The Official *England to Euro 2012 Glory* Thread

[Duty281]

First topic message reminder :

46 years of hurt will end on the 1 July 2012 for this is England's time! The foreign enemy will pale at the sight of England's mighty warriors who will all be heroes over the next 6 weeks and become legends.

Yes, many may point to weaknesses in the squad but what do I see?

I see a team with quite possibly the greatest keeper in the World at the moment. A team with the greatest left back in the world. A defence full of men, full of leaders and full of warriors that will fight for the cause! A midfield general by the name of Steven Gerrard - a Champions League winner - who will lead England to that next step. Backing him will be another Champions League winner, Frank Lampard who has played against the best this season and beaten them and Scotty Parker, the glue in England's midfield. A team that has two very exciting and talented wingers - the Ox and Ashley Young who could be as great as John Barnes and Paul Gascoigne respectfully. A strikeforce led by Wayne Rooney who is one of the best and the most feared in the World at the minute backed up by his clubmate Danny Welbeck and a proven international goalscorer Jermain Defoe. The fearless band of players will be led by the impeccable Roy Hodgson, a man with international experience and someone who's actually English.

Then I take a look at the other 15 teams in the tournament and this is what I see:

France - Terrible World Cup and going nowhere fast. 1-0 England.
Sweden - Didn't qualify for the last World Cup. Next.
Ukraine - A test as their on home soil but I would still back England.

And the rest:

Poland - Won't make it out of their group.
Greece - Read above.
Russia - Probably won't meet England but if they do a 2-0 victory for England.
Czech Republic - Read above.

Holland - Tough but not good defensively, 2-1 England if the two ever should meet.
Denmark - Won't make it past the group stages.
Germany - Possible semi-final, don't think a dodgy Uruguayan will deny England this time.
Portugal - Will be edged out by Holland in the group. Bye bye Ronaldo, don't cry.

Spain - Tap, tap, tap. Play like Barca and will crumble like Barca as well.
Italy - Probable quarter-final, and it should be 2-0 England. Remember Italy-New Zealand?
Ireland - Sorry Ireland, you'll finish 3rd.
Croatia - Won't make it out of the group.

So yeah, that's how I see it. The probable path will be:

GS: France (1-0 England)
GS: Sweden (2-0 England)
GS: Ukraine (1-1 England)
QF: Italy (2-0 England)
SF: Germany (3-2 England)
F: Spain (1-0 England)

Come on England!

Spoiler:

[mystiroakey]

saying its easy is abit silly lol. the top 16 euro teams fighting it out is bar far the highest quality international team tourny of possibly any sport there is(imo).

but under the circumstances englands group is easier than 2 others and us england fans should be happy,

but truth is - its immaterial- going with the cliche here

to win you gotta beat the best whenever you play em

[Duty281]

None of the groups are easy. England's group is probably the second easiest but Ukraine on their own patch won't be easy and France are always a tricky side.

England 1-0 France
England 2-0 Sweden
England 1-1 Ukraine

[mystiroakey]

One thing to note about englands group is that 2 of the teams have had quite good records against us in recent years, and sweden untill recently was allways our international bogey team.

We have much better records v better teams.

The teams are well set up to counter our style of play. so it isnt gonna be plain sailing- and if it ends up being an easy quailfication i will truely be shocked.

Although we really need to be looking to qualify in an easy fashion. it will take alot of pressure of that final game and we can rest players

[Thomond]

You think England draw with Ukraine but beat France? That's just insane. Lads no matter what way you slice that is an easy group. France should be the only one to cause you problems.

[mystiroakey]

England dont make easy work of groups- yes we normally get out of them and on paper we should get out of this one. But i dont think you have seen much of england in tournies if you wanna come out with that above statement- its pretty stupid in fairness. Your giving us to much credit.

England noramlly also play much better v better opposition, so in that respect yes we could very easily beat frnace and draw to ukraine- we could also loose to em both though- bascially its a lottery

[Thomond]

It's an easy group, no denying that. England should get our of it, England will make tough work of it they always do but if they don't get out of it, I would be surprised and wondering if Woy should keep his job.

[mystiroakey]

ermm.

ok thommond.

personally i dont think roy should be judged on this tourny at all.

I didnt want him picked in the first place, BUT know that he has he needs to be given a qualy campaign to tourny at the bare minimum

[Guest]

It's an easy group, no denying that. England should get our of it, England will make tough work of it they always do but if they don't get out of it, I would be surprised and wondering if Woy should keep his job.

