So, anyone disagree that Germany will win it all? :-)
Just another reason to implement (not just talk about) goal line technology, etc.. to help out. Italy vs England should be a great game.
As an Englishman; It was a karmic payback for us getting hosed at the WC a few years back - If I were Ukrainian, I'd be pissed....... Anyway, a good buddy of mine is one of the patent holders on the NFL's "yellow line" doohickey ("Sportvision") and they were asked by either FIFA or UEFA to come up with a solution. So, firstly define the problem; - The ball must be entirely over the line. - Most (but not all) of these incidents are a result of a "goal line scramble" with a bunch of guys around the line - Ergo, An optical solution like the yellow line won't work as chances are it'll be blocked. They proposed a virtual "electronic net" shrouding the goalmouth and a ball with multiple sensors - Doable, but not easily. IIRC, Adidas did some prototyping of the concept and it failed miserably for many reasons - The ball spinning was one issue for example. It's certainly possible, but the pooh-bahs are (were?) saying they want it to be implemented across the entire game, from the lowest to highest levels as one of footballs greatest "assets" is it's consistency. I think we're going to be stuck with the bye-line ref for many years yet - Which is something..... Also, remember, if there's any doubt in the ref's mind he's obligated to give the benefit of the doubt to the defense - And it was *damn* close..... I guess video replay would have overturned the decision, but what would happen if, eg, England marched off down the field and scored before the next stoppage in play? Cheers, Ian
I'm not sure it's quite *that* bad, but yeah, it is just a part of the game and again, the benefit of the doubt must always go to the defense - Very seldom is a truly offside goal allowed. I don't think there's any "fix" - Just accept it's part of the game and move on...... Cheers, Ian
That is interesting. I was envisioning more of the electronic net approach but I didn't know the history. Can always do a rugby like instant replay. That is pretty quick on the decision and wouldn't delay the game much if at all.
I'm calling Italy...my dark horse. Buffon in the pipes and l'architetto Pirlo bending passes into the box gives them a fighting chance
I haven't watched a rugby match in years.... [IIRC, the last 5 nations was on PPV here, and that's not working for me!] Anyway, I presume instant replay is used for try/no try calls? I can see that working in rugby as the game is "stopped" at that time - Review the play and make the call, no problem. But, in our example, what happens if JT's clearance goes downfield and England scores - That counts, then we come back and review the earlier goal line play - "Oops, it went in, the score changes from 1-0 to 1-1......" I'm not sure that works...... Cheers, Ian
Gotta get by England first....... I reckon we'll eek out a win - possibly in extra time..... As long as none of these games goes to ****ing penalty kicks I'll be happy! Even happier if England prevails obviously. Incidentally, for any "points scoring loving Americans" following this, there hasn't been a single 0-0 draw in the entire tournament thus far. Cheers, Ian
Here are my QF guesses.. Portugal to beat Czech Greece to upset Germany Italy to beat England Spain to beat France.
Yeah it is (the reply) completed in about 15 sec and relayed to the ref on the field to make the call. Either way you are right, play would have to be stopped. For me electronic monitoring or some version of instant replay needs to be done. The benefits out weigh any inconvenience or change created. Hey - I'm cool with a laser that deploys and cuts JT's (just him) leg off to stop play too. LOL.
I'm pretty sure they continue to research "electronic monitoring", but as I said above, it's actually a very difficult nut to crack reliably..... "Instant replay", not so much as it stops the game which is really a big no-no. Fair opinion, but I beg to differ. At this level - Say the premier leagues around the world plus the big tournaments the ref's get it wrong *maybe* once per season. And that's generally a no goal when it should have been given - Benefit to the defense, as its always been. I guess my problem, apart from stopping play is I can see it opening a slippery slope - "Well, they use it for goals, why not also use it for offside? England (I'm sure there are others) have been robbed twice - The goal that wasn't given and Maradonna's infamous "hand of God" goal - Should that also have been reviewed and thence disallowed after the fact for example? [At the time, I would have said "hell yeah!", but time heals and that's the nature of the game.] Not the most popular player out there right now it seems! Cheers, Ian
+1 Doubtful, but I'd *love* to see it!..... Germany do seem to find a way to choke all too often though. Bah, humbug!..... +1 "This is why we watch!" Please, no PK shootouts either!..... Makes a mockery of the game IMO. Cheers, Ian
+1000, I want to see games won by great plays. When they do happen I can't help but root for both keepers.
I definitely admire the English squad - seem very Italian in their approach with counter attacks. Hart is as good as it gets in the pipes, and Cole is an all-world defender. If Balotelli can get his act together (and I'm not sure he can), with Pirlo and De Rossi in the midfield, Italy can be formidable. Losing Chiellini (at least I think he's out) is a blow, but Buffon still has the goods, so I like their chances. As far as I can recall, England hasn't had great success against Italy. Take that for what it's worth as the US beat Italy for the first time earlier this year...but this is the Euros and Italy has to be hungry for the success that's eluded them since the 60's.
+1 Rooney, despite being a little crazy, remains a truly great striker. Love him or hate him, JT is also a serious "calming influence" at the back too. Indeed. But I think (hope!) Englands defense is too good. TBH, England hasn't had that great a record against *anyone* for many, many years!....Pretty much everyone has beaten us over the years! Not this time though!...... Cheers, Ian
Well Portugal made it through ! All that despite Nani laying on the field flopping around like a fish out of water every 10 min.
My colleagues discussed today how high we'd win over Greece, 4:0 was the consensus. I was laughed at when I said: The Greeks will build a wall in front of their goal and ride some deadly counterattacks and possibly kick us out of the tournament. Look what happened so far... 1:1
