France

Today’s featured site is EPL Talk, based across the pond but very much focussed on the Premier League ins and outs. The big boss, and our pal, aptly monikered The Gaffer, was good enough to take some tickets off our hands and was able to witness first-hand the awesome power of the Netherlands as they destroyed the Italians 3-0 in their opening match.

We took the nice man to one side and had a few quiet words with him, to gain an insight into who he thinks will win the tournament and find out why Archie Gemmill is better than Pele.

Who is going to taste the glory of Euro 2008 final victory?
It has to be the Dutch. Holland has the most passionate fans. Plus they’re the most clinical in front of goal. Their two goals scored from counter attacks against Italy were mindblowing. And they have the strength on the bench if any of their star players get injured

Which is your favourite goal of all time? And could you think of anywhere better to watch it than the Slainte Irish Pub?
Of all time? It has to be Archie Gemmill’s mazy run for Scotland against Holland in the 1978 World Cup. Instead of watching it a pub, I would have loved to have been on the terraces for that one with the Tartan Army in Argentina. Although if I remember correctly, that tournament was freezing cold, so no kilts for me. Besides, I’m Welsh.

Who has been your player of the tournament thus far?
This is a bit cheeky, but my favorite player has been the one that I picked to excel at this tournament before Euro 2008 began and that’s Wesley Sneijder. His goals against Italy and France were two of the best of the tournament. Plus his delivery of passes and throughballs for Holland this tournament have been simply incredible.

Tom thinks Ronaldo is the best player in the tournament, whilst Jack thinks he has been a let down thus far? Who’s right?
Ronaldo still seems like he’s adjusting to his different role on the pitch for Portugal, so as a result, we haven’t seen the best of him yet. For Man United, he continually switches from wing to wing, but he doesn’t have that same freedom for Portugal.

Why should people make sure that www.epltalk.com is top of their blogroll at all times?

It’s the only blog that focuses exclusively on the Premier League. For the month of June, we’ve added Euro 2008 coverage, but for the remainder of the year we bring readers the news and analysis regarding the Premiership. The twist is that we also write about TV, radio and internet coverage of the Premier League, which you can’t anywhere else.

It’s almost as if the great and the good of European football have their eyes glued to our site, hanging on our every word. It certainly looks as if Luca Toni has paid attention to this morning’s rant about him staying in the centre of the opposition penalty box waiting for the ball to come to him. As if he was just waiting to be told by me what to do, Toni has been looking for the ball in areas he hasn’t ventured into in his first two games (well, a little bit). Obviously booting up and having a read over his pasta breakfast (or whatever Italian footballers have these days), he has taken my - possibly slanderous - accusations of him being ‘lazy’ and ‘arrogant’ to heart and pulled his finger out. He *has* missed an absolute hatful of chances, though, so maybe he needs to buck his ideas up in that department. You get that one for free, Luca, next one we expect tickets, or payment….or something.

Stats powere by Castrolindex.com 

Luca Toni. Two games, one shot on target, one seriously underperforming striker. Given that his form both domestically and internationally pointed towards him bagging a hatful (he was heading the CPI into the competition) and being a potential Golden Boot winner his performance to date has been woeful. A quick look at his heat map from the match against Romania might provide an answer to why he is failing. Whilst other strikers – most noticeably Ruud van Nistelrooy – have played back to goal, collecting the ball from the midfield and creating chances from deep, Toni has resolutely hung around the very centre of the penalty area, waiting for the ball to come to him. Lazy and not a little arrogant if you want our opinion (which you probably don’t), he really needs to up his work rate if he wants to be playing football next week and not lying on a tropical beach.

France’s reputation as a solid side is on the wane, as their defence has visibly weakened and they have started conceding more goals. Domenech has been in charge for 52 games since Euro 2004, and in the first 33 of these his team didn’t concede once. Then the ‘slide’ began, as over the course of the next 15 games they let 1 goal in. The subsequent four matches saw two going past the keeper, and of course in the game against the Netherlands 4 crossed Coupet’s line. If this trend continues in the same vein, Italy can be confident of getting at least 12 in the first half, but somehow I can’t see this happening.

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Proof once again that it isn’t just the eyes of Europe that are glued (well, kind of, unless it’s Greece vs. Russia, which we watched out of politeness) to the current tournament being played out in Austria and Switzerland, we bring you news and opinion this fine morning from around the world.

Du Guodong, the editor of China View, brings us news that Leo Beenhakker has refused to step down as national coach of Poland following his team’s frankly lacklustre performance at Euro 2008. His extended contract saw his job safe until 2010, but that was signed before the tournament, and rumours abound that he might be receiving a Polish equivalent of a P45 before long.

