Maximus Decimus
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Posts posted by Maximus Decimus
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2 minutes ago, Sidi Fidi Gold said:
First Euro's memories anyone ?
Mine was England v Belgium 1980, a 1-1 draw, I remember Ray Wilkins scoring a great goal, I remember England having a goal disallowed, I remember England fans rioting on the terraces and Italian police using tear gas which drifted onto the pitch forcing the players off, then we lost to hosts Italy, before beating Spain in the final game. I don't remember anything about any other game in the tournament.
Mine is 1992. I had scouts during the last game of the groups, and I remember my dad passing the news we were 1-0 up. When he picked me up and said we'd lost, I didn't believe him - (he was a windup merchant).
I still lament the end of 16 team version. The 24 might give us more teams, but there is far less jeopardy involved in the groups for the big teams. IMO it was better than the World Cup for quality of games.
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15 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:
That's why I don't get the adulation from some people for Gareth Southgate. I think he's a great guy and a good manager, but I don't think he yet deserves much more praise than that.
As you mentioned, Germany 2020 aside (when we also had home advantage), we have failed to beat the top teams when it really matters.
2018 Croatia
2020 Italy (despite home advantage again)
2022 France
You can even throw in a Nations League SF against Netherlands which we lost 3-1.
If you pick any of the established top teams (the likes of France, Spain, Germany, Italy, even Argentina and Brazil at a world level), you can reel off numerous times that they've beaten each other when it really mattered - knockout stages and finals. England just aren't in that class yet.
It even annoys the heck out of me when people go on about the 5-1 against Germany in 2001. Who cares? Germany still qualified, and in fact 9 months or so later, they were in another World Cup Final while we were on the plane home after blowing a QF against 10 men Brazil!
I hope this time will be different. If it is, I will happily give Southgate all the praise he deserves.
In my experience, people have very short memories on this front.
Losing to Iceland in 2016 was the culmination of a couple of decades of seriously bad performances in big tournaments. It wasn't even the losses on penalties, it was struggling against the likes of Algeria, Trinidad and Tobago, scraping through the groups against Slovenia etc.
We might not have beaten a top top nation when it mattered yet, but beating the likes of Germany, Sweden and Denmark in knockout games whilst battering some smaller nations is actually a genuine improvement.
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Thought this could do with its own thread. As ever, a glorious month awaits.
The opener tonight is intriguing enough, but I expect Germany to win easy enough.
As for the winner, I don't buy the idea that England are favourites. France look to be a head above and without upsets, England would end up facing them in the semis.
I do have some things I'd like to see for England. I'd like to see us knock out a genuinely top nation. Since 1966, I don't think you can argue that we have done. The closest we've have is Spain in '96 and Germany in '20 but especially with the latter they weren't the Germany of old. Apart from these, anytime we've faced a top nation we've lost (usually on penalties...).
I'm also hoping we don't see the usual silly beggar stuff that we do on the continent. I'm pretty sure 2006 was an OK one from that respect.
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10 minutes ago, JonM said:
Yes, same in Italy - and the letter from your doctor has to include an ECG and spirometry results. Not just running - same is required for 5-aside football, basketball and any other recreational sport. However, they seem to have accepted that parkrun is ok as a non-competitive event. There is also a different culture to France- the Rome Marathon, for example tells everyone they must bring their certificates, but they don't check them, and the attitude is well, if you have a heart attack and die and you got a fake certificate, then on your own head be it.
Imagine that over here. Can't get a blimmin doctors appointment in the first place so there goes competitive running!
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I saw the seemingly bizarre news recently that Parkrun has been banned in France for a couple of years and it is still going to be.
Apparently, due to concerns over insurance, for normal competitive runs, runners have to get a medical certificate off their doctor to say they're OK to run. This obviously causes issues with Parkrun which is much more casual.
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26 minutes ago, Damien said:
It doesn't normally sell out though, last year they got 61k. That is also the equivalent of our Grand Final too.
