June: The Euro 2020-ish Group Stages

[Ian]

The People spoke and One Fred won out though there was a lot of chat about one per stage and stuff so I'm thinking one for the groups then one for the knockouts as a whole with a poll of the remaining teams so people can predict England's glorious bringing home of Football. Obviously these threads can serve for any other business for the month as well.

The Squads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2020_squads
The Groups: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_E...20#Group_stage
The Schedule: https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/n...-the-fixtures/
The TV Schedule: https://www.live-footballontv.com/euro-2020-on-tv.html

Some shit from Baz:

Fantasy Football anyone?

https://gaming.uefa.com/en/uefaeuro2...61006C0066/Baz

Or get get the app (Android | Apple) create your Euro 2020 Fantasy Football team and join the league using the code 30BRTA7Z01

He also asked me to post a 'betting guide' in here but get that shit in the betting thread.

[Ian]

Also just realised I wasn't paying attention when typing out the poll question so I'll let a mod decide whether to short that to an actual full question or leave my idiocy there for the ages as I don't think I can edit it.

EDIT: For fuck's sake I forgot to make the poll public as well.

[Baz]

Delete the thread and try again

[Jimmy Floyd]

Turkey v Italy must be one of the better opening fixtures there has been in a while. Usually it's The Hosts v the Republic of Outer Shitalo and the corrupt home president sits in the stands looking smug as the hosts run out 3-0 winners.

[Ian]

Obviously 2010 was the best opener, then. The hosts were the underdogs, featured Team Pepe AND had Vuvuzelas.

[Jimmy Floyd]

That was a pretty good one, also notable for the absurd Peter Drury commentary, and what was actually a glorious goal by Tshabalala.

Russia v Saudi Arabia wasn't it last time? Good lord.

[Ian]

Forgot that was the opener last time. Fucking hell.

[Shindig]

Euro 2008 opened with Switzerland v Czech Republic.

[Spikey M]

Obviously 2010 was the best opener, then. The hosts were the underdogs, featured Team Pepe AND had Vuvuzelas.

And Suarez fully arrived as a BASTARD at that 'tourn'.

[Spikey M]

You've also left "not enough Freds" off the poll.

[-james-]

The worst thing about it is the group stage format. 32 games of minor footballing nations playing for a draw in the hope they can sneak a third place and not be one of the eight teams knocked out.

[Baz]

Greenwood’s out injured.

[Waffdon]

Why is he taking an unfit Henderson? Surprised Ward-Prowse is being snubbed as well, Southgate loves a set piece.

[Ian]

Do we think Greenwood would have got much of a look in anyway? His form is much improved but Sancho would definitely have been ahead of him and I assume that's also a position he might play either Mount or Rashford with the other being sharing the other side with Sterling.

[7om]

I printed off my wall chart yesterday. I usually can’t be arsed with international football but I’m really looking forward to this.

[Baz]

I usually can’t be arsed with international football but I’m really looking forward to this.

Same. Feels like footballs back for the first time since Liverpool lost to Atletico Madrid.

[Ian]

Surely nobody can be arsed with international football between tournaments?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Clearly you aren't as thrilled as me about the return of Asian World Cup qualifiers, headlined by Japan's 10-0 win over Burma at the weekend (Yuya Osako scored five, to add to his three in the earlier 14-0 win over Mongolia. God I miss the calendar year goalscorers)

Also sad to report that North Korea have withdrawn from the World Cup, mid-qualifiers.

[Ian]

What's Roy "The Crush" Krishna's tally for the year?

[Baz]

Surely nobody can be arsed with international football between tournaments?

Some people are but I mean like I’ve barely watched any England games in the recent World Cups/Euros, but gone out of my way to arrange going to a beer garden with some mates next Sunday to try and catch the full-on Ingerlund hype bug.

[Ian]

Make sure to social distance so you don't get EUROS FEVER!!

[Jimmy Floyd]

What's Roy "The Crush" Krishna's tally for the year?

