No, they didn't.
They were well prepared (mentally) by the end, thanks to Gareth Southgate.
Agreed.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The 2017-2018 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
No, they didn't.
They were well prepared (mentally) by the end, thanks to Gareth Southgate.
Agreed.
Yes, quite sad. It's safe to say security for athletes and anyone famous is much stronger these days than it was then. Think I read something about a Lisbon club's players canceling their contract because their private pitch was constantly invaded by nutters.
Just to pour a little cold water on the England party...they have beaten Tunisia, Panama, and Columbia, the latter by the skin of their teeth. With all due respect, that is not a group one would call world-class. The only truly dangerous side they faced so far - Belgium - beat them, albeit in a game where both sides didn't really try.
They still very much have their work cut out for them. We have yet to see England take on a true contender - and the way the draw has worked out, you could argue that will happen only if they reach the final itself. Also, England need to be able to score more from open play against quality opposition.
With that being said, Southgate has earned a lot of credit thus far, and he can bask in a moment of real accomplishment.
It's a moment of raw emotion to suffer a loss in a big match, trust me, I've been there recently with Liverpool. I stopped watching football for the better part of a month. But I don't think Scepticalscribe was trolling you on the penalties comment. Southgate has made a special point of practicing penalties precisely because England have been so unlucky with them in the past. It came down to the wire for both sides.
They still very much have their work cut out for them. We have yet to see England take on a true contender - and the way the draw has worked out, you could argue that will happen only if they reach the final itself. Also, England need to be able to score more from open play against quality opposition.
With that being said, Southgate has earned a lot of credit thus far, and he can bask in a moment of real accomplishment.
It's a moment of raw emotion to suffer a loss in a big match, trust me, I've been there recently with Liverpool. I stopped watching football for the better part of a month. But I don't think Scepticalscribe was trolling you on the penalties comment. Southgate has made a special point of practicing penalties precisely because England have been so unlucky with them in the past. It came down to the wire for both sides.
Last edited:
Stats from this past game say other wise. Haven't look back in a couple of days at the group games, but England has played better then people think.
He was talking to me not Scepticalscribe.
I've been reading several Colombian and English newspapers about the match and it is interesting to see the contrasting stories...
The Colombian press have criticized Pekerman for being a bit too defensive and leaving out James; they have highlighted the Colombian goal by Bacca that was disallowed in the 8th minute of extra time (there is no mention of this incident in English match reports). Falcao has suggested that referee Mark Geiger, who speaks only English, was biased towards his fellow anglophones.
The English press have focused on Barrios' headbutt on Henderson (not mentioned at all by the Colombian press as far as I can tell), criticizing Geiger for only showing him a yellow. They have dwelt generally on Colombia's physical play, suggesting it was a bit dirty.
The one thing both countries seem to agree on is that Geiger lost disciplinary control of the match.
The Colombian press have criticized Pekerman for being a bit too defensive and leaving out James; they have highlighted the Colombian goal by Bacca that was disallowed in the 8th minute of extra time (there is no mention of this incident in English match reports). Falcao has suggested that referee Mark Geiger, who speaks only English, was biased towards his fellow anglophones.
The English press have focused on Barrios' headbutt on Henderson (not mentioned at all by the Colombian press as far as I can tell), criticizing Geiger for only showing him a yellow. They have dwelt generally on Colombia's physical play, suggesting it was a bit dirty.
The one thing both countries seem to agree on is that Geiger lost disciplinary control of the match.
Last edited:
Nice to see you caught the hint, @Lord Blackadder. Now if the Baldricks of this thread could simmer down...
Well, I'm delighted for Southgate - his judgment on a lot of things - crafting the sort of team spirit you find in a good club, scandal free conduct on and off the pitch, practising penalties, protecting his A Team from injury (and finding out how good the others were - all in the name of preserving a good spirit) - staying near St Petersburg - keeping their heads and their focus last night - has been vindicated.
And I am delighted for England. Qualifying for the quarter finals is an impressive enough achievement; while they may not be an outstanding team (are any of the teams outstanding?) - who have not been seriously challenged to date (although last night's match went to he wire) look at the teams that have already crashed out - Spain, Portugal, Germany, as well as those that never even qualified (Italy, Netherlenads).
And I think he made the right call re the Belgian match, even though England lost; had Kane been injured in a match where the outcome was irrelevant, as England had already qualified for the knock-out stages, the consequences for the team would not have been good.
And I am delighted for England. Qualifying for the quarter finals is an impressive enough achievement; while they may not be an outstanding team (are any of the teams outstanding?) - who have not been seriously challenged to date (although last night's match went to he wire) look at the teams that have already crashed out - Spain, Portugal, Germany, as well as those that never even qualified (Italy, Netherlenads).
And I think he made the right call re the Belgian match, even though England lost; had Kane been injured in a match where the outcome was irrelevant, as England had already qualified for the knock-out stages, the consequences for the team would not have been good.
Last edited:
Even if they scrape through every round i’ll take it. We certainly made it hard work last night and let Colombia put us off with their hysteria around the ref but the way I look at it is we handled the pressure better at the end.
I think we’ll be lucky to beat Sweden but I’m happy to see a confident England team for a change. It’s refreshing from the complacency and arrogance of old I think.
Agreed about the complacency and arrogance (and stupid and embarrassing scandals) and poor conduct on and off the field in the old days; it is nice to see a decent, hard-working and positive England team, and I am impressed by Southgate and the judgment calls he has made thus far.
No Ibra this time though, Sweden face a tougher test, if England can actually find a way to score from open play!
