge, but I did see him at Sunderland v Arsenal last season.

England - yes, well saying we would win 2-1 was my most optimistic guess, and I am always optimistic whoever I'm supporting, I always believe that somehow my team can win. I believe that every time I go to Old Trafford....we have had some very long, silent journeys home after those games.

 

[Lamont D]

I always wondered why most of my travelling companions would travel home from away matches in a drunken stupor. Then I realised I was following Rovers and I wished I wasn't sober myself! It started happening at home last season as well! Lol!

Just SSN and had interviews with England supporters and the first one said 'I hope we play a high tempo game and take the game to them!

Is it any wonder we don't do well and we let the media pick the team and Roney will play down the middle!

 

[zand]

I always wondered why most of my travelling companions would travel home from away matches in a drunken stupor. Then I realised I was following Rovers and I wished I wasn't sober myself! It started happening at home last season as well! Lol!

Just SSN and had interviews with England supporters and the first one said 'I hope we play a high tempo game and take the game to them!

Is it any wonder we don't do well and we let the media pick the team and Roney will play down the middle!

I'm getting more nervous now after reading your post, still believing in a miracle though.
When I dashed off yesterday one thing I didn't get around to saying was.......even when England did have a great defensive midfielder his talents went unnoticed for a while because he didn't play here, and then sadly he got injured, so he never got as many England caps as he deserved. I saw him play in a friendly tournament in Madrid years back and I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't really heard much about him before that. There were so many great players at that tournament. I raved about just 2 of them for months afterwards....Raul and .....Owen Hargreaves. So, yes I'm agreeing with you more about letting new, younger players having their turn to prove themselves.

Oh, come on England...please win.

 

[Pipp]

Who was your childhood football hero? Mine was Alan Ball, he was part of the so called golden trinity of Ball, Kendall, Harvey.
Alan could run forever, and probably covered every blade of grass in the '66 WC Final.

Oh yes! The school of science. I wept when Bally was sold by Catterick, to Arsenal. I was blessed to have seen the trinity in action. Also the Golden Vision, and the gentleman Brian Labone. 'We are born, not made'!

 

[sanguine]

I never got the habit of going to live matches much. A few games at West Ham in the days of Harry Redknapp, Frank Lampard Sr and Clyde Best up front (and loads of Alf Garnetts in the crowd, hysterical!). At Uni in Liverpool (mid-70s) I stood on the Kop a few times when you could lift your feet up and not fall (same as the Northern Line in rush hour), crowd could be equally funny, especially when Alex Lindsay was on the ball for some reason ...

 

[Pipp]

I never got the habit of going to live matches much. A few games at West Ham in the days of Harry Redknapp, Frank Lampard Sr and Clyde Best up front (and loads of Alf Garnetts in the crowd, hysterical!). At Uni in Liverpool (mid-70s) I stood on the Kop a few times when you could lift your feet up and not fall (same as the Northern Line in rush hour), crowd could be equally funny, especially when Alex Lindsay was on the ball for some reason ...

Guess you had use for a rolled up Echo, then?

 

[sanguine]

Guess you had use for a rolled up Echo, then?

I should know what you mean by that Pipp, but I'm not sure ...

 

[Pipp]

I should know what you mean by that Pipp, but I'm not sure ...

Echo - local newspaper. Kop - too crowded to get to the 'facilities'.

 

[sanguine]

Thanks Pipp - got the first bit, just wanted to confirm the second ...

 

[Lamont D]

My one and only attendance in the Spion Kop was in the mid seventies, and I have to tell you that I wonder why people went in there!
The stink and the lack of room was overpowering.
I have been to Anfield many times since, but it have been offered tickets for the Kop once or twice and I would never step foot in there again.
The Gladys street and Park End at the front was just as bad!
The worst ground ever was the Baseball ground,, Derby. I don't want to think about it!

I sometimes wonder what us supporters have to put up, even in this day and age. Why are all away fans treated worse than cattle, even though the police intelligence is so good, that the average fan is well behaved, law abiding and intelligent. Every club has it's idiots and morons but the police know them and often than not stop them far away from the ground. Once in Birmingham where the stewards were ever so polite, ha! We came out of the ground and as our car was parked literally a minute from the gates, the police 'herded us in the wrong direction to the station and despite requesting often they completely ignored us.

