Euro 2020 -Qtr Finals Denmark - Extra Time

[Oblomov21]

Starting
Following on from previous thread.

I’m quite liking the adaptation of Atomic Kittens ‘you can make me whole again’

Saw them performing that song on the Peter Crouch show, I have it stuck in my head ever since

Love this celebration from Ian Wright and Emma Hayes
twitter.com/IanWright0/status/1412903939201290240?s=19

There's still a small part of that cant quite believe it.

England in the final.

Is this just some lockdown induced hallucination we all share.........

Or did that actually happen?

I actually thought when they won "I'm so happy for Ian Wright", I'm a bit in love with him and this means so much to him. That celebration with Emma was great!

@the80sweregreat

I've always disliked that song , but I can see why it's a good one to sing en masse.

I've always liked the song it's great to sing along to and when done en masse my appalling singing is covered up!

It wasn't. We heard the dogs howling in response to Penelope!

Ian Wright is definitely one of the good guys.

Sterling is fantastic, he's like a little wasp buzzing here there and everywhere, he's so fast he pops up where you don't expect him!

I'll also be walking by Gareth's house this weekend, I think I'll pop in a quick thank you card

If anyone who is near Southgate's house over then next few days fancy fangirling with me outside

"We love you Gareth"

Any ideas what to get in for food and snacks on Sunday?

Might have to ditch the birra moretti....

Valium and gin

I hate gin

I'm gonna dig out my Amitriptyline.

It might be the only thing that calms me down on sunday.

I've been trying to think what has set this amazing squad apart from previous squads that have had legendary household name players that didn't take us as far (Beckham, Shearer, Lineker, Rooney, Sherringham etc). I think it's a mix of

• no one is a household name. They are known but this elevated celebrity status/WAG obsession that has been seriously prevalent in previous competitions isn't here this time. And that really affects the focus of the game. Maybe they've decided to focus their PR on other things, but I couldn't tell you a personal fact about any of them, their wives names etc. It feels like no one person is bigger or better than the game.

• they are humble players. Sterling talks about how his sister took him to training every single night when she herself was just 17 and how grateful he is to her and his family. They know they're so lucky to be where they are and don't seem to want to cock it up by behaving like idiots and blowing their millions

• a focus on fitness. I heard many of them don't drink and have personal chefs to ensure they have a good diet. They're all on excellent shape, Sterling and Walker were rapid last night

• they know the value of a fair game. Except for Henderson once last night, there's been no diving of dirty tactics that I can see. No waving their hands about in the air when they think something is unfair. They've been fairly gracious - the only exception being Maguire last night objecting to his yellow card (which in fairness he shouldn't have got).

• the communication has been amazing between the players. They dominated possession last night in the 2nd half of ET, and it was like they were psychic, they knew exactly where each other should be and it flowed beautifully.

• it feels like, based on their interviews, they know it's not the be all and end all. Usually England in ET panic and boot the ball like lunatics, no calmness, just desperation. It feels like this squad has some good perspective.

• Gareth Southgate seems like a generally lovely guy who is coaching a lovely team, and seems to be a carrot man rather than a stick man.

Somehow, it all works far better than it ever did when we had 'legends' on the team. It feels like it's been stripped down and it's back to the basics of the beautiful game!

it's gonna be DS2's birthday party (18 next week!) so he decided he wanted a BBQ.

I was up until 3am, just buzzing with adrenaline. I'm so fucking tired I told kids "sleep well" instead of "have a lovely day"🤣

Excellent post frangipan, I agree. There isn't the arrogance that the Rooney era team had.

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

great post.
I couldn't have articulate it so well but I agree.
they are a team, no primadonnas.
I love not just their energy & fair play, but also their tenacity.
they just wouldn't give up, no sulking, no drama, no theatre.
they are doing their job.

they will win

@ladygindiva

Excellent post frangipan, I agree. There isn't the arrogance that the Rooney era team had.

Oh god yes there was so much arrogance from Rooney and the like.

I remember in (I think) South Africa when they played appallingly and were getting booed by England fans and he had a massive tantrum at the camera saying "nice to see the support from the home team et". Well Rooney, they spent thousands and have taken time off work to fly half way across the world and watch you play so poorly, what do you expect! It made me rage that he was so out of touch with fans and made it all about his feelings. This team doesn't feel like it is like that. I fell out of love with football for a bit after that.

Rooney etc treated football like a hustle to get famous.

These lads look like they actually enjoy playing football and genuinely want to win. They know hard work is involved in winning.

Sport unites people more than it divides. It brings joy and pain, fear and hope.
For a brief moment, the wealthy and poor, famous and unknown, male and female, old and young look into each others eyes with no malice, no judgment, no hate... only elation, utter elation.

When sport does this, it should be celebrated. It is a great leveller.
It is far more about what it can do for us, than what it does for those actually playing.
We saw it on mumsnet, in bars, in living rooms, in TV studios.
When football comes home, it comes to everybody's home. Be it Italy or England - two nations who have suffered greatly recently -football will bring joy.

1 ball, two children. That is all it takes to unite.

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop would absolutely agree with your post, I think you have hit the nail on the head. There is no one particular, idolised hero looking for a bit of glory and sponsorship. Their stamina by the extra time was really prevalent.

@MrsGulDukat

I think I prefer a Dutchman.

Frank de Boer is still gorgeous.

Dutch men are tall and hot too, yes indeed.

I must say I was impressed by De Boer's biceps, shouting from the sidelines in his tshirt.

Crap manager though.

@VerticalHorizon

Sport unites people more than it divides. It brings joy and pain, fear and hope. For a brief moment, the wealthy and poor, famous and unknown, male and female, old and young look into each others eyes with no malice, no judgment, no hate... only elation, utter elation.

When sport does this, it should be celebrated. It is a great leveller.
It is far more about what it can do for us, than what it does for those actually playing.
We saw it on mumsnet, in bars, in living rooms, in TV studios.
When football comes home, it comes to everybody's home. Be it Italy or England - two nations who have suffered greatly recently -football will bring joy.

1 ball, two children. That is all it takes to unite.

I like this version more than some of the stuff on the rest of the site!

Some would think it was the worst thing ever to support a team or win

@IcedPurple

Maybe Ronald de Boer could have a go instead.