Ajaxtalk

Well there's going to be a lot of "mediocre" teams this summer: the hosts Swiss and Austria, Poland, Russia, Romania, Croatia...

However theyre not, as from the "big" name countries I think only Germany have a real chance, maybe Italy too.

France, Holland and Portugal? naah....but we can only see when the games kick off

ZoefdeHaas schreef:Well there's going to be a lot of "mediocre" teams this summer: the hosts Swiss and Austria, Poland, Russia, Romania, Croatia...

However theyre not, as from the "big" name countries I think only Germany have a real chance, maybe Italy too.

France, Holland and Portugal? naah....but we can only see when the games kick off

Croatia are a half decent side at the moment imo.

Maybe this belongs more in the 'Geeky music thread'

A couple of songs, one each, for Messrs Carson and Robinson:

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs ... ands.shtml :hupajax.gif:

[quote="Kowalczyk"]
The country does not seem to believe in Marco van Basten. I think there are more doubts than ever.[quote]

Let's not forget this guy is strongly rumoured to be in line for the Ajax coaching job after the summer.

Ko, you seem to be relatively 'in the know' at the Arena .... can you tell us if this the general feeling/suspicion/assumption?

Frankly it feels like we're watching a train crash in slow motion.

dws schreef:Maybe this belongs more in the 'Geeky music thread'

A couple of songs, one each, for Messrs Carson and Robinson:

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs ... ands.shtml :hupajax.gif:

With catching like that, I suspect Carson might secretly be Scottish anyway

SE6Ajacied schreef:

dws schreef:Maybe this belongs more in the 'Geeky music thread'

A couple of songs, one each, for Messrs Carson and Robinson:

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs ... ands.shtml :hupajax.gif:

With catching like that, I suspect Carson might secretly be Scottish anyway

Who like Calamity James, Paul Robinson, David Seaman, keepers who have never made gaffes in internationals - aye all good Scotsmen

After years of having to listen to English pundits go on about our keepers, the boot is firmly on the other foot and by god I for one am going to enjoy it

Oh well, I'll post this before anyone else does....dws and Jamcocteau will enjoy even if no-one else does.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... lid=501505

Impresive piece of kit this btw. Computer generated goal highlights from the England Croatia game with player's views, referee's views etc....

Hahaha group c: netherlands, romania, italy and france

How always, Netherlands in the strongest group of the tournament. I hoped this time would be different. Stupid uefa rules

euro 2000: france, holland, denmark czech rep

euro 2004: germany, holland, czech rep, latvia

world cup 2006: holland, argetnina, ivory coast, serbia mont.

now this...hahaha

football hates the Oranje.

ZoefdeHaas schreef:euro 2000: france, holland, denmark czech rep

euro 2004: germany, holland, czech rep, latvia

world cup 2006: holland, argetnina, ivory coast, serbia mont.

now this...hahaha

football hates the Oranje.

Got to like the fact that they always made it out alive though...

Van basten schreef:How always, Netherlands in the strongest group of the tournament. I hoped this time would be different. Stupid uefa rules

In 2004 there was group with the Champions (Greece), the runners-up and hosts (Portugal) and Spain. In retrospect that may have been the strongest group.

bryan schreef:

Van basten schreef:How always, Netherlands in the strongest group of the tournament. I hoped this time would be different. Stupid uefa rules

In 2004 there was group with the Champions (Greece), the runners-up and hosts (Portugal) and Spain. In retrospect that may have been the strongest group.

Looking from that perspective, yes, but after the draw, Netherlands group was a 'dead' group

Man, if Holland and France could somehow manage to knock Italy out during the first stage, now that would be pretty darn awesome. But seriously talk about group of death :(

Van basten schreef:How always, Netherlands in the strongest group of the tournament. I hoped this time would be different. Stupid uefa rules

In this particular case it was almost certain that Holland would end up in the 'Group of Death', for the simple reason that the 'Group of Death' was almost automatically the group that would get Holland from the first pot...

There was no escape, really.

Having said that: this is not just the Group of Death, it's the Ultimate Group of Death. Italy and France to advance; Holland will be finished after two matches.

K.

I'd like to think Holland stand a chance but really the most important game is how Italy Vs France turns out.

The order of play is as follows:
Holland Vs Italy
Romania Vs France
Holland Vs Romania
Italy Vs France

Italy Vs Romania
Holland Vs France

So the way I see it is that it's in both Holland and Italy's best interest NOT to lose the opening game. They both may play out a reasonable draw which is often the case in the first match of the group concerning 2 or more big sides. Romania would then know this result and fight for a draw against France in the other game in order to match Holland whom they will see as their best chance of 3 points too. France will go all out to beat Italy in game 3 as they won't risk needing to go for a result in the final match against Holland. The Dutch will probably rate Romania as the best chance of them getting 3 points and if they sneak a win, we'd have a table like this:

Holland P2 W1 D1 L0 Pts 4
France P2 W1 D1 L0 Pts 4
Italy P2 W0 D1 L1 Pts 1
Romania P2 W0 D1 L1 Pts 1

The final game would then result in both Holland and France playing out a safe draw. The French will go for that as it knocks the Italians out for sure. Bear in mind that once this situation occurs, the Italians will be well and truly screwed.

If the Italians beat the French in game 3 then I can't see Holland qualifying.

Still I think it's ridiculous how Holland has always gotten drawn in difficult groups at major competitions. Still looking at the way things are lined up, I have a feeling the final will be between Portugal and Spain.

Fingers crossed for the Oranje.

Kowalczyk schreef: Italy and France to advance; Holland will be finished after two matches.

K.

Don't underestimate Holland's chances : France have not been impressive lately, and Italy had a hard time for their last game in Scotland. So ...

ofey schreef: The order of play is as follows:
Holland Vs Italy
Romania Vs France
Holland Vs Romania
Italy Vs France

Italy Vs Romania
Holland Vs France

Actually, Holland play Italy and France in their first two games. In some ways thats good, as it forces the Dutch to play to their best early on, setting a winning mentality the team desperately needs. Roemanie are a tough team as Dutch fans saw during the qualification, but I'm sure that we could beat them. We've been in lots of "groups of death" and managed to get out of most of them, so hopefully Holland qualify through.