 

[Pipp]

My one and only attendance in the Spion Kop was in the mid seventies, and I have to tell you that I wonder why people went in there!
The stink and the lack of room was overpowering.
I have been to Anfield many times since, but it have been offered tickets for the Kop once or twice and I would never step foot in there again.
The Gladys street and Park End at the front was just as bad!
The worst ground ever was the Baseball ground,, Derby. I don't want to think about it!

I sometimes wonder what us supporters have to put up, even in this day and age. Why are all away fans treated worse than cattle, even though the police intelligence is so good, that the average fan is well behaved, law abiding and intelligent. Every club has it's idiots and morons but the police know them and often than not stop them far away from the ground. Once in Birmingham where the stewards were ever so polite, ha! We came out of the ground and as our car was parked literally a minute from the gates, the police 'herded us in the wrong direction to the station and despite requesting often they completely ignored us.

I had to stop going to the match a long time ago. Sadly, much of what you say about the way in which football supporters are regarded as subhuman is still evident in our 'enlightened' times. My son was at Wembley cup final a few years ago, had a problem with seating mix up went to speak to steward and was told to sit down and shut up or be chucked out. (Expletives deleted) Problem was he couldn't as someone else was in his seat. The seat he had paid a lot of money for, from the club, legitimately as a season ticket holder.
A very emotive subject at the moment though, given what is happening in Warrington, and one I don't want to discuss further.

 

[Lamont D]

I empathise and sympathise. Justice for the 96. It goes beyond club loyalty. When these things happen. Been in many a situation where things could have gone badly, it has been a hot topic locally in all of them years!
Living on Merseyside, we have lived with the disgraceful attitude of the police and politicians in this country for years, and that includes some of the media.

 

[semiphonic]

On the subject of Dirty Leeds, there is no question that they were once a great team who have faded into mediocrity over the last few seasons, in my opinion the beginning of the end was when Ken Bates got involved. I would think that the owner and director of football will be running things and need a scapegoat if/when things go wrong, so they appoint a relative unknown as 'Head Coach' who's last coaching job was Forest Green Rovers, a job he was sacked from because results were so bad, draw your own conclusions.....
This isn't sour grapes or me trying to be inflammatory, don't forget I'm a supporter of a club who are only in the premiership because there were worse teams below us, a supporter who despises our manager and the football we play under him, but a supporter who is realistic enough to know that we can't afford to pay £4m to ditch him, and then who's going to want the job?

On the subject of England (and Spain now really), tactics, abilities etc etc, it is obviously vitally important to be able to change things during a game to adapt to changing circumstances on the pitch, but this is only half the battle. It is also vitally important to know your opponent, this is a basic requirement from grass roots level right up to international level. I've managed local clubs in the past and have taken great pride in causing 'upsets' over the years just by knowing how an opposing team is going to play. At professional level there are teams of scouts sent out to watch opponents and report back, in the case of England v Italy, the management team only needed to watch replays of the euros 2 years ago, and not play players out of position!

I totally agree with @zand 's comments, tv coverage never gives justice to the hard working, underrated players, I'm a big fan of Andy Carroll but on tv he's only ever seen flicking on headers or not scoring goals. In reality he is one of the hardest working players I've seen and covers every blade of grass during a match, I think he was a bargain.

My heart says England will win 2-0 tonight, my head says it'll be a draw or we'll lose

Now if you'll excuse me, Mark Lawrenson is co-commentating and I'm off to throw myself off a bridge

 

[zand]

semiphonic - if I could 'like' your post more than once I would - As a fan of Forest Green, Leeds and England. I so hope your heart is right re the England score tonight.

 

[sanguine]

Justice for the 96.

As I wrote across that free copy of The Sun that I sent back to their freepost address the other week so they have to pay for it.

 

[Lamont D]

There was outrage last week when the three party leaders(now that is a joke) were supporting England by holding up a rag! That is reviled on M'side. Only after severe criticism, did only one of them apologise. Guess who?

 

[Lamont D]

2-0 Columbia, going South Americas way again!!!!

 

[Robinredbreast]

I've been to two live matches in Chelsea and Southampton. This was in the 70's,went to Chelsea with my friend and two boys from school and my dad took me to Southampton to watch my team Man City. I wanted to see my hero the great footballer Francis ( Franny) Lee. What a fast mover on the pitch and as he was my hero and the best footballer around, I did my an English project on him. I have a signed photograph of the players,( I thought they actually wrote their names on mine) but probably one of many given out, I still have it, tucked away somewhere. Also liked Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee and the great Denis Law Happy days

 

[zand]

Good to see Gervinho score anyway....oops, I'm getting nostalgic again.