Euro 2012 – Scout Scribbles
Filed under: Euro 2012 - Posted by: Paul
Joris Mathijsen’s hamstring problem continues to show no sign of recovering for Holland. Shay Given is on course to start against Croatia despite a knee problem, Cesare Prandelli has been playing Daniel De Rossi in a three-man defence in Italy’s training sessions, Milan Baros may miss the Czech Republic’s opener, while Slaven Bilic is reported to be rethinking his backline ahead of the Ireland showdown:
Dutch boss Bert Van Marwijk received some bad news on the injury front yesterday. Word from the Holland training camp is that Joris Mathijsen is now “80%” certain to miss the opener with Denmark after failing to sufficiently recover from a hamstring problem. The centre-half limped out of the friendly against Bulgaria on May 26 and has failed to feature since, with Wilfred Bouma and Ron Vlaar taking turns to deputise in his absence – Van Marwijk will now reassess the situation and is even considering replacing Mathijsen in the 23 man squad if his condition doesn’t improve in the next day or so:
We had hoped he would train with the group today, but that did not happen, unfortunately. He needs more time. I will look at the situation the next two days and then decide whether I keep him in the squad or not. I have to await the correct information. With a muscle injury it is always hard to predict. If the chances are reasonable that he will make the second game, then I want to take the risk. I still think Joris can be important for us at this tournament, but not if it is unlikely that he will make that second game.
Bastian Schweinsteiger has revealed he is now fully fit and ready for Germany’s match with Portugal. The Bayern midfielder has failed to take part in his nation’s couple of friendly matches due to a calf problem but has told the press he is now “fine”, handing Joachim Low a huge boost ahead of Saturday evening’s opener. Philipp Lahm and Sami Khedira both sat out training for the Germans yesterday. The national association confirmed Lahm was following a recovery program, while Khedira has a calf problem – the pair are said to have missed out as no more than a precautionary measure, however.
Republic of Ireland goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly dismissed the idea that Shay Given could miss out against Croatia on Sunday. The Villa man was subbed off at half-time in the midweek friendly against Hungary and sat out training the following day but Kelly insisted this was all part of his fitness program as he recovers from a knee and calf problems. The news will be hugely reassuring to Given’s Fantasy owners – priced at 4.5 in the McDonald’s game, he’s been a popular pick on the site and Kelly’s words suggest there is little to worry about:
There is absolutely no doubt about Shay playing…He will be fit to play on Sunday. Wild horses would not keep him from that pitch. He made four or five saves in Hungary, and one reaction save was world class. You don’t make those if you are not fully prepared.
Andrea Pirlo took no part in training for Italy yesterday. The Juventus man is thought to have a tight muscle and was rested as a precautionary measure ahead of the Azzurri’s opener with Spain on Sunday – understandable, when you consider the injury situation currently surrounding Cesare Prandelli’s side. David Astori has flown in as a possible replacement for Andrea Barzagli – the latter is likely to be ruled out of the group stages due to a calf problem, though Prandelli has until Friday to decide whether to drop him from the squad altogether. The Italy boss is reported to have been trialling a three-man defence in training and, in Barzagli’s absence, has been playing midfielder Daniel De Rossi in the backline.
Igor Akinfeev is reported to have recovered from a knee problem and took part in full training for Russia yesterday. The keeper was thought to be a doubt for Friday’s match with the Czech Republic but is now set to vie with Vyacheslav Malafeev for a starting role between the posts. Aleksandr Anyukov and Roman Pavlyuchenko also came through training without any problems; while Anyukov can expect to slot in at right-back, Pavlyuchenko looks set for a bench role, with Aleksandr Kerzhakov ready to lead the line.
Milan Baros missed out on training for the Czech Republic yesterday. The forward has a thigh injury and was sent to hospital for a scan and according to the national team doctor, is currently a doubt for the game with Russia:
The scan did not reveal any rupture; Milan Baroš will stay with the team. The muscle is only slightly strained. He will join the team in training tomorrow. After that, we will decide whether he can be passed fit for the opening game. If Milan does the full training session with the team, he will be ready to play; if he trains on his own, he will not.
