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Post by conwy10 on Mar 25, 2022 12:29:39 GMT
Scotland will be too edgy and too much of a derby. Yes Ukraine will play with passion and desire, and the world will be backing them...but I feel in a football sense we have a better chance against them Agree but we saw what an emotional leg up did to Denmark in the Euros. Having home advantage is such a massive boon. Imagine even playing at a neutral venue in Europe where all the home fans are Ukrainians/well wishers. Nightmare. I’m putting my faith in our home record and our defensive record. We haven’t lost a home game in years. In fact, when was the last home defeat….. Not sure if it will have a psychological impact but if we play a weaker side against Czechs that home record could be gone. I know it won't be the majority of the squad that lost but footballers are strange ones. Never know what impact losing the record could have. |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 25, 2022 12:32:17 GMT
Scotland will be too edgy and too much of a derby. Yes Ukraine will play with passion and desire, and the world will be backing them...but I feel in a football sense we have a better chance against them They nearly beat England in the Euros, I want absolutely none of their Derby mentality. |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 25, 2022 12:39:14 GMT
Had to do my player ratings tonight after the buzz the game has given me... Hennessey (7) - I think it's testament to our defence that Wayne didn't have much to do. Distribution not as good as Ward's but felt he was assured when he needed to be and a safe pair of hands. Could do nothing about the goal Ampadu (9) - Really enjoyed his performance tonight. My god - how is he only 21! That was the performance of a calm experienced senior head. Cool as a cucumber and I don't think he put a foot wrong all night Rodon (8) - Considering his lack of game time overall he had a fantastic game. Looked like he needed to dust off the cobwebs in the first 15 mins and it did nearly cost us. He looked a little nervous on the ball too. But after that he settled and had a very solid game, especially in the 2nd half Davies (9) - His positioning was fantastic tonight. It felt like he made so many interceptions, and was very timely with his blocks (incredibly unlucky for the goal - can't blame him or Hennessey really). Was also cool as a cucumber in possession, and him and Ampadu were looking like world-class outside CBs tonight Connor (8.5) - Thought he was excellent tonight, non-stop up and down and was always an outlet. Looks to have benefitted from some top flight football, and felt he was more solid than he usually is today Neco (9) - Need to see the replays of some of his skills. He wriggled out of a few situations like he was covered in vaseline or something - no idea how he pulled it off but he's got that something special hasn't he? Didn't clock it in the stadium but he actually blocks the first Austrian chance with an incredible defensive effort! Allen (8.5) - Overall I'd say he won his battle in the middle tonight, great typical nippy interceptions, calm in possession, tidy use of the ball. Not the dominating performance of old, but an invaluable experienced performance you'd expect from a 70 cap midfielder Ramsey (8.5) - I think some people were saying they thought he wasn't that good tonight, but I disagree. It wasn't his best attacking display, I agree. However, I felt he was playing a bit deeper so needed to be more disciplined tonight and handled that role very well. He took the pressure off loads by holding the ball well in tight areas - so important in games like this. Considering lack of game time that was a great midfield performance Wilson (9) - Pick of the bunch in midfield for me, and vindicated the idea that we can play 1 holding mid by pulling his weight with great defensive work in that midfield 3. Playing in a different role than for Fulham, but showcased his versatility. He was slick on the ball, and with some clever passing made us transition to counter attacking better than anyone else on the pitch I'd say. There's every chance he'll be a 50 cap player by the end of 2023, and I think he will be a mainstay in the team for many years James (7.5) - Yeah he should have had a hattrick, but he brings so much to the team!! It might be harsh to give him a 7.5 tbh, because he really did set the tempo in our press, and nearly set up Ramsey's goal with his work rate alone. His pace gets us on the front foot too and was constantly troubling Austria. If he could finish he'd be an elite player. I have to dock him down a bit for his end product though unfortunately. Overall a good performance though and was vital for us Bale (10 MOTM) - Words fail me. Genius. Legend. Myth. Whatever you can think of. We'll miss him when he does hang up his boots that's for sure Page (9.5) - Went a bit more attacking and it worked perfectly. Took a risk with Rodon, Ramsey and