I don't think you can underestimate that Twickenham is the home of English RU. They own it and have a latent audience all year round to tap into. It's quite different than turning up to Wembley once a year and trying to get a crowd.
You can't compare RL and RU, it's apple and oranges. They have a far larger casual audience to tap into.
Wembley was traditionally a big day out for people from the North and it was the most prestigious competition. It no longer is in either respect.
A big club like Wigan has to do relatively little to win it. Maybe beat one decent team along the way to get to the final. There's little achievement in winning it like there used to be.
We need to accept the decline and leave Wembley. Do we wait until there are 30,000 rattling around it? There are many stadiums that would better serve the purpose, like Tottenham or a bigger one up north. Some stadiums look good whether they're full or half full, Wembley is literally the worst for this. OT is a good example of a stadium that can look good on TV with 50k in, although of course we can't use it.
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27 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:
Today's Betfred #ChallengeCup Final attendance is 64,845 - a largest attendance since 2017!
The Women's #ChallengeCup Final also celebrates a record attendance of 9,608.
Not sure how they got that, the lower bowl wasn't even full. That's not far off the WC semi-final from 2013 which looked like it has way more in attendance.
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They're fighting a losing battle. Time to move it away from Wembley I'm afraid. Not only can we nowhere near fill it with two of our biggest teams, it looks terrible on TV. Those big red plastic seats are just so obvious.
IMO it has been on the decline for years and decline breeds decline. People don't want to be associated with things that are on the downturn. The empty seats are depressing and clearly putting more people off each year going again.
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Or like Iceland beating England at Wembley.
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22 hours ago, Futtocks said:
Ouch!
The big question at the moment seems to be whether this is Wilder having lost his mojo, or whether he's finally fighting better opposition and being found out.
It has to be a bit of both but for me definitely more likely to be the second. Earlier Wilder was incredibly aggressive (watch Wilder-Harrison), and he truly would've been a handful for anyone simply because of his punching power. However, had he fought the best somebody would have eventually caught him because he was also very exposed.
However, take the 3 Fury fights away, none of which he won, and who is the best on his record, when he was he at his peak? Ortiz? In both of those fights he struggled and had to use a get out of jail free card. He'd landed a whopping 33 punches in 7 rounds of the second fight.
Ortiz has ended up being no real name at all. He simply hasn't fought people with the records of Parker or Zhang so it is impossible to say how he'd have done. Fury proved that his chin was never all that.
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11 hours ago, daz39 said:
It is awfully sad but in a really weird way i'm almost glad that it has finally come, he no longer has to suffer this absolutely horrendous illness, trapped inside his failing body and his family and children no longer have to watch him suffer.
This is truly the paradox of MND. I used to feel guilt over thinking this way, especially when my experience was somebody who could still talk and move their arms when they died.
The sad reality of the disease is that the people who get it are often those who have been most active in their lives. It is truly a form of torture for them towards the end.
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1 hour ago, Dunbar said:
My wife and I were watching a movie last night and so we were deliberately phones off. I switched on just before bed and saw the news. I saw his picture with his family and I was in floods of tears. The first time I can remember that I have wept due to the passing of someone who wasn't in my family, someone I had never met.
There is a lot of talk in modern society about what it means to be a man. Well, as far as I am concerned the answer is easy. Just try and be like Rob Burrow.
He was a small man but a giant in one of the toughest sports on the planet. He was gracious and humble in both victory and defeat.
He took that courage and fought one of the most horrible diseases. He always had a smile on his face and he was an inspiration to this man and many many others.
He was a family man. And that family will be hurting so much right now but in the weeks, months and years to come I believe they will take great comfort from the fact that Rob was so loved by the Rugby League community and the wider sporting world and finally the whole country.
A great great man. Gone but never forgotten.
I completely agree. I have my own personal reasons why it hit home so much, but I too have never been so upset over someone I never met.
