Euro 2012

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

It's worth knowing that Italy haven't beaten us in our last 3 meetings with us beating them away in our last meeting and them getting an injury time equaliser in the one before that. Ill have my predictions up tomorrow.

 

[Uncle Sam]

WHAT WOULD BEER DO​

Winning it all in 2012.

 

[Uncle Sam]

This assistant manager is seriously bi-polar. First he tells me to sub Cech, then he tells me he's the most likely to score points and I should make him captain. WWBD deserves less erratic staff.

 

[Tastycles]

So, England are taking Cheltenham's second choice keeper to the Euros. I'd bring him on for penalties. The other team will be like "who the fuck is this tool?" and then be like "oh maybe he's Dave Beasant in 2012."

MIND GAMES

 

[Loveless]

Group C

The battle for 2nd place​

Spain
Reigning world and European champions, ranked number 1 in the world, arguably one of the best teams in 40 years, what can really be said about Spain. No team in history has 3 successive tournament wins. However there's still a suspicion of their ability to bottle it at key moments, losing to Switzerland of all teams in their opening world cup game and my personal feeling is any injury to Iniesta or Xavi rips the heart out of them.

Italy
6 years ago they were world champions, 2 years ago they were shambolic finishing behind the mighty New Zealand. They have since rebuilt and are typically Italian in their ability to shut games down but as an attacking force they lack an edge. Write them off at your peril though, they have a habit of causing surprises and if anyone is going to beat spain it'll be them.

Ireland
Amazingly it's been 10 years since Ireland last qualified for a major tournament. What they lack in talent they make up for in effort and have become a very solid and difficult team to beat. They won't blow anyone away but are a very good outside bet to reach the semis, a potential quarter-final with England will provide enormous motivation.

Croatia
Croatia are not quite the force they were in the recent past, the honeymoon period under Slaven Bilic long gone and key players approaching 30 or past it. Much like Portugal they're a team with talent that can turn it on occasionally but then crash and burn. In this group, failing to win their opening game against Ireland will see them crash and burn.

 

[Барбоса]

Any football tournament is made so much more watchable by the presence of the Irish.

 

[Loveless]

Any football tournament is made so much more watchable by the presence of the Irish.

Agreed, just like Brazil or Netherlands. I'm hoping they get through that group but it's going to be difficult, they're going to be chasing the ball in all 3 games.

 

[Loveless]

I'll be updating the main post tonight, hopefully.

The international friendlies kick off today and I'll be monitoring the relevant games as a form guide

Friendlies 26th of May
Brazil V Denmark
R. of Ireland V Bosnia-H
Poland V Slovakia
Portugal V Macedonia
Spain V Serbia
Switzerland V Germany
Netherlands V Bulgaria
Czech Rep. V Israel
Greece V Slovenia
Norway V England

Friendlies 27th of May
France V Iceland

Friendlies 28th of May
Ukraine V Estonia

Friendlies 29th of May
Lithuania V Russia
Italy V Luxembourg

Friendlies 30th of May
Netherlands V Slovakia
Spain V South Korea
Sweden V Iceland

Friendlies 31st of May
Armenia V Greece
Germany V Israel
France V Serbia

Friendlies 1st of June
Czech Rep. V Hungary
Austria V Ukraine
Italy V Russia

Friendlies 2nd of June
Denmark V Australia
England V Belgium
Norway V Croatia
Netherlands V N Ireland
Portugal V Turkey
Poland V Andorra

 

[Loveless]

Bad news for anyone backing Germany FTW, 30 minutes in and they're already 2-0 down in Switzerland.

 

[Unsold Bacon]

Thanks for the flag Loveless. I have appropriately changed my sig.

 

[Phoenix]

Phoenix is backing The Netherlands to win. Granted there are many optional teams, but I think the Dutch will always be ones to surprise you.

Top Scorer/Tie-Break - Miroslav Klose

Match 01 - Poland Vs Greece
Match 02 - Russia Vs Czech Rep
Match 03 - Netherlands Vs Denmark
Match 04 - Germany Vs Portugal
Match 05 - Spain Vs Italy
Match 06 - Rep of Ireland Vs Croatia
Match 07 - France Vs England
Match 08 - Ukraine Vs Sweden
Match 09 - Greece Vs Czech Rep
Match 10 - Poland Vs Russia
Match 11 - Denmark Vs Portugal
Match 12 - Netherlands Vs Germany
Match 13 - Italy Vs Croatia
Match 14 - Spain Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 15 - Ukraine Vs France
Match 16 - Sweden Vs England
Match 17 - Czech Rep Vs Poland
Match 18 - Greece Vs Russia
Match 19 - Portugal Vs Netherlands
Match 20 - Denmark Vs Germany
Match 21 - Croatia Vs Spain
Match 22 - Italy Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 23 - England Vs Ukraine
Match 24 - Sweden Vs France
Group A Qualifier 1 - Russia
Group A Qualifier 2 - Czech Republic
Group B Qualifier 1 - Netherlands
Group B Qualifier 2 - Germany
Group C Qualifier 1 - Spain
Group C Qualifier 2 - Italy
Group D Qualifier 1 - England
Group D Qualifier 2 - Sweden

*All italics means draw

 

[Lee]

There is no fucking way England are beating France.

