| Football entertainment 18:31 - Jul 27 with 768 views | kernow |
Watching the final of the lasses Euros.
Very enjoyable, end to end, full on . |  | | |  |
| Football entertainment on 18:37 - Jul 27 with 743 views | Chesham_Saint |
Good for you.
Iām watching the tide go out. |  |
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| Football entertainment on 19:34 - Jul 27 with 674 views | Block8 |
Just messaged my mate to tell him I might be late for golf in the morning. I'm going to watch the penalties! | | | |
| Football entertainment on 19:47 - Jul 27 with 651 views | kernow |
Well done ladies š | | | |
| Football entertainment on 19:48 - Jul 27 with 650 views | Block8 |
| Football entertainment on 19:34 - Jul 27 by Block8 |
Just messaged my mate to tell him I might be late for golf in the morning. I'm going to watch the penalties! |
That got old quick, well done ladies šš | | | |
| Football entertainment on 19:57 - Jul 27 with 635 views | Ifonly |
Good match, as said above very enjoyable. Spain were better but you cant fault the mentality of the England girls. They were decent at penalties this time too. | | | |
| Football entertainment on 20:53 - Jul 27 with 556 views | Monksway |
Love watching the Lionesses. Couldn't care less whether Tuchel's over-hyped, over-paid Prima Donna's win anything. | | | |
| Football entertainment on 20:53 - Jul 27 with 555 views | 1teeminants |
Well done England Women BACK TO BACK CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE. |  |
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| Football entertainment on 21:02 - Jul 27 with 536 views | grumpy |
Shows what you can do if you believe you can win and never give up. |  | | |
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| Football entertainment on 09:24 - Jul 28 with 288 views | saint901 |
I have watched most of the games in this competition and whilst I have turned off those which became a one way street in terms of a good team meeting a poor one, have generally enjoyed the spectacle.
To do that I have to realise that the game being played is very different from the men's game I played several decades ago and is different from the men's game at pro level today. Some of those differences make for a better game, some are frustrating if you are expecting a match played by "mini-men".
Here are some of my views.
1. Outside of perhaps the best four teams, we see the long ball being played. This is because in order to compress the game, the teams play in a more compact style, leaving space behind the defenders. It is also a fact that some defenders will let the ball bounce and that gives attackers an opportunity. It is therefore a legitimate tactic.
2. I was going to say that the women players are less cynical but frankly the Spanish and Italian ladies were very clever at going to the floor at the slightest brush of contact. I suggest that this is a tactic they have learnt from watching the men play. (and one that is is immensely annoying).
3. There were times in defending where panic set in even when the opposition was not close and a hurried clearance led to more pressure. This is I think a mental block for many and whilst we see it in the mens' game, it's not as frequent.
4. The women were much more inclined to stick to the tactical plan even when a little deviation might have brought about opportunities. This sort of rigid discipline is something I've seen in youth and junior pro games where the players are still learning and importantly want to stay in the team by doing as they are told. I would expect in the next ten years to see a bit more individual expression on the pitch.
5. There is much less back chat to the refs. This is despite the fact that the refs in this tournament have been - in my opinion - universally poor, including in the final where some of her decisions were bizarre.
6. Despite this being no doubt sexist, I do think a smaller pitch would help improve the game and bring about more exciting matches.
7. The commentors need to understand that not every pass, tackle, cross, goal etc are "fabulous", "brilliant", "stunning", etc. Most passes are boring and mundane and by using all the superlatives, all the time, the commentators are not doing themselves or the game any good.
8. Comparisons between the mens and womens teams in terms of achievements are good for the TV's commitment to EDI but do not resonate with most fans. Yes, this was a win on foreign soil for the first time ever by a senior teams, but the men's competitions are - to be blunt - harder to win. By all means praise the achievement but go easy on the comparisons.
9. The physical side of the game has been allowed to develop in what I think is a dangerous way. The players have been told to get their body between opponent and ball. This is fine but often leads to physical pushing and shoving ahead of the ball being in playing distance. Personally I think that is foul play but it seems to be a feature of the game here. Also we see a lot of free kicks where a player's foot has been trodden on. Some of these are deliberate but I'd guess not all of them, but all of them are penalised. This seems to be a case of punishing the trivial and permitted the more cynical.
10. It was a good win for England and one to celebrate. It was achieved with a good dose of luck and a greater dose of belief in the coach and the system. It helped that many opponents who went ahead were unable or unwilling to maintain the intensity and allowed England back into the game. Was it a demonstration of "English values" of grit and determination and never say die? One to debate but I'd say not. It was a victory for believing in the plan and doing as you are told.
