Euro 2012

[Undisputedtruth]

Apparent Joe Cole had a good season. I support his recall given his experience and talent.

[Otta]

Cahill out, and still no Rio. Terry to be reassessed Tuesday. Sod's Law suggests that he'll be the one who recovers and makes it to the tournament.

[Jah Lush]

Blimey that's a blow. Roy's unrequited love in with Liverpool continues as he calls up their inexperienced full-back Martin Kelly as his replacement. Errr.....why?

[Otta]

It is very odd isn't it. I guess he has made the decision to keep Terry and Ferdinand apart, and as long as Terry remains in the squad he feels he can't go back on it. I'm not a huge Ferdinand fan, and think his fitness is a worry, but how is he still out.

I also think Richards could play centre, yet Roy continues to ignore him. Bit odd.

[red devil]

I think we all know why he's not picking Rio.

But maybe there is method in his madness for his subsequent decisions...

midfielder (Barry) gets injured and he drafts in a centre half (Jagielka);

centre half (Cahill) gets injured and he drafts in a full back (Kelly);

ergo, a full back will get injured and he'll draft in a midfielder...as you were

[Jah Lush]

I think he's hoping that Phil "play anywhere" Jones can plug those gaps but if he gets injured he really will be fukced. Richards would have been a very good fit.

[Jah Lush]

Roy Hodgson's thought processess.

[????]

I'm beginning to understand where the Liverpool fans were coming from....

[Otta]

To be fair, Rio wouldn't exactly be a move for the future. Not that Terry or Gerrard are, but there you go.

I certainly don't agree with Rio's "representative" saying it's disrespecting Rio. That is arrogance.

[Otta]

Saw this comment on BBC website, and think it's a good summary.

Ever since Roy Hodgson was appointed we've been told by the media that Rio Ferdinand

did not want to play alongside John Terry and

that Roy had a big decision to make regarding

which (if either) to take to Euro 2012.

He made that decision, and now we're being

told by the media that Ferdinand SHOULD'VE

been picked as a replacement for Gary Cahill,

to be in the squad WITH John Terry. He even

posted on Twitter to air his own frustrations

about not being called up.

So which one is it? Either way, yet again, the

media and tabloid press have been making

up stories to the detriment of the England

team.

Lets also not forget that Ferdinand's own club manager basically said he wasn't up to playing the amount of matches in a short space of time that the tournament requires.

[Alan Medic]

Otta Wrote:

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> To be fair, Rio wouldn't exactly be a move for the

> future. Not that Terry or Gerrard are, but there

> you go.

>

> I certainly don't agree with Rio's

> "representative" saying it's disrespecting Rio.

> That is arrogance.

This representative's comment implies that Rio never had an issue with playing with JT or he would hardly have made it. In which case the managers reason for not picking him must still stand. I don't buy into the concept you have to prepare for 'the future' giving that a tournament only comes round every 2 years and in England's case they've been preparing for the future since 1966. Play your best team if you can work out what it is.

[red devil]

Despite believing he has shortcomings as a manager, I've always thought Hodgson was an honourable and honest bloke.

He said he didn't pick Rio for 'footballing reasons', nothing to do with the media claim that it had to be Terry or Ferdinand...fair enough, despite Rio being the best footballing centre back we have, let's give Hodgson the benefit of the doubt, move on and get behind England etc.

But with the loss of Cahill and then bringing in a virtual rookie at full back, the 'fotballing reasons' excuse has totally been blown out of the water...bang goes Hodgson's credibility.

Fergie's statement didn't surprise me, he will always put Utd first before country, many fans of all clubs think that way too.

I'm not sure when Fergie made that statement, as Rio actually played 3 games in 10 days towards the end of the season in April...in The Euros England have play something like 3 games in 9 days.

Kelly won't even play if Johnson stays fit, and if he did get injured Jones can play there.

Hodgson has lost a lot of his integrity over this matter.

