Euros 2024 — Day 14

Gotta go for Swiss because, if we beat Slovakia then play Italy, Southgate will go all out defend then lose on penalties.

If we play the Swiss, since they're not a “big team”, Southgate might let us leave our own half.

Kieran, I think Southgate sees everyone as bigger than England. He's a coward who's terrified to unleash his kids.

Is this one of the stadiums Adolf built?

Yeah, I think it's where Jesse Owens humiliated him, Colin.

Flicking between this and Croke Park and hard to tell which is worse. Might watch Glastonbury.

The Swiss chaps seem to be playing up in the Italy half and pressing for a goal.

8 goal attempts to Italy's 1, so it says, but no really clear chance.

And there it is!

Superbly taken and fully deserved.

The Swiss are on a roll.

Quality finish. Seems like Italy's coach is their equivalent of Southgate.

Jesus, Italy are woeful, as I write the Swiss score, 1-0, fully deserved.

F OFF Brent.

What a great first touch. They deserved that. But Italy were made for games like this; hopefully, not this one.

The Yanks did well against mighty Panama - where's me laughing emoji when I need it. That's what you get for invading tiny countries.

Afternoon, Paul!

Top of the morning to you Brent. What's the weather like in Souy?

Have you been shopping up and down Lord Street, stopping for a quick one in that awful Wetherspoons or maybe the Bric?

Raining at the moment, Paul. The Guest House does a decent range of real ale.

My mate in Ainsdale has not been happy about the weather lately. He lives just up from Pontins; how is that place still open, who goes there?

I've only gone and done the gozzy-eyed capitalist twat's job for him, haven't I.

Okay, so I'm sticking my neck out a little because I think this England team is crying out for three at the back. I would also take a long hard look at left back. Saka started out as a left back at Arsenal before moving further up the pitch. He said yesterday that he would not like to play there but guess what lad needs must.

Pickford
Walker Stones Guehi
Trippier Saka
Rice Mainoo or Bellingham Palmer Foden
Watkins

9/12 were in the gozzy-eyed capitalist twat's side v Serbia.

(However, my hunch is that Foden might well be on the bench; and I know that Kane will start).

This eleven is set up to attack; it also looks more strong defensively.

Guehi is right-footed but prefers to play on the left side and would be cover for Saka as Walker would be for Trippier. Mainoo/Bellingham would be further up the pitch than Rice and either one loves to run at defences and also has a killer flick/knock/pass in him. Palmer and Foden both play behind the striker for their clubs and that is what they would do here with license to go wide/drift when necessary. Watkins simply has more pace and nous than Harold.

If the gozzy-eyed capitalist twat does his to be expected back four, then that, needless to say, changes things:

Pickford
Walker Stones Gehui Saka or Trippier
Rice Mainoo or Bellingham
Gordon Palmer
Foden
Watkins

I missed the chance by Embolo, which Donnarumma batted away.

But it looked very like offside, so would probably have been called back if it had gone in.

No, I tell a lie. They just replayed it and he was 2 yards onside when he made his run.

Buzzinga!!!

The Swiss are playing like a fine-tuned watch.

Are the Italians really this bad? They got to have a reaction surely? Xhaka is dominating this match. Italians are great at crying. Looks like the Toblerones have got this.

This is the most exciting thing to happen to Switzerland since I came to live here!

Paul, Haven't noticed in years whether Pontins is still open. The Sands of time, eh!

Whereabouts in Switzerland, Julian? I lived for a while just outside Brugg in Aaargau.

The Italians should have started with George; Xhaka would not have been this dominant if he had. Just 6000 Toblerones at the match. Poor that.

Did you go to Switzerland to flee the Nazis, Julian? Were you a POW?

I teach in Argau, Colin, but live in Langenthal you may have missed it!!

LOL, PF. Actually, I did leave Germany to come here. Got tired of teaching the swanky millionaires of Frankfurt.

Well, I worked in Brugg but stayed in Villigen. You’ve probably never heard of it.

I tell you, it'll be tough for Gareth's boys if they win tomorrow. Swiss are well-organised and not as dour as they used to be. They're hoping for a Euros/Eurovision double!

I have Colin. My daughter will study in Brugg next year..

Does she have long plaits, Julian, and carry two pails of milk on her shoulders with one of those wooden things and skip around ringing cowbells and gobbling Toblerones?

If you drive through Villigen and blink once you’ll miss it. Nice part of the world though, Julian. I envy you. I still have family there so might try and visit someday.

"Brugg is a city in Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. It has many popular attractions, including Habsburg Castle, Jurapark Aargau, Zulauf Gartencenter, and a good number of brothels, perfect for a trip!"

