HKP90 Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 1 minute ago, maqroll said: Was just thinking the very same thing. Maybe their frozen winters account for it? Maybe their best team sport athletes choose ice hockey. Hard to say. Their domestic league suffers from the sheer size of the country. Vladivostok to Moscow takes like 6 days on a train. I guess it’s tricky to produce quality players without at least a decent domestic league. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Samenas turkey last night completely given up That goal was atrocious from a Russian POV, absolutely no pressure or attempted tackles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan-scott Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 Lukaku for the Golden Boot? Looks in great shape and form. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKP90 Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 Belgium hardly created anything but Lukaku feeds off nothin’. Hell of a player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Both comfortably beat a poor team 3-0 but I was more impressed with italy if I'm honest Belgium are no longer a team of individuals and play quick football that's going to be hard to defend but still don't rate martinez Russia were terrible 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKP90 Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 Just now, villa4europe said: Samenas turkey last night completely given up That goal was atrocious from a Russian POV, absolutely no pressure or attempted tackles Yeah but Italy were all over them. Based on what I’ve seen tonight (and I’ve only seen the second half of Belgium), I’d back Italy to beat Belgium, no question. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyp Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 (edited) 39 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: Russia's population is over 10 times that of Belgium but are being comprehensively played off the pitch. Given how popular football is in Russia you could make a case of them being one of the biggest underachievers in international football. I don't think they are. If population correlated to success, China would be a footballing super power. They have a great appetite for football over there. Never come close to qualifying for a world cup though. They're players don't play at a good enough level. Now, you'd say something if Russia had players in top clubs throughout Europe. But they don't. Good clubs yes but not the top ones. If it's a population thing, surely they can stand Zhirkov down at this stage. They can't because nothing coming behind him. It's not rocket science. The last 4 countries standing in this, will have players playing in top clubs throughout Europe. Greece was an exception. Not the rule. Belgium should be beating Russia. No great shock here. Edited June 12, 2021 by Johnnyp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 4 minutes ago, jacketspuds said: You can look at it in 2 ways. Technically the defender attempted to play the ball, made contact, and cocked it up. In this scenario I don’t think Lukaku is offside. However, there is an argument to suggest that Lukaku’s presence impacted the way that the defender tried to play the ball. I can’t imagine that having Lukaku near you wouldn’t panic you a bit when defending. In this case I’d say he was offside. I've not watched today's incident but a defender can't make a split-second decision on whether to go or not go for a ball depending on whether the striker is fractionally offside. There were a few incidences involving us, Watkins being called onside against Newcastle, the Mings Man City fiasco, and Mane for Liverpool where Cash was about a millimetre away from touching it. Along with the armpit sliderule it just smacks of people in charge who don't know what the point of the offside rule is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post StefanAVFC Posted June 12, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted June 12, 2021 25 minutes ago, fightoffyour said: That Lukaku goal is **** shocking. Blatantly offside, unless you’re going to claim that the defender deliberately sliced his clearance to assist the opposition attacker. The rules are ambiguous, but we all know how they’re supposed to be interpreted, and it’s not like that. Needs to be rewritten immediately. Yep, Lukaku being there influenced his decision making, ergo offside. It really shouldn't be this hard. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 1 minute ago, sharkyvilla said: I've not watched today's incident but a defender can't make a split-second decision on whether to go or not go for a ball depending on whether the striker is fractionally offside. There were a few incidences involving us, Watkins being called onside against Newcastle, the Mings Man City fiasco, and Mane for Liverpool where Cash was about a millimetre away from touching it. Along with the armpit sliderule it just smacks of people in charge who don't know what the point of the offside rule is. Whilst I agree, if lukaku wasnt there does the defender do that? No, so therefore lukaku has influenced him and should be offside But that's the way they interpret the rule now so I'm not surprised it was given Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 If Lukaku isnt there the Russian lad lets it go to the keeper. Its interfering with play by being in that position 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post tom_avfc Posted June 12, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted June 12, 2021 I don’t understand how anybody can think that Lukaku’s first goal should stand. That has been given offside for years and all of a sudden we’re changing the rules of the game. Even from just a common sense perspective that goal shouldn’t stand. It’s not good for the game if goals like that are being allowed. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 19 minutes ago, HKP90 said: Belgium hardly created anything but Lukaku feeds off nothin’. Hell of a player. Reminds me of Haaland 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 43 minutes ago, jacketspuds said: You can look at it in 2 ways. Technically the defender attempted to play the ball, made contact, and cocked it up. In this scenario I don’t think Lukaku is offside. However, there is an argument to suggest that Lukaku’s presence impacted the way that the defender tried to play the ball. I can’t imagine that having Lukaku near you wouldn’t panic you a bit when defending. In this case I’d say he was offside. I don’t think it matters even if the defender attempts to play the ball and cocks it up. He doesn’t have to play it at all if Lukaku isn’t offside and therefore he is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 1 hour ago, The Fun Factory said: Russia's population is over 10 times that of Belgium but are being comprehensively played off the pitch. Given how popular football is in Russia you could make a case of them being one of the biggest underachievers in international football. I was only saying that to Mrs Sidcow earlier. Especially how seriously they treat sports too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 9 minutes ago, sidcow said: I was only saying that to Mrs Sidcow earlier. Especially how seriously they treat sports too. I dont think Putin is such a big football fan compared to ice hockey, so probably put more funding into hockey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 1 hour ago, HKP90 said: Yeah but Italy were all over them. Based on what I’ve seen tonight (and I’ve only seen the second half of Belgium), I’d back Italy to beat Belgium, no question. Italy were always going to be utterly dominant opening the tournament in front of their own fans against a very defensive side. Flip reversal for Belgium - playing against Russia in Russia. They looked incredibly comfortable, barely got out of second gear etc. Defence could be a bit creaky but Lukaku will have a cracking tournament IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Steve Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKP90 Posted June 12, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted June 12, 2021 2 minutes ago, bobzy said: Italy were always going to be utterly dominant opening the tournament in front of their own fans against a very defensive side. Flip reversal for Belgium - playing against Russia in Russia. They looked incredibly comfortable, barely got out of second gear etc. Defence could be a bit creaky but Lukaku will have a cracking tournament IMO. Fair point about venue. I get what you're saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicho Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Was in the pub when it happened and although it hit me pretty hard didn’t really clock his eyes open. The reaction, sometimes things happen that make you proud to be part of the human race, the reaction to this is one of those times. Heart growingly proud of every player on that pitch and every fan in that stadium, and obviously the staff. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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