Off Topic Thread 3.0

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The most exciting part of this match was the moth landing on Ronaldo's face as he cried.

Stheno

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

The most exciting part of this match was the moth landing on Ronaldo's face as he cried.

I missed that

Teferi

Stheno wrote: »

I missed that

Don't worry, it will be in the highlights.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Stheno wrote: »

I missed that

https://twitter.com/paddypower/status/752222083355176960

Teferi

I hope this goes to penos. They're always a bit of drama.

Teferi

Or I'll take that goal so my misery can end.

Stheno

Teferi wrote: »

Or I'll take that goal so my misery can end.

I was looking forward to penalties

Zzippy

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

The most exciting part of this match was the moth landing on Ronaldo's face as he cried.

https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/fkfh.mp4

Funny explanation for all the moths on the pitch...

molloyjh

I actually (half) watched the Euro final last night. God awful from a spectator perspective. How do people watch that on a regular basis!? And serious questions have got to be asked about a tournament that can be won by a team that failed to win a single pool game and only won 1 game all tournament long in normal time.

I couldn't help but compare it to rugby in that soccer has become such a defensive game. 10-11 men behind the ball at all times. It's killing the game as a spectator sport. But because it's so popular the powers that be see no reason to make any changes, completely the opposite to rugby which needs to make changes to keep it exciting and try and grow the sport.

As for the commentary, well it's hard to know where to start. The level of actual analysis that goes on is negligible and that they see fit to blame a referee for causing a goal by preventing foul play I found utterly bizarre. Shouldn't foul play be discouraged rather than encouraged?

Synode

I've been a massive football fan since I was a kid. But over the last 5 or 6 years I've being going right off it and find myself watching far more rugby than football. The players are way overpaid, there's too much diving and playacting, and a lot of matches these days are absolute snoozefests.

Buer

I know he was genuinely injured but, I have to ask, Ronaldo was running (with difficulty) around the field and had walked to and from the sideline a couple of times.

Did he really need to collapse in a head and call for a stretcher to remove him from the field?

Probably one of the greatest players the world has ever seen but, to quote a quite disliked Kiwi, stop being a sook.

Zzippy

Buer wrote: »

I know he was genuinely injured but, I have to ask, Ronaldo was running (with difficulty) around the field and had walked to and from the sideline a couple of times.

Did he really need to collapse in a head and call for a stretcher to remove him from the field?

Probably one of the greatest players the world has ever seen but, to quote a quite disliked Kiwi, stop being a sook.

Didn't you know fallen heroes have to be carried from the field of battle on their shield. It's all about the theatrics!

b.gud

Going up to the big smoke tomorrow any recommendations on where is best to get parking for the day?

b.gud

b.gud wrote: »

Going up to the big smoke tomorrow any recommendations on where is best to get parking for the day?

RCSI in stephens green is central and you can pay a day rate.

You could park and ride on the green line luas from sandyford industrial estate and not have to drive much off the m50.

Are you heading south side or north side as the above two options are south side oriented. If your heading northside first of all, sorry, and second of all you could do the red line and park out near city west or what I usually do is park in Smithfield and come the last 3 - 4 stops on the red line.

b.gud

Deleted User wrote: »

RCSI in stephens green is central and you can pay a day rate.

You could park and ride on the green line luas from sandyford industrial estate and not have to drive much off the m50.

Are you heading south side or north side as the above two options are south side oriented. If your heading northside first of all, sorry, and second of all you could do the red line and park out near city west or what I usually do is park in Smithfield and come the last 3 - 4 stops on the red line.

Thanks for those will check em out and I'll be heading Southside so no need to worry about my safety

pickarooney

Synode wrote: »

I've been a massive football fan since I was a kid. But over the last 5 or 6 years I've being going right off it and find myself watching far more rugby than football. The players are way overpaid, there's too much diving and playacting, and a lot of matches these days are absolute snoozefests.

The ref just standing shaking his head at a player blatantly cheating is just absurd. You can see him cheating, give him a bloody card or he'll keep doing it. How the likes of Pepe or that other gob****e pretending he got kicked in the face can look himself in the mirror I don't know.

What a brutal excuse for a showpiece tournament.

Then again, when the president of the association is banned for eight years but still keeps the title of serving president you can't expect much.

Synode

Yeah I don't know how they haven't clamped down on both play acting and players getting in the face of referees. FIFA should be telling refs to give cards for both and we'd soon see an end to it. But they don't and are slowly killing the game

molloyjh

Synode wrote: »

Yeah I don't know how they haven't clamped down on both play acting and players getting in the face of referees. FIFA should be telling refs to give cards for both and we'd soon see an end to it. But they don't and are slowly killing the game

Are they though? How many turned up in the streets of France to watch the final last night? How many fans travelled to France in general? Wasn't there something like 10% of Icelands population at the games? And we travelled in huge numbers as well. Soccer is still enormous so from FIFAs perspective do they really need to change anything?

