Awkward. My missus hates football. I mean, really ****ing hates it. I had to watch Turkey v Holland with the sound turned down, and even then there's a price to be paid.
I’m out for lunch with my daughter-in-law on finals day and my son wants her back in time to take over with grandson. 1) That assumes England wins the semi 2) How long does he think Sunday lunch takes. Match is at 8
A heavy course of Sennakot Tuesday evening should short out this tricky situation, with a bit of luck your wife might even suggest that you stay home. It might be uncomfortable but you are doing it for England.
I remember someone saying that you can tell how British/English someone feels when you see who they support at cricket (Powell??, may be wrong there). This was good to see. Now if it was the Scots
This is quite an interesting article. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c72vz40yd43o This excerpt, to me, explains why our penalty shootouts have been so poor before now. And it's taken Gareth Southgate to see the worth of a concerted approach to practicing them. Chris Markham spent four years at the Football Association (FA) as game insights lead, and worked closely with England managers in making preparations for penalties more professional. Markham told the Daily Mirror, external: “I think I found quotes from each of the last five England managers before Gareth Southgate, not including Sam Allardyce, that said either the penalty shootout was a lottery, penalties are all down to luck, or that you can’t practise that kind of pressure. I've always felt that shootouts are not overly pressurised if your technique is sound. Once you have absolute confidence in yourself to put the ball where you want the pressure is greatly reduced. Previous penalty takers seem to have been selected from those brave enough to volunteer at that moment or from a competition in training ffs. Good examples of this are Le Tiss, Rickie, Kane and possibly Shearer (I'm not sure about his success rate). Le Tiss knew his technique was good, he knew he could put the ball pretty well wherever he chose. I doubt he he felt stress when he took a penalty, probably actually enjoyed them. Admittedly, none were in an England shootout but I'm convinced he would be the same whatever the situation. That none of the England managers before Southgate felt the need to practice penalties (or more accurately, hone their technique) beggars belief IMO. I accept that this view does fall down in the 2020 Euro final but having just watched them again, I can only say that while Kane and Maguire looked confident and both were excellent penalties the three misses were all hesitant and lacked power or direction. In Sancho's case both. None of the misses were good penalties that were stopped with an excellent save. Did their nerves overwhelm their technique or did their poor technique let them down when it mattered? Obviously, I think it was the latter.
Rickie has always said he relished a penalty. As he said, a free hit from 18 yards with the whole goal your mercy and only the keeper to beat, what more is there to ask for as a striker. If you think about it there is less pressure as if say you are one on one you have to make a decision quickly what to do. A pen you can compose yourself and take your time. It is all about mindset, not bravery IMO.
18 yards? I know he was a top penalty taker but an extra 6 yards is taking confidence to another level!
So the referee selected for our semi-final has previously served a 6 month ban for match-fixing. How in the f*ck does that happen? One of the biggest matches of the tournament. Why isn't any ref found guilty of match-fixing banned for life?
