Official Euro 2012 thread.

[Lake Bells tits 1]

Think I just have.

 

Put your house on Germany.

 

Think france is a sound shout. They individual skill pisses all over Naziland. Its all about getting them to play together.

[Park Life 71]

Spain are done.

[Lake Bells tits 1]

bit bombastic there They are the reigning champions.

 

Write Spain off at your own peril.

[Park Life 71]

bit bombastic there They are the reigning champions.

 

Write Spain off at your own peril.

 

[Park Life 71]

If the decision was between Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson, England were choosing between two very different coaches.

The debate should not have been about ‘experience at big clubs’ or ‘how much the players like him’, but about the style of coach required: in Redknapp and Hodgson, the FA were choosing between two men at complete opposite ends of the football coach’s ideological spectrum, the most stark contrast of managerial philosophies you can find.

Redknapp

Redknapp is all about individuals. He denies he’s a ‘wheeler-dealer’, and to imply that he is only a transfer specialist would be unfair; he clearly gets on with people (summed up by his relationships with both players and journalists) and is regarded as a good man-manager and motivator. Whether it is bringing them in or firing them up, Redknapp’s skill is that he gets the best from individuals.

His tactical ineptitude can be overstated – Redknapp is generally very good at making substitutions midway through a game, as he showed, for example, with a fantastic turnaround at Arsenal eighteen months ago – followed by a perfectly reasonable and rational explanation about why he made the changes.

Yet Redknapp’s sides retain a certain anarchy, epitomised by Tottenham’s win away at Norwich late last year, when Redknapp told Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart they could “play where they wanted to”. In that game it worked, as Bale scored two fine goals in a man-of-the-match performance. “He gets in those holes, and when he gets the ball and runs at you, he’s unplayable,” Redknapp marvelled. Yet in recent weeks, Bale’s desire to roam has been indulged at the expense of shape and structure, and Tottenham have been in terrible form.

Van der Vaart is another who has enjoyed that freedom at Tottenham. “There are no long and boring speeches about tactics, like I was used to at Real Madrid,” he says. “There is a board in our dressing room but Harry doesn’t write anything on it. It’s not that we do nothing – but it’s close to that.”

How much does Redknapp value the system? He’s perfectly honest about it. “Whether it’s 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 – the numbers game is no the beautiful game in my opinion,” Redknapp once said. “It is 10% about the formation and 90% about the players.”

Hodgson

Hodgson is the complete opposite, the ultimate ‘system’ manager. His teams are very simple – they defend the same way, with two banks of four supplemented with two outright attackers – either two forwards or a lone striker supported by a number ten. Whereas Redknapp employs an army of coaches to do his work on the training ground, Hodgson personally drills his players relentlessly in training so they’re completely at home with the zonal defensive system, going through the same exercises again and again.

“We work on it every day,” Simon Davies, who played under Hodgson at Fulham, told Jonathan Wilson. “Every day in training is geared towards team shape on the match-day coming up. I’ve been working with the manager three years now and every day is team shape, and it shows… I don’t want to give any secrets away, but he gets the 11 that he wants on a match-day and he drills everything in that he wants. It’s certain drills defensive, certain drills attacking, and we work very hard at it. There are no diagrams. It’s all on the pitch with the ball, nothing unopposed.”

Whereas Redknapp doesn’t care for formations, Hodgson is a member of UEFA’s technical study group and will tell you about 4-4-2 all day long:

“The back four gives you the best possibilities of covering the width of the pitch defensively, and it also gives you great options, in my opinion, to get the the full-backs forward…one can go forward and the other three can shuttle across and you’re still playing with three defenders. When you play with three defenders, you lose that possibility.

The other six players? One could discuss. There’s no doubt you need one forward…you need a point of reference…if you play with two of them, you have the added advantage that whoever receives the ball has someone in close support at all times, and if balls are going to be played forward, you’ve got someone to threat the back of the defence. If you take him (the second striker) out, the threat to the back of the defence has to come from the midfield, you need midfield players bursting forward. It’s interesting to play with two – though these days many teams are playing with them vertically, rather than alongside each other.

The central midfielders do an important job for you, they’re going to protect the back four, and they’re also going to be the catalysts for attacks. The wide players are the ones you’re looking for to use spaces.

With 4-4-2, you’ve got ‘twos’ all over the field. I would always be looking to find a team that can play with a back four. Amongst the front six there a lot more options.”

Decision

So which type of coach is needed? England are in a state of complete confusion. Going into a major tournament having appointed your coach a month beforehand is embarrassing enough. Then there is the problem that Wayne Rooney, the star attacking player, is suspended from the first two games. Jack Wilshere, assumed to be one of England’s key midfielders a year ago, will miss out through injury. A generation of very good individuals (though never remotely a cohesive unit) are now past their peak, while the next crop are not established enough to base a successful team around.