 

[Phoenix]

I'm basing this on the element that France like to choke in the main tournaments since 2002. I know it's overly optimistic, but hey, can't be all right.

 

[Loveless]

They could blow up I guess but I don't see it under this manager. They're unbeaten in 2 years and in that time have beaten England at Wembley, Germany in Germany and Brazil at home.

As for England, they made Norway look like Spain last night. I don't think they'll get out of the group.

 

[Chess]

Van Persie will be top scorer
Netherlands will win Euro 2012

Predictions

Match 01 - Poland Vs Greece
Match 02 - Russia Vs Czech Rep
Match 03 - Netherlands Vs Denmark
Match 04 - Germany Vs Portugal
Match 05 - Spain Vs Italy
Match 06 - Rep of Ireland Vs Croatia
Match 07 - France Vs England (Draw)
Match 08 - Ukraine Vs Sweden
Match 09 - Greece Vs Czech Rep
Match 10 - Poland Vs Russia
Match 11 - Denmark Vs Portugal
Match 12 - Netherlands Vs Germany (Draw)
Match 13 - Italy Vs Croatia
Match 14 - Spain Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 15 - Ukraine Vs France
Match 16 - Sweden Vs England
Match 17 - Czech Rep Vs Poland
Match 18 - Greece Vs Russia
Match 19 - Portugal Vs Netherlands
Match 20 - Denmark Vs Germany
Match 21 - Croatia Vs Spain
Match 22 - Italy Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 23 - England Vs Ukraine
Match 24 - Sweden Vs France
Group A Qualifier 1 - Czech Rep
Group A Qualifier 2 - Russia
Group B Qualifier 1 - Netherlands
Group B Qualifier 2 - Germany
Group C Qualifier 1 - Spain
Group C Qualifier 2 - Croatia
Group D Qualifier 1 - France
Group D Qualifier 2 - England

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

Serbia is a decent team but they're not going to beat Spain. Way too much talent on the Spain side.

 

[KettleFace]

Friendlies don't mean shit, unfortunately.

Barry could be out with a groin injury. Not a big loss by any means, I've always felt he was overrated. Just a slightly better Michael Carrick.

 

[Tastycles]

[QUOTE="Mr.Incredible" DC;3923031]Serbia is a decent team but they're not going to beat Spain. Way too much talent on the Spain side.[/QUOTE]

Seeing that Serbia came third in their qualification group behind Italy and the mighty Estonia, and therefore didn't qualify, don't think this is really that bold a statement.

I'm going to push the boat out and say Wales won't beat Germany either.

 

[Ming]

Great work Loveless.

Will do this tomorrow.

 

[.]

A local teacher of mine is holding a cash pool for this, we put in a fiver and take out a random name. Whoever wins or gets the farthest gets the pool. My one was:

Spoiler

Germany

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I thought this was to discuss the Eurovision song contest for a moment, I'm sorely disappointed.

Oh, yeah, Ireland are going to take the entire thing. We've a hidden talent no team can stand before:

Spoiler

Paul McShane is going to rape you all.

 

[Loveless]

A local teacher of mine is holding a cash pool for this, we put in a fiver and take out a random name. Whoever wins or gets the farthest gets the pool. My one was:

Spoiler

Germany

There are only 4 teams who can win this, you got one of them.

 

[Loveless]

Group D

France
2 years ago they disgraced themselves by going on strike during the world cup and failing to win a game. They've come a long way since then, the troublemakers have been cast aside, the idiotic manager has been sacked, a new generation of players are coming through and what's more, they're unbeaten in 2 years. They look a very good bet to upset the odds.

Ukraine
If they weren't playing at home you'd say they don't have a chance in hell, they're old, they're still reliant on a now 35 year old Shevchenko and they only have 2 players from outside the Ukraine league. Stranger things have happened though and on the craphole pitches, with a very vocal support and a weak group, they might progress.

Sweden
Workmanlike, enjoyable to watch and very much reliant on ******** captain Ibrahimović. They seem to be in form coming into the tournament but that's rarely a good indicator once they actually start. They might get through this group but that's it, a quarter-final with Spain beckons and they stand no chance.

England
When the draw was made England celebrated, they were in form, had just beaten the world champions and the group looked straight forward. 6 months later and all the positivity is gone, Fabio is gone, John Terry is still around, France are flying, Ukraine are at home and everyone has remembered that England haven't beaten Sweden in 44 years. On top of all that, we have Roy Hodgson, a manager that literally no-one wanted, players included. It's all lined up to be disastrous, so naturally we're now going to go and win it all.

