EURO 2012

in terms of shooting yeah, he's generally appalling

just general technique

rvp>>>>>>>balotelli>>benzema>>>rooney>>>>>>>gomez>>huntelaar>>>lewandowski

when he's on though, i would say he's a better passer than any of them (including crosses, which he's surprisingly excellent at)

I was only really trotting out those superlatives in relation to anyone else in our squad...

Very harsh on Lewy, he's much better at link-up play and through balls than Gomez imo. Have you seen him play for Dortmund much?

rvp is better imo but you don't see it so often when he plays as a #9

rooney better than the rest probably yeah....although passing is about vision as much as skill

anyway as i much as i detest this england team, the chance to play a successful, established forward line consisting of two actual football players (in the sense other countries might recognise) in welbeck and rooney, is one of the only things in their favour

haven't paid too much attention to his defending but i've liked the look of gebre selassie going forward.

i really shouldn't have said anything though

― Number None, Tuesday, June 19, 2012 7:21 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No, this probably goes more for me....

*backs away slowly*

No Sheva tonight :-(

Big sadface.

Generally I'll rep for Rooney but I'm abstaining tonight after his pre-match spotify fiasco:

Deacon Blue – Real Gone Kid
Arctic Monkeys – Riot Van
Stereophonics – Maybe Tomorrow
Bon Jovi – It's My Life
Various Artists - Oasis Tribute – Champagne Supernova (Cover Version)
Cat Stevens – Father And Son
Damien Rice – Delicate
James Morrison – Up
Eric Clapton – Tears In Heaven
Bruce Springsteen – Streets Of Philadelphia
The Hummingbirds – Doesn't Really Matter

That's either the playlist of someone who hates playing for England and is fucking miserable or someone who's about to flip and needs the calm the fuck down beforehand. Or both.

Makes one wonder about the secret powers of 'Tears in Heaven'. Maybe that's what gets him up in the morning, drives him to score goals etc. Too awkward...

The idea of JT rousing the troops to a soundtrack of 'Tears In Heaven' is one I like.

:-)

those official player escorts look somewhat younger than twp's usuals

"Official player escorts" means something VERY different to John Terry, right?

superb gratuitous pendant shot there

Ukraine look terrified, England one up within five minutes imo

tyldesley tempting fate with 'the whole game live'

That last part of the Ukrainian anthem was the bonus "Fuck yeah the Russians are out" verse.

i only heard about rooney's stereophonics tattoo today ewww

They deserve each other.

loved that Ukraine anthem

błaszczykowski błaszczykowski błaszczykowski

y'all some sky 4 charlies

this is pretty rough so far

England wide open despite this cagey formation.

england have more in common with ireland than any other team here

why did this have to be on ITV

PART OF THE TEAM BANTUH

you know the game's shite when they're name-checking kit men and physios

idk if the game is shite, england are shite

as much joy as I'd get from an England exit, this right-back-wearing-#9 thing Ukraine have got going on is bothering me and makes them difficult to watch.

Blokhin's weathered face really detracts from his quite superb hair

ukraine have that quintessential soviet bloc precision and flanking movements without really being coldblooded enough

I suppose if we sigh at Ukraine's overhit Hollywood balls and 30 yard snapshots they'll immediately score from one

idk if the game is shite, england are shite

Good point well made, Ukraine playing with purpose and what looks like a good strategy so far.

Wazza's half dozen bad touches to this point make me think he's either going to cunt one into the top corner from nothing or kick someone up the arse and get sent off. No middle ground.

selin will have looked rodrigo palacio and he will have thought that the genoa man has lovely hair

"he looks hungry"

he always looks hungry

Milevsky and Devic have 10 goals between them in 74 internationals. There's not really much threat without Sheva.

sheva is as good as retired next month, u can be sure he will be on by 70mins or so

Ukraine do get it forward fast & on the ground, I like that

They don't seem to know what defending crosses is about though

it's about bigness, and about passion

it takes a nation of bigs to hold Roo back

It's about marking more like, that's shocking

Good move, poor finish

big andy woulda stuck that one in any day of the week he would've.

he would of

Gerrard's crossing from dead balls has been very good in this tournament - nice low trajectory, giving very little time for defenders to adjust.