Euro 2020 Tournament happening 2021

[Primo Carnera]

Both teams took the knee which was good to see. Some England fans boo the opposition's national anthem which is really embarrassing. Along way to go before we see racism kicked out of football. Name and shame the individuals would work.

I actually think taking a knee is a meaningless gesture if I'm honest. And to be honest , some Sportsmen of Colour have also refused to take a knee because of that.
If they want to highlight the war against Racism (because it is a war) , there are much better ways of doing it.
for Example , Linking arms alternately Black Person, White Person , Black Person would be much more symbolic in my book.

I have to respectfully disagree. The black players themselves have reiterated that for them it really does mean something and sends out the message they want to send out. It is not Marxist or even about BLM at this point, it is for them a way of not only showing solidarity with each other, but all the other BAME people that have simply had enough of having to justify themselves or put up with the racist bollocks that for years has plagued society. I am heartened that this group of players and their manager and coaching staff had the bottle to stand up to the boo boys and pricks who have ruined football and society here for years.

There are many here that mistake kindness for weakness. Fuck that bollocks. And then people wonder why kids brought up by people like that are just as messed up as them.

It’s an entirely personal thing. I just feel that when Kaepernick originally took the knee, for him it expressed his feeling at the time. And that’s great.
But others since have kind of done it, but not with much feeling or passion.
I feel that kneeling is almost Sub serviant in a way. I felt the Black power movement at the 1968 Olympics had far more resonance.
And standing upright with your fist in the air has a feeling of “fuck you, I am powerful and will not be silenced.”
But kneeling down……….
But if it has effect, I am happy to be wrong.

[TitoFan]

Both teams took the knee which was good to see. Some England fans boo the opposition's national anthem which is really embarrassing. Along way to go before we see racism kicked out of football. Name and shame the individuals would work.

I actually think taking a knee is a meaningless gesture if I'm honest. And to be honest , some Sportsmen of Colour have also refused to take a knee because of that.
If they want to highlight the war against Racism (because it is a war) , there are much better ways of doing it.
for Example , Linking arms alternately Black Person, White Person , Black Person would be much more symbolic in my book.

I have to respectfully disagree. The black players themselves have reiterated that for them it really does mean something and sends out the message they want to send out. It is not Marxist or even about BLM at this point, it is for them a way of not only showing solidarity with each other, but all the other BAME people that have simply had enough of having to justify themselves or put up with the racist bollocks that for years has plagued society. I am heartened that this group of players and their manager and coaching staff had the bottle to stand up to the boo boys and pricks who have ruined football and society here for years.

There are many here that mistake kindness for weakness. Fuck that bollocks. And then people wonder why kids brought up by people like that are just as messed up as them.

It’s an entirely personal thing. I just feel that when Kaepernick originally took the knee, for him it expressed his feeling at the time. And that’s great.
But others since have kind of done it, but not with much feeling or passion.
I feel that kneeling is almost Sub serviant in a way. I felt the Black power movement at the 1968 Olympics had far more resonance.
And standing upright with your fist in the air has a feeling of “fuck you, I am powerful and will not be silenced.”
But kneeling down……….
But if it has effect, I am happy to be wrong.

I don't think there's a right or a wrong here, guys. A gesture, if made with meaning, is a gesture. The key is to make it a heartfelt gesture, and hopefully to have some solidarity with the people you're surrounded with. In this case, seeing two entire teams take a knee, is meaningful IMO. Linking arms... raising fists... they're all fine. The desired end result is the same. To send an anti-racism message and hope that in some way, shape or form... it raises even a little bit of awareness about a centuries-old problem which frankly... most of us are way too tired of.

Speaking of which, even so-called anti-racism crusaders sometimes manage to shoot themselves in the foot.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...i-jeff-passan/ "After Stephen A. Smith’s rant about Shohei Ohtani, his ESPN co-workers led the pushback"

Stephen A Smith is a black sports commentator on ESPN who over the years has grown in popularity. He's got a brash style... and likes to call 'em like he sees 'em. Since George Floyd, he's become more outspoken about BLM as a worthy and necessary cause... and routinely rails against the professional league establishments about the lack of black team owners, coaches, etc. But as the years have gone by, Smith has become more of an obnoxious loudmouth, to the point he turns off a lot of people.

THEN... he goes off on Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani, for the simple "sin" of not knowing how to speak English. Needless to say, this created quite the stir at ESPN, and drew a swift backlash from people in general. To Smith's credit, he quickly apologized. But that just goes to show you that racism isn't limited to white on black. It's not monopolized by any one race or country.

