Euro Cup 2016

[Bironic]

1 minute ago, HowdyGareth Bale said:

I just asked the waitress at the bar I am sitting out getting ready to watch the opening cerremony to pick a number. She picked the number I have coresponded with ------Poland

Nice... Lewandowksi, Glik, Szeczny, we will go far...

[Northernmonkey]

Managed to scrape together a fantasy team in the nick of time. I've got Giroud, Payet and Pogba in it so hopefully I'll be racking up the points tonight. Right, time to start drinking.

[Whiskeyjack]

2 hours ago, Mmerek Hamšzulíe said:

Come on, lads and lasses - only four people in the league so far, and it all kicks off in just over two hours!

Sign up now!

*Don't know why, but the fact that WhiskeyJack is getting into football (the real kind) is making me quite excited. Make of that what you will.

It's the best.  Got hooked from a combination of the 2014 World Cup, talking to Mexal about Arsenal, watching a ton of games this year, and buying FIFA for the first time.  I refuse to admit how much time I've spent working on transfers in my career mode in that game.  But its cool, because it really helped me learn a lot of the players.

I'm probably more excited for Euro 16 than any other sporting event in a long time. 

[Nas!]

31 minutes ago, Sir Whiskey Jack Wilshere said:

It's the best.  Got hooked from a combination of the 2014 World Cup, talking to Mexal about Arsenal, watching a ton of games this year, and buying FIFA for the first time.  I refuse to admit how much time I've spent working on transfers in my career mode in that game.  But its cool, because it really helped me learn a lot of the players.

I'm probably more excited for Euro 16 than any other sporting event in a long time. 

That's awesome! I hope this doesn't mean you're an Arsenal fan, though.  Not that there's anything wrong with that per se, but this board is overrun by them!

[Whiskeyjack]

7 minutes ago, Fuchs, himself! said:

That's awesome! I hope this doesn't mean you're an Arsenal fan, though.  Not that there's anything wrong with that per se, but this board is overrun by them!

Ha, sorry - pretty much ended up cheering for them based on his influence, since we talk about sports a lot.

Will admit, though - its strange just picking a team.  Felt kind of forced, and I think I just enjoy watching as many games as possible more than supporting any one team.

[Consigliere]

.

[Raja]

30 minutes ago, Fuchs, himself! said:

That's awesome! I hope this doesn't mean you're an Arsenal fan

You disappoint me, child. ( I have no idea who you are with all these name changes or if you frequent the football forum) 

[Nas!]

15 minutes ago, Raja said:

You disappoint me, child. ( I have no idea who you are with all these name changes or if you frequent the football forum) 

Just the kind of patronizing response I'd expect from the North London Majority!

(it's Nasrudin, I'm just having a little fun with y'all)

[Raja]

9 minutes ago, Fuchs, himself! said:

 

(it's Nasrudin, I'm just having a little fun with y'all)

Haha, I know! I don't mind it

[Mme Erzulie]

1 hour ago, Sir Whiskey Jack Wilshere said:

Ha, sorry - pretty much ended up cheering for them based on his influence, since we talk about sports a lot.

Will admit, though - its strange just picking a team.  Felt kind of forced, and I think I just enjoy watching as many games as possible more than supporting any one team.

Sounds to me like you haven't found your team yet. Don't worry, you'll know it when you have. It will wash over you, rendering you weakened and helpless. Football fandom is thought to be lethal, incurable and extremely painful.

[Nas!]

6 hours ago, Răzvan Raț said:

Ruining all of our online polls and stuff.

I still get angry remembering that time when Jack Wilshere won the Best Swordsman In Westeros poll with 87% of the vote.

Best post in recent memory. 

[BigFatCoward]

if the french police came out and said 'if you riot, we shoot you in the leg' would anybody not approve?

[Rorshach]

We only riot when Hibbert scores.

Now that he is released, there will be no riot. Ever.

[Philokles]

I wonder what the odds on this being solely pinned on the English fans again are. Pretty high I'd imagine.

[Iskaral Pust]

It may be ugly but I'd prefer to let English and Russian nationalist hooligans batter each other in a Thunderdome in lieu of military adventurism like Crimea.  If this faction needs bloodied flags, then let it be their blood. 

