Talk Football Here... - Part 1

[Razmataz]

Paul Dickov Back at Manchester City where he belongs. :thumbs:

[Dan_]

Stevenage Borough will reveal who the new manager is at 10am tomorrow morning

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Gladders
Paul Dickov Back at Manchester City where he belongs. :thumbs:

Can't stand the bloke, filthy player :sad:

[BigSister]

oooh wonder who it is Dan

[InTheHood]

Anyone seen any Toulon or Euro U-21 football?

Holland lost the Toulon final to France.

Going to have to beat Italy in the final game of Euro U-21 to have any chance to qualify.

French are decent. Along with Ribery (not in tournament as in WC squad) Gourcoff, Faty and Faubert are cracking young players.

[Dan_]

Originally posted by BigSister
oooh wonder who it is Dan

I'm hoping for Grays manager-Mark Stimson.

[BigSister]

:thumbs: Good choice hope its some1 good though

[Tanser_Man]

Look's like Shevchenko is moving to Chelsea, along with Roberto Carlos and the already signed Michael Ballack.

Chelsea bore me!

[Dan_]

Stevenage Borough have confirmed the appointment of Mark Stimson as their new Manager on a 3 year contract. The highly rated Stimson resigned from his position at Grays Athletic two days after winning the FA Trophy for the second successive year and taking them to 3rd place in their first season in the Conference, stressing his desire for a fresh challenge after 4 years at Grays. Boro were alerted to his availability and chairman Phil Wallace said "We had a strong list of candidates for the job lined up a week or so ago but when we heard Mark was available there was never going to be anyone else as our first choice and we were determined as a Board to do whatever was necessary to persuade him to join us. He doesn't have as much managerial experience as some of the other candidates but we believe he is destined for the top and is capable of taking this club into the Football League during the term of his contract, playing the type of football our fans love to see. His talent for getting players playing to the best of their ability has been proved time and time again over the last 4 years. This, together with his current knowledge of the level and his desire to play football in a certain style, was the main reason he was our prime target when we heard he was available. We were fully aware there was interest in him from Football League clubs but I'm delighted to say that we were able to persuade him that Stevenage Borough was a challenge he couldn't resist - one which, if he were successful on the pitch, would allow him to take the club through to the Championship without the need for significant stadia or infrastructure development. In short, we were able to persuade Mark that a financially stable club with an ambitious board and Football League facilities was the right career path to follow for the next 3 years. We're delighted he's joining us"

Stimson takes over his new post on 1st June and has already identified several players that he wants to bring to Boro. He is said to be very excited by the challenge and eagerly looking forward to the new season. A Meet the Fans evening will be arranged for later in June and the date will be advised in due course.

A Press Conference is planned for Tuesday 30 May at 11am in The Executive Suite, South Stand.

[InTheHood]

Holland 1-0 Cameroon :bouncy: Ruud Ruud Ruud Ruud :dance:

[dogs]

yes we went up today cheltenham went up i went to the match.

[Dan_]

Well done Chelts, I remember when they were in the conf. Good luck for next season.

[dogs]

thanks did you watch the match?

[Dan_]

Nah I listened to it on the radio, sounded like you were the better side.

[dogs]

yeh first half was bad
Have you ever seen Chelteham play before?

[Dan_]

Yes, in the FA Cup game against Newcastle and also a few times when they were in the conference.

[cc100]

What are Birminghams chances of winning the Championship next year?

I say we have a great chance, especially as we now are going to have Jerome up front.

[InTheHood]

UEFA U-21 Euro Championships

Holland beat Italy 1-0 and make the Semi's, where we will now play tournament faves France :thumbs:

Other Semi is Serbia & Montenegro v Ukraine

[dogs]

Birmingham will get the play off ithink but they are leting there good players go.

[Tanser_Man]

England v Hungry tonight! BBC1, hopefully will be a good send off now and on saturday when we play Jamacia.

There saying Owen isn't playing so we'll have to endure crouch up front all night.. Pfft. Rodney Trotter.

[dogs]

Owen is not a good player anyway. Peolpe go round saying he is a great player but he is not he is bad.

[InTheHood]

I'd love to loan you Ruud, but we need him.

Mark de Vries any use?

:laugh:

[InTheHood]

Holland U-21's into final of Euro 2006 :thumbs: beating France 3-2, after extra time.:elephant:

Ukraine and Serbia & Montenegro are 0-0 in Extra Time in the other Semi.

The seniors beat Mexico 2-1, coming from behind, with goals from Johnny Heitinga and Ryna Babel, in a friendly.

[dogs]

holland got a good change of winning world cup
who knock them out of euro 04

[BigSister]

I dont think they were in Euro 04 or was that World cup 2002

[InTheHood]

Didn't reach WC2002. Lost in Euro 2004 Semi Finals to Portugal.

In a tough group this time around :sad:

Ukraine have just beaten Serbia & Montenegro on penalties.

So the Euro Under 21 Final is Holland v Ukraine.

Ukraine won the group match 2-1 :sad:

Revenge time :tongue:

[BigSister]

oh yeah I remember now sorry:blush:

[James]

Steven Gerrard... bit of a dive against Hungary, eh? And Ian Wright on the telly defending it. :bored:

Media seems more interested in Crouch's dance moves. If it had been Drogba or someone they would have had more to say methinks.

Bitter, me? :hugesmile:

[dogs]

I think Spain could do well

[Mike]

Yeah i had to laugh at the penalty decision against Hungary and i must admit at first view i was even shouting for a penalty then when they showed the up close reply you could clearly see there was no contact made Lol.

[dogs]

Steven Gerrard is nothing but a diveer.

[BigSister]

lol I know it was clearly not a penality BUT if it was against us we would be moaning about it so we cant win

[dogs]

terry is a first class player

[InTheHood]

Heerenveen signed Zuiverloon and Dingsdag. Very pleased, although shocked as to why Feyenoord would let Zuiverloon go.

[Dan_]

England vs Jamaica in half hour, hopefully a big England win to boost confidence.

[Lil-Lindz]

Yea hope so. Only a week now to first world cup game so exciting!!

[Dan_]

I cannot wait for it to start now :elephant:

[Lil-Lindz]

Same here. Ive got st george flags painted on my nails and we painting a flag on my grandma's garage! Cant wait :spin2:

[Dan_]

From SFC official site

Moules refuses to identify reasons

Boro were relegated to Conference North this morning in an unexplained manoeuvre by the Nationwide Conference Management Board.

