Euro 2016 Qualifying

[Dan]

This is the exact mentality that annoys me about england fans! Not conceded in five, turned over Switzerland (a top ten ranked team) in their own back yard, and won every group game without conceding. Some things are just never enough for some. We're better than both Greece and Poland.

 

What mentality? Are you claiming you would expect us to go and roll over Greece and Poland? I'm not saying we wouldn't, but I think we'd do well to and Northern Ireland & Scotland both achieved good results in those fixtures tonight.

 

Not exactly sure why you saw that as a snipe at England.

[Vacamion]

I just wanna see a drone on the pitch with a big Union Flag on it after tonight, maybe even with a 'always the servants, never the masters' written across it.

Please explain why you think this would be a good idea.

[purpleronnie]

Please explain why you think this would be a good idea.

it's just matt being matt.

[bovril]

Wasn't that bad. Flag and some handbags.

 

Ok so having seen the longer video I take that back!

[Manwell Pablo]

Northern Ireland were outstanding, Greece are no mugs and to have maximum points is a tremendous effort. They should win in the Faroes and beat Hungary at home and with a five point gap already to third, if they avoid defeats to Finland they should get through.

 

Their pretty wank these days to be fair, and I think they might fail to qualify (even with so many teams going through) despite them having a pretty bad group. Much as I thought Greece away would be too much for N.I, the game has gone to form. Not to take anything away from them though they keep going like this they should secure a play off at least. 

[Jordan]

wow, fair play to kolarov there.

I'm not sure what's the best part of the video:

1) Aleksandar Kolarov being the biggest gentleman in all of Belgrade that night,

2) Lorik Cana going Ben Flower on the chair-wielding hooligan, or

3) Anything involving the Albanian eagle mascot.

[Guest MattP]

The Serbs are getting the brunt of the blame because, the way I see it, everything that caused the situation to completely melt down is their fault.

(Actually, it could really be UEFA's fault for allowing the two nations to be paired in the same group considering Kosovo, or not demanding the matches be played behind closed doors or at a neutral venue, but that's another matter.)

No doubt the banner/drone move was provocative, but it was just a RC helicopter with a small banner.

 

Everything? So the Serbians are to blame for a drone coming onto the pitch?  Everything was fine until that. (it wasn't just a flag of Albania either, it was the flag a lot of Greater Albania used over the area of Serbia, had I been one of the Serbs I would have tried to drag it down as well)

 

The Albanians should have just let the player pull it down and drag it off, then the game carries on, to react like they did to that was always going to rile up the crowd to levels that was going to make it impossible to carry on, effectively telling the whole crowd you want to see ethnic Serbia wiped off the map. I'm actually amazed so few fans invaded the pitch, we could have had an Egypt scenario after that.

 

I agree on UEFA though, to allow these to play each other was quite nuts.

[Samilktray]

About time Serbia had the book thrown at them.

[bovril]

Everything? So the Serbians are to blame for a drone coming onto the pitch?  Everything was fine until that. (it wasn't just a flag of Albania either, it was the flag a lot of ethnic Albanians have used over the area of Serbia, had I been one of the Serbs I would have tried to drag it down as well)

 

The Albanians should have just let the player pull it down and drag it off, then the game carries on, to react like they did to that was always going to rile up the crowd to levels that was going to make it impossible to carry on, effectively telling the whole crowd you want to see ethnic Serbia wiped off the map. I'm actually amazed so few fans invaded the pitch, we could have had an Egypt scenario after that.

 

I agree on UEFA though, to allow these to play each other was quite nuts.

 

 

Not quite, apparently some Serbian fans were chucking things at Albanian players (including flares) before the drone. If you look at the video the game had already stopped before anybody saw it. I'd say a lot of the crowd was riled up as soon as they stepped in the stadium. A sorry state of affairs!

[Guest MattP]

Not quite, apparently some Serbian fans were chucking things at Albanian players (including flares) before the drone. If you look at the video the game had already stopped before anybody saw it. I'd say a lot of the crowd was riled up as soon as they stepped in the stadium. A sorry state of affairs!

 

That was always going to happen though, wil happen to the Serbs in Tirana as well.

 

I think the flare came on as soon as the drone was seen, seemed to happen simultaneously.

[RonnieTodger]

I can see us being turned over at Celtic Park in November. Hopefully they'll take the game lightly after playing Ireland in the groups, but against England?....no chance. I'd like to think that we wont need to get out of 1st gear to beat Slovenia, but 55,000 Scots - this friendly is going to be bloody hard.

Obviously, we're better than Scotland, but I just get the feeling that we won't handle the night very well.

[Finnegan]

Let's be honest, they're all ****ing nutters.

