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Euro 2020[1]

It's depressing seeing how much this country has regressed.
Crazy how much influence America has had in it really.

I struggle to see how things can be fixed.
I don't normally go along with the whole "things are so much worse than they used to be" argument as generally, we're on an upward curve as a species in terms of social progression and respect for human life etc but the last 5 years or so really has been such a **** show.

Amercia has always been a massive influence on our culture, though. Such a love hate thing with America. They've given the world some amazing things but Trump and the hate and division he created isn't one of them.

Sorry just realised I'm not in the politics thread.
 
Seaman and Shilton weren't that great at stopping penalties either IIRC.

But at least Pickford save two last night.
Still wonder what would have happened @ Italy '90 if Bobby Robson had put Dave Beasant (renowned penalty saver) on ,to replace Shilton for SF penalties v Germany. Shilton didn't get near any of them.
 
Still wonder what would have happened @ Italy '90 if Bobby Robson had put Dave Beasant (renowned penalty saver) on ,to replace Shilton for SF penalties v Germany. Shilton didn't get near any of them.

Yep, still remember Beasant saving Aldridge's penalty in the FA cup final:(.

All in the past now. But Shilton rarely guessed which or moved early and so was easy for penalty takers to score against.
 
In the ones I can remember England losing:

Ricardo v James
Ricardo v Robinson
Buffon v Hart
Donnarumma v Pickford

Of those match ups James v Ricardo might be fairly even, that one went deep into sudden death and even then Ricardo was a bit of a penalty specialist. For the rest England had the worse keeper. Bonucci's penalty yesterday showed the advantage Italy had, Donnarumma could have gotten his hand on that but it was too high for Pickford, Italy's takers definitely had a bigger target.


Looking at our list of goal keepers it's been a real weak spot.
You could even argue that Pickford is really England's 3rd best keeper behind Henderson and Pope.

Hopefully Henderson starts for United and can make a big push for the World Cup.
Granted Pickford IMO is a very good keeper but IMO he just doesn't scream secure for me.
 
I don't normally go along with the whole "things are so much worse than they used to be" argument as generally, we're on an upward curve as a species in terms of social progression and respect for human life etc but the last 5 years or so really has been such a **** show.

Amercia has always been a massive influence on our culture, though. Such a love hate thing with America. They've given the world some amazing things but Trump and the hate and division he created isn't one of them.

Sorry just realised I'm not in the politics thread.
I say 8-9 in the UK, the Olympics feels like a last hurrah in England of being on that curve. Just on LGBTQ+ rights we went from Section 28 being introduced in 1988 to its being abolished in early 2000's to civil partnerships in 2004 to Marriage Act in 2013. Sadly since then people have turned open abuse towards trans people who get treated like the Lesbians and Gays use to (and still get abuse just not as flagrant).

The only thing I would say is those open to changing their views and listening have got a lot better. The issue is a non unsubstantial part of society have dug their heels in even further. That part was in full flow last night against a group of people that have used their voice to speak up against such issues.
 
Well reflected on last night and have to say we'll done to Southgate and Co. First time in my life that I feel I can get behind an England football team following the 2018 and now 2020 tournaments. Unfortunately the rest of the **** that follows football around in this country still hasn't gone away: violance, racism, drunkenness and abuse still stalk the game like it has since the 70s. Well done to this England team, I'm just not sure the country and its football fans deserve just a nice, generous, well balanced group such as yourselves.
 
Looking at our list of goal keepers it's been a real weak spot.
You could even argue that Pickford is really England's 3rd best keeper behind Henderson and Pope.

Hopefully Henderson starts for United and can make a big push for the World Cup.
Granted Pickford IMO is a very good keeper but IMO he just doesn't scream secure for me.

I managed to forgive him for this Euros after he caused VVD's ACL injury and escape any punishment with his reckless challenge. But I think Pickford has had a fine tournament.

Not seen enough of Henderson and Pope to comment if they can do better.
 
Had time to think on it:

Negatives:
- We seems to go ultra conservative and look to defend once we get 1 goal. it is a ridiculous mentality and if it is intentional, it needs to be changed. If unintentional it is a sign of mental fragility and lack of a killer instinct.
- Southgates tendency to make pointlessly late subs is harming us late game
- Kane is lazy as hell when defending and is worse than anonymous, he actively positions himself so he won't have to do anything in defence but is still there so nobody else compensates for it.
- Our defence in general doesn't close players down after the first 15, we just park the bus and hope we can get enough people in the way to block any shots. It's very high risk as it means allowing your opposition time to pick and choose in the first place
- Just overall the team looks too timid, they need more controlled aggression to really get in the face of the opposition
- England fans being a disgrace once again, although the media from what I've seen are sticking the boot in less than expected. As a nation we need to change our football / drink culture as we look disgusting on the world stage. Is this the advert of England we want to portray?

