Euro 96' and England

30 minutes ago, 442 said:

 

Should’ve been going to Rome for the quarters. Hoping host cities stay the same and I’ll be out there next year.

Had a ticket myself for the home game with Croatia and the second round match in Dublin if we topped the group. 

Waiting for UEFA to announce the rescheduled fixtures before seeing whether I want a refund or not. 

The BBC polls are getting stupid. 

England's best performance since 66, and the 1-1 with Colombia is on there among others

On 06/06/2020 at 12:35, markg said:

Shearer was such a good striker. Always been my all time footballing hero. Watched the games back to see if my mind was playing tricks on me and remembering him as being better than he was but no, he was class.

Shearer's numbers speak for themselves. The beautiful thing about football is the tired (North American-centric) argument about "era adjusted" statistics don't translate well with football like other big sports here (NHL especially). I'll go back and watch France '98 videos as it was the first World Cup I ever watched and even though some of the tactics changed the quality of the players are still on par with the superstars of today. I watched a replay of Holland-Brazil in the semis and both squad were absolutely LOADED and their talents would be just as good today with the extra emphasis on nutrition and training techniques. Alan Shearer would absolutely be in that equation. His ability to score is unparalleled to and English striker I've seen in my lifetime. 

On 06/06/2020 at 13:18, Arthur Bach said:

 

After Euro 92 and the retirement of Lineker England increasingly relied on David Platt. He was the form player in the squad and often captained the side due to injuries and numerous changes during the Taylor era.

 

Gascoinges perennial injuries meant Platt was often the star playmaker and lead penalty taker. He dragged up the average England side of the early 90's often single-handedly and mixed with Shearers stuttering England career chipped in with crucial goals.

 

The 90's saw a glut of English talent up front that never translated to success. Fowler, Cole, LeTissier, Ferdinand, Wright...

 

Despite those, only Shearer was able to really stamp an international reputation.

Which blows my mind how much depth the England squad had in the late 90s-mid 2000s and yet they couldn't muster up anything. England were a joke in Euro 2000 and it boggles my mind how they performed so poorly.

59 minutes ago, canadianowl said:

 

Shearer's numbers speak for themselves. The beautiful thing about football is the tired (North American-centric) argument about "era adjusted" statistics don't translate well with football like other big sports here (NHL especially). I'll go back and watch France '98 videos as it was the first World Cup I ever watched and even though some of the tactics changed the quality of the players are still on par with the superstars of today. I watched a replay of Holland-Brazil in the semis and both squad were absolutely LOADED and their talents would be just as good today with the extra emphasis on nutrition and training techniques. Alan Shearer would absolutely be in that equation. His ability to score is unparalleled to and English striker I've seen in my lifetime. 

 

 

Which blows my mind how much depth the England squad had in the late 90s-mid 2000s and yet they couldn't muster up anything. England were a joke in Euro 2000 and it boggles my mind how they performed so poorly.

Cos at elite levels it's fine margins. 

Players have openly admitted stuff like the man Utd lot didn't socialise with the others, Chelsea and Liverpool weren't keen on each other. 

At that level it's more then just talent, the way you work as a team and are motivated gives you that extra couple of % that can make a difference, certainly in a knock out competition 

52 minutes ago, fudge27 said:

Cos at elite levels it's fine margins. 

 

Players have openly admitted stuff like the man Utd lot didn't socialise with the others, Chelsea and Liverpool weren't keen on each other. 

 

At that level it's more then just talent, the way you work as a team and are motivated gives you that extra couple of % that can make a difference, certainly in a knock out competition 

I remember an interview like that I think it was between Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard. After their playing days together at West Ham they basically stopped talking for like a decade because of the rivalry at club level. Crazy to think that considering Germany & Spain's success yet Barca/Real Madrid players still worked together at national level. Seems extremely petty in retrospect.

12 minutes ago, canadianowl said:

 

I remember an interview like that I think it was between Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard. After their playing days together at West Ham they basically stopped talking for like a decade because of the rivalry at club level. Crazy to think that considering Germany & Spain's success yet Barca/Real Madrid players still worked together at national level. Seems extremely petty in retrospect.

I think it gave the game more of an edge.

So weary of seeing smiles and hugs in the tunnel of most Prem games.

It's part of what made the PL so good, at the cost to the national team. 

Ferguson probably the keyest person instigating it, with others following