Euro 2016 - hype, anticipation and general excitement

Go on then.

Scottish guy at work has drawn England in the random office sweepstakes. lols have ensued.

I just got Belgium in ours. So, out in the first knock out round...

Scottish guy was like "I'll wear an England shirt and then when England get knocked out I'll never support England again", to which I replied "just like every other England supporter then".

Few of my mates are in Bordeaux for the Wales game tomorrow.

No alcohol allowed on any trains to Bordeaux on Saturday. No games allowed to be shown on bar terraces. Supposed to turn up at the ground three hours before kick off (no games shown in stadium). No alcohol in the stadium. Twitchy cranky CRS everywhere.

Sounds like a lot of fun.

guess the clampdown is fairly well-publicised for the euros, i've been to stade de france a few times for the rugby and it's always amusing when you talk to friends after the game who've had 4/5 non-alcoholic pints and been delighted with the lack of queue while buying them.

Yeah, Paris is my favourite rugby trip. We always drink in Gare Du Nord before hand as we know there's nothing around the ground itself apart from those non-alcoholic stalls.

There are obvious reasons why, but this sounds way twitchier and more edgy than South Africa.

i realise the chances of something happening are probably extremely slim, but it was definitely a factor in my decision not to go to any of the games. there were plenty tickets around and it's not as if it's far away. not just the threat of an attack but the sense that the atmosphere might be extremely intense and the security very tight.

It's a real shame because I was staying in Birmingham during Euro 96 and the atmosphere with all the Scottish and Dutch fans wandering around was fantastic. Different times though.

My friends who have gone were going to stay for the England game but decided to just make a weekend of it instead as I imagine the security will be pretty grim around that game on Thursday.

This stuff limiting alcohol, no games shown in bars, etc, sounds more like eighties style hooligan paranoia than the high level of terrorism twitchiness you'd expect. Or is it just that emergency measures introduced after the terror attacks are seeing increasing authoritarianism in all aspects of life?

I'm guessing bar terraces (which is where the ban is, rather than bars themselves) are seen as a soft target for any passing nutter with a gun?

Also I have zero idea about the logistics of policing and organising security around an event on this scale with a persistent terrorism threat but I'm guessing having a load of drunk England fans doing their usual thing has to be an unwanted distraction at the best of times.

TBF the French authorities might be inclined to look almost affectionately towards the seat-throwing Ingerlund fan if he's the worst thing they've had to deal with by the end of the tournament.

bbc predictor wouldn't let me use merdeyeux as a name, political correctness gone etc etc imo

This stuff limiting alcohol, no games shown in bars, etc, sounds more like eighties style hooligan paranoia than the high level of terrorism twitchiness you'd expect. Or is it just that emergency measures introduced after the terror attacks are seeing increasing authoritarianism in all aspects of life?

Maybe they just don't want people associating Bordeaux with alcohol consumption?

Spain have just sent De Gea home apparently. Very horrible story developing by the looks of things.

http://www.marca.com/en/football/national-teams/2016/06/10/575ac480ca4741b4688b4581.html

RafaelH117: In Spain, a porn actor and director has been investigated for numerous crimes, including pedofilia, sex trafficking and sexual abuse.
RafaelH117: One of the protected witnesses in the case has testified that this man, nicknamed Torbe, forced her to have sex with two footballers.
RafaelH117: These two footballers are Muniain and an unnamed player. De Gea is said to have set up this date with Torbe, but didn’t assault her himself.
RafaelH117: De Gea is also mentioned in another incident in which he supposedly tried to set up a meeting with her and five Manchester United players.

thankfully I'm sure this won't lead to any sententious think pieces about why football is terrible

He's ready

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkmCtUUWkAAZHvi.jpg

De Gea has not been sent home and is training with the team fwiw.

yeah that was debunked p quickly.

no pitbull on that playlist? oh wait this isn't the copa america thread

Hodgson looking for our boys to play without fear. would make a change from playing without flair i guess.

https://mobile.twitter.com/BBCSporf/status/741330540331171840

Stanciu vs Evra might be interesting. France defending appallingly so far.

Pogba warming up nicely

He must be on Stoke City's radar.

Kante and payet both looking good so far, blitw confirmed, as if it needed confirmation

Ref has given Romania fuck all

Really disliking the red socks of les blues tbh

First shot of pretty female fan of the tournament?

usually i look forward to a tournament weeks, if not months, ahead of time but haven't been too bothered about this. so far the lovely contrast between the kit colours and the grass has been the highlight. giroud on arsenal form so far.

Oh, nice to see Maradona off the drugs

Everyone otm so far

diddy tournament

only missing a cat to be completely ready for his role in the next james bond film

xp

This is great so far, Stancu misses two sitters, French back four not so much an Achilles's heel as feet, calves, shins, the lot

mcdonalds may want to rethink their 'mcdonalds player escorts:you're lovin' it' pitch side advertising.

Lol unproven at time of broadcast

well that woke me up, almost a classic goal.

Shit keeper

lol keeper didn't want any of that

Possibly a foul. Not sure the keeper could have missed that if he wasn't being bodied.

never a foul, no more contact than any 2 players jumping for the same ball ever have imo

I've been holding back on a stack of "France would be dangerous with a centre forward" wisecracks too

Yeah, keeper just didn't commit fully, foul would've been v harsh I think

it's the spirit of Guivarc'h

xp

Giroud whacked into the top of his arm which would have surely restricted his reach. France are good value for it either way.

ooh dodgy