Euro 2012 - Day 4!
posted by The Blue Devil @ 9:03 AM
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Contributors
Previous Posts
- Classic Shirt Competition
- Euro 2012 - Day 3!
- Euro 2012 - Day 2!
- U.S. v. Antigua
- Euro 2012 - Day 1!
- How much are you prepared to watch?
- Euro 2012 Preview - Ukraine
- No-nonsense Polish Cops
- Euro 2012 Preview - Sweden
- Let's Be Havin' Ya!
445 Comments:
I'm glued to the Guardian's live blog site. They're predicting this for the England starting XI:
4-4-1-1) Hart; Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole; Milner, Gerrard, Parker, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Young; Welbeck.
I'd be delighted if that is the starting XI. I was gritting my teeth at the prospect of Stewart Downing on the left. The Ox will be a much more effective wild card.
And this is the likely French line-up:
(4-3-3) Lloris; Debuchy, Rami, Mexès, Evra; Cabaye, Diarra, Malouda; Nasri, Benzema, Ribéry.
UWS is currently the top scorer in the Euro 2012 Predictions game with an impressive 11 points.
UWS has just arrived home from school and is breaking with his usual practice and is donning his own lucky England kit.
The FA has confirmed the line-up that I posted above with The Ox in on the left in place of Downing. I'm liking it.
Wouldn't say lucky shirt... I never wear it while their playing! In fact, I can't wear anything United either when they are playing.
SO... Bob has assured me that it won't matter... it is on his shoulders!!
Good morning UWS and BD. Great to join you on this important day. I am not wearing an England shirt as I am trying to stay cool today.
Allez trois lyons!
Keep cool MUR
Ta UWS! Glad to see you could make it home in time for the big match.
I like the England lineup, but am not really familiar with some of the French players, so I cannot completely comment on their selection.
LEXI BELIEVES IN ENGLAND... WHAT US UP WITH THIS WORLD!
The arrogant Red starts with his usual jibber jabber.
Bollocks doesn't rate them
Afternoon, MUR - it's going to be a pleasure sharing this England triumph with you.
Bob was right . It has been hot in Donetsk today with temperatures in the upper 80s. Will that be a determining factor today?
Macca is quietly confident.
Hello BD. Likewise. It was great chatting with you and Shadow earlier. Nice house, UWS. Sparky was not exactly shy .
Not surprising from the robotic Bollocks.
I think the weather is a problem. I thought England were going to do well in SA because of it being a winter cup... that didn't work out!
IT'S COMING HOME IS BLASTING HERE
Good thing they're not playing in South Texas. It's even worse here.
We're in the midst of a rousing rendition of "Three Lions."
Teams in the tunnel....
Here come the teams... well done ESPN for showing it.
Will be getting a commercial before kick off?
"Send her victorious..." La la la!
Time for the national anthems , starting with " God Save the Queen." Next will be " The Marseilleise."
God Save the Queen sung loudly in Scotia
UWS and I are re-creating the classic "Man with a tape recorder up his nose" Python sketch with the French anthem in the backdrop.
Plenty of French support with ex Man Yoo player, Larry White, in charge of the French.Plenty of French support.
I'm on pins and needles....come on, you England boys!
Looks like no commercials.... LOVELY JUBBLEY!!!
Brilliant conduct from UWS and BD, fitting in with the theme of the match. The Monte Python sketch was a brilliant idea!
Keeper the french captain.. why???
Nicola Rizzoli of Italy is in charge. He will probably be strict as he probably hates both countries!
Away we go!!!
Come on, England!
I think he has been the captain throughout qualifying . Evra was stripped of the captaincy due to his S.A. antics.
We're off from Donetsk!
England will look to utilize the pace of Ox as we just observed.
Very marginal offside call there on Milner.
Just offside by Welbeck as he was put through by Young.
Boring boring France!!
Nice rob by The Ox but his final ball let him down.
Great tackle by Ox on Remi, but his pass was off.A bit of French nerves?
Well played by Ox and then a useless cross
French being very boring.
Is it due to the heat or is it due to Larry White's tactics?
France finally get the ball over half!!
Benzema shepherded out for a corner there.
Benzema wins a French corner from a delightful chip.
The Corner is defended well.
The corner from Nasri fails to beat the first man . More of the same.
Woy is also staring at France from the white cliffs of Dover!
Very cagey opening here on a roasting hot day.
England should try to go at Mexes. I agree with Ian that he is the weak link.
Cole fouls Nasri and France have a free kick near the corner flag.
Nasri goes down rather easily from a tap by Cashley.
Well collected by Joe Hart.
The free kick from Malouda is headed away then Hart gathers a cross.
Useless by Johnson... get it over
France are boring old farts!!!