Returning to football, the Copa games have already sated some of my appetite so I'm watching fewer games now.  The French game was ok, but would have been a bit forgettable if not for Payet's free kick.  For favorites, they need to get a bit sharper at taking their chances.  And I watched the second half of the England game at the gym.  I'm sure the Fleet Street boys were rubbing their hands in glee: crowing over a dropped victory sells more copy than a bland congratulation (see Gerrard, Steven). 

[john]

Yeah, the violence outside and in the stadium has been horrible. People charging over seats like a battleline.  One England fan critically injured after clashes with Russian ultras after the match.  The russian fans union chairman made a statement saying there was no fighting cos the england fans all ran away. So that's charming.

[Spockydog]

6 minutes ago, john said:

Yeah, the violence outside and in the stadium has been horrible. People charging over seats like a battleline.  One England fan critically injured after clashes with Russian ultras after the match.  The russian fans union chairman made a statement saying there was no fighting cos the england fans all ran away. So that's charming.

Yes, I hear the Russian media have been doing some serious gloating. They send an organised gang of 200 young, knife-wielding thugs in MMA gear and steel-toecapped boots up against a bunch of flipflop-wearing middle-aged pissheads and it's something to brag about? Classy. And they've got the next World Cup.

My brother joked that Putin was probably behind it. At the time I laughed, but you never know with that fucker. It's just the sort of thing he might pull in order to take the English down a peg or two.

I know a lot of the world will be thinking, 'Lol. You reap what you sow.' But these bastards were (allegedly) attacking women and children and pushing people in front of trains. Absolutely disgusting.

 

[Iskaral Pust]

The Ukrainians are nodding and saying "this is how it starts". 

Seriously, I cannot imagine who would travel to Russia for a WC.  It's a police state with a massive chip on its shoulder and some deep problems with xenophobia and alcoholism.  If you are black, gay, Asian, Muslim, Jewish or just not in a large, tough group, would you actually feel safe there at all?  The Sochi Olympics were in a single location, but a WC across many cities won't be secure. 

[baxus]

On 6/12/2016 at 1:50 AM, Spockydog said:

Yes, I hear the Russian media have been doing some serious gloating. They send an organised gang of 200 young, knife-wielding thugs in MMA gear and steel-toecapped boots up against a bunch of flipflop-wearing middle-aged pissheads and it's something to brag about? Classy. And they've got the next World Cup.

There isz no "they szend". Ruszszian hooligansz are better organiszed that police in many countriesz.

Moszt of them actually do practice some martial art or two, their fights are pre-arranged with defined termsz and conditionsz.

And letsz not get too "Engliszh fansz are poor defenceleszsz victimsz" szince it'sz pretty far from accurate.

Engliszh hooligansz have done so much szhit over the decadesz that they are conszidered "fair game" in all of Europe. Not szaying that'sz a good thing but I am szaying that if you want to act all tough then there's no crying after you get szlapped. Live by the szword and all that...

And yesz, I'm pretty szure I'll get "but thesze were not hooligansz" reszponsze but, once again, that'sz not really true, isz it? I'm szure there were some who juszt wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but let'sz not give Engliszh fansz a free paszsz just becausze Ruszszian fansz turned out to be worse for once.

[Northernmonkey]

9 hours ago, Immobile Buffon said:

The Ukrainians are nodding and saying "this is how it starts". 

Seriously, I cannot imagine who would travel to Russia for a WC.  It's a police state with a massive chip on its shoulder and some deep problems with xenophobia and alcoholism.  If you are black, gay, Asian, Muslim, Jewish or just not in a large, tough group, would you actually feel safe there at all?  The Sochi Olympics were in a single location, but a WC across many cities won't be secure. 

You'd expect Putin to try and keep a lid on things for a home tournament. After all the only reason for hosting it is to show off to the world about how great Russia is.

Personally I'd love to visit Russia and I suspect you'd be perfectly fine in the major cities. We heard a lot of warnings about Poland and Ukraine before Euro 2012 and in the end everything went smoothly.