Meeting prior to today’s Annual General Meeting in Birmingham, the Board announced its decision to relegate Scarborough for an unspecified rules breach. The 10 points deduction was applied due to Boro’s rescheduled CVA which was agreed between the Club’s shareholders and creditors yesterday.

Having finished bottom of the league Boro had expected to be relegated. However the resignation of Canvey Island and the 18 points deduction suffered by Altrincham led to a reprieve for the Seadogs.

The Conference sought information on Boro’s finances two weeks ago and the Club complied with the request. Two other conference members are subject to CVA’s at present and a third has indicated its intent to move into Administration. None of these clubs was invited to provide similar information or guarantees.

Director Malcolm Reynolds has spoken to the Official Website from the AGM and firstly recorded his delight for Altrincham. ‘Altrincham had been treated very harshly for a technical offence and it’s nice that they will retain their place for next season.

‘However today’s events have not been about Scarborough and Altrincham. We have sought clarification from the Board about their decision. John Moules refused to notify us which rule we have breached. As of today’s date we have not been charged with any breach and therefore have not had any opportunity to respond.

‘We have been advised that the Board will write to us with the details of its decision. We will also seek the minutes of the meeting.

‘Once we received details of the alleged breach we will respond. We will consider our position then. If we believe that the Conference has acted outside of its jurisdiction we reserve the right to seek immediate judicial redress through the courts.’

Boro had previously been summoned to a meeting of the Conference Board at Leicester City two weeks ago at the start of these discussions. When challenged by Boro Chairman Ian Scobbie, Moules et al declined to identify which rules the Conference was using in its deliberations. Today’s refusal to similarly identify the apparent breach once again will lead to questions being asked about the Governance of the competition.

[Lil-Lindz]

Wow 2-0 allready Go England!:colour::colour:

[Jay]

Great win for England finished 6-0

[BigSister]

yeah could have been 7 missed a penality

[Jay]

Yeah i no don't no why Crouch did that doesn't matter though he still got his Hattrick.

[BigSister]

yay I know

[InTheHood]

So what did England learn today? Very little, other than Peter Crouch (2 goals, no way was the 1st is :hugesmile: ) should never take another penalty.

[InTheHood]

Holland held by Australia 1-1 :blush:

Under 21 Euro 2006 final tonight. Holland v Ukraine.

Any major final this season, the side I wanted to win has lost, so why should this be any different? :laugh:

[dogs]

Who do you think will go down next season maybe villa could be the shock team.

[InTheHood]

Aussies have crocked Sneijder, van Bronckhorst and Cocu :bawling:

Cocu and Gio may recover in time, but Sneijder is now a doubt :bawling:

Already in the group of death, we may have just been killed off :bawling:

[dogs]

van Bronckhorst has he left who has he gone to?

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by dogs
van Bronckhorst has he left who has he gone to?

Left? Still at Barca I thought.

He was crocked by the Aussies in a WC warm up today :mad:

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by dogs
Who do you think will go down next season maybe villa could be the shock team.

I'll tell you after the summer transfers :tongue:

Villa could go, but i'll guess at Watford, Reading and Sheff Utd all being involved, along with Villa, Fulham, Wigan and maybe Middlesbrough, depending on manager. Gareth Southgate is likely to be named new manager, which could go either way.

[Tanser_Man]

I'm hoping Aston Villa finally get brought this season so we get some much needed investment... otherwise i can see us going down.

[InTheHood]

Uefa Euro 2006 Under 21 Final

Holland 3-0 Ukraine

:dance: At last, Champions! 18 years of hurt (Euro '88) never stopped me dreaming :joker:

[Dan_]

Looks like Djibril Cisse has broken his leg again :shocked:

[InTheHood]

Yeah, saw the match on Eurosport. No fault of the Chinese bloke, Cisse just fell awkwardly.

France won 3-1, it was 1-1 until the last minute. China were organised and showed little going forward, but France were lucky. The crowd were on their back after 10 minutes even though they started strongly.

As the French Open Tennis proves, the French are one of the worst set of supporters in the world

[Mike]

Who scored for the France tonight?

I thought the game had finished at 1-1 when i checked sky sports - obviously not though.

[Red Moon]

Any news of the uber cheat Ronney?

[Mike]

Originally posted by Red Moon
Any news of the uber cheat Ronney?

On his way back to Germany Red to join back up with the rest of the squad.

[Red Moon]

Thanks Mike

Sounds like things are okay then or he would have stayed at home.

[Dan_]

Originally posted by Mike
Who scored for the France tonight?

I thought the game had finished at 1-1 when i checked sky sports - obviously not though.

Trezeguet, own goal and Henry.

[Mike]

Thanks for that Dan..:thumbs:

[InTheHood]

Should have seen the own goal :joker: Super slice, gave the keeper no chance

[Tanser_Man]

Did anyone see how that Cissé fell?

Looked very painful, what a bummer to be injured so close to the tournament.

[Jay]

Yeah i saw it this afternoon on sky sports news feel sorry for him just as hes got back to scoring goals and so close to the world cup hes back were he was.

[Dan_]

Just under 45mins until world cup start :bouncy:.Anyone watching the opening ceremony?

[BB-Rocks]

Yeah i have it on

[Dan_]

Germany already winning, cracking goal by Lahm.That world cup ball looks lightweight.

[Dan_]

Costa Rica equalise, good old Paulo Wanchope.

[Tanser_Man]

hahah, get in there Wanchope!

[Tanser_Man]

Crap Defending.. Klose scores 2-1 to Germany

[Mike]

Germany 4-2 Costa Rica

Gutted they won but at least we know if we get them their defence looks poor.

[InTheHood]

German defending :thumbs:

[InTheHood]

Good first day.

Ecuador were great defensively and ultimately deserved the win.

[Tanser_Man]

Can't wait for tomorrow now!

I can't see us losing, and i can't see us drawing... so should be a good first day at the office!

COME ON ENGLAND! :bigsmile:

P.s.. If your Scottish, Irish or just an england hater, watch the match tomorrow and you'll see a team that actually QUALIFIED!

[hass]

i think we played utter sh*te today. no way are we going to win the world cup if we play every game like today. we need to buck up.