Anytime you're here Colin, get in touch, melde dich!

Cracking me up PF. Lol.

When I was in Villigen they had one bar where you could get a beer and listen to music but dancing wasn't allowed. Swiss reformed church rules.

No brothels either, Paul. You'd have to have a shag in a field surrounded by cows with big bells. It was hard to concentrate in case they got horny and stampeded.

Show us your iPads
Show us your iPads
Show us your iPads
Show us your iPads
Show us, show us your iPads you tourist fucking cunts!!!

😁😁😁😁

There's a brothel 2 minutes from my home Colin. Hungarians are always parked there. I see the ladies shaking the sheets out the window of a morning.

Heard one of the England backroom staff put the stabilisers back on Gordon's bike.

Worst Italian team I've seen. Missing the likes of the late great Paolo Rossi.

This was like a testimonial or pre season game

Seriously, those Italians should be ashamed of themselves.

Ciao Italia.

Has anyone else noticed refs are not adding time on when there is a goal or substitution in injury time? It's happened in every game so far.

Just happened again in the Swiss v Italy game, so if you're ahead in injury time, make a sub or two and run the clock down.

C’mon Denmark!

Pity the Italians didn't show the same pride as their coach.

That Swiss team are a solid team well organised with steel and pacey wingers.

This is fabulous news!

"99% of the fans are fully behind Garteth Southgate and the England team!"

No criticism to speak of then? It was all a myth.

Who said that, Michael? Southgate?

Reported as being from a certain Harold Kane in a press conference with Gareth.

Maybe in Germany he's a bit out of touch already with yer bog-standard Ingerlund fan… or I am!!!

Swiss will make a cuckoo out of Southgate, if England get past Slovakia.

Jesus, Oliver - is you know who on VAR?

I thought you said cuckold for a second there, Bri!

Paul, ha! I just thought exactly the same thing.

Onana making news for Belgium... sort of.

From Reuters:

Belgium's football association apologised on Saturday for a video posted on their social media outlets in which midfielder Amadou Onana said he will kick France captain Kylian Mbappé when the two countries meet in the round of 16 at Euro 2024 on Monday.

The video, which has since been taken down, features comedian Pablo Andres singing "Who will kick Mbappé's shin?" Onana then pops up in the clip and answers: "Amadou Onana."

Belgium media spokesperson Stefan Van Loock apologised on Saturday at the start of the team's daily news conference.

"The video was intended to be humorous but has since been taken offline." he said.

"We would like to apologise to anyone we may have offended by this. This concludes the matter for us."

Shatwell and Oliver messing up with var once again. That was a goal everyday of the week.

We'll find out soon, Neil, but well done Ollie disallowing a perfectly good German goal.

Great piece of work from the Premier League's finest.

There was a bit of Gridiron play there lads.
You have to widen your view these days.

Denmark growing into this.

Are the modern days players heads made out of eggshells?

Every time there's any sort of contact they go down like their heads have exploded. You even see some going down after just heading the ball.

Donner und Blitzen!

Little bit of rain and the highly paid jessies run off.

We played through lightning on the fields by Crosby Beach, jessies.

Scared of a bit of thunder and lightning.

Oliver is a big girl's blouse.

The Germans had a game in no man's land in WWI and now they are stopping for this?

Call that rain? When I was a lad we played on pitches a foot deep in water…

HAHAHAHAHA

The Danes just had a freekick about two yards outside the centre of the Jerry box but their wall was allowed to stand just behind the penalty spot, ie, about 7 yards from the ball!

Nobody protested!!

Bizarre.

Where’s the Wally with a brolly when you need him?

That looks fun. Pay a couple thousand for a pitchside seat and get pelted with hail while the players are inside getting massages.

PF, in '85 my referee supervisor in Ohio was killed by lighting in the middle of a game. It's no joke.

I was about to say something about Oliver getting hit by lightning but Mike ruined it with that anecdote.

Maybe he could get decked by golf ball sized hail instead?

Young lad years ago in South Wales also seriously hurt in a lightening strike while playing local league football.

I know MG but we were like 15/16.

They seem quite happy to leave fans in the strike zone.

Sorry to hear that, Mike.

Maybe Oliver could get sucked up by a twister then.

Wasn't there a golfer who was struck once? Lee Trevino?

It was Tree Trevino Julian; always dangerous in lightning.

The great John White of Spurs was struck by lightening on a golf course sheltering under a tree and killed instantly.

He is part of that great Spurs team of the early sixties, a Scottish international, I think he was in his mid-twenties when that tragedy occurred.

Mike G, Brent, Dave, Julian, wow, terrible!

