Euro 2012

Thanks Dokaka. Hardly saw Denmark play recently. From Dutch perspective 2 issues will be key. How will defenders Willems and Vlaar do? Willems will be the youngest player at the Euro's ever. Rate Rommedahl like you do, but he might benefit from Willems' unexperience. Bendtner suits Vlaar, but I'm still not convinced.

The other key issue is will our central midfield play closer to the attack than at the world cup. They should. Advocaat said 1 of the key aspects of Russia game today was their midfielders supporting the attack. Think he was right about that. No gaps.

Haven't got a clue what to expect from the match. Just hope we win somehow.

Thanks Dokaka. Hardly saw Denmark play recently. From Dutch perspective 2 issues will be key. How will defenders Willems and Vlaar do? Willems will be the youngest player at the Euro's ever. Rate Rommedahl like you do, but he might benefit from Willems' unexperience. Bendtner suits Vlaar, but I'm still not convinced.

The other key issue is will our central midfield play closer to the attack than at the world cup. They should. Advocaat said 1 of the key aspects of Russia game today was their midfielders supporting the attack. Think he was right about that. No gaps.

Haven't got a clue what to expect from the match. Just hope we win somehow.

Simon Poulsen vs. Arjen Robben is the worst matchup of all time. Agger will have to play the game of his life to control Robben, which leaves more space for RVP and Sneijder..

On paper, we're ******. But football thankfully isn't played on paper, and our only hope is Christian Eriksen. If he can find his groove, we have a chance. If not, it's us defending for 90 minutes hoping RVP, Sneijder and Robben have an off-day.

How could Advocaat get Arshavin in shape while the manager of the decade couldn't? I'm not having it!

i think because with russia national team arshavin is playing free role sometimes you see him in the left side sometimes in the right and sometimes in the center. while at arsenal you just see him playing in the left wing.

Think it mainly about Arshavin feeling more at home at Zenit and with Russia.

How could Advocaat get Arshavin in shape while the manager of the decade couldn't? I'm not having it!

i think because with russia national team arshavin is playing free role sometimes you see him in the left side sometimes in the right and sometimes in the center. while at arsenal you just see him playing in the left wing.

Physically is what I meant but thanks for offering up an explanation anyway.

How could Advocaat get Arshavin in shape while the manager of the decade couldn't? I'm not having it!

i think because with russia national team arshavin is playing free role sometimes you see him in the left side sometimes in the right and sometimes in the center. while at arsenal you just see him playing in the left wing.

Physically is what I meant but thanks for offering up an explanation anyway.

But I think his role is the primary explanation. With Russia, Arshavin doesn't have to track back so he can focus all his energies on attacking. He doesn't have the same level of defensive responsibilities. At Arsenal however, he's made to track back for the entire game and also break forward. His responsibilities are doubled and I don't think he's in the physical shape to manage it.

I'd say he still looked out of shape at times today, but I think the different roles and the work rate required for both roles explain the majority of the difference.

How has Arsène missed out on Vaclav Pilar? Looks made to play for us.

How old is Rommedahl? Seems like he's been playing for Denmark forever.

I didn't know Baros is still playing. Seems like ages ago when he won the golden boot.

BTW, Szczeny was awful today. We really need to acquire an experienced backup keeper for next season.

How old is Rommedahl? Seems like he's been playing for Denmark forever.

A speedy Wikipedia check says he is 33, having played for the Danish team since 2000.

Yup, and he's still fast as ****, it's quite impressive when you think about it.

Terrible footballer though. He's Walcott without his finishing ability.

Just watched the Russia match. The Czech midfield completely hung their back line out to dry, hardly ever tracking runners from the middle whereas the Russian midfield held quite a good shape deep in front of their CB's. Shorokov and Denisov had good games in there, and it's good to see Arshavin raising his price tag for us. Pilar was impressive for Czechs but he turned average after his goal, I agree withh what fabo said on the last page, as soon as Russia come up against a side that don't defend like Arsenal they'll struggle.

Good form by the cameraman picking out the eye candy regularly in the second half

I don't think Netherlands will have many problems with Denmark, I saw them vs Brazil recently and they were really terrible, couldn't handle them at all defensively when Brazil moved the ball around with some zip.

How could Advocaat get Arshavin in shape while the manager of the decade couldn't? I'm not having it!

here in Arsenal, we are a family...

meanwhile in Soviet Russia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0u1eB1JEGw

Not surprised to see Arshavin thriving in that position behind the striker. Many of us wanted Wenger to give him a chance there this season instead of playing Ramsey in the attacking midfield role. I have never understood why Wenger refused to play Arshavin in his best position and insisted on playing him out wide where he was never going to be very effective.

Just watched the Russia match. The Czech midfield completely hung their back line out to dry, hardly ever tracking runners from the middle whereas the Russian midfield held quite a good shape deep in front of their CB's. Shorokov and Denisov had good games in there, and it's good to see Arshavin raising his price tag for us. Pilar was impressive for Czechs but he turned average after his goal, I agree withh what fabo said on the last page, as soon as Russia come up against a side that don't defend like Arsenal they'll struggle.

Good form by the cameraman picking out the eye candy regularly in the second half

I don't think Netherlands will have many problems with Denmark, I saw them vs Brazil recently and they were really terrible, couldn't handle them at all defensively when Brazil moved the ball around with some zip.

Yup well done to them. A quick screen-capture...

Cheers trunks, that was the second time he picked out that young lady when she realised she was on the big screen and shied away. The first, at half time, he was on her for a good 30 seconds.


Anyone want to bet Kerzhakov won't be starting the next game?

Germany to win tonight.

