Dave Payn
Active Member
It is with some trepidation that I start this thread due to the moaning ninnies who complain about all these football threads whilst not being able to resist the urge to click on them and open them in the first place but.....
(Hey folks, I AM kidding! Just! ;-))
Now that the first round of games have been completed, does any team yet stand out for you as potential winners? Is it too early to judge? Is it a case of 'teams take time to find their feet?' (In which case, maybe the England doom merchants might want to lighten up. It's no shame after all, to lose 2-1 to the team generally considered to be the best in Europe, even if the manner of defeat was eye-opening!)
For my money, it's a difficult call. Czech Rep (my outside bet) weren't exactly rampant yesterday, Holland are by far, on yesterday's showing, the worst team in the tournament (yup, worse than England! I bet there are some Scots that wish yesterday's Holland turned up in Amsterdam a few months back. That's not goading by the way. I wanted to see the Scots there!). Sweden trounced a Bulgaria side that to me, outplayed them for 50 minutes, but Sweden clearly do possess a potent strike force. France, after a bright opening, didn't look overly impressive against England, either. Denmark were impressive against Italy but seemed to lack the belief that they could actually beat them. Host nation? Not a chance, in my book.
I said all along that England won't win it, but having seen some of the teams on display, I beginning to wonder if we'll never have a better chance! Still, who sticks out for you? I'll do a Brooking and sit on the fence! ;-)
(Hey folks, I AM kidding! Just! ;-))
Now that the first round of games have been completed, does any team yet stand out for you as potential winners? Is it too early to judge? Is it a case of 'teams take time to find their feet?' (In which case, maybe the England doom merchants might want to lighten up. It's no shame after all, to lose 2-1 to the team generally considered to be the best in Europe, even if the manner of defeat was eye-opening!)
For my money, it's a difficult call. Czech Rep (my outside bet) weren't exactly rampant yesterday, Holland are by far, on yesterday's showing, the worst team in the tournament (yup, worse than England! I bet there are some Scots that wish yesterday's Holland turned up in Amsterdam a few months back. That's not goading by the way. I wanted to see the Scots there!). Sweden trounced a Bulgaria side that to me, outplayed them for 50 minutes, but Sweden clearly do possess a potent strike force. France, after a bright opening, didn't look overly impressive against England, either. Denmark were impressive against Italy but seemed to lack the belief that they could actually beat them. Host nation? Not a chance, in my book.
I said all along that England won't win it, but having seen some of the teams on display, I beginning to wonder if we'll never have a better chance! Still, who sticks out for you? I'll do a Brooking and sit on the fence! ;-)