[Guest MattP]

I can see us being turned over at Celtic Park in November. Hopefully they'll take the game lightly after playing Ireland in the groups, but against England?....no chance. I'd like to think that we wont need to get out of 1st gear to beat Slovenia, but 55,000 Scots - this friendly is going to be bloody hard.

Obviously, we're better than Scotland, but I just get the feeling that we won't handle the night very well.

 

You'd imagine they will be riled up like fcuk, 55,000 yes voters I'd imagine from Glasgow, will be baying for blood. What a great idea to time it a couple of months after the referendum and play it at Celtic Park.

 

Personally I couldn't give a shit, sad that as ten years back I'd have been right up for a game like this and would probably have gone.

 

I do actually feel for the players a bit, who really wants this as a pointless friendly at this point? Just (very well paid) whores for the FA.

[filbertway]

I wish the Serbs would man up and show their faces, if you're going to be an absolute mentalist then go the whole hog and make sure everyone knows who you are.

 

I didn't even realise we're playing Scotland soon. It feels like a qualifier/friendly every month at the minute, I hate the two week break it causes. 

[Dan]

Their pretty wank these days to be fair, and I think they might fail to qualify (even with so many teams going through) despite them having a pretty bad group. Much as I thought Greece away would be too much for N.I, the game has gone to form. Not to take anything away from them though they keep going like this they should secure a play off at least. 

 

This is Greece we're talking about here. They'll be absolutely shit until the last couple of games and then they'll somehow scrape it like they always do

[Guest MattP]

Greece were absolute shite at the World Cup to be fair, just ran into an Ivory Coast team that was even more dogshite and thick as pigshit.

[Dan]

Greece were absolute shite at the World Cup to be fair, just ran into an Ivory Coast team that was even more dogshite and thick as pigshit.

 

They were awful. That's what made it even more hilarious that they went through. Two goals in three games and qualified through a dodgy penalty

 

And then they scored a last minute equaliser against Costa Rica I was pissing myself. A small part of me wanted them to go through the whole tournament doing this.

[Corky]

Their pretty wank these days to be fair, and I think they might fail to qualify (even with so many teams going through) despite them having a pretty bad group. Much as I thought Greece away would be too much for N.I, the game has gone to form. Not to take anything away from them though they keep going like this they should secure a play off at least. 

 

When I say "no mugs" I mean that it's still a difficult trip for a nation like Northern Ireland and you'd expect Greece to win the group at the start. Just shows how well NI have done so far that they were so comfortable.

[ADK]

Greece have been far more successful than England in recent years.

[bovril]

I wish the Serbs would man up and show their faces, if you're going to be an absolute mentalist then go the whole hog and make sure everyone knows who you are.

 

I didn't even realise we're playing Scotland soon. It feels like a qualifier/friendly every month at the minute, I hate the two week break it causes. 

 

To give them their dues I think a lot of these hooligans are quite well known and powerful in Serbia. Apparently the man who ran on the pitch first was the 'infamous' Ivan Bogdanov.

Looks like a right meat-head. Wouldn't say it to his face though!

[Manwell Pablo]

Greece have been far more successful than England in recent years.

 

Yes they have. That's a bit irrelevant though

 

At the moment their squad is terrible. Hence why they have 1 point from three games (two at home) and we have nine (two away)

[Manwell Pablo]

yeah I seen savage on Twitter looking for bites basically saying how great it must be to support any home nation side except england. idiot. who's won all 3 games they've played? yeah us. who's not conceded a goal? yeah us. who's actually 100% going to qualify again? yeah still us.

i don't particularly like Scotland or Wales but am enjoying their attempts to progress here, but everyone suddenly thinking any home nation side could come close to england in a competitive fixture needs their head checking. we are far, far better than any of them.

 

 

 

 

Not disagreeing we have the better players on paper but in a competitive fixture anything can happen. N.I beat us when we were supposed to be good for a start off. 

[Jaspa]

Greece werent exactly complete doggo at the World Cup either, they worked very, very hard defensively. I enjoy watching what teams have to throw at teams like that and if they actually scored it was golden.

 

They did get mullered by Columbia and the Japan match was pointless but I enjoyed the rest

[Bert]

You'd imagine they will be riled up like fcuk, 55,000 yes voters I'd imagine from Glasgow, will be baying for blood. What a great idea to time it a couple of months after the referendum and play it at Celtic Park.

Personally I couldn't give a shit, sad that as ten years back I'd have been right up for a game like this and would probably have gone.

I do actually feel for the players a bit, who really wants this as a pointless friendly at this point? Just (very well paid) whores for the FA.

Any footballer with English blood should want to play in this friendly.

[Bert]

Not disagreeing we have the better players on paper but in a competitive fixture anything can happen. N.I beat us when we were supposed to be good for a start off.

Poland beat Germany and they're world champions. Will people say Poland are better than Germany? No.

Bar the odd freak result, such as these mentioned we come out on top every time.