He's already gone on record as saying it's all about building towards the 2014 World Cup. England could lose all three games and he'd still keep his job. He's in a no lose situation in my opinion. His squad, which he has had five minutes to work with, has been decimated by injury.He's had some awful luck. My money is on us getting four points.

[Guest]

ermm.

ok thommond.

personally i dont think roy should be judged on this tourny at all.

I didnt want him picked in the first place, BUT know that he has he needs to be given a qualy campaign to tourny at the bare minimum

Agreed.

[Thomond]

You're an easy crowd to wind up..... Of course Woy shouldn't really be judged on this but he should really get them through out of the group.

[The Special Juan]

*ahem*

England
Algeria
Slovenia
Yanks

That came back to bite The Sun on the backside, didn't it?

[Guest]

You're an easy crowd to wind up..... Of course Woy shouldn't really be judged on this but he should really get them through out of the group.

Doesn't always work like that though does it? Football isn't played on paper and better teams than England have fallen at the first hurdle in international tournaments.

By the way I'm a tad surprised at the lack of respect shown towards the Swedes, who we have only beaten once in how many matches? That one could be the stickler..

[mystiroakey]

swedes are our bogey team- so glad we beat em recently though- that game was massive for our mindset

[Duty281]

You think England draw with Ukraine but beat France? That's just insane. Lads no matter what way you slice that is an easy group. France should be the only one to cause you problems.

Yes Ukraine are the hosts and will be difficult to beat on their own turf. Stop saying it's an easy group when it clearly isn't. Sweden and Ukraine are no mugs.

[Thomond]

It is an easy group, I would almost back Ireland to get out of that group that tells you of the quality in it. Ukraine are poor, Sweden better but still worse than England. It is not that difficult a group at all.

[mystiroakey]

It only tells us what we allready know Thomond- you dont rate ukraine or sweden.

We know how tricky they can be

[Duty281]

It is an easy group, I would almost back Ireland to get out of that group that tells you of the quality in it. Ukraine are poor, Sweden better but still worse than England. It is not that difficult a group at all.

Sweden are poor but Ukraine, on their own turf, won't be. You'd back Ireland to come out of that group? Now I know you're joking.

[JamesLincs]

moron. didnt ukraine beat us last year? didnt they also beat the germans a few months back? sweden are the weakest side in the group i think, and obv we know about the franch

this group isnt easy!

just looked and they drew with germany, but almost beat them

[Thomond]

England are better than both of them. Friendlies are meaningless, are you going to tell me Switzerland are better than Germany because they beat them a few weeks back? There were what I think 5 definite starters for Germany playing in that game against Ukraine. Is this group easier than Ireland's group? You bet your ass it is.


It is the second easiest group in the tournament. England have little ambition if they don't think they can get out of it. Sweden/Ukraine should be 4 points minimum.

As for the moron jibe? Grow up.

[Duty281]

England's group is the second easiest BUT there are no easy groups in the Euros aside from Group A.

[Liam]

England's group is the second easiest BUT there are no easy groups in the Euros aside from Group A.

Exactly when you compare it to the other groups apart from A then its not as daunting as you first think. Then, you looks at the fact I think England have never beaten Sweden in a major tournament, France beat England in Euro 2004 and Ukraine on home soil, add that to the injuries they have suffered and the group is actually in the balance.

That first game against the French is a huge game. Whoever wins will top the group imo. France vs Sweden is also just as big as the England games.

[ian_jamsie]

The French side is way better than the England team.

[GSC]

Defoe has returned home due to the death of his father. Will return in due course.

[Duty281]

The French side is way better than the England team.

At the end of France-England on Monday, I suspect I'll be writing on this forum sonmething along the lines of:

" They didn't take their chances, we did and we won 1-0."

[Gregers]

Rumour is Gerrard might be out...

Pick Joe Cole!

[lorus59]

The French side is way better than the England team.

At the end of France-England on Monday, I suspect I'll be writing on this forum sonmething along the lines of:

" They didn't take their chances, we did and we won 1-0."

You know maybe one of these days the attacking team will take its chances and the park the bus teams will get slaughtered.

[Duty281]

The French side is way better than the England team.

At the end of France-England on Monday, I suspect I'll be writing on this forum sonmething along the lines of:

" They didn't take their chances, we did and we won 1-0."

You know maybe one of these days the attacking team will take its chances and the park the bus teams will get slaughtered.

I'm not saying we'll park the bus, I'm saying we'll look to hit the French on the counter.