Reports in the Croatian press suggest Slaven Bilic is weighing up his defensive options ahead of the opener with Republic of Ireland. Bilic is said to be considering the full-back positions in particular, with Darijo Srna mooted as possibly dropping back from midfield into right-back and Danijel Pranjic now vying with Ivan Strinic for the left-back role. Srna is classified as a midfielder in the McDonald’s game and, while he will still have spot-kicks and set-pieces to fall back on, his price of 7.5 looks a little less enticing if Bilic shifts him into defence. Strinic’s price of 4.0 has seen him drafted in by 21.6% of Fantasy managers but this news puts question marks against his starting role – Pranjic, on the other hand, costs 6.0 and is a far less appealing prospect, given he could also square up to Spain and Italy if Bilic decides to include him.
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June 7 at 12:34 pm
HappyAnkit-We Are The New EPL Champions says:
Philipp Lahm confirms he will play at left-back in Germany’s opener with Portugal
Joachim Low reveals Lars Bender is another option at right-back for Germany.
So Boateng not nailed-on?
June 7 at 12:39 pm
The Giggs Boson says:
No, i don’t think he ever was. I predict 5-0 Germany.
June 7 at 12:43 pm
The Milkman says:
Boateng will play then. The only worry was that Lahm might play right-back and then Schmelzer would have started at left-back.
June 8 at 1:29 pm
CL1 says:
Hey im doing the mc’donalds fantasy football.
My team is:
Hart , Lindegaard
Lescott, Arbeloa, Alba, Kadlec, Ollson
Ozil, Afellay, Dzagoev, Mc’Clean, Andrews
Podolski, Benzema, Robben
What does everyone think? Any suggestions to improve it?
June 7 at 12:36 pm
Masella says:
This is an awesome Euro 2012 game .. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app.....&mt=8
June 7 at 12:39 pm
Midnight Rambler says:
So who’s going to win?
June 7 at 12:37 pm
Optimus says:
so whats everyones predictions of winner/top goal scorer
mine is spain/rvp
June 7 at 12:39 pm
The Milkman says:
Germany, RVP.
June 7 at 2:25 pm
chickenwithpeas says:
+1
June 7 at 12:39 pm
asyrafdanial says:
Holland and yes RVP !
June 7 at 12:39 pm
Frazek says:
France/Fabregas.
June 7 at 12:42 pm
Midnight Rambler says:
Germany, Podolski
June 7 at 12:46 pm
The Giggs Boson says:
England/RVP
June 7 at 12:38 pm
The Giggs Boson says:
What clean name would you give a drink containing Orange, Blood Orange and Grapefruit?
June 7 at 12:39 pm
ajay_kl says:
Ruby breakfast
June 7 at 12:43 pm
The Giggs Boson says:
Spot on, it had already been invented. I still earned a free carton of Tropicana
June 7 at 12:45 pm
ajay_kl says:
I love a good glass of Tropicana. Shame it costs so much, when ever it is on offer I make sure to stock up
June 7 at 12:40 pm
Frazek says:
GOBLO?
June 7 at 12:41 pm
The Milkman says:
Selassie
June 7 at 12:45 pm
Midnight Rambler says:
The blood orange gives you vampire/dracula… is it alcoholic?
June 7 at 12:47 pm
The Giggs Boson says:
I was inventing a drink for Tropicana, and called it Sweet and Sour Orange. Turned out they already invented it, so they’re sending me a free carton of it
June 7 at 12:41 pm
asyrafdanial says:
Which def will u get first ?
spain or germany
June 7 at 12:44 pm
Optimus says:
spain
June 7 at 12:44 pm
Frazek says:
Spain, easily, both for GW1-only or for all 3 GWs.
June 7 at 12:49 pm
asyrafdanial says:
okay..then, Jordi Alba is a good choice for cheeky punt ?
June 7 at 12:43 pm
Snowman says:
Hello,
Does anyone have information on russian defender A.Berezutski?
Haven’t seen him in any teams, but is 5.5 and at least zonalmarking has him in starting line up.
He could save me much needed 0.5 and give me this beuty
Casillas, Isaksson
A.Berezutski, Perquis, Maniatis, Kadlec, Debuchy (hmm just noticed 4 on day 1…)
Shirokov, Snejder, Ozil, Andrews, Yarmolenko
Lewadowski, Rvp, Ibra
Gave Strinic boot instead of Maniatis, because we can se greece line up before dead line.