[InTheHood]

England were poor, and Sven's tactical ingenius shone through again :blush:

Holland's group starts tonight, Argies v Ivorians.

Then we play Serbia tomorrow :spin:

The final group games, Holland v Argentina is on my birthday............please not a bad result on that day :blush2:

[THE_JUNK_MAN]

Very poor game.....a win is a win but we played really bad in the second half....

[InTheHood]

:joker: @ Sweden.

On todays performances, England would struggle to beat T&T :tongue:

[Mike]

Great result for T&T.

Gills player Brent Sancho had an amazing game.

[ThaGazBoi]

What was the score for T&T??

[Mike]

Originally posted by CrazyGazza
What was the score for T&T??

0-0 against Sweden.:thumbs:

[InTheHood]

To be honest though, as good as T&T were defensively, Sweden created a fair few chances, and England should rattle 4 at least past them still. They showed little up front, so England should still win comfortably, and if they get 3 points, England are in Round 2 already.

[ThaGazBoi]

Ok thanks Mike.

I watched it until half time, but then i got bored so i turned over.

Ivory Coast V Argentina tonight, Argentina for the win probley!

[Tanser_Man]

England were poop today but we got the win over a resilient south american team, which can only be good.

A nice victory against T&T and maybe a Rooney appearance should get us back in the swing of things.

[Siouxsie]

we won didnt we !

[Dan_]

I thought we would win 1-0, we always start off slowly. Good to get the 3 points on board but was not that convincing.

T&T did very well, shame the lad Avery John got sent off as T&T may have even nicked a win.Sweden are in poor form.

Argentina vs Ivory Coast was a brilliant game and I felt Ivory Coast were a bit unlucky not to get a draw.They are a very good team to watch, shame that they may go out early.Riquelme's passing was world class.

[InTheHood]

Watching Argentina v Ivory Coast concerned me. We might finish bottom at best :joker:

Why could we not get an easy group like Germany, England or France :mad::tongue:

[Mike]

Yeah both Argentina and Ivory Coast looked strong.

[Red Moon]

Originally posted by scooby
we won didnt we !

Only because they scored the goal for us!

[Tanser_Man]

Lol, did anyone watch that Rio Ferdinand style 'Punked' show?

Was wicked, Rooney is a quiet lad :shocked:

[lily.]

Chris, who's that t0sser on your avatar? :tongue:

[Tanser_Man]

Originally posted by Stropz
Chris, who's that t***er on your avatar? :tongue:

Crouch?

And the word your looking for is Englishman not t**r! :shocked:

[lily.]

com ce com ca ...


PS. I knew who it was... I was tryin to wind you up... :bigsmile:

[Red Moon]

I think it worked!

Come on Germany!

[lily.]

It always works! .. :laugh:

[InTheHood]

15 mins until we Dutch mess up against Serbia & Montenegro :blush:

Why could we not avoid the Group Of Death :bawling:

This will be the most straight forward game, yet they topped Spain's group in qualifying :puzzled:

England get T&T and Paraguay, Germany get Poland, Costa Rica and Ecuador, we get the best team in Africa, Serbia & Argentina :bawling:

There's always Euro 2008 I suppose, we have a winnable group :tongue:

[BigSister]

hope holland will win ith and glad we won

[InTheHood]

We won 1-0 :dance:

Serbia weren't shabby though and we were a little dodgy at the back at times :bored:

[BigSister]

yay well done

[InTheHood]

:thumbs:

Angola 0-1 Portugal and Mexico 3-1 Iran

So far, 3 of the first 4 groups could all be over after game 2, qualifying wise.

[Dan_]

I thought Robben was excellent for Holland yesterday.That was game of the day for me.

Mexico vs Iran was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

Portugal vs Angola I found a little boring after half time, Angola should have gone forward much more and Portugal were not as good as I thought they would be.

[Jay]

What's everyones predictions on todays games which are Austraila v Japan, USA v Czech Republic and Italy v Ghana

[Siouxsie]

Italy to win:dance:

[Tanser_Man]

What a goal from that Togo player!

One of the best i have seen so far, great goal!

[Tanser_Man]

Originally posted by jamie2cool
What's everyones predictions on todays games which are Austraila v Japan, USA v Czech Republic and Italy v Ghana

Hmm, well i think Australia will win 3-1.. with two late goals.

USA will lose 3-0 vs the czechs.

And i think Italy will brish aside Ghana.. 2-0.

:spin2:

[Mike]

Togo were no where near as bad as i expected, shame they went down to 10 men but i don't think Graham Poll really had a choice. I'm looking foward to watching both France and Brazil later on today, should be two good games.

[InTheHood]

It was half decent after the Togo goal.

As long as Italy or Argentina don't win the World Cup, then it's all cool. If anyone is well known for cheating it's them two. Argentina's Hand of God, there filthy Italia 90 final, Italians diving everywhere, inparticular Totti who is also a vile player (remember his spit at Poulsen at Euro 2004 and his constant leg breakers attempts in Serie A) can't stand either side, plus both League Championships are corrupt, it wouldn't surprise me if either FA tried to bribe match officials.

I'd sooner Germany won the WC, and we Dutch have a massive rivalry with the Germans!

Cheering on Swiss and Croats today :dance:

[Siouxsie]

Will Brazil win tonight ??????

[InTheHood]

Brazil should win every game they play. I can't see them losing any game, though we can hope.

France 0-0 Switzerland. Thought the BBC were a bit harsh on France, in the first game, and both teams had chances. The Swiss aren't a bad side either, although in France, they expect to win each game 6-0 or they get booed.

[Tanser_Man]

Brazil were pretty poop today...

France were woeful...

All the better for England! :hugesmile:

[Mike]

Yeah France were very poor and the boo's at the end were totally understandable.

Brazil were pretty poor as well, Ronaldo being substituted and booed as well.

[Tanser_Man]

Originally posted by Mike
Yeah France were very poor and the boo's at the end were totally understandable.

They just didn't have a finishing product, some glances of brilliance from Zidane.. but other then that nothing from France.

Switzerland should have scored though! Why did he handball it!?

[Mike]

Yeah i couldn't work out why he handballed it, if he had left it then that young Arsenal defender Djorou would have scored.

[Tanser_Man]

Trying to copy Maradona!

Shame on him!