[Otta]

For all we know, SAF had a word with Hodgson and asked him not to pick Rio. I wouldn't put it past SAF, and I wouldn't be surprised if Roy obeyed.

Personally I'd be happiest with an England without Terry or Rio.

[maxxi]

Anything the England team achieves with Terry as a part of it will be tarnished. Rio and Carrick and Cole (and not because they are all WH old boys) should all have been included and/or persuaded to join the squad.

[Joe Shmoe]

Euro 2012 Fantasy Football if anyone fancies it. If there's enough interest, then I can set up a specific EDF league?

http://en.euro2012fantasy.uefa.com/my-leagues/23869/join/?autojoin-code=97559-23869.

You shouldn't need the league code, but just in case here it is: 97559-23869.

[Mick Mac]

Otta Wrote:

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> For all we know, SAF had a word with Hodgson and

> asked him not to pick Rio. I wouldn't put it past

> SAF, and I wouldn't be surprised if Roy obeyed.

>

> Personally I'd be happiest with an England without

> Terry or Rio.

You are completely wrong there Otta. No England manager would put SAFs needs before that of England.

[Undisputedtruth]

Absolutely, in fact SAF backed Rio for Euro 2012 last month.

[MrBen]

Doesn't really matter who England have at the back thoygh does it? I don't believe they are good enough to scrape past group stage with any convincing style. At the moment on a good day , with the wind behind them they're as good as perhaps Sweden.

What's wound up the Celtic nations for years has been the sense of English (fame/media) entitlement to win major tournaments bordering on arrogance at times. "England expects"....a legacy of 1966, now half a century ago. The only glimmer of hope is the tiny spark of a reality check setting in - Roy Hodgson is low key . As soon as everyone stops expecting they might start doing alright again.

Predictably it's the Irish for me - I always enjoy watching them.

[Otta]

Mick Mac Wrote:

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> You are completely wrong there Otta. No England manager would put SAFs needs before that of England.

How do you know?

I wasn't being entirely serious by the way.

[red devil]

MrBen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What's wound up the Celtic nations for years has

> been the sense of English (fame/media) entitlement

> to win major tournaments bordering on arrogance at

> times.

maybe we need to learn a lesson like you did in '78...

 

[Undisputedtruth]

Proper footballing lesson here:

 

[????]

MrBen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Doesn't really matter who England have at the back

> thoygh does it? I don't believe they are good

> enough to scrape past group stage with any

> convincing style. At the moment on a good day ,

> with the wind behind them they're as good as

> perhaps Sweden.

>

> What's wound up the Celtic nations for years has

> been the sense of English (fame/media) entitlement

> to win major tournaments bordering on arrogance at

> times. "England expects"....a legacy of 1966, now

> half a century ago. The only glimmer of hope is

> the tiny spark of a reality check setting in - Roy

> Hodgson is low key . As soon as everyone stops

> expecting they might start doing alright again.

>

> Predictably it's the Irish for me - I always enjoy

> watching them.

Furthermore the realism has ruined the betting opportunity that laying England has offered for many a year. At 5s this is nearly free money at 14s+ it gets a bit hairier :'(

[Annette Curtain]

Is this the betting thread ?

Or is it about the beautiful game

:-S

[Huguenot]

"Proper footballing lesson here"

What was the lesson?

Surely in football the only 'lessons' that can't be learnt are those regarding behaviour, strategy or tactics?

You could learn a lesson about concentration, or bad field placing, or preparation.

You can't learn a lesson about skill when facing Brazil, unless the lesson that you learnt was about impoverishing 200 million people, restricting their access to education or employment such that all they had to do all day was play football well, hope to be spotted and signed up before you and your family died an early death from malnutrition or a curable disease?

Great teams are always linked with economic failure.

England will do well this tournament with no heroes and a failing economy ;-)

[????]

Great teams are always linked with economic failure.

- Cruyffs Holland?