This complete failure to have any long-term project in place deserves first round elimination – an outcome that would have been regarded as ‘best for England in the long-run’, had they not consistently failed to learn lessons from previous failures.

Templates

All this should make even the most ardent England supporter realise that the team is currently a rank outsider. And the only way outsiders have overachieved in recent major international tournaments is by being defensive and functional. Uruguay won the 2011 Copa America in this fashion, and Zambia triumphed at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations with the lowest pass completion rate in the tournament, something also achieved by Greece in Euro 2004. Uruguay (again) and Ghana were the surprise performers at the 2010 World Cup, both being inherently reactive, defensive sides. It’s difficult to name a recent underdog that has overachieved by playing attractive football.

Only the best sides can contest international tournaments in an open, attractive style and succeed. For the Euros, this is probably limited to Spain, Germany and Holland. (Even they are more cautious than one might expect – this is a Spain side that won the World Cup scoring eight goals in seven games, while Germany who were thrilling in South Africa, but mainly on the counter-attack, and a Holland are considered one of the least ‘Dutch’ sides in history.) Those three can at least hope to play beautiful football. Everyone else must focus upon being well-drilled and rigid.

If a disciplined, organised style of play is perfect for leading an underdog into a major international tournament, there is only one choice. Hodgson’s successes have generally been with underdogs; the only problem anyone can have with his style of management suiting England’s situation this summer is if (a) they refuse to accept England are underdogs, or ( they are frustrated at the confirmation of England’s status as underdogs.

(All this ignores long-term goals: granted, this is a major reason why England are currently in their current situation, but it’s difficult to see what long-term planning England can do between now and the Euros – regrouping after the summer is more logical. Talk of abandoning any attempt to compete at Euro 2012, in favour of a long-term approach looking forward to World Cup 2014, is a nice idea but assumes qualification and a reasonable idea of who would be in the side in two years’ time. Future international XIs are notoriously difficult to predict – predicting this year’s XI is difficult enough. In 2006 England took Theo Walcott to the World Cup, and though he didn’t play, he picked up ‘good tournament experience’, supposedly. This was totally useless when England didn’t qualify for Euro 2008 or when Walcott wasn’t deemed worthy of a place at World Cup 2010, and it was a wasted place in the 2006 tournament. To ‘do a Walcott’ with an entire squad would be suicidal.)

Caveats

There are two questions about Hodgson’s suitability. The first involves whether he’ll have enough time at international level implement his strict positioning correctly. This is a genuine issue – coaches who have had two years to prepare find it difficult, Hodgson only has a month. It will mean Hodgson’s style of football is probably even more boring than usual, as he would focus on defensive drills before planning any attacking moves. In that Davies interview quoted earlier, the Welshman finishes by saying, “We’re two-and-a-half years down the line now, so we’re all converted.” Hodgson does need time – when he arrived at Fulham, the team started poorly before a sharp recovery.

The second question is whether England’s players would respect Hodgson and be willing to follow his instructions. This is a problem for any England coach, though: Fabio Capello was ‘too distant’, Steve McClaren was ‘too chummy’. Hodgson isn’t stupid, and will be able to work out which type of players will be on board – he must be brave enough not to select anyone he believes will be a significant problem.

Conclusion

The point here is not that England have no chance of winning the tournament – it’s that they had no chance of winning the tournament by playing the anarchic football favoured by Redknapp. The type of football Hodgson offers is, in theory, the type of football that will maximise England’s chances of getting out of the group. In the current state of confusion, that must be regarded as a sensible target - although if Hodgson states this or voices satisfaction when this target is reached, he will be slaughtered for lowering expectations.

England must attempt to win the tournament; the chances are extremely slim, but have marginally increased with this appointment. England don’t have good enough players to be open and indulge individuals, and therefore Hodgson’s system-first approach makes sense.

[Lake Bells tits 1]

[Park Life 71]

Best Midfield?

 

Midfielders: Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern München), Thomas Müller (Bayern München), Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid), Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen), André Schürrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich).

[CleeToonFan 1]

Unified Germany don't win tournaments.

[Andrew 4858]

neither do spai...oh

[Brock Manson 0]

I wonder how many unfortunate googling incidents Mario Gotze has inadvertantly caused.

[trophyshy 7084]

I wonder how many unfortunate googling incidents Mario Gotze has inadvertantly caused.

 

 

[Lake Bells tits 1]

[Andrew 4858]

I...what?