[InTheHood]

Adding to my Italy/Argentina cheating post, I forgot Tunisia. I expect them to dive a fair bit today. They are Africa's worst when it comes to diving.

I'm hoping they have calmed down, but I suspect they will be at it, and they are given a huge amount of penalties, so we could see the tournaments first penalty in that match!

[InTheHood]

Well, we've had a penalty now, even though it shouldn't have been.

Spain were pretty impressive, Torres and Villa looked lively up front, whilst Xavi controlled the midfield.

[Mike]

That penalty decision was a complete joke, got to say though Spain did look good.

[Tanser_Man]

Great volley in the Tunisia match, quite a good game.

[InTheHood]

I think the game is dull :joker: Saudi Arabia the worst team i've seen so far.

A few Tunisian dives already, 2 minutes exactly on the clock when the first dive went in.

[InTheHood]

The Saudi's were excellent 2nd half :joker: Though they should never shoot from outside of the area again, as they are woeful long shooters.

Deserved the win, but Tunisia got lucky!

[Dan_]

I thought that was going to be a boring game but in the end it turned out to be pretty entertaining. I suppose Ukraine losing heavily helped them both go more attacking. It seems as though Saudi Arabia have improved a bit from the last world cup, that 8-0 loss to Germany :laugh:.

Germany vs Poland should be decent, Germany frankly have not got the defence to play defensive football and Poland need to win.

[InTheHood]

1-0 Germany, last minute.

Germany deserved it, but England have no worries who they get in Round of 16.

Why did Poland play for a point anyway? Even if they had got it, Ecuador beating Costa Rica tomorrow would mean they were out, and even a draw would mean Ecuador would have to beat Germany in the final game for them to have a chance.

[InTheHood]

Meanwhile, the customary Dutch camp trouble has started :bawling:

van Persie has said Arjen Robben doesn't play for the team.

These two were big rivals in there Feyenoord/PSV days as both were upcoming young left wingers. Both were known for their ego's, and neither like each other. It's always been considered Robben was the better of the two as well.

[Dan_]

Sendings off seem to change the shape of most games at this world cup. Looks pretty certain that Poland are going out and to be to be honest they've not really looked like scoring in either game.

[BusyBee]

Anyone else got patriotic buses in their City. Most of the buses in Bristol have St George flags pasted on to the windows. I think its great. Anywhere else had the same idea.

[GlitterEyes]

Haven't seen any up north. Seen a few cars with stuck on stripes over the whole car and the normal flags out the window and on houses etc. Seen a few dodgy haircuts aswell but thats about it.

[Jay]

Great news about Rooney being passed fit to play but i think he will only play 20 minutes today at the most.

[Tanser_Man]

Crouch is absolutely poop... how he missed that chance... i do not know.

[InTheHood]

England are absolutely poop so far. I am :blush2: for you :wink:

Owen is clearly not fit, or having one of his infamous crap runs :spin:

Crouch is an absolute waste, why England did not take Defoe :conf:

England have no strikers either properly fit or of any quality.

Looks like Rooney is needed :rolleyes:

[Mike]

Very poor first half, we need Rooney on badly.

Its a shame when we have to rely on one player but its a fact we need him playing.

[lily.]

cmon the T & T!!! :tongue:

[lily.]

Did I mention how much I dislike that big skinny bloke??? :nono:

[ThaGazBoi]

2-0!!!!!!!!!

[Tanser_Man]

I slate Crouch... and he scores.

I say to my mate that Gerrard's had a poor game, then BANG! 2-0

Lol :hugesmile:

[lily.]

Don't care... still waving my flag...

[Tanser_Man]

What happend to Jason Scotland?

Oh yeh.. didn't even play!

[lily.]

hey tanser.. swivel! http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/sauer/angry-smiley-021.gif

and on that note.. I be outta here... :xyxwave:

[InTheHood]

I wouldn't say England were lucky, but they left it late. They were by far the better team, and had numerous chances.

If Sweden fail to win tonight, England win the group, as a Paraguay win, means only they can catch England, and England would beat them on head-to-head.

Hopefully we can make it 2 from 2 against Ivory Coast tomorrow :spin2:

[James]

Well, their first goal was a foul so I would call that lucky. Unless, of course, hair-pulling is allowed now.

[GlitterEyes]

Gerrard is wasted sitting back Sven should play both going forward or drop Lampard because he wasted to many chances and we cannot afford that. Crouch is very hit and miss but he is the only one saving englands butt at the moment. Rooney didn't have as much impact as I would of thought but probably needs games. Owen was poor and should start on the bench against Sweden.

[Mike]

I agree about Gerrard he needs to be playing right up there because hes much more influentional, as for Crouch i don't rate him personally but i guess his height is a bonus when Beckham is putting great crosses in.

[GlitterEyes]

If you look at Owen he hasn't yet had a decent game he has always been subbed, and Rooney needs match fitness. Crouch is the only one who confidence wise is on the top of his game. He has his critics and is a different player than we are use to seeing and I know people highlight his close miss but Lampard for me had a rubbish game but nobody seems to be talking about that. He should improve next game hopefully but his shots have been awful.

[InTheHood]

.....................Robinson.....................

Neville........Terry...........Rio..........Cole. A

.......................Carrick.................... ...

Beckham.....Gerrard.........Lampard.....Cole. J

------------Rooney/Owen/Crouch........(In that order)

4-1-4-1

Carrick will give licence to the midfield 4 to move forward

But we all know the important game is today at 5pm :tongue:

HT Argentina 3-0 Serbia :rolleyes:

[Mike]

Argentina are on fire today, what a first half performance.

The again though they are playing a Serbia side who might as well not be there.

ITH, should be a good game at 5pm today.

[lily.]

Originally posted by James
Well, their first goal was a foul so I would call that lucky. Unless, of course, hair-pulling is allowed now.

What he said^...:thumbs:

Funnily enough.. there was a bloke in my living room saying the exact same thing!!!

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Mike


ITH, should be a good game at 5pm today.

As long as the 3 points go the right way :thumbs:

If we lose, we are out I think, as I don't see us beating Argentina, and Ivory Coast will likely beat Serbia :sad:

[InTheHood]

Holland win 2-1 :dance:

Feel sorry for Ivory Coast though, if they had replaced say Costa Rica or Trinidad & Tobago in another group, they'd have had a great chance of qualifying. They've been better than Ecuador and England yet are going home :sad: I was even half hoping they would equalise :shocked: Just so we could have a good last 20 minutes, as we had gone all negative, England style.

