No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

[Hofzinser]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

It wasn't offside for the Spain goal. Iniesta was onside when Fabregas played it through, and then Navas was behind Iniesta when he played the pass.

[Jimmy Bignutz]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

The way Mark Bright crowbarred in "lastminute.com" reminded me of Alan Partridge's Sprünt sponsorship

[Incandenza]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Hofzinser wrote: It wasn't offside for the Spain goal. Iniesta was onside when Fabregas played it through, and then Navas was behind Iniesta when he played the pass.

But when the ball is passed to him, hasn't he then gained an advantage from his initial offside position?

[Jimmy Bignutz]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Still no 0-0 at least.

[MarkF]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

NHH wrote:

Spain seem oddly flat to me somehow...

Also, Ireland are wearing black armbands, why?

Commemorating people killed watching them the last time they played Italy.

Ah, right, thank you, NHH, thoughtful of them...

[anton pulisov]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Craig Doyle just appeared in the ad break to announce his programme later this evening, with his D4 accent: "Well, whether Roy likes it or not, the Irish are still singing in Poland."

Now I have to go get the mop to clean the vomit up.

[anton pulisov]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Trap: "We played a good game. Without these mistakes in set pieces, we could have gotten a draw."

[Bored Of Education]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Apologies if this has been mentioned but if Mick McCarthy is being paid by the BBC for his ridiculous Irish cheerleading job it's a disgrace.

That's some multitasking, Harry. Posting, watching the match and rabble-rousing

[Bored Of Education]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

In some ways, the ultimate Spain goal for this generation where they literally passed the ball into the net. I was disappointed that Navas felt the need to smash the ball the final 6 inches

[Taylor]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Yeah, he should have flicked it up, spun round and backheeled it.

[Weiro]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Bryaniek wrote: Craig Doyle just appeared in the ad break to announce his programme later this evening, with his D4 accent: "Well, whether Roy likes it or not, the Irish are still singing in Poland."

Now I have to go get the mop to clean the vomit up.

Hate those ads for him that have been on during every game, complete with "zany" keepie uppies and headers that break something, and show that he's down with the "footy" stuff. The best bit is when he's smiling at the camera as the ad finishes and doesn't quite keep it going long enough, showing us his usual facial expression of unhappiness and confusion.

[jason voorhees]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

But when the ball is passed to him, hasn't he then gained an advantage from his initial offside position?

Same exact thing for Denmark's first goal against Portugal the other day. You're not offsides once it's played to someone who's onsides. It's slightly unfair, but it's the law and it beats the fuck out of everything being called offsides. I'd rather have 2 "eh, that's not totally fair" goals that 2 offsides calls anyday.

No way Navas was offsides, but Iniesta was one of those hilarious replays where Croatian tv would show the angle a split second after the kick was taken and Spanish tv would show the angle a split second before the lacelint touched the ball. Good call, and good goal.

This was what I wanted when I said I hoped to see Balotelli on the Azzuri. Everyone knows I love the dude and am proud of him, but man what a step up from Gieuseppe Rossi he is. The bit where the players were covering his mouth was hilarious. Italy is best when they know they must balance many different realities and stay focused. Shutting Mario up and making sure he plays because they need him is one of those complicated realities.

Commiserations to the Croatians. Great Job, Good Effort.

[Brandenburger Toro]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Bryaniek wrote: Craig Doyle just appeared in the ad break to announce his programme later this evening, with his D4 accent: "Well, whether Roy likes it or not, the Irish are still singing in Poland."

Now I have to go get the mop to clean the vomit up.

Craig Doyle is obviously the worst cunt on the planet, but it was a reference to the fans at the match singing "We'll sing when we want, we'll sing when we wa-ant, fuck you Roy Keane, we'll sing when we want."

You know, the ones who were actually at the game, "paying Trappatoni's wages".

[scratchmonkey]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

It's two passes with Nava, he's offside on the first; however, it's a judgement call as to whether he interferes with play as he doesn't receive the ball. On the second pass, he's in an onside position, so you can't call it -- since the call is made based on where you were when the pass was made, if you're going to call it, you have to call it on the first pass.

I can't really say Spain deserved to go through, they had two Ramos brain farts where they barely managed to avoid going down -- first the questionable tackle in the first half that could have been a penalty (for the record, I thought he got there first or 50/50 and thus no penalty, although it was still a stupid fucking tackle) and second, his stupid fucking slide well outside of the box that Modric danced around before putting a peach of an outside-of-the-boot cross to Rakitic, who placed his header too close to Casillas. I have a feeling that one of Ramos' "moments" is going to cost them dearly in the knockout rounds. Puyol getting hurt is very big.

Not bringing on Llorente was giving me heartburn for the entire second half. The game was screaming out for him. Spain was getting nothing on their corners, they couldn't cross it into the box because they're all midgets and every Croatian set piece was a goal waiting to happen. Llorente would have helped provide extra cover on defensive set pieces, provided a target for corners and crosses and is good enough with the ball at his feet to act as a fulcrum for runners into the box or laying it back for Fabregas or Alonso to take a shot. I presume that Del Bosque must have discovered him fucking his wife, his daughter and his mother, either consecutive or concurrently.

[danielmak]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

I posted in the Spain-Italy thread that Spain will eventually regret Del Bosque's decision not to bring Soldado. Clearly Llorente is down the pecking order, but at least Torres is interested in going to goal. When Cesc is in there it does feel like passing the ball is the goal. I know it's a cliche to say that this team is getting a bit boring, but they are.

