The Official European Football Thread

[Don Corleone]

4-1 means they can't blame the ref.

I think the press will go after the 6 million pound man...

Yes they can, and yes they will.

The press will go after the ref, and the attitude of the players. Capello will face some questions, however I don't think the F.A have the money to sack him and I don't believe that they should.

[Seshmeister]

Do you think you could get England to Euro 2012 with the huge backroom staff and unlimited resources?

The group is

England
Switzerland
Bulgaria
Wales
Montenegro

Call me an arrogant cunt but I am willing to say that I could do that for half the money. Give me £3 million a year and I guarantee I can get you there and then knocked out the minute you play a half decent team...

[Don Corleone]

Do you think you could get England to Euro 2012 with the huge backroom staff and unlimited resources?

The group is

England
Switzerland
Bulgaria
Wales
Montenegro

Call me an arrogant cunt but I am willing to say that I could do that for half the money. Give me £3 million a year and I guarantee I can get you there and then knocked out the minute you play a half decent team...

Steve McLaren couldn't.

With England I think that a few of the ego's need to be reigned in - Rooney and Terry namely.

[Don Corleone]

2 bad ref calls in one day

England join the wrongly disallowed goal club (which we'll now not here the end of for a good 3 months at least)
Whilst Argentina are awarded a goal which was offside.

Did anyone catch the refs reaction when he say it on the big screen in the stadium and realised he'd made a mistake?

[Seshmeister]

I thought the rule was that they couldn't show a replay in the stadium for this exact reason?

I think there may be a change after today but the thing is that a lot of the fuel that keeps football going for hundreds of hours/pages in the media are the referee decisions good and bad.

At least in both cases the better teams by a mile won.

[Seshmeister]

Watching the highlights - the English defending was fucking atrocious.

These guys get paid 50k a week for fuck sake...

[Seshmeister]

Correction...

Manchester City complete £12m deal for Gareth Barry


Manchester City have completed the signing of Gareth Barry today after Aston Villa accepted their £12m bid for the England international.

The Midlands club confirmed this morning that Barry was in talks with City and the deal was confirmed this afternoon to leave Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, bitterly disappointed at missing out on the midfielder. Liverpool failed with five bids for him last summer.

With Barry due to fly to Kazakhstan with the England squad tomorrow morning, City made arrangements with the Football Association to facilitate a medical this afternoon. The 28-year-old has signed a contract believed to be worth in the region of £100,000-a-week – more than double his current salary.

Barry's decision to move to City will sit uncomfortably with Villa supporters as well as the manager, Martin O'Neill. The former Brighton trainee indicated 12 months ago that the chance to play Champions League football was the motivation for his desire to join Liverpool. City, however, finished 10th in the Premier League, 12 points behind Villa and failed to qualify for the Europa League, leaving Barry open to accusations that finance rather than football has influenced his decision.

O'Neill has said on several occasions recently that no one at Villa would "begrudge" a player who has spent 12 years at the club the chance to play in the Champions League. He had offered to make him the best-paid employee in the club's history with an £80,000–a-week contract but Barry's head appears to have been turned by City's ambitions. The one consolation for Villa is that they have extracted a £12m fee for a player who would be available on a free transfer this time next year.

If you get a chance watch this £100k a week star at the 4th German goal....

[Dan]

Go Germany.

[Seshmeister]

Who is the odd one out?

Emile Heskey England
Appearances 62
Goals 7

Rene Higuita Columbia
Appearances 68
Goals 8

José Luis Chilavert Paraguay
Appearances 74
Goals 8

[Seshmeister]

[jero]

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[jero]

Natra must be really, really drunk by now.

If I think of that german smile on that gayface

[Don Corleone]

I thought the rule was that they couldn't show a replay in the stadium for this exact reason?.

Apparently showing the clip on the big screen was a mistake. It does add fuel to the discussion for replay technology though.

[Seshmeister]

It's as regular as the planets, once every 4 years we have the whining phase.

For at least a week now every media outlet in Britain will discuss in millions of words 'Why are England shit at football?'

The amazing thing is that no matter how many phone-ins, editorials and TV specials there are not a single person in England will remember any of it 2 weeks before Euro 2012 when we again go through the winning phase when the whole country will be absolutely convinced they will win it.

It's a very strange thing to sit and watch time after time over the years....

[jero]

But Lineker knows the real secret

Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins."