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:

[JamesLincs]

ukraine on home soil and the french, id call it a tough group. sweden will finish bottom

[compelling and rich]

I know france are not easy better squad than ours but certainly not to be feared, no superstars in their team like in the past with the likes of henry and zidane. And ukraine on home soil is better than germany or spain. no easy games in euros because the depth in quality in european football, but if you were to plan a group it wouldnt be far off

[mystiroakey]

France might not be the force they were but they're a whole lot better than they were in South Africa. All the dead weight and rioters were booted out. England fans shouldn't under estimate them.

not one englishman will underestimate them.

but we can still beat em

[Duty281]

Despite all the injuries to midfield I can still believe. We won't be beaten, our defence is too good for that. We have one of the best Goalkeepers in the World, the best Left Back in the World, Gary Cahill who managed to keep Bayern out on one leg for two hours, John Terry a born leader and Glen Johnson who's not too bad. Then we have the underrated Scott Parker who will break up any attack coming our way. We only need to score one goal against the French - cause the French won't score any.

[lorus59]

This great England team that Duty says out played Germany. Was that the same team that destroyed that footballing giant of a country, Algeria in the group stage?

[Duty281]

This great England team that Duty says out played Germany. Was that the same team that destroyed that footballing giant of a country, Algeria in the group stage?

Better to draw with Algeria than lose to Serbia.

[bretmeharty]

I needed a laugh on this gloomy Friday

[mystiroakey]

Jeas its like a crime to support england these days. Come on England:)

If you say anything slightly positive you get ripped to shreads.. blimey

[bretmeharty]

I would love England to do well, and will support them and be just as gutted as i was when i was the naive 13year old who thought we had a chance in 98', where ever they may fall, but the team is full of over paid flops and it will be no different to any other turny

[Duty281]

I would love England to do well, and will support them and be just as gutted as i was when i was the naive 13year old who thought we had a chance in 98', where ever they may fall, but the team is full of over paid flops and it will be no different to any other turny

We did have a chance in '98, only a very dodgy decision stopped us reaching the quarter-finals.

[lorus59]

Jeas its like a crime to support england these days. Come on England:)

If you say anything slightly positive you get ripped to shreads.. blimey

If you are English of course you will support them. The problem is the OP has them winning the competition with out any problem at all. I wonder if there is a website like this in say the Czech Republic for example that has some Czech nut plotting his team to victory over all the other superior teams.

[mystiroakey]

Lorus just get over it pal. All fans from all countries believe- in your country most people are religious nuts. But the irony in your statement is that england is possibly the most low key country when it comes to believeing in our team anyway.

I have no idea how you have taken the stance you have from dutys post, but you have and you are not reading between the lines.

[The Special Juan]

Is the friendly v Belgium on ITV1 tomorrow? So many players to see:

Courtois
Kompany
Vertonghen
Alderweireld
De Bruyne
Hazard
Witsel
Lukaku + more I'm sure

[Duty281]

Jeas its like a crime to support england these days. Come on England:)

If you say anything slightly positive you get ripped to shreads.. blimey

If you are English of course you will support them. The problem is the OP has them winning the competition with out any problem at all. I wonder if there is a website like this in say the Czech Republic for example that has some Czech nut plotting his team to victory over all the other superior teams.

We'll win it yes but I didn't say we'll win it without any problem at all. France and Sweden are overrated so no problems there but Ukraine will be a challenge and most likely a draw, as will Germany (hence the 3-2 scoreline) and of course Spain will be tough but I'll back England over Spain any day..

[mystiroakey]

It will be nice to see hazard for sure.

[mystiroakey]

The team i fear the most is holland for sure. They play in the right way from my pov. I also think russia have a shot. and yes i believe england have a chance at this.

I have a funny feeling that germany and spain might be a bit burnt out , but i am still gonna say spain are favs, and it doesnt seem to matter what anyone says about the germans they either do extremely well or not at all, and that never has any bearing on there actual players quality

[Duty281]

So does anyone else, alongside me, believe that England will win Euro 2012 or am I the only believer?

[mystiroakey]

The funny thing is all the press coming out is saying- dont believe and we will then have a chance of winning(well when you break it down)

So take that on board. By not beleiving are we saying we believe- or vice versa

[Hibbz]

The odds for England to lose all of their matches calculates as 33/1.

I think that's a much better bet than the 14/1 on them lifting the trophy.

I'm supporting Germany myself.

[mystiroakey]

I could never ever support germany- they are to good, and well not england. Supporting england obvioulsy as i am english. I woul;d like to see irelnad do well , and if all the favs are at the end- i hope holland smash the rest up!

[mystiroakey]

Hibbz by the way - you are german anyway arnt you!

[Hibbz]

No I'm English but enjoy the German style of play and like their players.

I loathe the English footballers and the hyperbole that follows them.

[mystiroakey]

ok - bit harsh mate to support the enemy(and i mean footballing enemy to us- due to so many big games we have had over the years)

You also support bernard langer!?

[The Special Juan]

So does anyone else, alongside me, believe that England will win Euro 2012 or am I the only believer?

I don't. I think you'll get mashed; if not in the group then by a quarter final opponent.