The point made earlier about the supporters, is the danger less for them than the players?

Dave @76,

I was about to post that myself. White was a cracking player in a great Spurs side. It was a tragedy that he was taken too soon.

Good

Come on Atwell do yer stuff yer gobshite

I hate seeing pens for that. Joke!

Ffs. Games getting ruined by VAR again

Now that was a cool, calm, and collected pen

Wow that's a cheap pen

VAR strikes again! How was the Danish lad meant to avoid that? Ridiculous.

Very well taken penalty mind

Fuck off, Oliver. No way was that a penalty.

That's a penalty the big boys get.

New rule in the game we love: don't you dare celebrate a goal until the VAR brigade have their say.

It's not VAR, boys. It's the stupid rules. Years ago that was "ball to hand" and wouldn't have been called. Now anything that hits the hand is considered a pen.

It's idiotic.

What’s the point of watching the game when a team gets the chance to score a penalty from a non-incident like that?

Colin #73, the word "Oliver" and "sucked" always belong in the same sentence!

But no choice on that call. Rules is rules.

England's finest ref and finest Video Assistant Referee ruining the beautiful game.

Mike, it needs a rethink, the game is going to pot.

Shocking ref and VAR performance here by these tools. Determined to be at the centre of the action and impact the game. Oliver makes so many wrong decisions, it's untrue.

Julian #74, yes, at the Western Open in Chicago. The same strike hit Jerry Heard and Bobby Nichols.

Oliver is a freemason and he owns tons of shares and had a Filofax in 1990 – enough said for now, but there is more…

Neil #95, it sure as hell does.

I never call those in my games. I call it the way I learned it. An accidental handball isn't a pen. And I'm not changing my ways after 47 years.

Hojlund....anywhere but straight at the keeper would work

That'll likely do it, 2-0

Cheers Mike G. Game over now Germany two up.

Ballgame. Big mistake Schmeichel. Should have kept coming.

Wonder what Daddy will say on the Fox postgame.

Game over, the game is bent.

Imagine if Musiala did end up playing for England; he played youth games right?

Musiala, Foden, Palmer, Saka, Bellingham – mind you, the gozzy-eyed capitalist twat would not have started him.

Think Schmeichel could have come out of his area and cleared that through ball before Musiala got to it.

Poor goalkeeping. Good finish though.

No way Oliver will stand his ground against VAR in that situation against the home nation. Real shame that such a poor rule results in changing the course of the game.

Sorry but our “top Referee” Michael Oliver is run by his earpiece. He's a robotic imbecile.

Oliver gets more screen time than any other ref.

We must be represented by the worst two referees in this tournament. Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor.

What the hell is a snickometer?? Never heard that until today.

Rob, that Romanian ref who dished out 20 cards is right there with them.

Rob, simply confirms what we see week in week out.

The Premier League is officiated to a very poor standard when compared with the rest of Europe (apart from the ref at the Turkey vs Czech Republic that is!).

Kieran, beat me to it!

Been some world class 'play acting' and 'feigning injury' in this tournament, bloody embarrassing!!

The thing that bothers me with handballs is this. You used to get penalties for doing something positive in the box and forcing a foul or a handball. There was an element of justness.

Now you get them for unintentional actions which are pored over in airless studios. You can lose a game over some random decision and it's just so arbitrary. It feels so wrong.

Then you get gozzy-eyed freemason twats like Oliver who revel in the spotlight this whole artificial process enables. Fucking snickometers for handballs. Fucking joke.

Colin (#73),

I recall reading summat about Oliver Twister but it's gone from my memory.

All I wanna say to our team tomorrow though is, "Please team, I want some football!"

Julian, do you mean the snickometer used in cricket?

It's used for when there is an appeal for either a catch or a shout for LBW. There is a stump mic placed just behind each wicket which can pick up the merest of touches if the ball snicks the bat.

Then again, I've just seen Liam # 115 referring to a snickometer used in this match, so Fuck knows!!

Rob, the American lady on ITV mentioned it when discussing the Danish handball. I'd never heard of it till then.

Probably similar to the system in cricket.

The stupid radar thing they show to prove it's hit the hand, Rob.

Peter Mills encapsulates my feelings. The game I grew up loving has gone and it is slowly being destroyed by incompetent laws, and incompetent officials, who often change how they make their decision, depending on who they are officiating.

They could show that handball from a thousand different angles, and every single angle would show that it never stopped a goal scoring opportunity.

Enjoying life as a grandad Tony?

Liam, it's not radar. I think it's sensing motion of the ball.