The WC at the moment is too predictable, players falling everywhere, referee's blowing whistles every 10 seconds and the sides that are losing, don't seem to have any real urgency about getting back into the games.

2 of the 3 groups are already resolved, as to who qualifies, and Groups D & E could be resolved by the end of tomorrow.

I'm getting a little bored and can't wait until the final group games and knockout stages, where we will have teams of a decent standard playing each other.

[InTheHood]

Mexico v Angola :sad: If there was one game that summed up the WC so far :bored:

[James]

I think it's been a really good World Cup, with great goals and quite a few good teams. :conf:

Better than 2002 so far.

[InTheHood]

Football is not what it was. Players are paid too much, they dive too much, they feign injury too much, the referee's are far too whistle happy, the rules get played with too much, and the World Cup always favours teams from higher climates.

I say play the World Cup in December and see how them Brazilians like it then :tongue:

[Dan_]

Argentina look like the best team so far, Serbia had given up towards the end but in the first half the passing and movement from Argentina was world class.

I enjoyed Holland vs Ivory Coast, feel really sorry for Ivory Coast as they have been a great side to watch in both games and are much better than teams that will go through to the next round.

Mexico vs Angola was pretty dire, Angola have got to be one of the most negative and boring teams in the competition.

[Mike]

I switched the Mexico vs Angola game off after about 30 minutes, what a boring game.

At the moment Argentina certainly look the strongest team without a doubt.

[Siouxsie]

i like croatia

[Slartibartfast]

My bet on Argentina to win is looking better each game. The Argentina display today was the best I've seen from any team so far.

Brazil were poor, Italy looked ok, England are awful so far although Germany and Holland have been good. I still haven't seen any team though that can match that Argentina display especially in the first half. And with the players they can bring off the bench, I'm laughing all the way to the bookies!!

(Now the dutch are gonna stuff them, aren't they. Me and my big mouth...)

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Slartibartfast

(Now the dutch are going to stuff them, aren't they. Me and my big mouth...)

Hope so :hello:

Could be the difference between getting Portugal and Angola in Round 2 :dance:

Wouldn't put too much on Group Phase performances just yet. Every World Cup, teams who perform brilliantly in the Group Stages mess up. The winner will be a team that does fairly well in group stages and can then turn it up a gear in the knockout phase.

The best team so far for me, has been Spain. They walloped a very decent Ukraine side 4-0, going on 8-0.

[InTheHood]

Finally an upset! Ghana 2-0 Czech Rep

[Tanser_Man]

Great game that was!

Ghana should have had 3/4 maybe even 5 but they kept passing into offside positions! :conf:

I want Ghana to beat the yanks now and get through! Czech's against Italy will be close though. Could be a very open group!

[Mike]

Ghana made me laugh, great performance from them but the amount of chances they had to score more goals yet they kept running off side when there was absoloutely no need to, think they got a bit carried away in the end to be honest.

[Tanser_Man]

Italian sent off.... damn right! Disgusting elbow on McBride... De Rossi knew what he was doing!

3/4 Match ban aswell I suspect.

[Tanser_Man]

And the referee evens it up, only a yellow card challenge but he evens it up.

Pathetic refereeing.

[Tanser_Man]

It's official.. the ref has lost the plot.

Another pathetic decision.

[Siouxsie]

Italy to win the world cup:thumbs:

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Tanser_Man
Italian sent off.... damn right! Disgusting elbow on McBride... De Rossi knew what he was doing!

3/4 Match ban aswell I suspect.

De Rossi should be banned from the rest of the tournament at the very least, disgusting.

And still Italy couldn't beat 9 men :laugh: USA were the better side on the night, and had it been 11 v 11, would have won I think.

Both USA red's were a bit :rolleyes: and the goal they scored that was ruled out, was a 50/50 shout too.

[Mike]

At first i thought nothing of the De Rossi incident then after seeing the replay i was disgusted, without a doubt he should be banned for the rest of the tournament, as for the USA red cards i thought they were harsh.

[BigSister]

same here Mike my dad said exact same thing

[InTheHood]

Surprised to see the Aussies, a nation that prides itself on it's confidence, dropping players today, so they don't have suspended players for the more winnable last game against Croatia.

I'd say that's a loser's approach, and they should go out to try and beat Brazil.

[Dan_]

I hope Ghana go through, such a great approach to the game, they could have easily settled for 1-0 as Czech's were down to 10 men but they just kept pushing on even after the 2nd goal, the timing of their runs needs to be a bit better though.

De Rossi is a disgrace, in a friendly leading upto the world cup he stamped on a Swiss player and now a vicious elbow, he shouldn't play another game in this world cup.

I was hoping the Aussies wouldn't rest the suspended players as it's going to make thing's easier for Brazil.

Potential banana skin for France tonight, South Korea have a few decent players and France just looked so out of sorts against the Swiss.

Japan vs Croatia should be an open game, both sides need a win and I can see Croatia just snatching it, they were unlucky against Brazil.

[BigSister]

i didnt know that Dan disgrasful!
I hope Ghana go through too

[Tanser_Man]

Source : BBC Sport

Wayne Rooney will start England's World Cup game against Sweden in Frankfurt.

Rooney is poised to partner Michael Owen in attack, with Peter Crouch, who is one booking away from a ban, rested.

Rooney played 33 minutes as a substitute against Trinidad and Tobago and showed no ill-effects after his broken metatarsal injury.

"The medical people say he can play more than 45 minutes, so if that is the case it is better he starts the game," said England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

England's Swedish coach is almost certain to draft Owen Hargreaves into a holding midfield role on Tuesday, with Steven Gerrard also rested.

Gerrard would be suspended for the last 16 clash with either Ecuador or Germany if he was booked, and Eriksson is keen to ensure he is available for the knockout rounds.

Manchester United 20-year-old Rooney's return to the starting line-up will lift England after two below-par performances.

Newcastle striker Owen, meanwhile, insists there is no need for "panic stations" about his lack of World Cup form.

Owen was taken off after less that an hour in England's opening two games against Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago.

But he is an almost certain starter against Sweden and said: "I've gone longer than this without a goal. I wouldn't call it a goal drought.