Zlatan was divisive and abrasive. Might be better for overall morale without him. Sweden have progressed further this WC than it ever did with him.
lolOn a scale of 1 to 10, I give England’s win a 1776.
[doublepost=1530702407][/doublepost]
He he.
Yeah, I always worry about how cringe worthy my grammar and spelling are going to be to when I'm done posting.
As is the case in a forum such as this there will always be differing points of view. But attacking folks, I've been guilty too, is out of line. There are times when folks need to get put in back in line though. This is one of them. So good shout @Scepticalscribe
We all are going to have different takes. This place is an open journal. Be kind to each other.
Happy for ENG I do feel they have a good chance to win it all.
Pulling for them and BEL now...
"Be Nice" - My mom.
Last edited:
In rugby, a yellow card puts a player in the sin bin for 10 minutes - and I think that's far more effective sanction than football uses. But I fully agree with you.
Watching the game last night, I thought the way the Columbian players surrounded and harassed the ref after he awarded the penalty was appalling. He should have got firmer and booked one or more of them for misconduct much earlier.
I think adopting a few more developments from rugby would improve the game. Although VAR hasn't looked great in this tournament it's definitely the way forward, I think they're just not used to it yet. In rugby the TMO (VAR) has improved the game a lot. They also have post-match video assessments of incidents, with post match sanctions. Just think how they game would change if diving and fouling could be checked after the match, and players penalised for the start of the next one (eg starting with one yellow card already against them). I think it would stamp out diva-diving and corner-kick-defender-wrestling pretty quickly and then everyone can get on with playing football.
As I've not hidden from anyone in this thread, I'm not normally a football fan, but I am enjoying this World Cup, and England's games particularly. I've even bought an England football shirt! ... I hope I haven't jinxed it.
It never matters how you win, it’s whether you win or not. People always want to try and take something away from a win they thought was a bad win. At this level of sport, and with this much pressure, you better believe a win is a win. Southgate and this team will take it any day. I don’t think anyone is getting blown out at this point. No matter if it’s a miss match or not. It’s just so hard to get wins in a win or go home tournament.
As our commentators pointed out, there was a reason the players surrounded the ref - to distract him while other Colombian players scuffed up the penalty spot hoping for a bobble. Luckily, it didn't work.
I couldn't disagree more with this post.
It does matter how you win, winning ugly leaves a bad taste and undermines the very reason to admire and support the sport in the first place.
I used to like to watch cycling, - who doesn't love the French countryside? - and these days, I never do - and never will again - as to me, it is irredeemably tarnished and I cannot willingly suspend my disbelief or critical faculties in order to watch this spectacle.
There is a reason that the Dutch teams of 1974 (above all) and 1978, and the Hungarian team of 1954 were venerated - and, to my mind, it is a tragedy for the game that none of those teams actually won the World Cup.
Had the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 not scattered that team, one can speculate how well they might have performed in 1958; however, it is worth noting that a number of their players became a core part of the successful Real Madrid team of the early 1960s.
Dirty play should never be rewarded ... alas in our world and not just in sport the opposite is the case.
@Scepticalscribe I recall when Lance Armstrong was briefly the darling of the Tour de France, when I was a grad student. A fellow student from the US was a huge admirer of his and placed handmade posters around our part-time workplace. He and many others were very let down. I was quite annoyed as he played on his status as a cancer survivor and ended up harming the cause for which his charity was founded.
I feel the same with soccer and sports in general, as many kids look up to them, and they make insane amounts of money they need to be held to account. Wow I sound like a moralistic old git, don't care though.
@Scepticalscribe I recall when Lance Armstrong was briefly the darling of the Tour de France, when I was a grad student. A fellow student from the US was a huge admirer of his and placed handmade posters around our part-time workplace. He and many others were very let down. I was quite annoyed as he played on his status as a cancer survivor and ended up harming the cause for which his charity was founded.
I feel the same with soccer and sports in general, as many kids look up to them, and they make insane amounts of money they need to be held to account. Wow I sound like a moralistic old git, don't care though.
Last edited:
You took that the wrong way. I am not saying win at all cost, I am saying grinding out a win is not a bad thing. What England did yesterday wasn’t bad. You have to win games like that some times.
Dirty football, or parking the bus, aren’t classy ways to win football games. I am suggesting good team struggle, but grinding wins that test your teams willingness to fit are good.
Yes, I was an avid mountain biker who used to enjoy watching road racing. After the scandals of the 2000s cycling as a sport is dead to me. I still ride myself, but the professional side is still completely tainted to this day.
It does matter how you win. It does matter how you compete.
Players should not be held to ridiculously saintly standards of behavior, but it is true that they should see themselves as role models. Who wants to see kids pulling each others arms out of their sockets, surrounding refs, or biting each other at a youth soccer match?
To be fair, that is a valid point. The last Italian team to win the WC stumbled from one stage to the next without ever wowing.
Yes very much so. Great teams don’t always look great. That’s really hard to do game and game out, but it’s about winning those matches when you are not on your best.
The internet continues to riff on Neymar's rolling.
I remember that final well. For one thing, earlier in the tournament Daniele De Rossi busted the Brian McBride's face with an elbow; watching Dirty Materazzi provoke Zidane was just a further example of their willingness to cheat. Italy were definitely not the best side in that tournament, and they played dirty to boot.
I remember that final well. For one thing, earlier in the tournament Daniele De Rossi busted the Brian McBride's face with an elbow; watching Dirty Materazzi provoke Zidane was just a further example of their willingness to cheat. Italy were definitely not the best side in that tournament, and they played dirty to boot.
Need we remind you of one of the dirtiest players in football over the last 10 years Luis Suarez, who you may need reminding played for you beloved Liverpool.
- Status