Jump to content

Euro 2016 qualifiers


Mr Bairn

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 2.5k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

You have to give credit to Estonia, they defended very well.

England certainly had an off day but it's all about getting the three points in qualifying and to be 9 points clear of Switzerland, albeit they have played one less game, has England already well on course to finish top of the group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure, the media still manage to have high expectations of the team - they just aren't as high as they used to be.

Are those expectations unrealistic though?

Don't get me wrong, the expectations are lower than they have ever been but when you have players who play for top clubs is it really irrational to expect them to win easily against some of the teams they go up against? (Like Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania for example)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are those expectations unrealistic though?

Don't get me wrong, the expectations are lower than they have ever been but when you have players who play for top clubs is it really irrational to expect them to win easily against some of the teams they go up against? (Like Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania for example)

No, that's not unrealistic. They clearly have a better team than the majority of these teams.

I think that their opinions of the players they have are all a good few degrees higher than they should be, leading to unrealistic expectations when they face genuine opposition.

The World Cup is a good example. England expected to beat Uruguay and Costa Rica because they felt they had better players and a better team and that shone through in the media. The truth was that Uruguay at least had players playing at a decent level - more than an equal level to the England squad, but that was ignored.

So when they get beat even now, instead of acknowledging the opposition are at least as good as them, they are always scratching their heads and wondering why it went wrong.

It can't be good for the players who I though actually played probably as well as they could at the tournament and weren't as awful as made out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good couple of days for Austria, picking up wins over Moldova and Montenegro, while rivals dropped points elsewhere, with Russia's home draw with Moldova being the most hilarious. 2 points clear at the top, with their next game being at home to Russia. If they could win that one, it would put them in an excellent position for one of the automatic qualification positions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good result, highest paid manager in the world.

Is Capello still the manager? Surely he'll be sacked soon and that'll be that for his career.

Also Alcacer looks a huge talent, been highly rated on FM for a while but is now actually matching it. Can see him joining Barca or more likely Madrid in the next few years

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So when they get beat even now, instead of acknowledging the opposition are at least as good as them, they are always scratching their heads and wondering why it went wrong.

If Peterhead defeated Hearts, would you be saying "Well, we just need to accept they are as good as Hearts" or would you be criticising Hearts for not playing to the standard they are capable of?

Would you be comparing the squads player for player and saying they were equal or would you be questioning why the squad with better players didn't win?

It's the same logic with the games against Costa Rica and Uruguay for example, or even the USA at the previous World Cup. Pundits are correct to wonder why England failed to win and be critical of the players for not playing to the standard expected of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good couple of days for Austria, picking up wins over Moldova and Montenegro, while rivals dropped points elsewhere, with Russia's home draw with Moldova being the most hilarious. 2 points clear at the top, with their next game being at home to Russia. If they could win that one, it would put them in an excellent position for one of the automatic qualification positions.

When I was putting some bets on earlier I was looking at form and Austria have a tremendous home record.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...