DISQUS

Except that nowhere in the article does it actually indicate that any matches will be shown in HD. FSC could have an HD feed but still show games in SD, like ESPN[2]HD often does.

For example, Michael Ballack - http://www.manutd.com/publish.sps?pagegid={FE60...

It's fake. Although that doesn't mean he's not going there...

I am fucked.

Swindon!

They'll certainly give you a change from supporting United.

FSC vs GolTV thread?

Is this how we pass six weeks without football?

Besty: 'Why do the English hate the Germans? Do you not know ANYTHING about European history? The Germans sort of bombed England. "

I don't think the English hate the Germans because of WW2, it's because of two penalty shoot out defeats (1990 and 96). Same goes for Argentina; it's not the Falklands, it's the Hand of God.

Sanjay: "Whether the English writers admit it or not, there are at least 5 or maybe 6 players on the German national team who would walk into the English team. I’m talking about the likes of Ballack, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, Klose, Lahm, maybe Frings as well."

Not Frings, and probably not Klose. Podolski, Schweini and Lahm have been great (and great counterexamples to the stereotype of the German footballer). Ballack seemed to disappear against Turkey. I just don't see who these English writers are that are supposedly saying otherwise.

Phil: "This fantastic tournament has looked even better in HD. ESPN has two HD channels already, yet FSC and Setanta admit they are years away from getting to that level."

It's gonna suck hard if this is the last we see of HD until 2010. It has been simply awesome.

Regarding the other crap - I enjoy watching soccer. A football team is often seen as a personification of the town, city, region, or country it represents, and is considered to possess some of the characteristics associated with that region. This element can add so much to the experience of watching two teams play.

In the case of the Germans, they are regarded as a nation as being efficient, somewhat humourless etc. In 2006, the football team adopted a style with much more flair and dash, and that itself seemed to represent a new birth of the German nation, as they threw off their inhibitions about celebrating themselves. I think that rebirth both on and off the pitch was welcomed in the English press, at least the bits that I read (I imagine The Sun may have had other feelings towards a resurgent united Germany).

So anyway, I still don't buy this 'English media biased against the Germans' line. To actually prove one way or the other you would have to compare reports in many outlets across many nations to prove that the English press consistently had a lower opinion of the German team than any other country's media. And maybe you've done that, but I suspect you're basing your views on purely anecdotal evidence.

Can I just say that the referee for this game was bloody brilliant. Time and time again he maintained control of the game by talking to players rather than flashing yellows for every foul and he also let the game flow by not whistling for every contact.

Andy Gray, knowing nothing about players outside of the Premiership, is still way, way better than Tommy Smyth.

The anti-German bias, such as it is, is part of the English national psyche. The bastards keep winning by manifesting their national persona in their football team. Stolid, making up for a lack of flair and real creativity with hard-work, discipline and regular invasions of neighbouring countries, the English hate Germany because they succeed where we fail (also without real flair and falling back on a common work ethic).

And I'm ok with that. Everyone's got to have a nemesis, are we supposed to love ours rather than hate them?

Examples?

I'd like to state for the record that I do not believe the US MNT deserves to be at Euro 2008.

I was always a Barry Davies fan, never could stand Motson.

I kinda like having the minnows around, especially when they throw up games like Cameroon Argentina in 1990 and Senegal France in 2002.

The greater number of games (3 a day! for weeks!) is awesome for the armchair fanatic and there's only a maximum of one more game for the players.

I always thought the yellow strip made them look like ten highlighter pens running across my tv screen.

Can you give me just one example of an anti-German comment from him?

For example, if you were claiming an anti-Italian bias then his 'good luck Cesc' comment would be a valid point, although having watched 120 minutes of anti-football who can blame him for wanting to avoid commentating on Italy in up to 2 more games?

I can't remember the earlier games but he seemed to be very clear that Germany were the better team against Portugal. I guess he just had the audacity to point out that Ballack fouled Ferreira for the second goal, which was ... true.

Gray has been calling the games as he sees them, and few neutrals would disagree with him.

I didn't say Germans, I said Germany, by which I meant the German National Football Team. Hating Germany is fine and is in no way racist.

Or are all USMNT fans who would claim to hate Mexico also racists?

A nation is not the same thing as a race. Hating Germany is a duty, not racism.

Spain didn't try the fast counter-attacking tactics that would give the best opportunities against a stubborn Italian defence (see 3-0 Holland for an example). I blame that on coach Aragones, but then I hate the bastard so that's hardly surprising.

I'll assume Russia don't play for penalties right from the kick-off, so the semi should be a better game, with two teams actually trying to score.

If Fandel had given Spain one of the two or three decent shouts they had, Italy would have been forced to attack (against a weak Spanish defence) and we might have had an actual game on our hands.

To be fair, a great defensive performance from Italy, it just doesn't make great entertainment. And catenaccio would probably have worked if someone other than Luca Toni (tied with Mario Gomez for flop of the tournament?) was up top.

Italy lose after making no attempt to win the game for 120 minutes and you take it out on a Scottish commentator? Stay classy...

I've agreed with every criticism of the spineless referee, but then I am wearing a Spain jersey right now. I suspect you might be wearing blue, Delf.

The element of danger was definitely a large part of the thrill of pre-corporatised football. There was nothing like threatening chants with a genuinely violent subtext to get the adrenaline going. I wish I was being ironic.

They're not exactly pushing their own MLS coverage during the Euro games. The NBA finals have been promoted much harder.

I've wondered whether soccer fans in the US tend to be more tech-savvy in terms of DVR and internet-usage than the average American sports-fan, possibly as these are linked to wealth and soccer is more of a middle-class sport here than the rest of the world, and also out of necessity due to niche market status.

"when push comes to shove [...] Henry steps up for country" - I must have missed that game.

Foudy's been OK; you might criticise some of her predictions but her knowledge of the world game seems fine. And I really enjoyed Gullit hitting on her yesterday.

I thought Pedro Gomes has been very poor, but maybe he just rubs me up the wrong way.

Overall, the top layer of competent American talent is very thin, but that's only to be expected given the sport's relative profile.