Final thought.
For me, the best England player in the tournament was Hemp. - Always available, always running and always a threat.
The worst was Bronze. She constantly gave the ball away and was out of position putting the rest of the team under pressure. | | | |
| Football entertainment on 10:10 - Jul 28 with 232 views | Ifonly |
| Football entertainment on 09:24 - Jul 28 by saint901 |
I have watched most of the games in this competition and whilst I have turned off those which became a one way street in terms of a good team meeting a poor one, have generally enjoyed the spectacle.
To do that I have to realise that the game being played is very different from the men's game I played several decades ago and is different from the men's game at pro level today. Some of those differences make for a better game, some are frustrating if you are expecting a match played by "mini-men".
Here are some of my views.
1. Outside of perhaps the best four teams, we see the long ball being played. This is because in order to compress the game, the teams play in a more compact style, leaving space behind the defenders. It is also a fact that some defenders will let the ball bounce and that gives attackers an opportunity. It is therefore a legitimate tactic.
2. I was going to say that the women players are less cynical but frankly the Spanish and Italian ladies were very clever at going to the floor at the slightest brush of contact. I suggest that this is a tactic they have learnt from watching the men play. (and one that is is immensely annoying).
3. There were times in defending where panic set in even when the opposition was not close and a hurried clearance led to more pressure. This is I think a mental block for many and whilst we see it in the mens' game, it's not as frequent.
4. The women were much more inclined to stick to the tactical plan even when a little deviation might have brought about opportunities. This sort of rigid discipline is something I've seen in youth and junior pro games where the players are still learning and importantly want to stay in the team by doing as they are told. I would expect in the next ten years to see a bit more individual expression on the pitch.
5. There is much less back chat to the refs. This is despite the fact that the refs in this tournament have been - in my opinion - universally poor, including in the final where some of her decisions were bizarre.
6. Despite this being no doubt sexist, I do think a smaller pitch would help improve the game and bring about more exciting matches.
7. The commentors need to understand that not every pass, tackle, cross, goal etc are "fabulous", "brilliant", "stunning", etc. Most passes are boring and mundane and by using all the superlatives, all the time, the commentators are not doing themselves or the game any good.
8. Comparisons between the mens and womens teams in terms of achievements are good for the TV's commitment to EDI but do not resonate with most fans. Yes, this was a win on foreign soil for the first time ever by a senior teams, but the men's competitions are - to be blunt - harder to win. By all means praise the achievement but go easy on the comparisons.
9. The physical side of the game has been allowed to develop in what I think is a dangerous way. The players have been told to get their body between opponent and ball. This is fine but often leads to physical pushing and shoving ahead of the ball being in playing distance. Personally I think that is foul play but it seems to be a feature of the game here. Also we see a lot of free kicks where a player's foot has been trodden on. Some of these are deliberate but I'd guess not all of them, but all of them are penalised. This seems to be a case of punishing the trivial and permitted the more cynical.
10. It was a good win for England and one to celebrate. It was achieved with a good dose of luck and a greater dose of belief in the coach and the system. It helped that many opponents who went ahead were unable or unwilling to maintain the intensity and allowed England back into the game. Was it a demonstration of "English values" of grit and determination and never say die? One to debate but I'd say not. It was a victory for believing in the plan and doing as you are told.
Final thought.
For me, the best England player in the tournament was Hemp. - Always available, always running and always a threat.
The worst was Bronze. She constantly gave the ball away and was out of position putting the rest of the team under pressure. |
Smaller pitches wouldn't make the game more exciting - they would do the opposite. One problem with the men's game is that as men's body size has increased and physicality, such as speed, has improved, the pitches have become too small. This results in fewer goals than were scored 50 or 100 years ago because there is less space and time. If men played on bigger pitches, or with less men per team, the game would be more exciting.
To take one specific, the size of goals was set in 1863. Since then, body sizes have increased dramatically. Average height increased 11cm between the 1870s and the 1970s and no doubt increased more since. It used to be that a 6' man was seen as tall. Today's equivalent is probably 6'6". Today's professional goalkeepers would have been circus freaks in the 1860s. With the women today, their physical size is better matched to the size of goals - it's much closer to what the original intent was for men. | | | |
| Football entertainment on 14:24 - Jul 28 with 78 views | saint901 |
Interesting point and one I had not thought of.
How about playing with 10 players and not 11?
Might be easier than resizing every pitch? | | | |
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