To people who aren't RL fans, I always explain that he was truly a player who despite being in a dominant Leeds team was liked by pretty much everyone. I think it was partly to do with his genuinely humble nature but he was also respected for achieving the way he did against the odds. He was pretty much always the smallest man on the pitch but always one of the best.
RIP Rob, a true legend.
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And he wins it in style...
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22 hours ago, tiffers said:
You certainly aren't the first and won't be the last to have this happen. As you say, a learning curve for another attempt.
If it's any consolation, I had a similar experience a few weeks back at the Salaman KVK. I hadn't managed to get as much mileage in the tank as I normally would and thought it would be ok. Turns out the brutal hills were exactly that and I found myself cramping and walking the last major hill. The first time I've ever done that in a race.
Use it as motivation for the next one. That's my approach. Get something booked in and give yourself something new to aim at. The main thing is you gave what you could do on the day, you can be satisfied with that.
Thanks for this.
Now the dust has settled, I'm taking the positives from it.
The one big niggle is the quitting. I genuinely never considered it as an option. I thought I could get injured and stop but not in that way. I suppose my fear is I've done it once so it'll be easier to do it again now I know it is an option.
I'm starting to think about my next attempt. I hope there are no women reading this, but I expect it's a little like childbirth. As I was running, I thought I might never do it again and laughed at the idea of a marathon (something I'd considered before). Now it's like I remember it was hard but I fancy giving it another go. I'm also still thinking of a marathon for next year, but knowing I'll end up walking.
A part of me wants to do it again soon like 3/4 weeks, just on my own on a cool wet day around Widnes. Just to prove to myself that I could have finished.
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So I did my first half-marathon on Sunday in Chester to very mixed results. Unfortunately, I didn't take my own advice on this very page by not giving myself a time target - this was very much my undoing.
I've been on a running plan for 13 weeks using Runna and lulled myself into the idea that the sub 2-hour time was more than achievable. After all, it is only an average of 5:41 per km, which isn't a particularly challenging pace as I can do a 10k in around 50 minutes and I'd gone up to 18km without much difficulty. The plan was to run at a pretty steady 5:20-5:30 with a view to banking the time to negate the inevitable slow down after 16km or so.
I'd been keeping an eye on the forecast with trepidation as it seemed to be predicting hotter and hotter and so it ended up. I'm warm-blooded and prefer running very light and in the cold. I didn't let it bother my preparations though and went in feeling positive about it.
I think one of my issues, was that I haven't been in enough races recently including Parkrun etc. I felt thrown off by the big crowd and was quite boxed-in for the first 2k only averaging 5:44. This meant I tried to speed up once I got free and inevitably went too fast as a result. I also found it difficult to switch off, I'm usually very good at processing my thoughts while running which helps to pass the time.
At about 15km, I started to realise that I probably wasn't going to hit the 2-hour time. I was tiring fast and hadn't banked the time. This was when I first got the urge to stop, something I literally never do. The heat wasn't helping either. Fortunately, I reached a water station and managed to plough on feeling confident I would get to the end. However, it quickly unravelled. At 20km, I was passed by the guy holding the 2-hour sign and turned the corner to find myself at the bottom of a big unshaded hill. I'd previously done a 10k in Chester and remembered it ending with a killer hill.
So I stopped and walked it; I just couldn't face it. I ran the final 500m to finish in 2hr 3 minutes. I still can't quite believe that I stopped with 1km to go. I couldn't face maximum 7 minutes of discomfort after running for over 110 minutes.
After the initial disappointment, I feel OK about it now and I'm treating it as part of a learning curve. I was looking at my Garmin today, and for some reason for 68% of the run my heart-rate was in Zone 5; I almost never go into Zone 5 apart from during interval training. I don't know if it was the heat, the exertion or the whole occasion but that can't be good.
I think I'll try to book in another for Oct/Nov and take away the time pressure. Might be easier said than done...