Bale and it all paid off. I've only docked him because I feel he should have made the changes 5 mins earlier when Bale and James were both flagging and we were drawing pressure onto ourselves. If Brennan came on earlier I think he'd have scored. Overall didn't matter and he deserves plaudits as he seems to have settled on a very good system - we look like a top team again and deserved to beat a tidy Austrian side by a lot more goals Massively kind to Ramsey, 7 in the first half but 4 when his head went in the second: gave the ball away 4 times at least including that dreadful hoof of a free kick when we needed a cool head to get the ball down and keep hold of it. it might have been missed in the stadium but on the sky footage there was a telling moment when, in injury time, he does exactly the right thing by winning a free kick under pressure then instead of taking the sting out of the game he goes to take it quickly and Neco, of all people, stands in the way and makes a “calm down” gesture with his hands. Great game management but it was from a young lad and not the captain. A callow youth having to tell his captain not to fuck about because his head had gone. That’s disappointing for such an experienced player. Other than that he had a solid game 😂 Could he have been pretending to take the free kick to unsettle the Austrians though. I used to love pretending I was going to take a throw in to my CB when there was a striker on him. They kind of use up a burst of energy thinking you'll throw it. I was shouting "what you doing?" (in a lot more colourful language) when he did it though. But yeah that free kick on the edge of the box was stupid. |
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Post by jimexotic on Mar 25, 2022 12:49:14 GMT
I had no idea what that hoof free kick was all about, it was like watching rugby, it would have made sense if it was Dan Biggar doing that. My initial reaction was that something had kicked off off camera and Ramsey had just booted the ball away but no, he actually meant it. The free kick into the stands at the death was incredibly bad too, Ramsey is not captain material and he seriously needs to get some minutes for Rangers, he tailed off very badly in the second half. Ethan Ampadu looks like he will be captaining them one day, that lad is calmness personified, even when he's being spiteful he's calm, I love it.
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Post by pclaude on Mar 25, 2022 13:24:03 GMT
Agree but we saw what an emotional leg up did to Denmark in the Euros. Having home advantage is such a massive boon. Imagine even playing at a neutral venue in Europe where all the home fans are Ukrainians/well wishers. Nightmare. I’m putting my faith in our home record and our defensive record. We haven’t lost a home game in years. In fact, when was the last home defeat….. Not sure if it will have a psychological impact but if we play a weaker side against Czechs that home record could be gone. I know it won't be the majority of the squad that lost but footballers are strange ones. Never know what impact losing the record could have. It’s a friendly. I’m more worried about 4 hard games in June before the final. (I think it is inevitable that it will be played after NL games unless Ukraine drop out). We will almost certainly lose the record then for competitive games, and possibly get a couple of humpings. |
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Post by saints19 on Mar 25, 2022 13:27:23 GMT
Scotland will be too edgy and too much of a derby. Yes Ukraine will play with passion and desire, and the world will be backing them...but I feel in a football sense we have a better chance against them They nearly beat England in the Euros, I want absolutely none of their Derby mentality. From a football point of view and because of the war I'd rather be facing Scotland than Ukraine. It's got to be hard mentally to play against Ukraine when some of the players will probably be finding it difficult to deal professionally with feelings of sympathy. And as a fan it's hard because you will almost feel guilty if you win. If it's Scotland it's just another game. I don't really fear the rivalry element to it as I don't believe the derby factor really exists. I've never really seen anything scientific that suggests a levelling out of the playing field when both teams are local/regional rivals. |
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Post by saints19 on Mar 25, 2022 13:33:13 GMT