He’s a beautiful little baby, Paul, and is definitely someone I’m already looking forward to spending loads of great times with in the future, god willing, thank you mate🤞👍💙

Great stuff Tony.

Tony, I think federations, the moronic rules they make and the instructions they impose on referees for enforcement are more to blame than the refs themselves.

And Mazel Tov on the grandbaby! You're too youthful-looking to be a grandad.

Whatever it is, Brent, it's wound me up. (Thanks btw for the clarification.)

Technology spoiling what was turning into a fascinating game, full of jeopardy. I didn't really care who won, but the way it was won really grates on me. Disillusioned.

I don't know enough to argue or disagree with you Mike, but either way Michael Oliver is a fraud, so the game is getting officiated by a fraud, mate.

Strong words calling Oliver a fraud but, as I've said many times before, I'm 100% certain I could prove it with regards his very subjective and extremely inconsistent decisions.

Thank you, Mike, there's nothing more precious than life. 💙

My great Grandad was German (on paper — fought WW1 ethnically Polish but they were part of Germany then) so I guess I can claim… “We won!”

Radar love? (Golden Earring I think).

Tony, Great times ahead mate.

I'm equally disillusioned with the technology, Liam.

It's being taken to ridiculous extremes in its use, detracting from the flow of the game and especially the instant (and certain) celebration of a goal.

The baby has got to go to Goodison before it closes Neil, even though it hasn't given that many happy memories to his dad.

Then he will hopefully be a regular at Bramley-Moore Dock, and he better bring us more luck, than any of my kids have brought us, mate. 🤞

Football is all about passion, tribalism, raw emotion and enjoyment. Officiating had always been a bone of contention but most decisions were generally the correct ones.

Apart from goal-line technology why fuck about with something that gained unparalleled sporting success across the world?

The game as we once knew it has long gone and it is such a huge loss particularly to the match-going fans.

Tony, I am generally positive about the Blues but I have very good vibes about the direction of the club at the moment.

Perhaps in that respect he has already helped us start to turn the tide. We have a great future ahead mate, he won't be disappointed!

You are 100% correct on Oliver being a fraud, Tony. I would also class him as being a coward.

It's easy to stand by your on-field decision for the home team at the Emirates against plucky Everton. Not so easy to stand up against a VAR recommendation in the knockouts when the host nation is involved.

They just showed the snickometer signal on the bottom of the screen Oliver was looking at. I've never seen that before.

It was also used to disallow a Belgium goal earlier in the group stage, Michael.

Neil,

Absolutely. In the past you saw the ball go in the net and that was it – ecstasy. If there was a foul, handball, offside, it was usually pretty obvious from your own eyes or player reactions.

Now you fear to celebrate cause some guy miles away looking at multiple angles for the difference of a millimeter based on rules and interpretations that change from one week to the next can pull the carpet out from under you.

People can argue over whether more decisions are technically accurate or not but there's no question the raw emotion and spontaneity of the game has gone. No offence to Rob and fellow cricket lovers but I always hated that game cause among other reasons it took an age for Dickie Bird and Co to call or dismiss an LBW – and that was pre-technology.

But the worst part is the lack of consistency. We have Clattenburg, formerly “top ref”, saying Germany's first goal should have stood. Oliver and Atwell saying otherwise having all presumably had the same training and explanation of the rules.

So if they can't get it right, just go back to the good old days when we know refs fuck up but at least the action and emotions flow unabated.

Kieran,

Spot on. I just want to go to the game and enjoy it and most of all to celebrate like a demented fool at the moment the ball hits the net.

Get her down to Goodison, Tony.

My young niece is going to come over from Northern Ireland with her mum (my sister) to experience Goodison for the first time. I said I'd take her to an away game. Just not Chelsea.

I still can't understand why the first German "goal" was ruled out. It was apparently the block in the build-up. But hasn't that always been part of football? It isn't like the German wrestled him to the ground. He just got in his way to clear it for the player who scored as I viewed it.

Germany deserved that. A scrappy game, with both teams giving away possession, but mostly, Germany controlled it.

I thought Germany started the stronger team, Danny, and the Danish couldn't get out. But, as the game wore on, I thought Denmark looked the more threatening team.

That offside decision, and then an unbelievable penalty a couple of minutes later, roused the Germans and must have sickened the Danes. But, if I'm being honest, I was sitting there numb, thinking what the fuck have they done to a sport, that was doing okay before VAR got involved?

Snickometer? Just take the “n” away, and it will be closer to how a lot of people will be feeling… And has for my grandchild, Danny, he's definitely a little boy!

The goal that Belgium got chalked off was even worse, Liam, and if decisions like this continue to happen, then I'm convinced that they will eventually get the game done away with.