Well in, Stevie G!
Useless by Nasri as England fans whistle due to the extremely slow French pace.
Great recovery there by Glen.
Ribery wins a corner from a nice through ball from Cabaye.
Bloody hell... Calamity James impersonation there!!!
Bloody hell, Joe - making me nervous there.
Hart dropped the corner from Nasri, but it was hoofed away.
Nasri hits one near post - too close for my taste. Shouldn't have let him get the shot off.
Into the side netting from Nasri, but Hart seemed to have it covered.
The French are starting to impose themselves in this match.
Well in, Danny.
A slip by Lescott gifts possession to the French.
Come on, referee!
Not liking how England are sitting back too much
Great tackling and surely Young was tripped on the break by evra.
I guess it was fair, looking at the replay.
OPEN GOAL MILNER!!!!!!!!!!!
OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Jamie Milner runs in, rounds the keeper but can't find the goal with his left peg.
BLOODY HELL! MILNER ROUNDS LLORIS AND SHOOTS INTO THE SIDE NETTING. THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN ENGLAND LEAD AFTER A SUPERB THROUGH BALL FROM PARKER.
Cabaye draws a save out of Hart.
Great save by Hart from Cabaye after a lengthy possession.
Still only two goals have been scored in the Ukraine this tournament.
A no nonsense , old fashioned clearance from Remi
Nearly there from The Ox to Young. Just ran too early.
Great skill from Ox, but Young was flagged offside.
I still believe England's speedy forwards should run at the cumbersome Mexes.
Risky back header from Glen that just barely makes it back to Hart.
The cross from Glen was far too high.
Promising signs here. I agree with Macca that France's defense looks porous in the middle.
Two USELESS crosses by England from the right!
One didn't beat the first man
the other way overhit!!
YOU'RE PROFESSIONAL!!!
England deal easily with the cross from Evra then win a free kick
Oh dear - what is that. Welbeck was trod on there and he doesn't look good at all.
Especially the clumsy Mexes.
Welbeck is down receiving treatment . I hope he's okay.
Welbeck is limping off now. He should be able to continue.
Jon in Eastleigh on text: "Would Theo or Aaron Lennon have scored that? The answer must be yes. Milner not an international player for me."
Not sure Theo would have!
Nasri crosses for Ribery, who will not win many aerial challenges.Lots of Spanish style possession from the French.
Debuchy isn't getting much joy out of Cashley.
I agree. I would have preferred Lennon, but Woy and I will agree to disagree.
I don't think Theo is any better than Milner.
Another marginal offside call there.
The pass from Stevie G is cut out and offside is called after a great through ball from Ox to Welbeck.
Oh - Welbeck nearly had Remi there.
Welbeck skips past Mexes, who does well to recover and win back possession.
Debuchy attempts to go past Cashley ,but it breaks for Hart.
Nearly half an hour now - I'm reasonably pleased so far.
Free kick chance now - this one's going in!
YES!!!!
LESCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
LESCOTT HEADS IN THE FREE KICK FROM STEVIE G!
YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
Glad Gerrard's first free-kick had to he retaken!!
His first international goal and what a perfect time to score. It was worth the wait after the ref was taking ions because he was being so picky.
Me too, UWS.
I predicted that one - great delivery by Stevie G onto Lescott's oddly shaped bonce. Great header.
1-0 Engerlund!
Come on England... get another one
Useless goal kick from Lloris. More of the same please!
Great job Nostrabobus!
Great tackle, Glen.
Cheers, MUR!
Keep it tight til half
Poor first touch by Young that ruined a great move.
I was about to comment that though France has control of the game, it has Ribery and 10 players bereft of pace on defense and inspiration going forward. This is a deadly combination, and I was going to predict a victory for the English. As i was on my way to the computer, GOAL!
I heard you received a tip from Shadow.
Yellow card for The Ox for a foul on Debuchy. Harsh.
I was just dancing with Shadow.
Ox is booked for a rash challenge.
Great save, Hart!
STRUTH!!
Great header... great save... just wide
PHEW!!
Diarra with two bites of the cherry. Lucky.
I remain with my comment. Ribery and the 10 stooges.
OH! Nearly 1-1 as Hart made a world class save from a header off the free kick from Nasri. How did Ribery beat JT in the air
PHEW!
Cabaye should have been booked there for a foul on Parker.
Hello Red Devil. Great description and Mexes and the king of the stooges.They need to quit playing the Spanish style tippy tap football as their players are not meant to play that style. I expected more flair from them.
I agree. Poor by Cabaye and inconsistency from the ref.
Diarra had two chances from that free kick.
BUGGERRRRRRRR!
When is England going to come up with a world-class keeper again? That was sad.