I had no idea what that hoof free kick was all about, it was like watching rugby, it would have made sense if it was Dan Biggar doing that. My initial reaction was that something had kicked off off camera and Ramsey had just booted the ball away but no, he actually meant it. The free kick into the stands at the death was incredibly bad too, Ramsey is not captain material and he seriously needs to get some minutes for Rangers, he tailed off very badly in the second half. Ethan Ampadu looks like he will be captaining them one day, that lad is calmness personified, even when he's being spiteful he's calm, I love it. Ampadu still looks quite raw to me. He has a calm head and isn't fazed by the occasion but he doesn't always make the best decisions from a defensive point of view, not least rushing up to challenge for a header he had no chance of winning last night which let the Austrians in for a chance. I reckon he's going to be best as a midfielder, great talent but nowhere near the finished product yet. I don't really fancy him at CB at least not at the moment. It's fair to say Ramsey's always been a bit fickle. He's going to have 10/10 games and then 6/10 games, it's just who he is. That will never change no matter how much he matures. |
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Post by insertname on Mar 25, 2022 13:55:05 GMT
I had no idea what that hoof free kick was all about, it was like watching rugby, it would have made sense if it was Dan Biggar doing that. My initial reaction was that something had kicked off off camera and Ramsey had just booted the ball away but no, he actually meant it. The free kick into the stands at the death was incredibly bad too, Ramsey is not captain material and he seriously needs to get some minutes for Rangers, he tailed off very badly in the second half. Ethan Ampadu looks like he will be captaining them one day, that lad is calmness personified, even when he's being spiteful he's calm, I love it. Yeah you might have a point there on Ampadu, I thought he spoke well afterwards. For me there was a fairly clear distinction on club form where the players who are currently playing well for their clubs brought that form into the game and those who aren't struggled a bit/made daft mistakes. For me it was something of an (obvious) lesson that we need players playing really. Bale was the exception to that...although even then he started very slowly. It was like the free kick galvanised him. |
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Post by insertname on Mar 25, 2022 14:01:12 GMT
Not sure if it will have a psychological impact but if we play a weaker side against Czechs that home record could be gone. I know it won't be the majority of the squad that lost but footballers are strange ones. Never know what impact losing the record could have. It’s a friendly. I’m more worried about 4 hard games in June before the final. (I think it is inevitable that it will be played after NL games unless Ukraine drop out). We will almost certainly lose the record then for competitive games, and possibly get a couple of humpings. Whaaaaat? That can't be right. There is no way we can play 4 NL games and then a final in two or so weeks! If that actually happens we need to kick right off. The only saving grace is that presumably Scotland/Ukraine would face the same schedule (unless Scotland get a bye)...but even then it would be piss poor. Surely the correct approach, given that the NL is not really a major competition, is for Scotland to play Ukraine in their play off on the first matchday of the window, we play an NL fixture that same night and then our second fixture is the final. Then we play the 3 or however many remaining NL fixtures Yellow cards show surely be silo'ed by competition too, although this being UEFA nothing would surprise me on that score either! |
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Post by insertname on Mar 25, 2022 14:02:51 GMT
I had no idea what that hoof free kick was all about, it was like watching rugby, it would have made sense if it was Dan Biggar doing that. My initial reaction was that something had kicked off off camera and Ramsey had just booted the ball away but no, he actually meant it. The free kick into the stands at the death was incredibly bad too, Ramsey is not captain material and he seriously needs to get some minutes for Rangers, he tailed off very badly in the second half. Ethan Ampadu looks like he will be captaining them one day, that lad is calmness personified, even when he's being spiteful he's calm, I love it. Ampadu still looks quite raw to me. He has a calm head and isn't fazed by the occasion but he doesn't always make the best decisions from a defensive point of view, not least rushing up to challenge for a header he had no chance of winning last night which let the Austrians in for a chance. I reckon he's going to be best as a midfielder, great talent but nowhere near the finished product yet. I don't really fancy him at CB at least not at the moment. It's fair to say Ramsey's always been a bit fickle. He's going to have 10/10 games and then 6/10 games, it's just who he is. That will never change no matter how much he matures. Sounds like you're talking about Rodon there, with his suicidal rush to mark a man who was already marked, leaving Arnautovic free. |
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Post by iot on Mar 25, 2022 14:09:14 GMT