"I'm totally at ease with what's happening and I've done it before at this level so I have the belief I can do it."

And Owen is confident he can find his best form.

He said: "I don't feel as if I'm playing poorly. I'm not tripping over the ball every time I get it.

"I've played 55 minutes each in two games and not scored, and that seems to be the end of the world for a lot of people, but I've been here before and come through it before.

"It's not panic stations as far as I'm concerned.

"In the last World Cup I didn't score early on I but did in the second round against Denmark and the quarter final against Brazil," he added.

"I know I can do it at this level and there is a belief inside me."

England defender John Terry, meanwhile, sang the praises of strikers Rooney and Owen.

"Marking Rooney is a nightmare and he is looking sharp and ready to go," he said.

"Rooney would tell you he had 160 minutes in him as long as he playing, his touch is good and he looks sharp."

England go into Tuesday's match in Cologne knowing that their place in the knock-out stages is secured following their group wins against Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago.

They will win Group B, provided they avoid defeat against Lars Lagerback's side - although they will be aware they have not beaten Sweden in 11 attempts since 1968.

Terry said he was in a positive mood, despite England performing below their best so far.

"Two out of two and six points - it can't be much better and let's be encouraged that things can only get better from a performance point of view," he commented.



Great News! :hugesmile:

[InTheHood]

Croatia v Japan was good for a 0-0.

Brazil beat Australia 2-0. Brazil haven't started the tournament well. Australia showed good heart, but lacked the quality to punish Brazil.

France v South Korea tonight.......France may just score there 1st goal ina finals since winning it in 1998!

[Dan_]

That Croatia vs Japan game was draining to watch, both sides put so much in but just couldn't score.

Brazil haven't impressed me that much but they are picking up the win's, on another day Australia may well have put away their chances.

You gotta laugh at France, why they didn't go for more goals in that second half is beyond me.

[Slartibartfast]

Originally posted by BB fernzy
You gotta laugh at France, why they didn't go for more goals in that second half is beyond me.

Yeah tell me about it. I have Henry in 3 different fantasy world cup leagues and he has only one flippin goal!!

[Dan_]

I've got him and all, also got J.S.Park so not too bad.

[Siouxsie]

I am quite liking croatia

[InTheHood]

Swiss 2-0 Togo

Half decent game, again, the story of the tournament, the weaker side were well organised but lacked the quality to do the bigger side any real harm.

[InTheHood]

English defending :blush2:

Oh well, at least you have Ecuador now

[lily.]

I'm flying the flag already. :spin:

[Mike]

I wanted Germany as well.

Oh well i guess Ecquador will have to do.

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Stropz
I'm flying the flag already. :spin:

I'll try and find a flag for Scotland's next opponents.......

Hmmmmmmm :joker:

I'm not going to laugh at England too hard...........we might get them in the QF's :joker:

[lily.]

Originally posted by InTheHood
I'll try and find a flag for Scotland's next opponents.......

Hmmmmmmm :joker:

:nono::nono:Harsh man:nono::nono:Very very harsh!:nono::nono:

:joker: If I'm gonna dish it out, I have to take it! :wink:

[Razmataz]

Originally posted by Stropz
Originally posted by InTheHood
I'll try and find a flag for Scotland's next opponents.......

Hmmmmmmm :joker:

:nono::nono:Harsh man:nono::nono:Very very harsh!:nono::nono:

:joker: If I'm going to dish it out, I have to take it! :wink:

Following the Theory rules from SMC! :rolleyes:

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Stropz

:nono::nono:Harsh man:nono::nono:Very very harsh!:nono::nono:

:joker: If I'm going to dish it out, I have to take it! :wink:

:joker:

Holland play Argentina tomorrow on my B'day :sad:..........I actually don't mind if we lose, as Mexico and England might be an easiere route than Portugal and Sweden :joker:

[lily.]

Originally posted by Gladders
Following the Theory rules from SMC! :rolleyes:

Speaking of which, we have drummed up some new support for him in the poll. :thumbs:

[lily.]

Originally posted by InTheHood
Holland play Argentina tomorrow on my B'day ...

Is it a big milestone birthday?

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Stropz


Is it a big milestone birthday?

Depends what you call a year with 0 on the end :sad:

[lily.]

I call that a milestone... so, is it 20, 30, 40, ... 80?... :tongue:

edit: 40. I just read ur profile. Have a good one! :thumbs:

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Stropz
I call that a milestone... so, is it 20, 30, 40, ... 80?... :tongue:

edit: 40. I just read ur profile. Have a good one! :thumbs:

40!!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

I edited my profile a few days ago, to try and get used to describing myself as the wrong side of 30 :joker: :sad:

:thumbs:

[Mike]

Enjoy your birthday ITH..:thumbs:

I'll be cheering you on to beat the Argies.

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Mike
Enjoy your birthday ITH..:thumbs:

I'll be cheering you on to beat the Argies.

:thumbs:

Only problem with that is, the winners of Group C could play England in the Quarter Finals :sad:

Surely you'd sooner play Holland than Argentina :puzzled:

[lily.]

Originally posted by InTheHood
40!!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

I edited my profile a few days ago, to try and get used to describing myself as the wrong side of 30 :joker: :sad:

:thumbs:

It's not painful. I survived my 30th Birthday. :wink:

[InTheHood]

I thought Holland were playing this afternoon, but it's tonight :bawling:

Do I get the wife to cancel our dinner date, or shall I tape the footie :bored:

Nah, the wife always wins, and it's not like they need me tonight..............tape it is and watch it tomorrow :joker:

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Stropz

[
It's not painful. I survived my 30th Birthday. :wink:

:dance:

It doesn't feel any different yet :blush:

[Dan_]

Portugal vs Mexico was a fairly entertaining game, although Postiga and Gomes looked pretty poor upfront, they had better hope Pauleta does not get injured.

Holland vs Argentina was not the most exciting game but was fairly decent to watch as the technical skill on display was pretty good.

Good to see Ivory Coast came back to beat Serbia, they didn't deserve to finish bottom of the group.