The blog of The World Game, Australian-based sports show, reports that Italian coach Donadoni is expecting the Netherlands to do the Azzurri a favour and defeat Romania tonight, allowing his side to go through. They report that Donadoni has said if he was to put himself in a Dutch player’s boots, he wouldn’t want to be asked to lose against Romania, just to prevent Italy or France going through, going as far as to say he would be ‘humiliated’.

Sulmaan Ahmad, from Goal.com, holds a different view however. He reckons that Donadoni is going to make ‘wholesale changes’ to his side tonight, which could gift the French an easy ride through to the next round. This replay of the World Cup final revolves around the result in the other game, but literally any outcome is still possible, including a penalty shootout. Sulmaan thinks the ‘bragging rights’ for this one are too big to see a dull 0-0 played out, so roll on the goalfest!

Read the small print! 2010! 10, I said!

The Malaysia Star (yes, that’s Malaysia in the Far East, writing on the Euros – that’s the power of football) reports that the old powerhouses of European football – France, Italy and Germany – are spent forces ‘clearly past their sell by date’ having to face up to the young guns of the Netherlands, Spain and Croatia, led by coaches such as van Basten and Bilic, who have the hunger that the likes of Domenech and Donadoni just don’t have.

Tvenne from OleOle has provided a round up of the tournament so far after each team has played two games. For those who haven’t been paying attention a chastisement - ‘shame on you’ he says ‘because you’ve missed a great tournament’. He argues that games with two ‘less skilled’ teams often provide the best entertainment (er…Netherlands vs. Italy, or France?) and quotes the Turkey vs. Switzerland game as an example of ‘just amazing’ football. He concludes by saying the Dutch are looking favourites with their goals coming from all angles and players and a goalkeeper playing at ‘possibly the best level of his career’. Or Spain.

Over at EPL Talk, The Gaffer thinks there is a player who holds the key to the Netherlands’ success, and its one that doesn’t make the headlines. Orlando Engelaar is a rangy midfielder who frustrated Italy’s attack by outjumping Toni, but also provided many of the telling passes in attack. By utilising the stats provided by the Castrol Index, The Gaffer managed to show how Engelaar changes his game depending on the opposition….cunning stuff, and it just goes to show the power of statistics in providing insights into the game.

The mighty win over France last night for the Netherlands means that they are set fair to be named tournament favourites this morning. 7 goals in two games against the World Champions and World Cup Finalists ensures that opponents will be quaking for the next few games when they face the Orange tide.

Raven from OleOle talks of the fashion in which the Dutch managed to ‘demolish’ a French side that were much-vaunted pre-tournament, but appear to be in freefall. He praises the attacking substitution at half time, when everyone was expecting France to beef up their front line is was the Dutch who brought Robben on. The ‘unbelievable teamwork’ displayed for van Persie’s goal caught Raven’s eye too, and he can’t wait for the next Netherlands match.

Over at The World Cup Blog (in their excellent Euro 2008 section), Jeff puts the French perspective forward. Suppose you hadn’t watched the game, he says, and were told that in a major competition, with their best side out, France got beat 4-1, you too would be ‘shell-shocked and numb’. He praises the ‘fantastic finishing’ and ‘quality’ forward play, but wonders where Benzema was.

For those of you as fascinated by stats as we are, Daniel Finkelstein has provided an explanation of how the CPI ratings work in a piece in the Times. The pitch is divided into zones, and moves starting in each one of these zones is rated as to how likely it will be to result in a goal. There are many variables – it is football, you know – but the higher scores are gained when there is less probability of that action being successful. A long range pass, a goal that is started from your own penalty area, a save from point blank distance will all score highly. Get over to the article to get a more detailed view from a professional.

Yes, we’re brilliant, we even clap ourselves.

It’s not often we agree with John Motson, but that certainly was ‘international football at its very, very best…exhilarating for the observer’. Wow. What a game.

A closer look at the strikers’ heat maps (we love heat maps, we do) shows exactly why the Dutch were better. Ruud van Nistelrooy was immense tonight, without getting the glory. Every pass was precise, every touch deft. He moved for the ball, came back to help the defence, and was always available when the Netherlands broke. Compared to Thierry Henry, who seemed to stick to his role (didn’t all the French players) - even when the backs were to the wall - and give a Gallic sgrug if it didn’t go his way. That was the difference, and the stats prove it.

Now the lacklustre French have to beat the World Champions to stay in!

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