Jeremy

ok, bad theory. Got it.

Watched the recorded game after work last night (it was so important it was even played live on a TV station over here in NZ). Then I heard about the racist stuff on social media about the last 3 penalty-takers. My theory is that Southgate may have subconsciously decided to give the last 3 kicks to those three because they're coloured/black/whatever you want to call them. Imagine the reaction if they had won the game for England in times when, rightly or wrongly, black lives matter (versus everybody matters, even Aussies - I'm joking about the Aussies).

As a complete digression, watched a docmentary last night about Le Tissier ("PL 100 Club"). It must have been a privilege sitting in the stand and watching him dealing to anybody and everybody..

Out of curiosity, while we are waiting for some actual football, can anybody guess what would happen if, say, a boozed New Zealander booed the American national anthem at a rugby test between the All Blacks and them over there? My prediction is a decking within 30 seconds. So, why would you not boo some national anthems (unless you wanted a hiding) but boo others?

What exactlly is the point of booing a country's anthem? Are you booing the team in front of you representing the country, the country itself, both these or something completely different? Please can those in favour explain this. I've never seen booing during Olympic medal presentations, for example, which is arguably the most nationalistic sporting forum there is. Has anybody else seen booing at an Olympic medal ceremony?

This thread is a tidal wave of optimism and it's fantastic. I don't have any skin in this game at all (I'm a NZer) but I really want England to win because, as has been noted elsewhere on here, the national team has disappointed historically. This is time to make history and give everybody a legit excuse to get absolutely tanked.

Nice one.

Big day for English football. Good luck.

NZ TAB paying $1.82 for England win, $5 Denmark. Looking forward to an $8.20 colllect.

It's good to read positive posts about football on this site for a change.

Any team that gets to the semi-final of a huge knock-out tournament has a real chance of winning it because 25% at worst is still good odds. I accept it's the same for the other three teams but, remarkably, you haven't conceded any. The lack of conceding goals seems significant to me. I really don't know anything about football but I think a $10 bet on England to win the final is worth it.

Listened to the WTC Final (no Sky). Still a lot of interest in test cricekt over here. We won only because we won an important toss and weren't playing Aussie, who should have been there instead of us. Win's a win though. Here's hoping for England in Euro 21.

Sorry, but is that list of contracts definite and Danny and Vest etc staying?

It's about time this thread was shut down.

Matt's stuff about a baby and other posts about trees and dogs having beliefs and whether or not aliens exist are false equivalents. Religious belief (God of whatever description exists) is a human construct that depends on the believer being capable of understanding the concept. Babies and inanimate objects don't qualify. A belief is not a fact so the point about whether or not aliens exist is also non-equivalent. Also, whether God exists is not a simplistic binary yes or no question. Doubt ie being undecided on an issue or question is also an intrinsic part of human nature. That's clear from many of these posts.

I agree with your basic proposition that in the natural state we are just sophisticated animals MLG. But two million years of social evolution has changed that for at least some people (such as me) where sustained, simplistic and misconceived religous acculturation has burned out some of the wires in my metasphorical hard-drive and there's no way back for me. I've tried to forget it but can't. I believe in something (concept) called "God" or whatever variously named higher life force or deity because, now, I just do because that was my life experience when i was young and impressionable. Otherwise, as an adult, I can't find much meaning in my life and human existence generally. I know, this resembles mysticisim, but I am what I am. Even the atheist Einstein famously said something like "God doesn't play dice" in response to the probablistc premises of quantum mechanics. It's all very complicated whichever way you look at it.

This post's oompletely off-topic but the thread's swerving all over the road anyway. The thread about Ian Paisley and this one are ultimately about religiion and how religion is a form of political hegemony. The teachings of the bible and canons of faith are irrelevant to the crazy nut jobs who use religion to justify using fear and violence to get power. I've said in another thread that I was brought up Catholic. It's impossible for me with that background to be atheist or even agnostic but, having read probably a few thousand scholarly books since my childhood, I do know that the public phenomenon of religion (Catholic or otherwise) has massive limitations that were and are easily and often exploited by the unscrupulous. I can see now why Marx famously said that religion is the opiate of the masses. No offence intended to any posters here or elsewhere. Just a random comment after reading these posts.

Antrim, with respect your latter posts are a bit OTT. Also, you were possibly being trolled.

If any of you haven't already seen it, I suggest you try "The Boxer" starring Daniel Day Lewis. One of my more favoured movies. The theme and plot is relevant to this thread.

Antrim, just seen this thread after it appears to have been edited by the moderators. I was brought up pure Catholic in New Zealand. During the "Troubles" we generally identifed with the Catholics of course but I could never accept the insane and criminal IRA bombs murdering innocent people all over the place (especially children). I had a fight with my mad brother a long time ago when he came home from the pub and told us he had donated to the IRA. This is a digression on this thread - I'm not suggesting for a moment that you or anybody else supported that shite.

Lucky buggar!! Closest I've come to seeing a jazz legend live was a Stephane Grappelli concert in Auckland in about 1997.

No, just tidy bowling (nothing spectacular) and good catching behind the wicket. This is another example of too much T20 stuff and batsmen now generally struggling to occupy the crease and build an innings IMO.

Haven't seen the hightlights from last night yet but this is a very bad collapse. Problems with the pitch?

I'd like to think that about 12 months from here I will be reading about what can be improved for the next season in the Premier League but I'm starting to have doubts after reading some of these posts. I really hope Danny doesn't go anywhere else. A skilled finisher appears to be particularly vital for the future. That's why Tella and Adams (young lions) should have been given as much game time with him as possible - so they can watch and learn on the pitch. That's how I see it anyway.

This and similar posts are right. Saints have never won the EPL for a reason. Next year, they just need to be better than the bottom three. They're good enough to do that although the prospect is hardly exciting.