Ampadu still looks quite raw to me. He has a calm head and isn't fazed by the occasion but he doesn't always make the best decisions from a defensive point of view, not least rushing up to challenge for a header he had no chance of winning last night which let the Austrians in for a chance. I reckon he's going to be best as a midfielder, great talent but nowhere near the finished product yet. I don't really fancy him at CB at least not at the moment. It's fair to say Ramsey's always been a bit fickle. He's going to have 10/10 games and then 6/10 games, it's just who he is. That will never change no matter how much he matures. Sounds like you're talking about Rodon there, with his suicidal rush to mark a man who was already marked, leaving Arnautovic free. No, Ampadu was the deepest defender, and he went to head the ball when Rodon was already marking Arnautovic, with the ball breaking free behind them leaving Arnautovic through. Ampadu should have just let Rodon deal with it and stay back to cover. It was Rodon who saved him on that occasion |
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Post by morg on Mar 25, 2022 14:43:36 GMT
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Post by erasedcitizen on Mar 25, 2022 14:45:04 GMT
They've absolutely nailed the matchday experience. The Riff playing until 7 underneath the Canton were superb too. |
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Post by dai on Mar 25, 2022 14:58:18 GMT
Iconic. I've been involved in Welsh language music since a teenager, so to see something like this is beyond incredible. Never thought you'd see an almost full stadium sing a Welsh language song (apart from the anthem obvs) |
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Post by insertname on Mar 25, 2022 15:03:37 GMT
Sounds like you're talking about Rodon there, with his suicidal rush to mark a man who was already marked, leaving Arnautovic free. No, Ampadu was the deepest defender, and he went to head the ball when Rodon was already marking Arnautovic, with the ball breaking free behind them leaving Arnautovic through. Ampadu should have just let Rodon deal with it and stay back to cover. It was Rodon who saved him on that occasion My recollection is that Ampadu was already going for the header with the Austrian guy and they were ahead of Rodon and Arnautovic so Rodon was the furthest defender back, Rodon left Arnautovic and went to compete for the header when there was no need, he should have waited to see where the header went. Iirc the commentators on Sky picked up on it and said the fault was with Rodon for doubling up on the Austrian and that he did well to recover and make up for it with the challenge. |
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Post by iot on Mar 25, 2022 15:06:38 GMT
No, Ampadu was the deepest defender, and he went to head the ball when Rodon was already marking Arnautovic, with the ball breaking free behind them leaving Arnautovic through. Ampadu should have just let Rodon deal with it and stay back to cover. It was Rodon who saved him on that occasion My recollection is that Ampadu was already going for the header with the Austrian guy and they were ahead of Rodon and Arnautovic so Rodon was the furthest defender back, Rodon left Arnautovic and went to compete for the header when there was no need, he should have waited to see where the header went. Iirc the commentators on Sky picked up on it and said the fault was with Rodon for doubling up on the Austrian and that he did well to recover and make up for it with the challenge. Nope, you'll need to watch it again. OTJ commented on Ampadu's cock up and the fact that he came up when he should have stayed back, so I remember it was him. I'll trust OTJ over the Sky commentators every day of the week  |
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Post by pclaude on Mar 25, 2022 17:48:25 GMT
It’s a friendly. I’m more worried about 4 hard games in June before the final. (I think it is inevitable that it will be played after NL games unless Ukraine drop out). We will almost certainly lose the record then for competitive games, and possibly get a couple of humpings. Whaaaaat? That can't be right. There is no way we can play 4 NL games and then a final in two or so weeks! If that actually happens we need to kick right off. The only saving grace is that presumably Scotland/Ukraine would face the same schedule (unless Scotland get a bye)...but even then it would be piss poor. Surely the correct approach, given that the NL is not really a major competition, is for Scotland to play Ukraine in their play off on the first matchday of the window, we play an NL fixture that same night and then our second fixture is the final. Then we play the 3 or however many remaining NL fixtures Yellow cards show surely be silo'ed by competition too, although this being UEFA nothing would surprise me on that score either! I think the problem with that is that other nations are affected. Whereas if the final is played after the NL games, it affects fewer teams. |