And I have a feeling the Dutch will struggle somewhat.

Someone could write a thesis on the differences on how to play the play-making role and base it on this game. Seriously, Arshavin and Rosicky were like night & day in the same bloody role.

That's far too simplistic a way to look at it. Russia's team is dominated by Zenit players who play with each other week in week out. Their midfield, in particular Shirokov - are far far superior to the Czechs when it comes to ball retention. 

Arshavin as some have pointed out, is more or less absolved o defensive duties in. Russia's team. He starts on the left but is free to roam where he wants. I also don't think he's suddenly improved fitness - he just chases back less and therefore has more energy when attacking. As bad as he was last season I'd still have preferred him to Ramsey in the no.10 role. He's been here three years and never been given the opportunity.

Germany and Holland both to win, don't think Denmark will make it an easy game though TBH.

Don't think Portugal will make it an easy game either. Wonder how the Germans will defend, Badstuber-Merte v Ronaldo would worry me if I were German. Portugal have a good line-up. If they're fit and organised they can beat any country.

At UK people, who's coverage do you prefer, BBC or ITV?

BBC have the usual, Lineker, Hansen, Dixon, Shearer and then Seedorf (legend) 'Arry and Phil Neville. The have no adverts which is good, better intro and get better interviews.

ITV have better pundits, Vieira and Keane who give different opinions and don't just say the usual **** like Shearer and co do (okay maybe Southgate the **** does!) They have good commentators, unlike the BBC, ******* Mark Bright - facepalm! The only thing that pisses me off with ITV is their adverts every 10 minutes, the one right before the sides shake hands is just ridiculous.

Germany have an overall better team but Nani and Ronaldo could easily cause the german defense some damage.

The 'Arshavin Question' is not a difficult one to answer. The Russian's problem is that he simply does not fit into the modern game. 20 years ago, a player like him would have been celebrated and most probably performing for the very best clubs in the world. Instead, he only produced sporadically during his foray in the big time, and then returned back to his starting place.

As we all know, Arshavin is physically not upto standard. He's a free roamer who if left alone to do what he does best, will definitely cause damage to the opponent in high fashion. However, the moment you try forcing him into a pre-existing system, then he's proven to be incapable of fitting in. Managers in todays era require every single player bar the lone striker (at the very least) to be defensively and tactically capable, and also display the necessary workrate to be a positive part of the teams defensive strategy. Many even want their lone strikers to be productive in that area. Arshavin is not a lone striker, so in order to get the very best out of him, a manager is forced to potentially sacrifice two players from the teams defence, and it's simply too big a gamble to make from a defensive perspective.

You can train him into becoming a part of the system, like Wenger attempted, and whilst his defensive output no doubt increased, his offensive play regressed completely. As a player who was already physically deficient, he did not have the endurance to produce on both ends of the pitch, so we lost out on his genius for significant parts of his Arsenal career. Even if he started helping out at the back. Unlike Zenit and Russia who provided him with a free role, we tried to force him into our system, and it all obviously ended in tears.

You can't really criticise Wenger, because we had Fabregas in the team whose quality demanded more freedom than Arshavin's did. However, I would have liked to have seen him freed from his defensive duties from time to time, particularly by playing him right behind Van Persie when Fabregas was injured or in his departure. Ultimately though, I feel that Arshavin never was Wenger's ideal player, but understood that his genial qualities would have benefited us, especially at our time of need. I think Wenger absolutely meant what he said about Arshavin not being physically ready for the EPL. Simply because it was true.

It is tempting to want to make Arshavin a part of our team, as he produces moments which we often lacked last season, but he's not fit to be a part of a tactical system in the modern era, at a top club atleast, where the system always matters more than the individual.

On a side note, Rosicky is the complete opposite of Arshavin, in that he works hard, is tactically and defensively sound, has good link up play, but lacks the quality of moments that the Russian can produce. Between the two of them, there is a great player.

Personally think Arshas physical decline was the main reason he turned ****, PL is a physically demanding league, defenders are fit and will close down very quickly. When he arrived he had a Freddie-like burst of pace which made him very difficult to defend against.

Fully expect Germany to destroy Portugal.

Portugal are good on paper but if WE can dominate them for 90 minutes and win 2-1 (the 1 goal being perhaps the best Ronaldo freekick of all time) then I'd expect the tournaments favourites to do it as well.

Think Denmark can pull a surprise against Holland today, and Germany will only draw vs Portugal.

Just a hunch.

At UK people, who's coverage do you prefer, BBC or ITV?

BBC have the usual, Lineker, Hansen, Dixon, Shearer and then Seedorf (legend) 'Arry and Phil Neville. The have no adverts which is good, better intro and get better interviews.

ITV have better pundits, Vieira and Keane who give different opinions and don't just say the usual **** like Shearer and co do (okay maybe Southgate the **** does!) They have good commentators, unlike the BBC, ******* Mark Bright - facepalm! The only thing that pisses me off with ITV is their adverts every 10 minutes, the one right before the sides shake hands is just ridiculous.

Aside from the Troll who presents and Andy Townsend ITV is much better, but the adverts are a royal pain in the arse. BBC need a massive shake up like Sky. I like Dixon and Seedorf, but those three plebs from MOTD just recycle the same quotes and are about as interesting as a carrot. Having Robbie Savage on their is a complete joke aswell, he was asked about Dzagoev yesterday and pretty much swerved the question. As for Mark Bright he's just the BBC sporting version of Lenny Henry.

Anyone know streams to these? specifically the Holland game. Don't get to watch the Euro's in Australia

you should find the games here,

http://atdhe.eu/

hope that helps you.

Thanks mate