Official Euro 2008 thread

[Shaggy]

ITV don't have the live final coverage They are ****e anyway.

Strachan, even though he wears some shocking clothes, is a good analyst. He tipped Pavlyuchenko at the start of the tournament to become a big player.

Some of us had Pavlyuchenko in their fantasy team from the start.

[Imy]

Some of us had Pavlyuchenko in their fantasy team from the start.

I had Villa/Torres axis in mine from the beginning

It's just a shame that 3/4 of my defence didn't play a game, stupid Degen

[Mattshark]

Yeah there is, not sure why there isn't this time. To be honest though no one ever cares about it.

Actually is it only in the WC that they have one?

Yep the Euro's had one up till the 80 tournement.

[Marky]

same type of player as I was at his age except I was a great dribbler too

Myself and Fabregas would ahve been something to show your grandchildren

You're a ****ing ledge boss.

I've actually super vision and can at times skip past players but i'm not very nippy or quick.

My strengths are tackling, taking up good positions on the pitch and my vision.

Weaknesses include lack of pace, sometimes poor finishing and decision making

[Shaggy]

My team of the tournament:

Buffon

Lahm
Simunic
Puyol
Zhirkov

Sneijder
Ballack
Senna
Arshavin

Villa
Pavlyuchenko

Subs:

Akinfeev
Anyukov
Fabregas
Schweinsteiger
Torres

Unlucky to miss out – Altintop, Modric, Xavi, Arda, Chiellini, Ignashevic, Casillas.

[dww]

Do people think Arshavin has been over hyped a bit now? He did nothing last night.

I'm torn - for me it seems fairly obvious that he has great talent but he is no leader. For me that makes him a great player for teams who are already really competing in their respective competitions but I think he would struggle for us for example.

[Neil Young]

Am I the only person to notice David Pleat mention "Terry Sheddingham"?

Pleat

[dww]

The defending this tournament has been woeful too. I wouldn't want to pick a back four of the tournament to be honest. There have been some great keeping perfomances though: Buffon, Casillas, Lobont, van der Saar and Akinfeev all deserve a lot of credit.

[dww]

Am I the only person to notice David Pleat mention "Terry Sheddingham"?

Pleat

No I did too, I believe he in fact used the term Sheringhamesque. Which I'm sure is taken as a complement by all international top class strikers

[Neil Young]

I wouldn't want to pick a back four of the tournament to be honest.

Well, I'm sorry but you have to. I don't make the rules.

[dww]

Well, I'm sorry but you have to. I don't make the rules.

Okay at digital gunpoint then I would go for:

Anyukov, Lahm, Zhirkov and Sabri as they all did their best to pretend they weren't in fact defenders at all for large parts of the tournament.

[Shaggy]

Do people think Arshavin has been over hyped a bit now? He did nothing last night.

He was being overhyped anyway purely because he’d only played two games. However they were two outstanding performances and they were impressive enough to get him into my ‘ToTT’. His dismantling of the Dutch will live long in the memory.

Anonymous last night, but Aragones and Spain deserve a lot of credit as they nullified him very well.

[Neil Young]

He was being overhyped anyway purely because he’d only played two games. However they were two outstanding performances and they were impressive enough to get him into my ‘ToTT’. His dismantling of the Dutch will live long in the memory.

Anonymous last night, but Aragones and Spain deserve a lot of credit as they nullified him very well.

Aragones - the old racist - was very astute last night. The way the media are creaming over Fabregas it's like he decided to bring himself on and change the shape of the team. You make an excellent point about how they handled Arshavin.

[Rich]

We've seen good attacking fullbacks this tournement, in the two Russians - Anyukvo and Zhirkov, also Sabri has been woeful defending but magic going forward, Zambrotta did well for the Italians, similar story for Lahm.

The general level of defending has been poor - but perhaps this has something more to do with virtually any type of sliding tackle now being outlawed?

[dww]

He was being overhyped anyway purely because he’d only played two games. However they were two outstanding performances and they were impressive enough to get him into my ‘ToTT’. His dismantling of the Dutch will live long in the memory.

Anonymous last night, but Aragones and Spain deserve a lot of credit as they nullified him very well.

I totally accept the fact that the overhyping was inevitable I just wondered if some people who were calling for us to sign him no matter what had changed their minds. He lit up those two games in a way no other player has any others which justifies praise within this tournament for certain - not sure how it reflects his overall ability more generally though.

Spain deserve a great deal of praise. Although I have just listened to the Guardian podcast and Rapael Honigstein was making the point that they did nothing really different and Hiddink who had been praised as a tactical genius had no answer. He is obviously a very good manager but I would agree with his more general point too which was that people have been swept along to say people and teams are great in this tournament largely because it has been so fun to watch. Actually I think large parts of it such as defending have been of much lower standard than say the Champions League.