[mystiroakey]

never seen england actually park the bus anyway(well not as a game plan)- spain can force you into it for long periods- but there isnt much else you can do about that!!

[Guest]

never seen england actually park the bus anyway(well not as a game plan)- spain can force you into it for long periods- but there isnt much else you can do about that!!

Me neither mystir. Surely there are rules on public transport entering the field of play?

[Trebs]

Too many years, have come and gone
This is our time, to prove them wrong
We'll win, if we stand strong
Wouldn't that be unbelievable!

Some say, that we're not good enough
But with, a little bit of luck
We can bring home the cup
Wouldn't that be unbelievable!

WE ARE ENGLAND
SO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH (COME ON ENGLAND)
WE ARE ENGLAND
WE'RE ENGLAND TIL WE DIE
WE'RE GONNA SING FOR ENGLAND

(ENGLAND)
THE WHOLE OF EUROPE WILL HEAR US
AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA BELIEVE US
WE'RE ENGLAND FANS
COME ON AND SING FOR ENG-ER-LAND

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA (ENGLAND) X 3

We love you, England heart and soul
We'll sing out loud and play our role
Go score the winning goal
Wouldn't that be unbelievable!

WE ARE ENGLAND
SO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH (COME ON ENGLAND)
WE ARE ENGLAND
WE'RE ENGLAND TIL WE DIE
WE'RE GONNA SING FOR ENG-ER- LAND

[Duty281]

25 Hours to kick-off. We'll know a lot more about England come 19:00 tomorrow, I'm still sticking to my prediction of 1-0 England. France to be shut out and Welbeck/Young/Gerrard to score the only goal. Come on England!

[Crimey]

I think it'll be 1-0 to England as well, probably a late goal as well.

[Jennifer1984]

Well, we'll all see how good England are tomorrow, won't we.? In 24 hours time, the OP will either be telling us he told us so, or the board will resound with all the same old excuses.... poor refereeing.... blatant fouling and diving by those 'orrible foreigners (as if we never foul or dive).... rotten luck..... We've heard them all before.

For the life of me, I can't see England winning tomorrow. I'd like us to, but I just don't see it. Quite simply, the French are better than England in every department and no amount of wishful thinking will make things otherwise.

OK... we may just get lucky.... Joe Hart has a blinder and keeps the score at 0-0 until we fluke a jammy stoppage time winner. I'd take that. It'd be great to win the game by any means, but the downside of it would be that all of a sudden, we'd be convinced that England are on the verge of global domination..... only for the crushing disappointment when reality kicks in the next time we get steamrollered by a team that finishes the job. Probably the Germans somewhere along the line.

We have to face up to it... In qualifiers, England are flat track bullies who can get past the Andorras and the Macedonias of the qualifying stages. But there are no Luxembourgs at the finals. We're amongst the big boys now and frankly, we're not good enough.

Perhaps we may pinch something against Sweden.... or Ukraine... and possibly even get to the Quarter Finals. Heck, that'd be rising above expectation in itself.

If it doesn't happen though, let's not slaughter the manager. This one won't have been his fault. Too little preparation and not enough time to sort out all the baggage he's inherited.

There will be other challenges on other days. I think that in three weeks time, we'll be putting this one down to experience.

.

[mystiroakey]

the french arnt better in ever department- but there are better possesion footballers. england can still win.. we dont have to face up to anything jennifer- we are at a tourny, we are here IT IS THE TIME- we will face what ever happens and very shortly..

I dont think anyone is gonna slaughter the manager either- what ever happens.

lol you talk about the big boys - that makes me laugh- the big boys are germany,spain,italy and france- they are the big boys- no one else!! if you want to say any other team is then you are bigging up teams for the sake of bringing down england!

[Duty281]

I do believe we beat the French in '82 so:

This time, more than any other time, this time,
We're going to find a way,
Find a way to get away,
This time, getting it all together

To win them all,
It's what we'll set out to do
We have a dream,
We know you're sharing it too

This time, more than any other time, this time,
We're going to find a way,
Find a way to get away,
This time, getting it all together

We'll get it right
This time, get it right,
This time

It makes you wonder,
It makes you proud
To play for England,
And hear the crowd

As we're marching
On towards victory

This time,
This time

This time England...this time.

[mystiroakey]

duty if you hadnt got all 6 predictors wrong i might have had faith pal!!

[Stella]

I can see a 1-1 tonight.

Redknapp says we have the best back five in the tournament. Not so sure but we do look well organised since Roy has come in.

