Thought i would start the ball rolling regarding the upcoming Euro championship tournament which starts in two weeks time.I know this is mainly a horse racing forum but i noticed that Ron was starting to introduce an index for other sports and there can be some nice profits to be made me thinks over the few weeks. My main fancy for the tournament is zee germans at 3/1.Their young players burst onto the scene two years ago in the world cup and ran out of steam against spain in the semi finals but i think they are more experienced now and walked their qulaifying group so i think they will at least make the final if not win it. I was on Spain in the last world cup but i'm not so keen this time around.Losing Puyol & David Villa is a blow and i think they play in a similar mould to barcelona and we have seen how chelsea were able to hold barca off and hit them on the break and knick a goal as well at set pieces.I thnk they will make the semi final/final but wont win it. My outside bet for the tournament is les Bleus. France have a new manager and dont have any of the bagge of the preivious regime under domenech and in my view have nothing really to lose.They have a decent front pair in remi & benzeman and are solid in midfield so at 12/1 offer decent e/w chance.As for Ireland/Englands chances forget it.We wont get out of the group and i can see england getting to the quater finals at most.Top scorer is a tough one so i will be having small stakes on Benzeman 16/1. I would love to hear peoples opinions on the upcoming tournament and laugh at my tips above! Euro Competition
I like the look of Italy - like France they're much better than they were in 2010. Germany are deservedly one of the favourites but they have to get out of a real pig of a group first.
I agree about Germany.In Bastian Schweinsteiger they have one of the most accomplished midfielders in the world.Add the red hot Mario gomez and Mesut Ozil who have been on fire for their league clubs and you have a very tough team.Far Worse German teams than this have done very well in tourneys. I also like the look of the 14-1(will hill) for Germany v Denmark to be the highest scoring group game.The only problem i can see is,it will Germany's last group game,so by then they may be home and hosed.so here's hoping they draw a game before then.
The Spanish are a team in decline, alot of those players that won the Euros and the world Cup are the wrong side of 30 now, plus there main goal threat throughout those tournaments David Villa has a broken leg. They will no doubt dominate possession, regardless of who they play, but they don't have enough fire power infront of goal, to be a good bet at 5/2.* The German team looks incredibly overrated if you ask me, yes there good, but 3/1 is a very poor price.* I like Hollands chances at 7/1, i think there team is atleast equal to the Germans, and they can be backed at double the price.* As for England, I wouldn't back us *but I wouldn't completely rule us out, whatever way you look at it we have a squad full of Champions league winners, and premier league winners, so why can't we have a good run in the Euros?* Atleast this time we have a decent goalkeeper in Joe Hart, which has been one of the biggest problem areas over the years. That's one of the main reasons why our record in penalty shoot outs is so poor, because the opposition always have a better goalkeeper*
It would be just like England to put a good run together.But lets be realistic,Englands squad looks quite good on paper.Some very good individuals who play Premier league ,but no players who have ever done well at tourneys in the highest echelons of the game(World-cup,Euros).If anything I think that if England do progress it will be down to the experience and tactical astuteness of Roy Hodgson rather than anything else.
You have seen England's record over the last 50 years right? They often have many league title winners and European Cup winners, hasn't exactly helped them thus far.
How many times have we lost on penalties though? In recent years we've lost out to Portugal twice, Argentina once and the Germans twice, all in penalty shoot outs. It's not like we've been outplayed in these tournaments, and in the last world cup we were robbed by the referee, when the ball clearly crossed the line
KS one wonders where on earth you get your information and do you validate it before posting it as your own?Your statement about the age of the Spanish squad is untrue,not even close to being true, Spain have only 2 players aged 30 or over in the outfield squad of 20 players. Those 20 players have an average age of 25.5 y-o. Regarding tactics,Negredo and Llorente at 6"1 and 6"5' gave Spain a plan B,missing in the last two major trophies they have won.Villa's form has been poor for club and country since last August so his omission isn't a problem at all.This team will not be short on goals. I think Spain and Germany are ridiculously short at the odds quoted.What about the old match fixers?..Seria A has been improving latterly and they know how to win. Re England they have 8 players in their 30th year or older..nuff said...ROI are poor and have little chance.
KS you are definately a glass half full chappy if you think that made a difference...FT it was 4-1 to them!