Positives:
- Southgate and the players for the most part are much more likeable than previous England teams and it is much easier to get behind and support them. I no longer feel it might be better for us to lose at times.
- The team is young and clearly skilled. I think we have got to a stage where it is a case of fine tuning rather than needing to rip it all up and start again. This is something that can really be built on
- We have some individuals who have great 1 on 1 skills, we should look to utilise them more to mix things ups
- We have now equalled England's best finishes in 2 major tournaments since 66. That is not small feat and suggests we should at some point be able to get over that final hurdle some day.
- The support behind the team has felt more genuine and not the usual chest beating nationalism (although that is still there in huge quantities). It feels like people can once again be proud of their team without also being a raging pisshead who hates foreigners and people who look different.
 
I don't think goalkeeping is that much of an issue for England. Pickford did great and Pope and Henderson are fine keepers. In future tournaments England need to try and avoid penalty shoot outs and go for the jugular in extra time as losing on penalties can leave some players scarred for life whereas losing in extra time while not ideal means the team lose together. Another thing Gareth needs to confront is working with those players who were reluctant to step forward to take a penalty to help them overcome fears etc.

As a side note - how good was Harry Maguire's penalty - he even took the camera out!
 
Will gladly swap racists for migrants.
Ban them, refer them to the police, prosecute them.



After last night's match, vile racist abuse was directed at our heroic players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho. Minutes after the final whistle of the Euro final, The Football Association issued a statement which said: "We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible".


As multi-racial football fans, we finally feel represented by this anti-racist and inclusive England team. We could not be more proud or inspired by our magnificent team and by their talent, bravery, leadership and love for all. Gareth Southgate's England team plays for ALL of us. Their vision is an inclusive vision and this matters more than EVER - it's why we feel proud of this team and why they're so cherished and loved by many of us. There should be no room for racists and bigotry in football or society.


We are calling for the Football Association and the government to work together now to ban all those who have carried out racist abuse, online or offline, from all football matches in England for life.


Our England team stood up for all of us - now we must stand up for them.
 
Similar to a sex offenders register there should be a racial hate crimes register that can be publicly viewed and so people can see exactly who the offenders are and what they wrote. Employers should have the right to fire anyone who gets added to it or do pre-employment checks so they can avoid hiring anyone who is on it.
 
Similar to a sex offenders register there should be a racial hate crimes register that can be publicly viewed and so people can see exactly who the offenders are and what they wrote. Employers should have the right to fire anyone who gets added to it or do pre-employment checks so they can avoid hiring anyone who is on it.
Not sure about that to be honest. Bit of a slippery slope and would leave itself open to be abused (most systems can tbf)
 
So I disagreed earlier that other sports would be similar to football if they were more popular.



Tell me another sport where you see scenes like this. Certainly nothing like it in rugby as far as I know. Football is on a whole different level and while it's not accepted, the footballing authorities and community don't do enough to stop it. If anything it's a make a statement condemning it and then pretend like it's not a big issue.
 
So I disagreed earlier that other sports would be similar to football if they were more popular.



Tell me another sport where you see scenes like this. Certainly nothing like it in rugby as far as I know. Football is on a whole different level and while it's not accepted, the footballing authorities and community don't do enough to stop it. If anything it's a make a statement condemning it and then pretend like it's not a big issue.

I still can't make out what's going on in that vid, are there fans with tickets acting as vigilantes and stopping people from breaking in? It's all England fan on England fan apart from the lad who looked Italian enough to give an extra kicking to.
 
So I disagreed earlier that other sports would be similar to football if they were more popular.



Tell me another sport where you see scenes like this. Certainly nothing like it in rugby as far as I know. Football is on a whole different level and while it's not accepted, the footballing authorities and community don't do enough to stop it. If anything it's a make a statement condemning it and then pretend like it's not a big issue.

Football is on another level because in terms of popularity it is on another level.

It's really bad, no argument from me there but I've seen scuffles in grounds at rugby and obviously countless fights on the pitch and some off it which leads me to think if you had billions of people worldwide who loved the sport and a lot of them are stupid fucks then you'd get similar results.
 
I'm not 100% either, but the fact that it even happens is an indication of the state of football in this country.
 
Similar to a sex offenders register there should be a racial hate crimes register that can be publicly viewed and so people can see exactly who the offenders are and what they wrote. Employers should have the right to fire anyone who gets added to it or do pre-employment checks so they can avoid hiring anyone who is on it.
Unless you are planning to individually prosecute every individual one this is a pretty scary thought to be honest. Understand the good intentions but a pretty dangerous idea if it ever happened on minority reporting essentially
 

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