Who is Going to Win Euro 2004

[Craig]

So did that make Henrik Larsson a bad player or not as good for playing most of his career with Celtic?

You ask Sweden if they would rather have him there or not, I think you and I know the answer.

 

[Nate]

go the croats!!!!
croatia are soooo cool. and they havent even been a fifa country for 15 years!!

 

[marc71178]

So did that make Henrik Larsson a bad player or not as good for playing most of his career with Celtic?

He's nowhere near as good as people like to make out IMO - I doubt he'd get 20 goals in a proper league season.

You ask Sweden if they would rather have him there or not, I think you and I know the answer.

Yes, and that says more about the lack of options they have up-front than anything else.

 

[Craig]

He's nowhere near as good as people like to make out IMO - I doubt he'd get 20 goals in a proper league season.

We will see if he joins Barcelona which are interested in him or where over 30's go to boast their retirement fund - Qatar.

I never said he was world class or anything, I mean Carsten Jancker would probably top or be one of the leading goal scorers there.

 

[Craig]

Ok Marc.

I have a challenge for you: I want you to me, that do you agree with the England squad picked? Should David James be 1st choice? Is there anybody you would have taken out and put somebody else in? Would you have been prepared to take a gamble on Jermain Defoe, Shaun Wright-Phillips or Glen Johnson for example? What would be your team v France (and you can put in people that didn't make the squad if you choose)?

 

[marc71178]

It's about as good as he could put out for me, probably the only change I'd have made was Defoe in for Vassell.

For France I'd pretty much go with that team he picked on Tuesday night, but with Butt at the base and Scholes and Lampard fighting for the point position.

 

[Waughney]

Allez Les Bleus
They should win, great squad and team unity.

 

[roseboy64]

Scholes doesn't play on the wings.

 

[Craig]

It's about as good as he could put out for me, probably the only change I'd have made was Defoe in for Vassell.

For France I'd pretty much go with that team he picked on Tuesday night, but with Butt at the base and Scholes and Lampard fighting for the point position.

So no 5th striker?

You know Holland has great depth in strikers when somebody like Jimmy Floyd Hasslebiank can not make the Dutch squad (he IMO had a better season then Mutu and Crespo), and if six strikers are not good enough, you then have Rafaal van der Vaart and Andy van der Meyde can play as a support striker (that is where he play's for Inter when he isn't on the bench).

 

[Neil Pickup]

Damn, I so wanted to play 3-2-5 as well..

 

[Craig]

Apparently an old formation is 2-3-5.

You will score heaps of goals, but concede plenty as well.

 

[Craig]

Allez Les Bleus
They should win, great squad and team unity.

Yep and Zinedine has had a poor season for somebody who is so good.

And they have Ronald McDonald in goal.

 

[luckyeddie]

I'd love to see England win it, but we might need a Swiss referee, a Russian linesman and a heck of a lot of luck.

I'm not looking any further than France - and just hope that England's thugs don't cause too much trouble (and the supporters behave as well)

 

[lord_of_darkness]

god it better be germany.. we have a pool competition running and its 150 dollars in the pot so far.. the winner gets all of it.. i put mine on germany !

 

[garage flower]

France are the obvious choice, but I quite fancy Spain or Portugal.

Italy will be tough to beat and are apparently playing more positively than they were 2 years ago, which I think would be a pre-requisite for them to win it.

Don't rate England's chances. Unless you're Germany you tend to need a real attacking spark allied to a solid defence to win major tournaments (Germany settled for the solid defence allied to "Teutonic Efficiency"). I think England are a little short in both areas and I'd be surprised if they made the Semis.

 

[Craig]

I'd love to see England win it, but we might need a Swiss referee, a Russian linesman and a heck of a lot of luck.

I'm not looking any further than France - and just hope that England's thugs don't cause too much trouble (and the supporters behave as well)

Well if they act like in Euro 2000, Sepp Blatter could not move quick enough from banning England from competing at the next WC and at Euro 2008 or a similar punishment (like trying to ban English clubs from Europe again).

Yet he will not do anything to Argentina since there is history of crowd violence, and in particular between Boca Juniors and River Plate.

 

[luckyeddie]

Well if they act like in Euro 2000, Sepp Blatter could not move quick enough from banning England from competing at the next WC and at Euro 2008 or a similar punishment (like trying to ban English clubs from Europe again).

Yet he will not do anything to Argentina since there is history of crowd violence, and in particular between Boca Juniors and River Plate.

Bunch of fairies.
Look up 'Honduras v El Salvador' - they fought a WAR over a world cup match.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Didn't Steve Bucknor referee a game between those two once?

 

[marc71178]

Didn't Steve Bucknor referee a game between those two once?

That'll be what the problems were then - they didn't like his decisions (such as when he took 2 minutes to award a throw in!)

 

[marc71178]

Well if they act like in Euro 2000, Sepp Blatter could not move quick enough from banning England from competing at the next WC and at Euro 2008 or a similar punishment (like trying to ban English clubs from Europe again).

Except that would be a UEFA decision to ban England as it's a UEFA competition.

Yet he will not do anything to Argentina since there is history of crowd violence, and in particular between Boca Juniors and River Plate.

Lots of countries have history of violence, but if it occurs in a domestic competition, it's again under the auspices of the Domestic Authority.