[mystiroakey]

mashed!!

nah we wont get mashed pal

[The Special Juan]

We'll see. Depends who you end up playing in the quarters if you get there.

[mystiroakey]

Out on pens as allways TSC

[Hibbz]

ok - bit harsh mate to support the enemy(and i mean footballing enemy to us- due to so many big games we have had over the years)

You also support bernard langer!?

Enemy to us? I've never played for the England football team and feel no allegiance to them at all.

[mystiroakey]

well you can feel that way if you want no dramas- but its kinda normal to support your local team or country, supporting who we and our neighbours/countrymen are and all that. the ups and downs come with it.but its our system and we pay our tax and have a vote. Just kinda the way things go dude!

[lorus59]

So does anyone else, alongside me, believe that England will win Euro 2012 or am I the only believer?

I think the problem with your statement is you believe they WILL win it. It should be they CAN win it if they play way above their level of talent and they get quite a bit of luck along the way. I think losing Rooney for the first 2 games could hurt them badly. He could be under pressure to do something special against Ukraine in the last group game and you know with his temperament, what could happen then.

[mystiroakey]

Duty is just happy to say he believes, he is happy to take the blind faith root.I doubt he is gonna be shocked when we dont win the thing!

[Duty281]

If we don't make the Semi Finals, I will be shocked. We will win Euro 2012, I've never been more sure of anything. Of course we should have won Euro 2004 and would have done but for a disgraceful referee decision and we should have won the World Cup in 06 but bad luck and shocking refereeing denied us again.

[mystiroakey]

Duty dude, i want your faith - but i dont have it pal!

[Thomond]

Jesus Christ man you're feicing deluded if you think England would have won both tournaments! They won't win Euro 2012, anything less than a Quarter is a failure, they have a decent side and a pish easy group. Semi is achievable but I don't see them getting much further.

[Duty281]

Duty dude, i want your faith - but i dont have it pal!

Think back to 2010 against Germany and think how much we have improved.

Hart is so much better than James.
Cole is still the best LB in the World.
Lescott/Jag will be better than Upson.
Gerrard will be much better in the middle than Gerrard on the left as was the case in 2010.
Parker is better than Barry.
Milner of 2012 is much better than Milner of 2010.
Rooney of 2012 is far better than Rooney of 2010.
Our second strike option whether it be Carroll/Welbeck is better than Defoe/Heskey of 2010.

What was the score against Germany? 2-2 after 38 minutes before a crap decision ruined the game. We have improved yards since then, Germany haven't so we will beat Germany should we meet this year. Holland and Spain aren't teams we should fear, our defence will stifle them while their respective defences aren't too good. Despite the injuries, England Champions of Europe 2012. Believe.

[mystiroakey]

I dont like thinking about that german game- it should have been 2-2 half time.

We keep hearing how germany battered us 4-1.

That doesnt tell the full story- however they did genuinly batter us second half, so i am not gonna bang on about it- but to simply say we were battered 4-1 isnt stricktly true! Alot of teams get bad decisions- england still had a chance second half to deal with the bad decision, so fair play to germany- it wasn there fault-It was the reffs

By the way i really dont fear any team. and i am very hopefull of a good performance.

[Crimey]

I think if we can just about get to the semi-finals then we could potentially win it, that's just two games in which we have to hold on for and get a bit of luck. It's certainly a possibility.

The hardest part of the tournament will be navigating the group stage and quarters.

[mystiroakey]

anything can happen

[Thomond]

Group Stages? England have the second easiest group in the tournament. If they can't navigate that then things do not look that good for you.

[mystiroakey]

its a very tough group- but relatively easy for sure

[Thomond]

Very tough? Ukraine- 3 points, Sweden -1 point minimum , France probably a loss or maybe a draw. There is only one easier group in the tournament. That is an easy group, good chance of 6 guaranteed points.

[mystiroakey]

in comparison to what you would get in a world cup- yeah for sure it is realatively competive. them are goodish teams, and the weakest is at home!

id say most 'top' teams would be looking at getting a min of 4 pts from them two games. i wouldnt say england are much beter than sweden and ukraine..

i cant even seeing france garanteeing 6 pts of them two.

however in the scheme of things - i am well happy with that group

[The Special Juan]

Just think: "It could be worse. It could be Group B"

[mystiroakey]

thats a ridiculas group..

[Crimey]

I didn't mean in terms of the teams that the group stage will be harder, I think it'll be harder because for two of the games we'll be favourites and we'll be expected to attack more. We don't seem to cope well under expectation.

[Crimey]

The groups are warped because the two hosts are top seeds, which is a stupid decision, they should have been bottom seeds.

[mystiroakey]

host teams should be seeded as any other team in the group are. just standard seedings

[Crimey]

host teams should be seeded as any other team in the group are. just standard seedings

Yeah, so in Ukraine and Poland's case, both would have been bottom seeds in terms of the FIFA ranking, which is what I assume they use.

[Thomond]

Group C is feicing awful too. England are expected to beat Seden and Ukraine, they are far better than them. It's an easy group. Not the easiest but still easy.

[The Special Juan]

I'm not complaining. Group B may make fantastic viewing. I think Denmark can surprise a few. They're expected to P 3 L 3 so there's no pressure.

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