June 7 at 1:05 pm
Mac says:
Yeah he’s nailed on apparently – in my team anyway.
June 7 at 1:24 pm
Camzy says:
‘You haven’t seen him in any teams”
Well you’ve probably not seen many good teams then!
Yeah, he’ll start.
June 7 at 12:43 pm
ben_ford says:
Where is everyone playing their Euro Fantasy Football? I’ve been looking at Sky but not overly impressed. Just wondering what the majority is using?
June 7 at 12:48 pm
Midnight Rambler says:
Pro (auction one), McD and also Sky. The sky one isn’t that great is it, they give you too much cash and the prices are a bit awry. Llorente 5.5, Torres 9.5 from memory! Still prefer their scoring system to the pro one which is rather stingy with the points. The majority on here are using McD with some interest in the Pro game too.
June 7 at 12:55 pm
Shakermeister says:
Sun dreamteam . Do it in a works mini league . Does not require as much time as Macy’s d’s or the auction game , easy to follow ,more people in work can therefore take art , usually at least 20 of us. Shame about the Sun’s marking of players but that’s the fun/trade off .
Would like to see more coverage on here !
June 7 at 12:45 pm
HappyAnkit-We Are The New EPL Champions says:
New Post
June 7 at 12:46 pm
Portsmouth Bubblejet says:
With his customary clumsiness, Per Mertesacker’s just suffered a minor ankle injury after colliding with Boateng in training. No indication yet of what the implications might be for the German line-up against Portugal.
I wouldn’t read too much yet into Lars Bender playing at right-back for the first XI in Germany’s secret training session yesterday either.
June 7 at 12:51 pm
HazardousFootball says:
Okay.. Here is my team! This one looks pretty good.
Malafeev (or Cech) Andersen
Debuchy Holebas Alba Lescott Pranjic
Ozil Ribery Shirokov Iniesta Polanski
Ibrahimovic Van persie Jelavic
June 7 at 12:54 pm
Riddler says:
Any thoughts on Casillas (7.0) with Given (4.5) as back up in nets? Seems a bit expensive given other options available…replacing with a 5.0 GK would free up some cash to bring in Blaszczykowski for Konoplyanka.
Who should I bring in? Anyone else getting Spain defensive coverage in?
June 7 at 1:01 pm
Dandandandaman says:
They both play on the same matchday which means you wont have the benefit of doing a sub if the first keeper doesnt perform
June 7 at 12:54 pm
phoenix737 says:
Hav 10.5 nd need 2 defenders.. already have debuchy alba nd perquis.. ny sugestions??
June 7 at 1:00 pm
No Totti No Party says:
27 m for defenders ?!?
June 7 at 1:05 pm
phoenix737 says:
pretty much.. yeah..
dis is my team..
anderson hart
debuchy alba perquis
sneijder shirokov ozil young kuba
ibra jelavic robben
June 7 at 1:06 pm
phoenix737 says:
was thinking of zhirkov nd strinic but herd strinic mite nt play??
June 7 at 1:07 pm
jb_beardy says:
Jordi Alba, nailed on?
June 7 at 1:09 pm
No Totti No Party says:
If he is healthy, Yeah
June 7 at 1:10 pm
jb_beardy says:
shweet
June 7 at 1:14 pm
chuiku2 says:
Team Updated but not finalised… Any suggestions?
Chesney (Andersen)
Pique Zhirkov Strinic M Kadlec (M Olsson)
Ozil Sneijder Shirokov Modric (Andrews)
RVP Lewandowski (Ibra)
June 7 at 1:19 pm
No Totti No Party says:
Well, srr i don’t like Modrich there (andrews too)
June 7 at 1:33 pm
chuiku2 says:
Who would you suggest I replace them with… I am keeping in mind only GW1 and WC after that…
June 7 at 1:42 pm
No Totti No Party says:
Well, Pique > Alba ; Modric > Srna ; Andrews + 1,5 m
June 7 at 1:16 pm
rdb says:
Haven’t posted for over a month..and not very good with international football..be kind enough to rate my team please!
