With the Euros now just over a week away we go back to video made just a few years ago featuring James Corden as Smithy and an "inspirational" speech to the England squad. Interesting to note how quickly the faces have changed with so many faces not being involved this summer. Corden may not be everybody's cup of tea and take the humour out of this video and what you are left with is a passionate speech that if Roy Hodgson delivered could raise the game of the players.

The following video gives us a glimpse into a possible future. We have already seen in the past thirty of forty years that the goal scoring celebration has grown from a simple handshake or pat on the back into a rehearsed and organised routine sometimes including somersaults, little dances or even a whole team activity.
Whoever put this video together has done a remarkable job as to where (possibly) some of these celebrations might end up with future technology. However, there will always be the fans and players of the opposing teams that will want to strike back - hence we also see forms of retaliation! It might just make even the most boring of matches a bit more worth while watching!

ITV are using the term "Its Good to Dream". In the case of the following video I think they have simply gone into cloud cuckoo land! Yes, with the Euro's fast approaching we are beginning to see the first spate of specially made ads for the tournament. I just wonder at what stage they will stop showing this one! Alternatively I guess they could add a bit on to the end of it to give it an update. What will be this time? We have had the lost penalty shoot-outs (too many to mention or that's what it feels like). We have had the ball over the line by about three furlongs two years ago. We have had a hand of God moment etc so what will it be this summer? I just hope that we do not go out with a whimper. The last two tournaments has seen that happen so maybe - just maybe we will defy all the odds this time around - and reach the semi-finals! Or is that just too much to ask?

Mario Balotelli - for some strange reason he still keeps managing to surprise! Despite his wrongs, we have seen plenty to suggest a humorous side as picked up here for a Nike ad no doubt being produced for the upcoming Euro 2012.

The laws of the great game have changed a lot in recent years. From what was a "man's game" up until perhaps the eighties is now being basically played as a form of tag football whereby just touching an opponent constitutes a foul. We have also seen the pansy like rolls and dives and feigning serious injury when a player has been breathed upon so I have to ask where are we going next and how far can we take this?


Here are some possibilities that could be considered for the future as definite red card offences:-
The referee sent the player off for looking towards him and deemed his eyes had serious malicious intent,
The defender was red carded for appealing for an offside flag to be shown in raising his arm.
The player was sent off for having bad breath (actually that one is not a bad idea)
The player celebrated the goal by smiling so he was red carded.
The captain was red carded at the start of the game for shaking the referee's hand - a breach of the rules as no physical contact is allowed between any players and match officials.
The attacker was sent off for failing to entertain the fans with a brilliantly executed fall followed by at least three rolls whilst holding his face in agony after the defender had closed to within five yards of him.
The Italian was sent off for wearing a shirt with a number lower than 7 meaning that he was probably a defender.
The whole of the Dutch team were sent off for wearing a kit too dazzling for the referee's eyes.
A random player is sent off every time there is a corner as there is bound to be some sort of infringement following in the penalty area.
The defender was sent off for having arms and having nowhere to put them when the ball was blasted straight at one of them from less than five feet away.

I could go on and on with this and I am sure that I will probably be able to think of some more great ones which I may add as comments if I do under this article. But back to reality (really?) and a video giving us an example of how close we are coming to seeing the day when some of these decisions could actually be seen! I am not a great lover of seeing over the top goal celebrations especially the ones with the ridiculously rehearsed dances. Watching Nigerians doing a series of quadruple somersaults is great as they are sometimes more spectacular than the goals! But here we see recent action from the Russian league in a game between Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg. Emmanuel Emenike is about to score a goal for Spartak and will then celebrate his goal with what we surely must consider to be if anything quite a low key celebration - but enough to be shown a straight red card! Perhaps we are missing the point, perhaps his celebration means something that we are not aware of. Perhaps it is the fact that Zenit do not have a black player in their team and allegedly have a growing reputation regarding this through both the club itself and the fans. It is all speculation and maybe very soon the truth will come out but for now all we really know is that this incident is for real and this video proves it!