Not enough pressure on the French midfielders there and Nasri had plenty of time and space to line up that shot at Hart's near post.
1-1!
BLOODY HELL!!
WHY GIVE HIM SO MUCH SPACE!!
Clear the ball to teammates too!
Nasri being an idiot with his celebration
BUGGER!!! 1-1 AS NASRI SCORES WITH A GREAT FINISH OFF HIS MAN CITEH TEAMMATE, BUT HART SHOULD HAVE DONE BETTER AT THE NEAR POST AFTER A LENGTHY FRENCH POSSESSION.
I agree . I was wondering about the lack of pressure before the goal was even scored.
Ribery loses the ball a lot, but he is a danger man. He understands weaknesses and attacks them relentlessly. Good pass back from him.
Cabaye is living dangerously (and sucking).
The total goal output has doubled.
Don't like how Gerrard was isolated against Ribery there.
I agree 100%, Red Devil. As we talk that man Ribery wins a corner.
England are starting to bug me now
Not creative enough
Not positive enough
Sound familiar
Parker heads away the corner from Ribery.
Gerrard needs to be more attacking... let Parker stay back
We just need to get to half-time now and regroup.
I am NOT liking what I am seeing right now!
How it changes so quickly
I agree with you about Cabaye. He head a great season with Newcastle, but I think there are better French midfield players.Am I mistaken?
I agree. England needs to make sure not to concede before halftime , regroup and hydrate themselves.
Cabaye picks up yet another corner.
Cabaye has a shot deflect for a corner.
Good punch out by Joe.
I am buying up DVDs of classic EC and WC with a bunch of vintage 80s France. This team is nothing like that, when they had a four man midfield, each of which were playmakers (Tigana, Giresse, Fernandez, and Platini). Ribery is even more imposing that Zidane was. That could be a negative thing - few of the others are seizing any initiative.
Hart punches away the corner from Nasri then rushes out to block a pass from Benzemoi.
Please keep them out...
One minute of stoppage time.
England look knackered
Benzema could be faulted for being greedy, but playing with CR7 would make anyone greedy.
Half time
All square
What a shame
I enjoyed watching that French 80s side and thought they were really unfortunate in 1982.
Alright - half time then. I would have taken 1-1 at the start so I won't be disappointed now.
Halftime and 1-1
No Citeh players have ever scored in the Euros and then like London busses two come at once
IS Ribery CR7 ?
England needs to up the intensity just a bit in the midfield. France is uninspired, but if you give them that much space, it builds them up and invites them to be more assertive. I am missing a Paul Ince type out there who can get stuck in and run at the opposition with the ball.
And one Citeh player conceded too.
Parker was supposed to be that player as well as Stevie G, but neither has done that. The heat may be a determining factor.
Sorry, CR7 is Christiano Ronaldo=Himbo
Welcome, Red Devil. I agree with you. England need to be more competitive in terms of winning the 50/50 balls in midfield. Gerrard and Parker are surrounding too much space there. Because when England break, they look dangerous.
Yeah, I think Gerrard's compounding injuries and age have taken that away from him. I expected more from Parker. I guess he is smart, but not quite as much a physical animal.
I was also a fan of the French side of 82-84, although the 82 Brazilian side was my all-time favorite. It's the last great World Cup, in my view.
Parke r is normally physical, but age and injuries have affected him too. At Man United we refer to CR7 as Skippy and are all too familiar with his ball hogging.
I agree with both statements . I wish Brazil vs France was the final in 1982. The closest thing to a good World Cup since then was the 1994 tournament.
I didn't like the 94 version
Of course, the Final had to be scoreless to fuel the american no scoring complaint
We're underway in the second half then.
Woy and Ray Lewington collaborate as the second half is underway.
Away we go for the second half
What a shame - the England brass band were refused entry by UEFA officials. Ridiculous!
The sun is going down in the Ukrainian evening and that may help Engelund.
I agree. UEFA needs to focus on Solving racial problems and hooliganism instead of this nonsense.
I want a win!!!
Too much French possession as they are not being pressured.
Hospital ball there by Milner but Hart recovered well.
Useless cross from Milner, but he wins a corner.
First corner for England. This one needs to go in.
Poor corner from Stevie G straight to Lloris.
Man, if Nasri had gone in harder, he might have pulled out a penalty or at least corner. In any case, the English are just building up the French more than they need to with this limp zone defense.
Get the card out, ref!
Stupid foul by Nasri on Ox.
England seem to be doing a lot of standing around
I am not a big Theo fan , but his pace may unsettle a tired French team in these warm conditions.
Better possession for England now.
USeless cross from Glen, but Ox does well to keep it in play.
Stone cold foul there on Gerrard on the edge of the area. Come on, Ref.
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