Italy, on the other hand, showed that when they are moving well they can pass and move toward the goal, but they can't stick with this for whatever reason. They seem to lack an ability or desire to kill off the game. On that front, the ESPN (US) announcers were critical of this new formation against Ireland, but I thought they worked well. De Rossi was finally in the offensive mix and there was a clear difference in terms of attacking options, since everything didn't rest on Pirlo's shoulders. The problem is that Motta is way too high up the pitch. He needs to be behind De Rossi and Pirlo. Granted, Ireland aren't of the same quality as Croatia, but I expect Italy to gain momentum. I'm standing with my prediction that they will win it.

[anton pulisov]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Brandenburger Toro wrote:

Craig Doyle just appeared in the ad break to announce his programme later this evening, with his D4 accent: "Well, whether Roy likes it or not, the Irish are still singing in Poland."

Now I have to go get the mop to clean the vomit up.

Craig Doyle is obviously the worst cunt on the planet, but it was a reference to the fans at the match singing "We'll sing when we want, we'll sing when we wa-ant, fuck you Roy Keane, we'll sing when we want."

You know, the ones who were actually at the game, "paying Trappatoni's wages".

I was at the Croatia match. I also booked flights for the Spain game but couldn't get tickets. I reckon I've spent about 400 euros on travel, accommodation and tickets and only ended up at one match. So I don't appreciate you sniping at me like that.

The supporters would boo the team if they got battered 3-1, 4-0 and 2-0 in Dublin. And rightly so. But at the Euros they all want to keep up the stereotype of the best fans in the world TM (C) (R). It's a bullshit façade.

And Roy Keane didn't tell them not to sing, he said the players need to perform better. Roy Keane wants Ireland to win. But that's not good craic apparently.

And Craig Doyle knows fuck all about football.

[DCI Harry Batt]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

*

[Janik]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

This is not a new interpretation of the rule. Goals were being given over far more blatant examples as long as eight years ago.

This must be a question of interpretation, as the officials simply cannot have failed to spot where van Nistelrooy was positioned. That he was where he was gave the Czech defence two choices; either send someone deep to mark him and drop your offside line way back, or level him unmarked and twenty yards from the nearest defender. They chose the latter, and because of that choice and how quickly the play developed, didn’t have the time to get close to him before he finished. I disagree with this interpretation, as I think standing so far offside gave van Nistelrooy a huge advantage and so cannot be held as separate from the pass that sent Robben clear.

However, that is how things stand at the moment, so there was nothing against the rules with Spain’s goal yesterday.

I'm slightly surprised that no-one has picked up what the Croats thought was wrong with the goal, though. They were not appealing for offside; they thought Iniesta handled the ball when he controlled it. See the way Pletikosa is slapping his forearm with his other hand when appealing after the ball has gone in. From the replays it looks more shoulder than arm, but it was close.

[Bored Of Education]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Yeah, I saw that but to me it was shoulder/chest rather than shoulder/arm

(I'm not, I have to get the kids to sleep and work then)

I assume you let the kids watch the match to facilitate the former?

[anton pulisov]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Yeah, that Van Nistelrooy one was a piss take. The first one I remember under the new rules was Wiltord in 2000.

As a defender I have to say that situations like that are impossible to mark. The whole forward line is profiting from the pace of one player. The guy you are marking might be a mile offside so you leave him there, knowing he is offside. Then suddenly the other team's Carl Lewis paced forward (who is being marked by your fastest defender) is played through and the guy you are marking is suddenly not offside any more. As a defender it's a total kick in the balls.

It's a simple rule to fix too. Only the guy being played through should be allowed to score. Because the other guy is clearly gaining an advantage from standing offside. Whether it be first or second phase.

[Mr Beast]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

I’m a bit bemused by this Roy Keane controversy. Unless you twist what he said or take his remarks completely out of context. I was watching at the time he made his comments but I struggle to see what he said about the team, the fans and the singing that was wrong. Happy to be corrected of course.

I’d also agree with the frustration of posters here who wanted Trappatoni to make some changes. It is all very well to be loyal to the players who got you here, even if they are Whelan and Andrews. But to continue with their selection in the face of incontrovertible evidence that it wasn’t working is stubborn in the extreme.

Viewing Ireland through a Villa perspective, Dunne and Given are declining alarmingly. Given has always had some problems with crosses and commanding the box, but he has been a tremendous shot stopper, one of the best around. I hope I’m wrong, but it looks more terminal than just a bad tournament. His reactions have gone and he is only 1 year into a 5 year deal.

[Gangster Octopus]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

He'll do well for you in the second division...

[Jimmy Bignutz]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

I had Barzagli in my fantasy football team, but he got injured, so I thought I'd better replace him. Ireland, they're quite defensive, aren't they, I thought, so I signed O'Shea and Dunne. Haven't looked at my score.

[Janik]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

Mr Beast wrote: I’m a bit bemused by this Roy Keane controversy. Unless you twist what he said or take his remarks completely out of context. I was watching at the time he made his comments but I struggle to see what he said about the team, the fans and the singing that was wrong. Happy to be corrected of course.

People in general are dumb. They want points to only have one simple, immediately obvious meaning. Roy Keane is not dumb. He makes points with a bit of subtelty to them, his true meaning often being there in an allusion rather than in a direct reference. Hence he often gets misunderstood (cf. prawn sandwich brigade).

[Jimbags]

No, the South of Ireland are still crap really

How many Euro's did Roy Keane play in?