[Football] *****Official World Cup 2018 Sweepstake & Draw Thread*****

[happypig]

So you wanted a harder draw.......

I would have been happy if we got Brazil or Germany to get us fired up from the start. Belgium are too easy to underestimate.

 

[Bold Seagull]

If we can lose to Iceland, we are more than capable of losing to Panama and Tunisia, let alone Belgium.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I would have been happy if we got Brazil or Germany to get us fired up from the start. Belgium are too easy to underestimate.

Yeah, because we have such a great record against the bigger sides in tournament football...

 

[Pantani]

Agree. All shaping up nicely for a bit of national self flagellation.

I'm personally looking forward to an even more inept performance than 2010s sublime effort versus Algeria for the Tunisia game, that would be ideal, first game 0-0.

Followed by an early goal v Panama, we are all over them until half time, then we just lose our shit second half, Joe Hart, somehow still being picked, throws one into his own net on 68 minutes. We then chuck on all of our strikers but are unable to string more than two passes in a row together.

Finally a fully rotated Belgium team start with Mignolet, Mirallas, Defour and Benteke. We all get our hopes up that we can easily beat a bunch of Premier League also rans. 3-0 Belgium with the freshly relegated Palace striker scoring a hat trick.

Southgate's face is then superimposed on to Snowy's (Tintin's dog) face in The Sun.

If you want to put a bet on this feel free, but the markets are only offering a best price 3-1

 

[Durlston]

I'm quietly confident that we can go a long way. Travel - not too bad. Climate - good. If we don't make at least the quarters then it would be a huge let down.

It's just how much the players want it before jetting off on their holidays because if they brought the World Cup home the country's mentality towards them would go through the roof. Screw it up big time and empty stadiums at the big club's beckon next season.

I'm really excited about next summer now.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I'm quietly confident that we can go a long way. Travel - not too bad. Climate - good. If we don't make at least the quarters then it would be a huge let down.

It's just how much the players want it before jetting off on their holidays because if they brought the World Cup home the country's mentality towards them would go through the roof. Screw it up big time and empty stadiums at the big club's beckon next season.

I'm really excited about next summer now.

You cannot be that old with this much optimism? Or you're old enough that heading footballs in your youth has led to dementia?

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I've watched enough Jeremy Kyle to understand the generic negativity around England.

You push them away before they can hurt you. I get it. It's not nice getting your heart broken..

I want them to get as far as they can. The first step of that is getting out the group. This draw gives us a great chance.

Sure, they may COCK it up but that comes with the territory.

It seems in recent years that people seem to think they are somehow EDGY to not like the England team. I find it bizarre. I like football and I like my country. Therefore I want my country's team of footballers to do well.

Again, I'm sure this is just a case of wanting to claim afterwards that they never really actually cared.

 

[Durlston]

You cannot be that old with this much optimism? Or you're old enough that heading footballs in your youth has led to dementia?

I'm willing to give Southgate's young team one more chance. How are Italy and Holland feeling this afternoon?

No need to be so negative and mention dementia where so many families have their lives destroyed by this illness.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

You won't need time off work for our group games.

https://twitter.com/mrdanwalker/status/936628624832245760

[tweet]936628624832245760[/tweet]

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Headline on June 25th

Panamare.

 

[Durlston]

Headline on June 25th

Panamare.

According to the South American studio guest, Panama players are mostly around 35 years-old.

If one of their players notches three goals the headline will be 'Geri-'Hat-trick'.

 

[Mellotron]

I've watched enough Jeremy Kyle to understand the generic negativity around England.

You push them away before they can hurt you. I get it. It's not nice getting your heart broken..

I want them to get as far as they can. The first step of that is getting out the group. This draw gives us a great chance.

Sure, they may COCK it up but that comes with the territory.

It seems in recent years that people seem to think they are somehow EDGY to not like the England team. I find it bizarre. I like football and I like my country. Therefore I want my country's team of footballers to do well.

Again, I'm sure this is just a case of wanting to claim afterwards that they never really actually cared.

Spot on. Childish defence mechanism and incredibly hipster to "hate" England.

 

[Mellotron]

I'm quietly confident that we can go a long way. Travel - not too bad. Climate - good. If we don't make at least the quarters then it would be a huge let down.

It's just how much the players want it before jetting off on their holidays because if they brought the World Cup home the country's mentality towards them would go through the roof. Screw it up big time and empty stadiums at the big club's beckon next season.

I'm really excited about next summer now.

I can't wait. Feel sorry for those who can't muster the enthusiasm.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

According to the South American studio guest, Panama players are mostly around 35 years-old.

If one of their players notches three goals the headline will be 'Geri-'Hat-trick'.

After the loss knocks us out

T-Hats all folks

 

[Bold Seagull]

I'm willing to give Southgate's young team one more chance. How are Italy and Holland feeling this afternoon?

No need to be so negative and mention dementia where so many families have their lives destroyed by this illness.

What we need to give England is the benefit of realistic expectations. Too many tournaments we go believing 1/4 finals are the minimum target, rather than simply getting out of the group. We don't really have that strong a squad in all honesty.

As for dementia, I didn't use it to insult you, or ridicule anyone, and to be fair, a topical subject in football at the moment - If you are offended by the mentioning of it, then I do apologise, and perhaps it is very sensitive to people. Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm has an episode with Michael J Fox dealing with his Parkinsons, this wasn't to make light of Parkinsons, but to try to make people realise that they treat those with Parkinsons differently just because they have the condition. It really is a brilliant episode.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Spot on. Childish defence mechanism and incredibly hipster to "hate" England.

There is a difference between 'hate' and 'low expectations'. When we lost at home to Millwall a few seasons back, you could say at lot of people hated the Albion at that point.

I love England, but my expectations are very low, that doesn't mean I hate them though.

 

[Dave the OAP]

So lose aganst Belgium, draw against panama and a plucky loss against Tunisia.

Summmmmmer tiiiiiiime and the living is eaaaaaasy.

 

[mothy]

Lose to belgium, draw with tunis & win v panama

England classic

 

[Durlston]

As for dementia, I didn't use it to insult you, or ridicule anyone, and to be fair, a topical subject in football at the moment - If you are offended by the mentioning of it, then I do apologise, and perhaps it is very sensitive to people. Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm has an episode with Michael J Fox dealing with his Parkinsons, this wasn't to make light of Parkinsons, but to try to make people realise that they treat those with Parkinsons differently just because they have the condition. It really is a brilliant episode.

No worries mate. I didn't mean to have a go at you. I watched the documentary with Alan Shearer investigating the link between heading a football and dementia. Quite a moving programme with Chris Nicholl - his first manager at Southampton - having the early signs of it. Back then balls were very heavy so I'm not surprised it had some effect.

I guess I just want England to exceed expectations but know that they'll crash out to Colombia with Radamel Falcao filling his boots in the last 16 as we limp through our group. I want it to be different this time. And I like Gareth Southgate (despite being ex-Palace scum). We haven't had as passionate a manager for a long time.

You've got nothing to apologise for. Well apart from thinking that I'm old enough to remember a successful England team.

 

[Eeyore]

According to the South American studio guest, Panama players are mostly around 35 years-old.

If one of their players notches three goals the headline will be 'Geri-'Hat-trick'.

Nobody knows any of our African opponents. A re-hash of the seventies game show:

'Name That Tunis'...