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14 minutes ago, Futtocks said:
Oh, we will.
Lot of talk from people saying they don't think the rematch will happen.
Fury will probably retreat to the 'it was a robbery' line.
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7 hours ago, DavidM said:
Usyk excellent , clear winner . Strange tactics from Tyson . He had to force the fight and push the smaller man back and control things but he didn’t . He did for two or three rounds but otherwise he was to lazy , to reactive , to passive . His shots didn’t look heavy , he didn’t work enough and Usyk came on and on and on and thoroughly deserved it
I think we all expected a lot of leaning on (and his dad was calling for it) but he bizarrely did very little.
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Fury's corner defo let him down too. At the end of the 10th I'm pretty sure Andy Lee said 'you've won this.'
Letting his dad in was a huge mistake.
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As there has been some controversy on the scorecards, I watched it again and it was actually by enlarge a very easy fight to call.
1-2nd Undoubtedly Usyk
3rd Harder to call. I still gave it to Usyk.
4-7th Fury won convincingly
8-10th No doubt Usyk dominated
11th More even but still quite comfortably Usyk
12th A lot gave it to Fury and it was close, again I thought Usyk.
On my scorecard, it was 116-111. Even if you give the 3rd and 12th to Fury it was 114-113.
Best man won. Most eye-catching shots were from Usyk and he pressured the whole fight.
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19 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:
A huge positive from the Uysk win last night is we don’t have to listen to the rubbish that Fury is the GOAT anymore.
Fury is a clown and there was an aspect of comeuppance last night.
One thing I don't agree with is people making out like it proves he's rubbish. He gave Usyk a real fight and at one point was bossing it. I actually think that he demonstrated with little doubt that he'd beat AJ.
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4 hours ago, GeordieSaint said:
Yep - thought Uysk was the clear winner with Fury only clearly winning rounds 4-5-6. Uysk is a brilliant boxer. Thoroughly deserved.
But I will add, whilst I know it was (hopefully) showmanship to sell the rematch, Fury’s comments on the judges giving the result due to the war were disgusting. What an absolute classless man.
What is about British fighters embarrassing themselves after losing to Usyk. Fury just sounded thick making it about Ukraine.
What a great fight. Usyk started well but then Fury looked like he was schooling him and I thought it was becoming likely he would stop him.
It's a bit of blur but I don't know how Usyk turned the tide. He very nearly stopped him and boy was Fury gone. His walk back to the corner was that of a defeated man.
Somehow he recovered, but I thought was still losing the rounds. Usyk came close to stopping both AJ and Fury but took his foot off the gas both times.
Roll on the rematch...
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Absolutely hilarious last night at the weigh-in.
Fury weighed in at an expected 262lbs which is quite light for him. Usyk steps up at 233.5lbs, 12lbs heavier than ever before. Pundits are going crazy, calling it madness with some even changing their predictions. After all, he'll lose some speed and will tire later etc.
Turns out that Buffer heard them wrong and he was actually 223.1lbs so pretty much spot on
. Tbf some pundits were questioning where he had put it cos he looked no different.
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So if you're a betting man, get your money on Fury because IMO the odds are ridiculously even.
Here's why. To state the obvious, Fury is the naturally bigger man with an elusive style. The chances of Usyk knocking him out are incredibly slim, so therefore he'd need to win a decision. Because of the size difference and Fury's awkward style, he is unlikely to dominate as obviously as he did in say the first AJ fight.
This opens the door to a dodgy decision. All the interested parties would favour a Fury win, after all there is the even more lucrative AJ fight on the cards.
Therefore, it seems likely that Usyk would have to dominate Fury to get the decision and I can't see this happening.
Euro 2024
in Any Other Business / Any Other Sports
Posted
People don't like to mention they've only qualified since because they added another 8 teams to the Euros.
If I'm being kind, they might have done it anyway this time.