[Brock Manson 0]

[Park Life 71]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/may/04/roy-hodgson-england-fabio-capello

 

 

 

 

 

Fabio Capello and senior Germans cast doubt over Roy Hodgson's chances

 

 

Fabio Capello believes Roy Hodgson, pictured, will be hampered by time constraints in the buildup to Euro 2012. Photograph: Ed Sykes/Action Images

Roy Hodgson has been warned he faces an uphill struggle to make a success of the England job, with the former manager Fabio Capello questioning the timing of his appointment, while senior German figures cast doubt over his standing in the game.

Hodgson has been left with little over a month to appoint his backroom staff, put together a squad, instal a new captain, make plans for Wayne Rooney's two-match suspension and sort out a long and extensive list of other issues, including the divisions created by the breakdown in relations between Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.

Capello, who resigned in February after the FA went against his wishes by stripping Terry of the England captaincy, expressed misgivings about whether his successor will have enough time to repair the damage left by his own departure and create a team spirit to make England formidable opponents in Euro 2012. The Italian backed Hodgson's appointment but said it would be difficult for him to have an immediate impact."

[Park Life 71]

Prices for accommodation in EURO 2012 host-cities are stiff and deprive foreign fans of any desire to live in Ukraine during EURO 2012 tournament. Moreover, it’s a bad influence on the public image of the country, say the experts.

The UEFA is also concern about the exorbitant prices for hotel rooms. In particular, Martin Kallen, chief operating officer, calls hotels’ owners to bring down the price: “Some proprietors charge immense rates. Personally, I want to ask them to consider this question properly and rationally.” Furthermore, Union’s authorities point out that only some Ukrainian hotels are very expensive, but in general, country have necessary amount of rooms to accommodate all fans. Also, according to the preliminary estimations, more than one million foreign aficionados will visit Ukraine during EURO 2012.

UEFA’s functionaries addressed Ukrainian authorities with demand to tame the appetite of the local hotels’ owners. However, local officials say that appealed repeatedly to the proprietors’ consciousness but everything was in vain. So, now Ukraine’s authorities try to finds some legal ways to force them to reduce rates. “We tried what would be best and cancelled corporate tax for hotels for 10 years and look what we have now. I think we'll find right way to change this situation”, comment upon the Minister of Infrastructure, Boris Kolesnikov.

The first step has been already made. Ukraine will open its sky for foreign airlines during EURO 2012 tournament so they will take advantage of both international and domestic flights. As a result it would be more convenient and cheap to fly directly for tournament matches instead of paying for accommodation in Ukrainian host-cities. “Low-cost airlines offer to fly from Europe to Ukraine for one match for $200. So, three matches will cost $600 and it’s cheaper than live here,” says Boris Kolesnikov."

 

 

Some talk of hotels being forced to cut prices by the Govt.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Park Life

[CleeToonFan 1]

Got the 'Euro Preview Special' with this months FourFourTwo. Officially can't wait. Hope it's as good as '08. Netherlands to win against their group mates Germany in the final (I think that works out anyway.)

[Andrew 4858]

Hope it's as good as '08.

 

it wont be

 

england are in it

[Andrew 4858]

Euro 2012: Tim Krul & Michel Vorm in large Netherlands squad

 

Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul and Swansea keeper Michel Vorm have both been named in Netherlands' 35-man provisional squad for Euro 2012.

Twelve players must be trimmed from Bert van Marwijk's squad by 29 May.

There are five other British-based players in the squad, including Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.

Everton's John Heitinga, Manchester City's Nigel de Jong, Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt and Tottenham's Rafael van der Vaart are in.

Krul, 24, has won two caps and summer signing Vorm, 28, has played nine times for his country.

Van Marwijk said: "We still have the Dutch play-offs, foreign leagues and cup finals as well as the final of the Champions League.

"Furthermore, there are players coming back from injuries. But it is a great opportunity to see these players close up."

 

Provisional Netherlands squad for Euro 2012

 

Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma), Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Michel Vorm (Swansea City), Erwin Mulder (Feyenoord), Jasper Cillissen (Ajax)

 

Defenders: Vurnon Anita, Gregory van der Wiel (both Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Wilfred Bouma, Erik Pieters, Jetro Willems (all PSV Eindhoven), Urby Emanuelson (AC Milan), John Heitinga (Everton), Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), Joris Mathijsen (Malaga), Nick Viergever (AZ Alkmaar), Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij (both Feyenoord)

 

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona), Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Adam Maher (AZ Alkmaar), Stijn Schaars (Sporting), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Kevin Strootman, Georginio Wijnaldum (both PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur)

 

Forwards: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Ola John, Luuk de Jong (both Twente), Siem de Jong (Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Jeremain Lens (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)