5.5m Gk/ given
alba debuchy perquis strinic zhirkov
sneijder ozil blaz larsson shirokov
ibra rvp jelavic
any changes needed?
June 7 at 1:38 pm
Cell_Omega says:
Strinic is questionable as starter. From what I heard, Pranjic might start, not Strinic
June 7 at 1:18 pm
jb_beardy says:
given
piszczek alba kadlec
snejider shirokov iniesta ozil
RVP ibra lew-ski
bench: greek gk, andrews,k.papa,strinic.
this is my team for gw1..any thoughts? cheers guys
June 8 at 8:17 am
chickenwithpeas says:
looking good… although k papa and strinic are not guarenteed starters
June 7 at 1:20 pm
k-fat says:
A) Ribery & Afellay
or
B) Cabaye & Schneider
June 7 at 1:33 pm
No Totti No Party says:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
June 7 at 1:51 pm
natxoeuro says:
A) Pyatov Piszczek Ribéry Kerzhakov
or
B) Hart Evra Dzagoev Lewandowski
June 7 at 2:07 pm
Disco Stu says:
Are we now more or less confused about which Russian keeper will be playing on Friday?
June 7 at 2:12 pm
ben_ford says:
Hey guys, playing the Sky FF. My team is as follows:
Akinfeev
Rami, Lahm, Mathijsen, Olsson
Ozil, Montolivo, Silva, Robben
RVP, Pavlyuchenko
Thoughts? Got 0.9m left in the bank.
June 7 at 2:21 pm
chickenwithpeas says:
Pavly is probably not starting.. mathijsen only 20% likely to play because of injury.. Malafeev might also start ahead of Akinfeev
June 7 at 2:32 pm
ben_ford says:
Thanks mate,
What about this?
Cech
Rami, Lahm, JOHNSON, Olsson
ZHIRKOV, Montolivo, Silva, Robben
Van Persie, VILLA
Those in the CAPS are the ones drafted in.
June 7 at 2:39 pm
DavidR25 says:
Villa’s injured and missing the tournament mate!
June 7 at 2:57 pm
ben_ford says:
Haha yeah I just realised that when I looked at the sun dream team selection choices! Any ideas?
June 7 at 2:17 pm
Tmelt says:
Would really appreciate any help so I can finalise at last. Mixing up my team to squeeze in Sneijder for Affelay, need to lose 1.0 – any advice on who to chuck and who to bring in? Thinking probably Yarm or maybe Larsson:
Chalkias Pletikosa
Alba Limbersky Perquis Berezutski Maniatis
Ozil Sneijder Shirokov Larsson Yarmy
RVP Benzema/Muller Lewandowski
June 7 at 2:25 pm
chickenwithpeas says:
yarm ->konoplyanka = you get 1,5m
they are similar players
June 7 at 2:20 pm
PauleyBoy says:
Can any of you guy’s tell me why someone would WC after gw1 when a lot of players might be rested for gw3 in teams that have already qualified.
When do you think the best time is to WC?
June 7 at 3:06 pm
Cell_Omega says:
There is no general rule to that, I believe. Just like there is no general rule to what players to buy.
June 7 at 5:02 pm
NYCosmos says:
Is the Italian back line set yet? Seems messy other than Chiellini.
June 7 at 7:23 pm
SlickMongoose says:
Can we be certain as to what the Spanish back line will look like? Raul Albiol started in friendlies but nobody seems to be picking him.
June 7 at 7:46 pm
Tempted says:
What do you reckon:
Affelay + Dzagoev
Sneijder + Shirokov + £0.5m to upgrade somewhere else
?
June 8 at 8:15 am
chickenwithpeas says:
Affelay + Shirokov + more money to upgrade
June 8 at 1:41 pm
CL1 says:
Picked Dzagoev (Attacking rather then defensive Shirokov) and Affelay for mine.
I’m doing the mc’donalds fantasy football.
My team is:
Hart , Lindegaard
Lescott, Arbeloa, Alba, Kadlec, Ollson
Ozil, Afellay, Dzagoev, Mc’Clean, Andrews
Podolski, Benzema, Robben
What does everyone think? Any suggestions to improve it?
June 8 at 8:11 am
darcy says:
http://oofbounds.podomatic.com.....2_09-07_00
Euro podcast from Australia guys, check it out!