Dexter, some of those players the wrong side of 30 I was referring to have not been selected, the likes of Senna, Capdevelia and obviously Villa as he has a broken leg. Xavi who has been arguably the best midfield player of his generation is now knocking on abit, and didn't have that great a season for Barcelona by his own high standards. Puyol aswell is a shadow of the defender he once was. Yes they are still strong, but for me they are not as strong as they were this time 4 years ago
Do *you actually understand football? If that goal had stood, and it went 2-2 then it's a completely different game. We were all over the Germans at that stage of the game, and that goal being disallowed knocked the stuffing out of us, as our players knew they had been robbed.* If you watch alot of football, you will realise just how much a goal can turn the momentum of a game, so to say we still lost 4-1 anyways is a ridiculous argument to say the least
Losing on penalties still counts as losing. All I know is Denmark and Greece have more European Championships than England (England haven't even made a final!), and until England start learning from mistakes past, they'll never get anywhere. I certainly would never bet on them given how short their odds always are until they proved they could win a tournament. And if you seriously think England would have done anything against Germany even if they had pulled it back to 2-2, you're as deluded as a tabloid journalist. They were dreadful throughout that World Cup.
The final score was 4-1..or have you been holding out on us with some as yet unknown revelation as to how this game ended? BTW,apologies for incorporating facts,such as the actual score of the match,into my "ridiculous argument".. Stop digging KS!
For what it's worth I think we lost to Germany in 2010 because we were ****e and they were decent. The disallowed goal just papered over the cracks. As for this year one positive for England's chances is that the press fuelled we are world beaters bullshit hasn't taken hold........yet! Another positive (that's 2 I've found) is Roy Hodgson having a track record of getting the best out of average players and that's what he'll be working with at this tournament.
In that case they will have no bearing on this years event. Your comment was clearly in relation to the current squad,you just hadn't researched before you opined. Stop digging.
Hard to see past Spain for me, keep the ball far to well and in Llorente have a forward in form and who adds something a little different if Torres isn't firing! I can see Torres having a good tournament and bouncing back to form
I think the fact that media over hyped englands chances before every tourament never helped their cause and even got the players believing they were better than they actually are.This time around the media coverage is a lot less intense which can only be a good thing for england. I think England have only three genuine world class players in Hart,cole and Rooney and the latters performance in recent tournaments has been poor. This is one of the weakest England teams i've seen in years but i think overall the standard of international football has declined as well. I think Hodgson works well at small clubs and gets the best out of limited players-I think he struggled at liverpool managing the bigger names so with the amount of egos in the current team i cant see him making a major impact.
Wouldn't exectly say Llorente is in form City.He hasn't scored in his last seven games and his club,Athletic Bilbao,haven't scored in their last six,worst drought in 35 years. He needed a break as he is effectively the clubs only striker.If refreshed he will definately prove a handful,as Ferdinand and Smalling etc wil attest. He offers a Spain a totally new dimension to their usual play..as does Negredo.
Ah the footballing loyalty that we all have when it comes to dear old Engerland... I always find them hard to watch and although i want them to win i never get excited enough to sing from the top of the roof tops if they do...!!! From a tournament side of things i cant wait and as usual i have a bet on the group winners, and this year is no exception... Group A will be won by Russia. Poland maybe at home but the Czechs are a slow team who dont score near as many as they did a few tournaments ago and Greece will try to bore the group to death... Russia 11/8... Group C will be won by Spain. Italy are tournament pros but i dont think they have a good team at the moment and might struggle against one of the other two left in the group Croatia or Ireland... Spain 8/15... Then its down to groups B and D... Groups B will be again between the top 2, Ze Germans and the Dutch... I do have a fancy for the Dutch to win this group but with the Portuguese and Danish it will be hard... Holland play Denmark first up and if they win that which i expect them to them that puts them well in control of the group. But it wont be easy... Germany 11/10 or Holland 15/8... Finally Group D... Jeez where do we start... Firstly i do think England will get out of the group but 1st or 2nd...? Beat the French 1st up and we deffo go through... Draw means probably having to beat the Ukraine in the last game to go through, no easy task. Sweden should be easier but again it comes down to the Froggy game...England 7/4 or France 7/4... Anyway ive done a little bit of a matrix bet so will show you... All odds are for a £1 bet... Russia + Spain + Germany + England = £21.03 Russia + Spain + Germany + France = £21.03 Russia + Spain + Holland + England = £28.79 Russia + Spain + Holland + France = £28.79 Placed a £5 on each, so £20 out potential of £105 or £145 back... This will be the only bet i will have on the tournament as picking winners and top goal scorers is a bit hit n miss to me... Anyway good luck to all if you do have a bet... And come on Eng-Err-Land...!!!