Most of you don't follow baseball... but what Ohtani is doing this year in the Major Leagues is nothing short of OTHERWORLDLY INCREDIBLE. To put if briefly, he is the first player since Babe Ruth, and a couple of players in the old Negro Leagues, to have the God-given ability to both pitch at a major league level... and bat right up there with the best of them. Traditionally, pitchers sit there with the bat on their shoulder, as the opposing pitcher blows three strikes right by him. That is with the exception of the American League (one of two leagues in MLB), who decided a long time ago to take the bat away from the pitcher and institute the position of designated hitter. The DH just takes the batting turn that used to belong to the pitcher, so the pitcher can concentrate on just pitching and not have to be embarrassed at the plate.

Then along comes Ohtani, and is threatening to lead the league in home runs, as well as in pitching stats. In fact, in tonight's All-Star Game, Ohtani will be both the starting pitcher AND the leadoff batter for the American League.

Think of a football player starring as a top striker, AND being a top goalkeeper as well.

Come to think of it, Smith should send a written apology letter to him.

[Memphis]

Absolutely gutted for the boys. The better team won on the night so no complaints about that. Can we just have a moment of appreciation though for Harry McGuires penalty. That was how to get it done. Fuck me that ball would still be travelling now if there was no net. I don't follow domestic football at all to be honest so had no idea that Rashford wasn't in a particularly good place. But when he stepped up I'd already added one to our ledger. I was more concerned that Kane would have the yips following the pen against Denmark.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I wish we had gone for it more. We seemed to be able to hurt them at will down the right wing in the first half but it dried up pretty quickly after the goal. Great start, but maybe a curse as much as a blessing. Italy are a top drawer unit and proved to be the best side throughout the tournament so I have no issue with them winning. I think we made it all too easy for them though. I think (and I generally think) that England are better when they play with tempo and go for the throat. We tried to out Italy Italy and it didn't work out.

As I said I don't follow domestic football but I hear a lot about how Pickford, Walker, Stones, McGuire are liabilities. I thought they were all magnificent. Pickford had literally a couple of iffy kicks all tournament but other than that didn't put a foot wrong. Walkers pace is just stupid. I think it was the Denmark game and Damgard (sp?) had ideas of a break away and Walker gave him a ten yard head start. The way he ate up the ground was like a prime Linford Christie in the final 30 meters. Defensively he was brilliant too. I lost count of the amount of times his positioning was excellent and able to chest/head a dangerous ball back to Pickford. McGuire and Stones were solid in defence and McGuire in particular progressive going forward. Rice and Phillips in the middle of the park were fantastic. They both tailed off a little towards the semi and final but given the shifts they put in it's no surprising. I had no idea who either were at the start of the tournament. Rice finished every game looking like a broken man. That's when you know you've given it your all.

As I said I would have liked us to go for it more especially after the brilliant start. I think there was an opportunity to really hurt them especially down the right and make those aging Italian legs feel like aging legs but we stepped of the gas. Overall though, those boys were fantastic and gave us more than we would have hoped for. Anyone not from England please don't buy into the 'footballs coming home' lark as an expression of intent. That's not what it means at all. I just wish other countries could come up with their own awesome football song so they could sing that rather than sing ours back to us

Roll on the World cup. Different kettle of fish I'd imagine over there even in the winter months. Not so much the heat but the humidity will be a big factor and the snap decision is that it'll probably favour the South American sides. We'll see. Plenty to be positive about though.

[Primo Carnera]

This is Italy’s “Football’s coming home” Notti Magiche (un’estate Italiana) enjoy.

[Mark TKO]

Keep going over the same Memphis. Italy were a better organised unit we knew that. But the early goal was a curse as much as a great start. We'll look back with tactical regret for years to come as we didn't seize the opportunity to capitalise.

Like the Croatia match 3 years ago and what Modric did Varatti did the same and just controlled the midfield in the second half. We badly need a player like that. Kane was dropping back way too deep. Oh for another Paul Scholes.

Can't believe we only conceded two goals all tournament. Italy themselves came through two penalty shoot outs and one extra time to win the thing. And they didn't really create that many chances against us.

I won't have a go at the penalty takers at all but yes I was impressed with Maguires.

Totally agree with Qatar. We'll struggle with the climate.

I've accepted the defeat but still not come to terms with how it was a missed opportunity to go for it. Southgate has built a great team spirit so I'm happy with him at the helm. Needs to unleash the attacking strengths more though.

Grrrr I'm over it.... Honest....

[Mark TKO]

And thanks Primo but I won't be watching that clip....

[smashup]

All the stadiums in Qatar Will be air conditioned, even the outdoor ones.
Sounds mad but it's true.
The indoor stadiums will be fine and the players will train indoors with Aircon.
I remember trying to be clever and walking 15 mins to work in Dubai at about 8.30am.
Was soaked through like I'd jumped fully clothed into a swimming pool when I arrived, the humidity and heat is brutal some days.
Unless you've been to the UAE in peak summer you can't imagine how fucking hot it gets.
I used to go to the gym twice a day and even though it was ice cold I'd always get lightheaded and really thirsty way more than a non aircon gym
It's like your breathing fake air.
Could be a huge problem for some players.


https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/men...ooled-stadiums