Synode

Well for me they are anyway. And I doubt I'm alone. The reality is there's so many people that love football that they probably don't have to do anything and they'll still get people attending and watching matches.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

molloyjh wrote: »

As for the commentary, well it's hard to know where to start. The level of actual analysis that goes on is negligible and that they see fit to blame a referee for causing a goal by preventing foul play I found utterly bizarre. Shouldn't foul play be discouraged rather than encouraged?

If you're referring to the free he awarded for a handball it was a pretty big mistake on his part. You can see clearly it's the black arm/hand that touched the ball, not the white arm/hand.

I did find it a bit ridiculous that they blamed that free for the goal though, it came from the same sequence of play as the free but Portugal were back as far as the halfway line at one point before scoring. France's own fault for not shutting them down.

molloyjh

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

If you're referring to the free he awarded for a handball it was a pretty big mistake on his part. You can see clearly it's the black arm/hand that touched the ball, not the white arm/hand.

I did find it a bit ridiculous that they blamed that free for the goal though, it came from the same sequence of play as the free but Portugal were back as far as the halfway line at one point before scoring. France's own fault for not shutting them down.

He made a mistake with the free fair enough, but the point was that the ref was at fault for the goal (and they used the word fault) because by carding the defender incorrectly earlier it prevented the defender from committing a foul that might have prevented the goal. As far as I'm concerned if you can't stop the goal legally then that's your own fault. Looking to blame the ref for preventing you committing an act contrary to the rules of the game is just more than a little bit ridiculous.

irishbucsfan

molloyjh wrote: »

He made a mistake with the free fair enough, but the point was that the ref was at fault for the goal (and they used the word fault) because by carding the defender incorrectly earlier it prevented the defender from committing a foul that might have prevented the goal. As far as I'm concerned if you can't stop the goal legally then that's your own fault. Looking to blame the ref for preventing you committing an act contrary to the rules of the game is just more than a little bit ridiculous.

It's fairly cynical but then I'm a rugby fan where breaking the rules is arguably an even more accepted part of the game...

molloyjh

molloyjh wrote: »

He made a mistake with the free fair enough, but the point was that the ref was at fault for the goal (and they used the word fault) because by carding the defender incorrectly earlier it prevented the defender from committing a foul that might have prevented the goal. As far as I'm concerned if you can't stop the goal legally then that's your own fault. Looking to blame the ref for preventing you committing an act contrary to the rules of the game is just more than a little bit ridiculous.

In a final that's a card you have to take IMO. Get the yellow get sent off and save a goal. Then it's up to your team to hold on anything can happen in penalties

molloyjh

irishbucsfan wrote: »

It's fairly cynical but then I'm a rugby fan where breaking the rules is arguably an even more accepted part of the game...

Breaking the rules is part of any professional sport. That bit doesn't bother me. Calling out the referee as doing a bad job because he prevented foul play was the bit that I found odd. As if to say that they have to be allowed to break the rules.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

molloyjh wrote: »

Breaking the rules is part of any professional sport. That bit doesn't bother me. Calling out the referee as doing a bad job because he prevented foul play was the bit that I found odd. As if to say that they have to be allowed to break the rules.

I think it was the fact that the ref got the first card wrong is what they were pointing out. He could have committed an actual foul and been punished accordingly if the referee had got the hand ball call right.

molloyjh

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I think it was the fact that the ref got the first card wrong is what they were pointing out. He could have committed an actual foul and been punished accordingly if the referee had got the hand ball call right.

Yes but they said it was the referees fault that the French defender couldn't commit a foul. It should never, ever be a bad thing that a referee prevents foul play. Foul play is an act contrary to the rules of the game itself. As soon as foul play becomes an accepted norm within the sport that should be allowed to happen then why bother having the particular rules that are being broken at all? It's a good thing that the French player couldn't break the rules, because then the correct thing happened by the rules of the game. How is that bad? And so why does the referee need to be blamed?

phog

b.gud wrote: »

Going up to the big smoke tomorrow any recommendations on where is best to get parking for the day?

I see this has been answered and a tad too late for today but for future reference, you can get all day parking on either of the LUAS P&Rs or drive into Collins Barracks which has a day rate for about a fiver.

Other cheapish options are Hueston or Connolly Stations.

b.gud

phog wrote: »

I see this has been answered and a tad too late for today but for future reference, you can get all day parking on either of the LUAS P&Rs or drive into Collins Barracks which has a day rate for about a fiver.

Other cheapish options are Hueston or Connolly Stations.

I'm heading up tomorrow so it's still much appreciated

irishbucsfan

SWIWI TRIGGER WARNING:

https://twitter.com/CoryJane1080/status/752771250846519298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

wp_rathead

watching Australian edition of First Dates (don't judge me)
They are all so attractive and normal it is really boring- non of the charm of the British and Irish version