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Post by rushy on Mar 25, 2022 19:39:23 GMT
Rodon is a colossus too. Why is he not getting a look in at Spurs? He's never had a run of games to prove himself, yet he is better than Dier and Sanchez, and a lot of Spurs fans cannot understand why Joe can't get to play, it's a disgrace. |
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Post by rushy on Mar 25, 2022 19:58:31 GMT
I thought Rodon was the stand out. Davies got caught out for their crossbar chance. I really like Rodon, their giant got nothing out of him. I agree about the goal, awkward one where Hennessey had it covered but no defender will let a ball go past him if its on target. Not just Davies, Rodon was hugely out of position for their early chance, a good few yards behind the rest of the defence throughout the entire move and played their forward onside As well as he played I agree with insertname that Rodon showed why aspects of why he doesn't play for Spurs, he does a lot of the impressive stuff, big tackles, blocks, headers etc but his positioning and decision making can be suspect. You can get away with that when you're in a backs against the wall team like we are at times, but a team like Spurs have different needs That was the only time we got caught out, but we were solid after that, I felt we allowed them too much ball at times however it's helluva win. |
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Post by insertname on Mar 25, 2022 20:29:13 GMT
My recollection is that Ampadu was already going for the header with the Austrian guy and they were ahead of Rodon and Arnautovic so Rodon was the furthest defender back, Rodon left Arnautovic and went to compete for the header when there was no need, he should have waited to see where the header went. Iirc the commentators on Sky picked up on it and said the fault was with Rodon for doubling up on the Austrian and that he did well to recover and make up for it with the challenge. Nope, you'll need to watch it again. OTJ commented on Ampadu's cock up and the fact that he came up when he should have stayed back, so I remember it was him. I'll trust OTJ over the Sky commentators every day of the week Well I’ll take your word for it in that case! But how do you still end up in a situation where Ampadu is marking the wrong man to such a perilous degree when ostensibly all Austrians are marked at the point the ball is played forward by the Austrian? So he was wrong to come forward, but the Austrian would have been left with a “free hit” if he hadn’t. I guess what I’m saying is that even if Ampadu has made a mistake there is ostensibly no danger until Rodon leaves Arnautovic…I guess there is the issue that even with the Austrians marked there is a lot of space in behind with all centre backs no further back than the half way line… |
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Post by insertname on Mar 25, 2022 20:33:17 GMT
Not just Davies, Rodon was hugely out of position for their early chance, a good few yards behind the rest of the defence throughout the entire move and played their forward onside As well as he played I agree with insertname that Rodon showed why aspects of why he doesn't play for Spurs, he does a lot of the impressive stuff, big tackles, blocks, headers etc but his positioning and decision making can be suspect. You can get away with that when you're in a backs against the wall team like we are at times, but a team like Spurs have different needs That was the only time we got caught out, but we were solid after that, I felt we allowed them too much ball at times however it's helluva win. Our defence is weird- it’s all a bit keystone cops, all the time. Yet it’s been like that for a long time and our defensive record is actually quite impressive. I can’t work it out. Even last night apart from early on we didn’t really give up a lot of clear cut opportunities despite seemingly a lot of our players heads going with nerves (Williams inexplicable cross field pass, Ramsey hoofing the ball away etc) and seeming determined to do their best to throw it away! |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Mar 25, 2022 20:46:12 GMT
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Post by saturn9 on Mar 25, 2022 21:21:49 GMT
They nearly beat England in the Euros, I want absolutely none of their Derby mentality. From a football point of view and because of the war I'd rather be facing Scotland than Ukraine. It's got to be hard mentally to play against Ukraine when some of the players will probably be finding it difficult to deal professionally with feelings of sympathy. And as a fan it's hard because you will almost feel guilty if you win. If it's Scotland it's just another game. I don't really fear the rivalry element to it as I don't believe the derby factor really exists. I've never really seen anything scientific that suggests a levelling out of the playing field when both teams are local/regional rivals. Can't see the Ukrainian's causing the Scots to much opposition on current form. |
