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Spain's core consists of their midfield. They have Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso, Busquets, Santi Cazorla, Mata and Silva. All of these players are available. There's no guarantee that Villa's presence would have helped since he's coming off an injury. On the flip side Torres looks good, Llorente looks better and Soldado is on fire. With Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba shoring up the full back positions it's the central defence that's worrisome for Spain. Puyol is out and Pique has had a subpar season.Originally Posted by PCDawg
Don't be mistaken. Those 3 players you mentioned can be taken out and Spain's core still remains intact.
If anything it's Germany that should be worried. Lowe should field his Dortmund contingent in midfield instead of the Bayern ones. In crunch time I'd rather have Sven Bender, Gundogan and maybe even Gotze instead of Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Muller.
No Klose this time. On the international stage Germany has the same problem up front as Portugal does - no striker to choose from because Gomez will be a no show.
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May 24th, 2012 09:16 PM #31
Last edited by xlash; May 24th, 2012 at 09:23 PM.
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May 24th, 2012 09:32 PM #32Missing Puyol is a bigger blow. He was a dressing room presence and he's far and away the best defender they have. When (if) they go up against the likes of Ronaldo, Gomez(!), Van Persie, Benzema etc. then Puyol would have been massive. With Villa having an off season I am confident that Soldado can pick up the slack. Originally Posted by nick227
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May 25th, 2012 09:37 AM #33
I still like Spain's chances, though injuries and too many club games may be their downfall.
Germany is strong, and should be in the final. Holland is probably just slightly below Germany, though it wouldn't surprise many people if they went all the way.
As for the next best team, that's really up in the air. France is most likely to be contending for the semi-final spot. Enlgland's got little chance, especially if they keep playing the old guard who's way past their prime. Italy... I don't think so.
I just hope we get some good games. But with such a long club season and so many games for the top players, I don't think we've seen any top performances in the last several major tournaments. Reply With Quote
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May 30th, 2012 09:39 AM #34
Any good stores online (or brick and mortar) for shirts? Looking for England, preferably long sleeve.
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May 30th, 2012 01:17 PM #35Deal Guru
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Here's the official store for all things England: http://englandstore.thefa.com/stores/fa/default.aspx Originally Posted by mself084
I've ordered from there in the past and received fast delivery. Prices get discounted for those of us overseas by the amount of the VAT (around 17% iirc), but you may get dinged by Customs at this end. You're guaranteed not to receive counterfeit goods from them though, unlike other sources.
Hmm, turns out they now have a N. American store too: http://www.englandsoccerstore.com/Last edited by Tornado F2; May 30th, 2012 at 01:20 PM.
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May 30th, 2012 02:29 PM #36http://www.onionbag.com/england-jerseys-149.aspx Originally Posted by mself084
Not sure if it's cheaper than the England store or more expensive, but it's authentic. I ordered a United jersey from them before, absolutely flawless._______________ Originally Posted by Kommander_KornFlakes
Originally Posted by Gloaming
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May 30th, 2012 03:05 PM #37Deal Guru
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I buy my United gear direct from the club webstore: http://www.manutd.com/en/Shopping.aspx Originally Posted by flexwong
It's pretty obvious that the same company handles the United and England web stores, and other major clubs' too. They even use the term "United Direct" on the United website, just as the FA use "England Direct" on theirs. They seem to handle things well enough though - except for a United shirt that somehow passed through Aussie customs on its way to me a couple of years back.
I can't blame them for that though as the mailing label clearly said "Canada". I think that Icelandic volcano had the system screwed up, so my shirt ended up almost circumnavigating the globe to avoid it. 
As for prices, the best advice is to shop around. If you want to be sure of receiving authentic gear though, expect to have to pay for it. Personally I'm sticking with my existing shirts - it's not like England gear gets worn enough to wear out.
(Unlike some of my United shirts).
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May 30th, 2012 03:45 PM #38
Thanks lads! The UK store has the 12/13 away (blue) shirts, but the NA and onion links dont have any. The UK store ships here?
Ps go England! Haha._______________
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May 30th, 2012 04:33 PM #39Deal Guru
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Actually the blue shirts are 11/12, no doubt to be discontinued after the tournament - hence the lower price right now. Blue doesn't exactly shout "England" to me. If I HAD TO buy right now, I'd likely go with the red goalie shirt. But I think I'll be going with my 2002 white strip for this tourney. Originally Posted by mself084
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May 30th, 2012 04:43 PM #40Deal Guru
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Speaking of red shirts, I slipped up a bit when I bought this 2004-2006 one (short sleeve version):
It's a nice enough shirt, with strips of silver woven into the fabric, but unfortunately the "Large" that I bought wasn't large enough for me. I think I only wore it once or twice tops, and it remains on the hanger.
Last edited by Tornado F2; May 30th, 2012 at 04:47 PM.
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May 31st, 2012 02:58 PM #41
Lampard is out and Henderson in
Not too bothered about Lampard missing out, he tends to take too much flak when England under perform compared to the likes of Gerrard and Rooney.
I thought a Lampard Parker pivot with Gerrard at the top behind Rooney would of been decent but not to be. Hopefully they make it out of the groups lol. Reply With Quote
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May 31st, 2012 04:15 PM #42
^ Yeah best hope now is to put someone who can defend and make decent short passes in the midfield and just have everything go through Gerrard. I have confidence in Parker as well but probably not whoever they put in place of Lampard.
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May 31st, 2012 05:42 PM #43
I would of preferred Carrick over Henderson but apparently he thought he was too good to be on the stand by list. Shame he would of gone instead of Frankie but he can enjoy it from home.
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May 31st, 2012 08:37 PM #44
Any legitimate online place that will broadcast all games? Willing to pay and VPN to other countries if necessary.
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May 31st, 2012 11:29 PM #45
tsn
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