[Dan_]

Stevenage's pre-season friendlies have been announced:

Tuesday 11 July CRYSTAL PALACE HOME KO: 7.45pm

Saturday 15 July LUTON TOWN HOME KO: 3pm

Tuesday 18 July Thurrock Away KO: 7.45pm (Boro XI)

Weds 19 July QPR HOME KO: 7.45pm

Saturday 22 July Boreham Wood Away KO: 3pm

Tuesday 25 July SPURS HOME KO: 8pm

Weds 26 July Cheshunt Away KO: 7.45pm (Boro XI)

Saturday 29 July Farnborough Away KO: 1pm

Tuesday 1 Aug Bedford Away KO: 7.45pm

Weds 2 Aug Hitchin Away KO: 7.45pm (Boro XI)

Saturday 5 Aug ARSENAL HOME KO: 3pm

I think that's the best pre-season lineup we have had, lot's of local sides away then two premier league clubs and 3 championship teams.

[InTheHood]

Having watched the taping of Holland v Argentina over breakfast

:sleep::sleep:

I'm sure Portugal are quaking in there boots.:tongue:

[Dan_]

I so didn't want Italy to go through, everything seemed to go against Czech Rep in this world cup. Well done to Ghana they deserve to go through after working so hard and playing good football.

Brazil started to show their class against Japan, perhaps they are coming into form at the right time.Ronaldo actually looked interested, I think he plays better with Robinho.Australia vs Croatia from the highlights looked like a total train wreck of a game, goalkeeping errors and Graham Poll just totally losing the plot.It must have been a nightmare to watch for Croatian and Australian fans.

[Mike]

Brazil were great to watch and that wasn't even them at their best.

The movement and link up play was first class, what a player Robhino is.

Frace tomorrow, should be interesting because they HAVE to win and they hate pressure.

[InTheHood]

Watched Croatia v Australia and it was a helter skelter match, with a psycho English Referee :laugh:

[Dan_]

Germany looked a very decent side albeit against a below average Swedish side.Being the home nation is really helping them.

Argentina vs Mexico was a very good game, Mexico worked so hard that I think they were a bit worn out by it got to extra time.Supurb goal by Maxi Rodriguez.Heinze should have been red carded :nono:

[sol]

England 1-0 Ecuador :dance:

We played better in the second half but still not amazing.

Beckham's free kick was class :thumbs:

[Ella]

England lalalalalalaaa im so proud to be English wooo wooo!

[Lil-Lindz]

Me too

WE WON WE WON WE WON WE WON!
lol he he :colour::colour::colour::colour::colour::colour::c olour::colour:

[Mike]

Glad we won but it wasn't too convincing to be honest.

I thought we should have bought Lennon on alot earlier as Beckham was clearly struggling.

It's a waiting game now - will it be Portugal or Holland.

[InTheHood]

Originally posted by Mike

It's a waiting game now - will it be Portugal or Holland.

Holland :thumbs:

Well maybe. Apart from 45 minutes against Serbia, we've been a bit like England, quite average, yet if we meet, one of us will be in the Semi Finals :dazzler:

I hate it when we play England, as it means the wife and I, are opponents for 90 minutes :bored: But at least one of us will be in the Semi Finals.

First up though, is Portugal, and i'd make them slight favourites tonight. They have been playing okay, although they look a little suspect at the back.

Fingers crossed :hello:

England were disappointing today. They just about deserved the win, but Ecuador are a very average side, that England made look fairly solid. A.Cole, Hargreaves, Carrick and Rooney all put in good shifts, although I thought Lampard and Ferdinand were poor, and Gerrard misplaced too many balls. Beckham was also fairly anonymous, bar the goal.

[Lil-Lindz]

Its obvious that sven has picked a team which he thinks will go no where because he is going to be leaving soon. We have no people up front other than rooney and gerrad and lampard cannot play together cause they dont go!
If sven picks up his act i think we could well win this

Well at least i hope we do lol

[InTheHood]

:rolleyes:

Nice entertainment for the yellow/red card connoisseur.

If we weren't diving everywhere, the Portuguese were rolling around in agony everywhere, or headbutting our players, and if that wasn't happening, we were pushing there players over and putting on The Carthorse (Vennegoor) rather than The Horse (RvN)

The footballing feast was ruined by the ref. I thought Boulharouz deserved to go, Gio Van Bronckhorst should not have gone. Deco should have gone for the 1st tackle, although that only arrived as we refused to give Portugal there ball back :blush2:

Figo should have gone, Costinha was correctly dismissed and...........have I missed anything? Sneijder was maybe lucky with just a yellow for his push....

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, well I'm with my wife's camp for the Quarter Final. Cheering on England against the dirty Porkers :rolleyes:

[Mike]

I couldn't stop laughing for most of the second half it was like wrestling rather than football.

The referee could have handled things better in my opinion, not sure why he sent Gio off but there you go.

[InTheHood]

To be fair to the ref, he got 3 of the red cards right, and had he sent Sneijder or Figo off, no-one could have complained then either.

I think both sets of players let themselves down.

[James]

I thought the referee lost the plot in that match a bit.

He was booking for every foul by the end.

[Dan_]

England just did enough for the win but yet again it was unspectacular.Great free-kick by Beckham but he provided little else.

The first half of the Holland vs Portugal game was not the most exciting but 2nd half jeez that was overy hectic and a shame to see a game descend into that state.Portugal are going to be missing some key players against us so it gives us a better chance.

[InTheHood]

England will only win if they don't get involved in Portugal's antics.

If England players start getting frustrated or annoyed (Rooney especially) then England will see players sent off as well.

England will also need to revert to 4-4-2 for that game.

[Dan_]

Stevenage Borough have today signed left sided defender Santos Gaia on a 2 year contract. A Brazilian at the Boro :bigsmile:

[InTheHood]

Cheating Italians AGAIN!

[InTheHood]

Did anyone else fall asleep during Switzerland and Ukraine?

The Swiss were so negative, they couldn't even score in the penalty shootout :laugh:

[BigSister]

I agree ITH I switched over and watched BB instead

[Mike]

Both teams were so negative.

I at least expected Switzerland to score a penalty but no they still missed.:laugh:

[Dan_]

It was a complete snorefest, I switched over to bb and kept a check of the score on the radio, I kept turning over during extra time and all. Fancy not being able to score one penalty.

Italy vs Australia was a bit better but Italy cheating yet again just made my annoyed.I really wish they would get knocked out.

[James]

I'm really getting annoyed at these BBC and ITV commentators not giving any of these teams credit for anything.

Both teams tonight tried to win, they just didn't have a lot going forward.