 

[Ming]

Here are mine;

Spoiler

Predictions
Ming says Spain to win Euro 2012

Top Scorer/Tie-Break - Miroslav Klose

Match 01 - Poland Vs Greece - Draw
Match 02 - Russia Vs Czech Rep - Draw
Match 03 - Netherlands Vs Denmark
Match 04 - Germany Vs Portugal
Match 05 - Spain Vs Italy - Draw
Match 06 - Rep of Ireland Vs Croatia - Draw
Match 07 - France Vs England
Match 08 - Ukraine Vs Sweden - Draw
Match 09 - Greece Vs Czech Rep
Match 10 - Poland Vs Russia
Match 11 - Denmark Vs Portugal
Match 12 - Netherlands Vs Germany
Match 13 - Italy Vs Croatia
Match 14 - Spain Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 15 - Ukraine Vs France
Match 16 - Sweden Vs England
Match 17 - Czech Rep Vs Poland - Draw
Match 18 - Greece Vs Russia - Draw
Match 19 - Portugal Vs Netherlands
Match 20 - Denmark Vs Germany
Match 21 - Croatia Vs Spain
Match 22 - Italy Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 23 - England Vs Ukraine
Match 24 - Sweden Vs France
Group A Qualifier 1 - Poland
Group A Qualifier 2 - Czech Republic
Group B Qualifier 1 - Germany
Group B Qualifier 2 - Netherlands
Group C Qualifier 1 - Spain
Group C Qualifier 2 - Italy
Group D Qualifier 1 - France
Group D Qualifier 2 - Sweden

 

[Loveless]

If one of the staff want to be helpful, can you copy and paste below into and over the main message? Thanks


------------------

Euro 2012​

It's game time, bitches!

Group A

I've run these games in the past and as I'm now a resident of Wrestlezone I'm bringing it here. Aside from the games it's always good to have a dedicated discussion going.
For those Wrestlezone users outside of Europe, it's time for our European Football (Soccer) Championships and it all kicks off on June 8th in Poland. The 16 best international teams in Europe will battle it out to win (or if you're Spain) retain the Henri Delaunay Trophy that was last competed for 4 years ago in Austria.
Anyway, it's game time.​

Group B

Game 1 and 2
Fantasy Football

Start with the classics right?
Game 1 and 2 are Fantasy Football, we have a traditional league and a knockout competition. For anyone who isn't familiar with the concept, you have to pick a team with the budget you're given and then hope they don't perform like a donkey. Free changes and transfers can be made until the tournament starts.
Wrestlezone Fantasy Football
Wrestlezone League Code - 31996-25902
Wrestlezone Knockout Code - 31996-25907​

Teams
The Turks (Loveless)
Gelgarin United (Gelgarin)
Traktor Forest Gate (Tastycles)
SEMM UTD
What Would Beer Do (Great White Sam)
Tallulah
The Blues (Ming)

Group C

Game 3
Tournament Winner
This is a simple one.
Who is going to win Euro 2012?
Leave your answer and it'll end up listed below
Tournament Layout​

Predictions

Funkay says Croatia to win Euro 2012
MCMG says England to win Euro 2012
Loveless says France to win Euro 2012
Great White Sam says Germany to win Euro 2012
laylafan268 says Germany to win Euro 2012
Phoenix says Netherlands to win Euro 2012
Tha Unspoken Truth says Netherlands to win Euro 2012
Unsold Bacon says Portugal to win Euro 2012
Tastycles says Spain to win Euro 2012
"Mr.Incredible" DC says Spain to win Euro 2012
Ming says Spain to win Euro 2012

Group D

Game 4
Prediction Game
Pick a top scorer, 2 teams to progress from each group and then the winner or draw of each game. There will be 39 points available eventually.​

Top Scorer/Tie-Break -
Match 01 - Poland Vs Greece
Match 02 - Russia Vs Czech Rep
Match 03 - Netherlands Vs Denmark
Match 04 - Germany Vs Portugal
Match 05 - Spain Vs Italy
Match 06 - Rep of Ireland Vs Croatia
Match 07 - France Vs England
Match 08 - Ukraine Vs Sweden
Match 09 - Greece Vs Czech Rep
Match 10 - Poland Vs Russia
Match 11 - Denmark Vs Portugal
Match 12 - Netherlands Vs Germany
Match 13 - Italy Vs Croatia
Match 14 - Spain Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 15 - Ukraine Vs France
Match 16 - Sweden Vs England
Match 17 - Czech Rep Vs Poland
Match 18 - Greece Vs Russia
Match 19 - Portugal Vs Netherlands
Match 20 - Denmark Vs Germany
Match 21 - Croatia Vs Spain
Match 22 - Italy Vs Rep of Ireland
Match 23 - England Vs Ukraine
Match 24 - Sweden Vs France
Group A Qualifier 1 -
Group A Qualifier 2 -
Group B Qualifier 1 -
Group B Qualifier 2 -
Group C Qualifier 1 -
Group C Qualifier 2 -
Group D Qualifier 1 -
Group D Qualifier 2 -

Most important in all of this is you have fun.
I'll be doing write ups for each time shortly for those who aren't overly familiar with the teams. There will also be live game threads for each matchday, assuming I don't get shut down by the powers that be.​