Observations from Euro 2016 so far

[Guest]

I haven't watched every minute of every game but these are some things I have noticed.

BBC announce/introduce the referee before kick off, ITV wait until there is an incident of note, as if it is an afterthought.

Goalkeepers have longer than 6 seconds to hold the ball (Kiraly had 15 seconds before releasing it.)

BBC have a wider variety of 'guests' in the studio. ITV seem to stick with Lee Dixon, Ian Wright and A.N.Other.

The number of times ITV mentioned that Gabor Kiraly is 40 years old. England once had a goalkeeper who was 40 years old in a major tournament.

England played well and will get the results if they can maintain consistency.

As yet there doesn't seem to be many goals - 2 in a game at best.

England have two referees in the tournament (more if you include the 'additional assistants'.)

Italy will do better than a lot of teams despite having their 'worst squad in years'.

I hope Russia are eliminated in the group stages.

[Mike Odgers]

No nation has scored more than two and we havn't seen a 0-0 draw

[fenman]

For all the hours of babble and poor grammar spouted by all the expert pundits  who were , in their eyes , perfect players I have yet to hear anyone criticise the ball . There must be a reason why these top rate players cannot cross a ball with any great accuracy or shoot more accurately . Some years ago during a World Cup Jack Charlton said that apart from commercial reasons he couldn't understand why ball manufacturers had to introduce a new type of ball for big tournaments .A ball can only be a bag of air enclosed by some sort of material , there's a limit to what you can do to alter it . Every new type of ball seems lighter and more uncontrollable , some say that this adds to the excitement but I think it's part of the reason why there are so few goals scored in major tournaments .Some of the misses have been incredible and I can't help but think that most are due to the unpredictable  nature of the ball in flight both before the kick and after .

One further comment about the pundits , most of them are a cure for insomnia ( not just my opinion many people I know have fallen asleep during games ) but they seem to imply that it's an incredibly complicated game that only clever people understand     

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

If you can trap a ball, and pass it ten yards.....you can play football.

It is that simple a game.

Not what those idiots commenting seem to think though.

[B Manning]

So called experts, I despair, last night the comment, he is clever, felt the slight contact and went down and got the free kick. In my book that's called cheating, no wonder we have problems as referees.

[Dave Deacon]

4 hours ago, B Manning said:

So called experts, I despair, last night the comment, he is clever, felt the slight contact and went down and got the free kick. In my book that's called cheating, no wonder we have problems as referees.

If you can see it, why can't one of the officials who are there?

In general I think the referees in this tournament have done pretty well with trying to keep the play going.

[Guest]

The six second goalkeeper rule seems to be a minimum of ten, even twenty seconds. It isn't easy to police but the fourth and fifth officials behind the goal could help with it. As mentioned on another thread, and the more I see it, the more it irks me, why do they stand on the same side as the assistant referees? It would be logical that they stand on the other side for another view and another perspective.

If Wales get to the final, we have a British team to support (or not in some cases). If Portugal prevail we could have an English team in the final (the only English team that ever had any hope of getting there!) Mark Clattenburg is in contention but will not referee a home nation, save for a derby as Martin Atkinson did with Wales v Northern Ireland.

Here's to hoping we have a British team there, be it Welsh or English.

[ECPL]

What I am amazed at is why do we have to sit, watch and listen to the same old drivel espoused by the so called experts.  I think I am one of many who doesn't give a stuff about who says what to earn a crust I AM ONLY INTERESTED IN WATCHING THE GAME,.  My advice is go to the match about a minute before kick off. watch the first half.and then switch over to something else while you are making a cup of tea.  Switch over to watch the second half and as soon as the match is finished SWITCH OFF.   I have absolutely no interest in what the pundits say.  We can all see what happened during the match and will come to our own conclusions as to was the referee right was it or wasn't it a foul.  For goodness sake the officials can only see the incident once not dozens of replays.  And I will still say having two extra officials is not only a complete and utter waste of time but at what cost.  How much does it cost for goodness sake to have these officials put up in top hotels paid good money and expenses for something nobody actually knows what they are supposed to do.  .I don't think I have seen any of them actually make a decision.  .  Yes the are miked up to the referee but they seem to be mere spectators getting to close to the action and getting in the linesmens way.        JUST WATCH THE GAMES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Guest]

ECPL I hope you sang along to God Save The Queen!!

[ECPL]

Of course EVERY TIME. 

[Guest]

English team in the final, led by Mark Clattenburg! 

[TheolderIgetthebetterIwas]

Here's my observation from it all.....disappointed - again.

England superstars - PFFFFT!!!!!!

[ECPL]

I have been able to watch quite a bit of the Euro's and I must admit I have been surprised at the standard coming from almost every country.   In retrospect I have felt my opinion was maybe a little harsh on England.  Having watched the games and looking back I feel with just a little bit of luck and a little more courage from the manager England could have done well.  What was apparent was that most teams could not find a way past a packed defense.  This was especially what England suffered from.   This problem has to go down to the manager who did not pick the right team.  To be fair they could and should have won all their group games.  Not including Rashford in at least one of the group games was a big mistake, he could have  been a sensation.  I think I mentioned before that the players themselves looked bemused at their performance against Iceland and I think the manager was wrong in saying the result affected his credibility inferring he was blaming the players.  he picked the team and he chose the tactics so he has nobody to blame but himself.  Hopefully the new manager and please, please not the old farts who have been named like big Sam will learn from the experience.  What was noticeable was that Portugal were a much better team without Ronaldo as they played like a team.    It was always going to be a problem for the England defense and unfortunately Hart is well past his sell by date.  The goals England conceded were very simple ones to defend, but they failed to do the simple tasks.  Vardy and Kane who we built our hopes on were completely off their game and the reason was simple, the tactics for them both was wrong, they are players who break quickly but if the ball is not played forward quickly then they become ineffective  I don't think we should despair over the new young players coming through.  There are enough good ones out there, we just have to give them their head.  Even Germany did not have a clue how to break down a solid defense.  Cheer up.  There is always the next world cup.