[Slartibartfast]

Am I the only one to think that it was a genuine, dead on penalty in the Italy-Australia game?? Cheating!!?? I don't think so! Especially when that was a never red card offence by Materazzi.

Th two most annoying things about this world cup (and it's generally been good overall) has been the referees poor decision making and the commentators on BBC and ITV.

The Refs have been terrible, giving yellow cards based more on the fouled players reaction rather than the actual foul. The players don't help them but the refs have been awful as well.

And the commentating is a disgrace. They don't apply the same criticisms to the england team as they do for other teams, although that is to be expected. Clive Tyldsley must need to get his head surgically removed from Rooney's a**e everytime he commentates on an england game. The commentary in some games (not involving england) is incredibly biased at times, clearly favouring one team over another, which is just poor comentating. They are really patronising to all the african teams as well. :bored:

[BigSister]

so i guess you wont be watching the Brazil/Ghana game based on that then

But yeah I agree about the referees as well:rolleyes:

[Dan_]

Grosso fell over Lucas Neill, never a penalty :laugh:

[Mike]

The referees have been a complete joke throughout the world cup, its not the fact they are giving free kicks its the way they issue yellow and red cards because of the players rolling around like they have been shot.

[Slartibartfast]

Originally posted by BB fernzy
Grosso fell over Lucas Neill, never a penalty :laugh:

Or, Lucas Neill threw himself in front of Grosso who coudn't help but fall over him!!

And I'll watch the Brazil - Ghana game... on RTE! Much more balanced commentating :thumbs:

[BigSister]

oh yeah good idea

[InTheHood]

Re: The Commentators

I think it's fully acceptable they are biased towards there own nation. In fact, compared to other Countries, the English commentators are very low key.

French commentators are very Pro French, but also anti opponents. Germans are similar, Italians are even worse. They see things that don't even happen, and if one of there players cheats (Which happens alot!) they don't see it, UNLESS, it's a Roman, because even other Italians hate the Romans!

I know on Sky Sports when Scotland, Ireland & Wales play, the commentators are very Pro Scottish/Irish/Welsh, no different to English commentators. It's just a natural thing and I wouldn't want the English commentators to change. They are obviously passionate about there country,a nd so they should be. The Americans and Aussies are very biased, with the Aussies being Anti English.

Whilst being biased towards England, the commentators are very fair to the opposition. If they warrant a penalty, they will say so. In Australia, if a Whinging Pom hits a 6 in cricket, it's a poor ball, rather than a great shot.

The only thing I have against the English commentators, is they keep referring to us Dutch as never having won the World Cup, and they will continue to do so for at least 4 more years :blush2:

Although saying all that, they should get rid of Mick McCarthy on the BBC. What a miserable barsteward!

[InTheHood]

With regards to the Italy penalty, it was one of the most blatant dives of the World Cup. If Italy had conceded that penalty, they'd be crying into there pasta about conspiracy theories, but why am I surprised the Italians cheated.

Brazil were unimpressive again today, both won again. Ghana were just poor defensively. They played okay though.

[Captain.Remy]

French team win tonight !!!! So Happy !!!!
3-1 vs Spain !!!
Magic, it is euphoric in the french's streets !!!!
In my street lol !!! :hello:

[InTheHood]

Surprised France won, but they did well. Spain choked again.

[Dan_]

I thought Brazil did better than most people have said, proably because the expectancy is so high for Brazil.Ghana were so naive in their defending but they were good to watch, would much rather have them in the final 8 than Italy or Ukraine :sleep:.

I was suprised that France beat Spain, the changes that Aragones made were poor, he just changed the formation to match France and took away two massive goal threats.I think France will come unstuck against Brazil though.

[InTheHood]

Bye Bye Argentina :joker:

What happened at the end? Anything conclusive? Who punched who :puzzled:

[Mike]

I wanted Germany out as well, as for the incident at the end i didn't really see it properly because the camera kept going into the crowd but i did see Maxi Rodrigez take a swing at Oliver Bierhoff and Heinze was trying to as well.

[sol]

Argentina didn't seem to take defeat too well did they :laugh:
It would be great if the final was England v Germany.

[Scuzz]

was never gunna happen was it, considering we've a squad full crap. I knew soon as that final whistle blew at the end of xtra time we had lost. Our penalty taking is appauling and has always bene that way.

[Siouxsie]

Italy will win the cup I said it from the kick off day one of the cup:colour::colour::colour::colour:

[InTheHood]

Bye Bye Portugal :xyxwave:

They were up to the no good diving again, and the French, Germans & Neutrals booed Cristiano Ronaldo all match :blush2:

[Red Moon]

In a more important international than the world cup:

Southend United beat Bermuda national team 3 - 2

[Dan_]

Originally posted by InTheHood
Bye Bye Portugal :xyxwave:

They were up to the no good diving again, and the French, Germans & Neutrals booed Cristiano Ronaldo all match :blush2:

Nice to see them go out, cheating until the end I see.

I wish the crowd would have chanted you're gonna cry in a minute to Ronaldo.Scolari was a bad loser.

[rex3]

i think ronaldo doesn't get enough credit for his skills.

[xGemmax]

Yeah i too think Ronaldo is a brilliant player the only thing i didnt like was what he did in the england match before that i liked him. I think France have a very good chance of winning now!

[Siouxsie]

Hope Sunderland are better next season :sad::sad:

[InTheHood]

Germany 3-1 Portugal. Ronaldo with another of his dives :nono:

[Dan_]

Germany played well, two good goals from Schweinsteiger.Ronaldo just let's himself down with the dives.

[Siouxsie]

Italy will win today i got a tenner on i t

[Siouxsie]

come on italy sexy football

[Siouxsie]

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g14/_AliceC/banner_234x60_sexy_football.png

[xGemmax]

I am so hoping Italy will win now becasue after England i support them(i am half italian) they are both playing good but i think Italy have the edge! I will be very happy if Italy win!:colour:

[Siouxsie]

me too so i can collect my winnings

[Siouxsie]

just wo yipppeeeeeeee :spin::spin::spin::spin::spin::spin::bigsmile::big smile::bigsmile: £100

[Dan_]

Well done Scooby, you predicted it from before the world cup.I bet you were a bit tense when it went to penalties.

[Siouxsie]

i was but i alway follow italian football i was right from the start