[JamesLincs]

id be very happy with a score draw

[compelling and rich]

The Heat already being used as a early excuse!! Take a draw in this

[Liam]

Nice to see Roy didn't go with a completely negative selection. Would have been easy to go with Caroll, Downing and Milner but good on him for being bold and bringing in Welbeck, Ox and then Milner as the defensive winger.

That front 3 is pretty decent for the French. Benzema has been in imperious form for Madrid this season and in the warm up games. Nasri can be either hot or cold but Ribery has been excellent this season.

Also, Adrian Chiles is an absolutely awful football presenter. Just awful, its a bit embarrassing watching him sometimes and the questions he asks, you can see Keane and Viera sometimes thinking to themselves 'What a pointless question'.

[Duty281]

duty if you hadnt got all 6 predictors wrong i might have had faith pal!!

That's 7 wrong now!

[Duty281]

Topping the group is imperative. I have a feeling Group C will end up like so:

Italy 7
Croatia 6
Spain 4
Ireland 0

Wouldn't we love a quarter against Croatia (1-4, 5-1).

[JamesLincs]

so basically ireland spain will qualify

i said id take a score draw, and im absolutely delighted with it

[mystiroakey]

Duty my faith is restored. i see what your doing. you arnt using up your luck with the meaningless games.

One thing is certain. england look at worst a top half team. we can take some pride. and i think we abit.of luck we can do ok

[Jennifer1984]

the french arnt better in ever department- but there are better possesion footballers. england can still win.. we dont have to face up to anything jennifer- we are at a tourny, we are here IT IS THE TIME- we will face what ever happens and very shortly..

I dont think anyone is gonna slaughter the manager either- what ever happens.

lol you talk about the big boys - that makes me laugh- the big boys are germany,spain,italy and france- they are the big boys- no one else!! if you want to say any other team is then you are bigging up teams for the sake of bringing down england!

Actually, I was being objective. No, I'm not bigging up the other teams to bring down England, it's seeing things without rose tinted spectacles. But hey... your opinion is what it is, and fair play to you on that. If nobody had an alternative opinion, it'd be a pretty boring thread.

As things turned out, England played very well against the French and got a highly creditable 1 - 1 draw. Hell.... we even led the game for 9 whole minutes..!! But there were times when we were clinging on as the French gave us a lesson in passing and controlled possession. Joe Hart was by far the busier goalkeeper.

Samir Nasri pulled all the strings in the first half. England couldn't get near him. That's the sort of dominant performance that English midfielder's have to aspire to.

Plusses for England..? Welbeck worked hard up front and showed he has what it takes. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is definitely one for the future. Johnson made some good forays forward. As a team effort England kept their defensive shape, were disciplined and well organised. I think the French finished the game more frustrated than they let on.

This performance should send us into the Sweden match feeling more confident, but having said that, the Swedes must now beat England or go home. They will come at us with determination and gusto rather than the controlled approach of the French. Sweden will set England an entirely different set of challenges, methinks.

Will we be up to it.? Time will tell.

.

[mystiroakey]

[mystiroakey]

Just face it jenny england are the better team than you thought and you overrate the other teams. Many people are guilty of this so its not as if your in bad company.

Football is a game of varied styles. But england still had the better chances yesterday. Just because one style looks prettier doesnt mean its better!

Its still a tough qualifying group for us. And i hope we dont take the foot of the gas. England need to play with intensity levels(forget concentrating on how players should play- thats immaterAL- WE HAVE 3 TYPES OF PLAYERS ONLY- we have quality defenders, we have quick strong runners that can get past plenty and we have wayne rooney.

If we can keep pressure on the other team and play with speed we can beat anyone..

Development and talking about perhaps changing the way england play is a long term discussion. Lets just cheer our boys on and enjoy this event

[Hibbz]

I'm willing to say it. England did look better than I ever thought possible so I'm amazed at the criticism they're coming in for.

As a totally neutral viewer (okay I confess I wanted France to win) I thought it a much better game than expected although I thought both teams ended up happily and understandably playing for a draw. The French defence looked dodgy to me and with more confidence and less fear I thought England could have done some more damage. That said the French attack looked razor sharp and but for some last ditch challenges and fantastic blocks, from Parker in-particular, might have had more "shots on goal".

I'm still be predicting England defeats against Ukraine and Sweden though.

[Duty281]

Based on what Hibbz? Just the fact that you want your own country to lose.

[mystiroakey]

hibbz its nice to see your taking a slightly more positive look at england. we are gonna win you back with better play

[Sponsored content]