Unusually for the Italians they had a go this time even when winning 1 - 0. It was a decent enough game unlike a few of the others. Thought the Spanish team this afternoon were boring. 50 passes to end up where they started. It's been a winning formula for them though so don't expect any change. Most of the games have been fairly predictable so far including England. Imagine if Wales finish as a qualifier for the knock outs and we don't. Perhaps we should get sent home to save a bit of face. What price the next World Cup being in Russia after the events of the Euros so far? With the organised army they sent along to France it isn't looking good for the next competition is it. Russia should never have been awarded the rights in the first place. Given their drug issues Athletes wise, their warriors abroad football wise and the corruption involved all around it seems a very poor choice. And to think we hit the skids because they got the nod. I don't think people should go there as supporters that's for sure.
The organized Russian thugs brigade, an estimated group of 150 or so, are using Euro 2016 as a training session to hone their skills for their World Cup in 2018. They will bring a whole new meaning to the words of football ULTRAS....not drunken yobs on the rampage....but well trained very fit thugs especially trained to hit their target as a tight fighting unit...causing maximum damage quickly....and then gone before tear gas happy French police arrive on the scene....interesting how our yobs get arrested and put in prison and no Russians anywhere to be arrested. Maybe the French police aren't to keen to get an iron bar cracking their skulls open and play it differently with the ruskies......imagine if the Russian team get through the group and into the final stages.....we can only hope that we don't qualify for the 2018 World Cup and our drunken vodka yobs will never happen.
Apart from the very very few we have not had any real trouble in Europe for quite a while. But, if attacked then nobody is just going to stand there and get hammered are they. It is bound to cause retaliation. Now anyone who goes to a football match and gets pee'd on the way is not anyone I want to sit next to. In that I think England fans have a lot to learn. There are always going to be a few who get stroppy and even cause trouble of their own and them I have no sympathy with at all. The whole thing with the match being in Marseilles and against Russia was always going to be a bad mix. That part of France is notorious for trouble like this from it's own residents let alone anyone else. Throw in the Russian army they exported for the tournament and who expected much else to happen. The French are definately not innocent in any of this but have so far not been warned about anything. This is despite evidence to the contrary. FIFA have to look at the World Cup in Russia. If they don't then that is likely to turn out to be a massacre. I absolutely believe this is a case for supporters to give it a miss if they value their lives. I think that is in place of Russia being kicked out of hosting it in the first place. That's really what should happen and if FIFA allow this to go ahead then they are complicite in whatever happens because the evidence is glaring.
Hmm...no doubt their skills have been well honed by their compulsory military service hence the ruthless efficiency with which they dispense their treatment. Given the prospect of more mayhem ( they ain't finished yet), the enthusiastic backing of some Russian MPs and media outlets plus the prospect of inadequate security; the forthcoming World Cup needs to come up for discussion........don't hold your breath though, after all this is FIFA we're talking about.
Mr Putin would be proud of them.....25yrs younger and he would be there leading them.....using the dark arts that he learnt from his years in service before communism collapsed.
I see the Russian sports minister said what trouble are we referring to after the match. Its sickening to see. I hope we get knocked out or some one may lose their life.. football is not worth that, families enjoying a meal and that happens. I know that some English were just as bad and i think history of of football violence goes against us. Just imagine if the things who were not on banning orders got there, world war 3.. Why can't it be like Rugby? I don't feel like watching any more of it.. lose to wales
It seems that this type of hooliganism is the norm in Russian football. The big Moscow clubs ultras brigades have been banned from traveling to France....these have come from some of the other areas that we have never heard of....I think there are something like a 140 million people in Russia.....so they've probably got plenty of thugs to spread around. I see that EUFA have put a ban in place plus a fine.....so if it happens again they're out.....so what is the betting that being highly organized they will not cause anymore trouble ?......if they do then they should be thrown out of the Olympics as well....plus the doping allegations that they have against their athletes as well...surely that would be enough to get rid of them from world sport for awhile.
The suspended banning order won't stop anything. Apparently these are a group that have trained for this. Not some hapless bunch or morons doing their worst. Actually well trained and disciplined. You will not convince me that the Russian Authorities have suddenly become oblivious to what it's citizens do despite the supposed collapse of the state. I repeat what I said earlier, FIFA have to look at the World Cup again. If they don't then god help everyone who goes there. I agree with you Joe about the previous historic reputation of English fans being part of the problem here. It's not like that now though apart from a small bunch which every Country has. Given that no suspended ban has been given to England apart from a "could be kicked out" statement I suspect that the Authorities know who was at fault in the main and it wasn't English supporters. Not totally blameless but not the instigators of what happened. There are too many reporters and cameras about these days for the stories coming out to be lies.
Watched the second half of Portugal v Iceland this evening. What a joy to see Ronaldo at the end smirking as if he knew somebody had stollen his teddy bear. Poor love. Good result for Iceland and I think they were worth their point. Watched the other game earlier and Hungary were well worth their result against Austria as well. Would love it to be those two who go through and Portugal and Austria fail to make it out of the qualifying group stage. Mind you it could happen to us yet so I shouldn't shout too loud.
No pressure then....Wales ditching us out of the tournament would give them bragging right for at least 50 years.
not sure that is true? top 2 in each group go through plus 4 best third place, so by my maths/guesswork I think one win out of the remaining two matches will probably enough-that said, I can't stand the thought of having to talk to my Welsh 'friends' if we lose.
Well if they dont knock us out, i suspect EUFA will as cant seeing it being to peaceful over the next few days as i se it kicked off again.. I think we need to start with Vardy tomorrow..
Using the plym method of statistics I've worked it out that Wales will beat us 3 - 0. Wales beat slovakia 2 - 1. We drew with Russia 1 - 1 . Slovakia beat Russia 2 - 1. So on that basis we have no chance at all. Watched the French struggle tonight and have to say I was thinking it was 0 - 0 all day long. The matched seemed endless which says to me it was boring as hell. Two very late goals again even if they were decent ones. From what I've seen so far, there are 3 teams who seem to be doing it fairly easily. All are the usual suspects in that they are Spain, Germany and Italy. I would be surprised if the overall winner wasn't one of those 3.
Dont forget Croatia.. I think they have played the best football so far.. France left it late again.. payet is the player of the comp so far i feel. Hopefully we will beat wales but wont be much in it.. We should be in the next round.. will we be in the EU next week tho?? IN or OUT? That is just as tasteless as the thugs in France..
So much for the stats then. Thought we struggled in the first half today although not sure Wales deserved to be in the lead at the end of it. At least Roy did something about it and changed the game this time. Thought we looked a lot better second half without being World beaters. Germans struggled tonight I thought and could have easily lost that one. Think about them is they will get together and put it right. We would just continue to struggle if it was England. Decent result for Northern Ireland today as well. For lower league players I thought they showed a lot of guts and played well.