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Post by dai on Mar 25, 2022 21:22:25 GMT
I'm not sure how much DI follows football, but I think part of the reason he was so moved during the song was because he wasn't expecting that reaction. You could see at times he was genuinely taken aback. Like I said before, iconic moment in Welsh sport and culture. |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 25, 2022 21:23:59 GMT
They nearly beat England in the Euros, I want absolutely none of their Derby mentality. From a football point of view and because of the war I'd rather be facing Scotland than Ukraine. It's got to be hard mentally to play against Ukraine when some of the players will probably be finding it difficult to deal professionally with feelings of sympathy. And as a fan it's hard because you will almost feel guilty if you win. If it's Scotland it's just another game. I don't really fear the rivalry element to it as I don't believe the derby factor really exists. I've never really seen anything scientific that suggests a levelling out of the playing field when both teams are local/regional rivals. I think Ukraines bug moment will come against Scotland. It'll be the first match after the invasion and will no doubt be physically mentally and emotionally draining for the players. I can't see them picking it back up after that. Where as Scotland will be on the back foot in that match but gain steam against us. Well in the Euros Scotland were awful but nearly beat England who only lost in the final. Man City before the money always had a good record against Man United, Fulham always used to show up against Chelsea. All this going off memory but I'm convinced there's something to it. |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 25, 2022 21:29:41 GMT
Rodon is a colossus too. Why is he not getting a look in at Spurs? He's never had a run of games to prove himself, yet he is better than Dier and Sanchez, and a lot of Spurs fans cannot understand why Joe can't get to play, it's a disgrace. I think with his build he's got the potential to be a complete defender. Tall, strong, puts himself about. He is inexperienced but he has a habit of just reading that last ditch tackle. Either they are trying and failing with him or someone should take him under their wing and get the best out of him. |
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Post by conwy10 on Mar 25, 2022 21:32:08 GMT
Not just Davies, Rodon was hugely out of position for their early chance, a good few yards behind the rest of the defence throughout the entire move and played their forward onside As well as he played I agree with insertname that Rodon showed why aspects of why he doesn't play for Spurs, he does a lot of the impressive stuff, big tackles, blocks, headers etc but his positioning and decision making can be suspect. You can get away with that when you're in a backs against the wall team like we are at times, but a team like Spurs have different needs That was the only time we got caught out, but we were solid after that, I felt we allowed them too much ball at times however it's helluva win. There was another clear cut when I think Ampadu went in and Arnautovic was clear before Rodon got back. Lucky he's not a sprinter. |
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Post by iot on Mar 25, 2022 21:56:10 GMT
He's never had a run of games to prove himself, yet he is better than Dier and Sanchez, and a lot of Spurs fans cannot understand why Joe can't get to play, it's a disgrace. I think with his build he's got the potential to be a complete defender. Tall, strong, puts himself about. He is inexperienced but he has a habit of just reading that last ditch tackle. Either they are trying and failing with him or someone should take him under their wing and get the best out of him. There aren't many better defenders when it's a back to the wall game, where it's all about throwing your body on the line, last ditch blocks, and clearing countless crosses. But 90% of Spurs' games aren't like that. In most of their games, their three centre backs have loads of possession and are expected to provide a creative force by driving forward, passing through the lines, and playing long diagonals. That simply isn't Rodon's game, which is why even after his heroics last night, I don't see it getting him any closer to Spurs' starting lineup. It's just a different skillset. |
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Post by mrpicton on Mar 25, 2022 23:02:09 GMT
On the point on whether I prefer to meet Scots or Ukraine in the final - Much rather Ukraine. If we were to loose the pain would be bad, but having Ukraine at the WC would make it easier rather than having the jocks there.
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Post by manulike on Mar 25, 2022 23:05:59 GMT
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