Still banging them in, top scorer in the Indian Super League with 14 in just 20 games, and also the joint most assists with former Atletico Madrid and Blackpool hitman Alberto Noguera. It was some golden boot race, actually. As well as the aforementioned, Krishna held off ex Reading marksman Adam Le Fondre, 2002 World Cup veteran Bartholomew Ogbeche, and Jamshedpur and Lithuania's much-travelled frontman Nerijus Valskis.

[Ian]

Adam Le Fondre, fucking hell. There's a name I hadn't thought about in a long time.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I didn't realise the Euros were so soon.

I thought they were still a month away.

[Don]

He's bottled making a decision.

[Pleb]

That squad is horrific.

[Baz]

Four right backs.

Bellingham hopefully going for more than “the experience” like when Sven took Walcott, considering Bellingham is already better than a lot of the other players.

[Pleb]

Put Bellingham in goal and we'll still lose 6 points to Croatia and Scotland of all teams.

[phonics]

When was the last time Taz said something and wasn’t proven wrong almost immediately. He was first on open the clubs and now his enormous nose is entirely useless.

Think it makes sense if he reverts to 3 at the back.

Shaw/Saka and Arnold/Trippier on the wings and you can revert to a 4 easily.

[-james-]

That squad is horrific.

Is this bait?

[Waffdon]

He’s got 5 midfielders there and 2 are injury doubts and Mount is wasted playing from deep. England could have done with Tomori over Coady or Mings. Maguire the only decent centre half there and he’s nothing special and out injured at the minute.

The attack should see them do decent enough but I wouldn’t trust Southgate much. Be a blessing in disguise like in 2018 when he finishes 2nd and avoids France/Germany/Portugal

[-james-]

I was looking through the Finland squad today and center back Daniel Michael O'Shaughnessy caught my eye. That's going to be Alexis Mac Allister commentary times a million.

[Don]

When was the last time Taz said something and wasn’t proven wrong almost immediately. He was first on open the clubs and now his enormous nose is entirely useless.

This was somewhat out the blue and I'm not even sure it makes sense you wanna throw hands just say so, no need to tickle my balls.

[Offshore Toon]

Someone do a result prediction competition for the Euros and lets sort this out once and for all.

[Don]

That would require these melts to actually have some opinions

[Offshore Toon]

Points could be based on odds to stop Mahow winning, and it also immediately puts those in the know ahead when Turkey beat Italy.

[Lofty]

Cant be arsed finding the correct thread: Ancelotti leaves Everton for Real Madrid

[phonics]

I'd do predictions but I just can't be arsed to get new predictions in every other day.

[Baz]

Someone do a result prediction competition for the Euros and lets sort this out once and for all.

The app linked in the OP for fantasy football also has match prediction and tournament prediction games, but no leagues afaik. Can post our picks though, like this:

Toggle Spoiler

PS EVERYONE JOIN THE FANTASY FOOTBALL

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

England will finish with 2 points in the group. One each from Scotland and the Czech lot.

They'll just about qualify (on goals scored) and then get dumped out in the first knockout game.

Facts.

[SincereTheRebel]

I would rather see Kyle Walker at CB over BlockHead

[Spikey M]

I'd rather have Captain Tom and his walker over that cuboid cunt.

[Lewis]

We will walk our group, and then I can't make sense of how it works other than oo-er we might get Germany or Ronaldo or even France if they throw the first match.

[Ian]

Given Kyle Walker seemed to try and set up an opposition goal every time he touched the ball in 2018 I'm not sure what the argument would for him as a centre-half over anybody for England.

[Shindig]

At best, he has the pace to recover but I wouldn't want him near an England squad.

[Waffdon]

Toggle Spoiler

Can’t believe I’ve predicted that all 100% correctly

[phonics]

[Don]

We need a name to categorise these fucking dogshit nations who specialise in low-scoring affairs with their national pool which strictly prohibits any kind of character or flair (no, Hamsik's haircut does not qualify). They're the international equivalent of Burnley minus the organisation and plan.

Pandev's boys were seconds from victory though

[Lewis]

The Bore-draw Pact.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Slovenia have to be the world champions of pointlessness. Since that underdog run at Euro 2000, which was fun, I don't think they've had a good player or really anything interesting to say about them.