We seem to have been able to avoid talking about England and their chances at Brazil 2014 so far. This could turn into Englands worst ever showing at a finals....never lost our first two games before and we could also lose to Costa Rica to put the final nail in the coffin. To be honest England haven't been too bad....only losing by the odd goal each time....but at the end of the day our defence has let us down and our attack couldn't deliver that final scoring shot. It 's been suggested that Uruguay are the least populated finalist at roughly 3.5 million.....but last night they only had the need of one player Luis Suarez. A month ago he had knee surgery and was in a wheelchair.....last night was his first game since then....scoring twice and lasting nearly 90 minutes. Mathmatically we are not yet out of the World Cup,the chances are slim and quite possibly pigs might fly first. Inquest time for me on the players before the Costa Rica game.....beating Costa Rica certainly will not change anything in my view even if that million to one chance comes true and we reach the last sixteen.....and of course the dreaded penalty shoot-out. Joe Hart.... 6/10....adequate....didn't let the team down. Glen Johnson.... 5/10......very average defensively....better going forward. Gary Cahill..... 6/10....our best defender...although that is not saying much, best tackler but passing poor. Phil Jagielka.....5/10.....not as good as league form....Suarez lost him for the first goal....not good enough. Leighton Baines.....5/10......also not as good as league form....targeted by Italy as the weak link.....come back Ashley Cole all is forgiven. Jordan Henderson.....5/10.....tried hard...poor passer and no attacking threat. Steven Gerrard.....5/10.....very disappointing...just nothing there...too defensive ? amazingly no attacking threat as in league games. Raheem Sterling.....6/10.....good for the future....World Cup too early in his career.....lost the ball too easy....lack of experience. Wayne Rooney.....5/10......most overpaid player in world football.....huff and puff without blowing anything down, did break his duck. Danny Welbeck.....5/10.....brought his poor United form to Brazil....running up blind alleys...creating few chances. Daniel Sturridge.....6/10.....tried hard...didn't get too many chances....his best is still to come. Ross Barkley.....6/10.....not enough playing time...showed energy and good effort....one for the future. Adam Lallana.....5/10.....piece part only ,hard to tell from what seen if he has an England future. Ricky Lambert.....5/10.....to little and too late in his career....must of thought Christmas had come early going to the WC. Other subs not needed seeing we will only be playing three games...unless that pig starts flapping hard. Overview of tournament.....painfully obvious that England have no match winners compared with top nations at this WC....let the real World Cup start now after the chaff has been blown away.
Should have included Roy Hodgson in the above. Not a more experienced manager in world football can be found. The Squad was the best he possibly could of put together....you could argue that his subbing was at times to late....that's down to personal debate. Blooded some young guns for the future....needs to find some young defenders and mid-fielders to bring through.....otherwise my opinion for what it is worth is to keep him in the the job for a go at the Europeans in two years time. Personally Gerrard's international career should be over after the Costa Rica game.....he might retire himself to concentrate on winning his first Premiership after being so close this time. Ricy Lambert surely cant be the future....he'll be too old for future tournaments. Gary Cahill is the only defender I would keep. Liverpools success was from their goal scoring ability not from their defenders......and that of course includes a certain Uruguayian player.
If you are Spain (prior to this year) or Brazil or Germany, you can to an extent pick 11 players so good that they can be left to get on with virtually any style you want to play. It's noticeable that the less illustrious nations like Chile, that we wish we were as good as, tend to have a lot more structure. We need to stop trying to pick our 11 best players and instead to pick a team. Particularly, we have an embarrassment of riches in young, fast players who can attack on the flanks - OK, not all fit but - Walcott, Townsend, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling, Lalana. Why don't we pick two of those in those positions and get our width that way and tell the full-backs to defend, which we are woeful at at the moment. That second goal direct from the keeper's hoofball should embarrass many a Sunday League side, never mind England. The trouble is that Hodgson has Jagielka, Cahill, Jones & Smalling in the squad. Name another English centre back playing in the Premier League!
I shall continue to resist talking about England as they are embarrassing in mega portions. The only team worse than us in this competition so far is Spain.
The old footballing cliche about there being no easy games at International level is being born out once more at this years World Cup. The gap between the also rans and the usual suspects is definately closing. The football from these supposed minows is quite entertaining as well. The most boring games have usually had one of the top sides in it. I watched the South Korea v Algeria game this evening when I actually wasn't going to at first. What a great spectacle even if some of the football was a bit naive. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
I've always found games between 'lesser sides' more entertaining - unforced errors lead to more end to end action. I'd rather watch a Conference match on Sky than the usual sterile Premier League encounters.
Bit surprised nobody has come along with a comment regarding our South American gnasher. I just listened to Gordon Strachan pre match who if I'm honest came out with probably the truest words I've heard from anyone on the issue. If you didn't hear him he basically said there are no morals or ethics in football and never have been. There have been wife beaters, drunk drivers, players with women issues they can't leave alone, gamblers, drunks and a lot more besides. All clubs are interested in is winning matches and as long as these people can do that then they back them to the hilt. Which is what their National coach is doing right now. Suporters also stand and applaud these people generally because all they want is a winning team. It is opposition supporters who act all indignant until it is one of their own who is in the frame. Whilst I like to think I am not one who stands and applauds and complete B*****d I can see his point. Personally I can't think why anyone would want to employ Suarez and there whouldn't be a need to talk about bans for this or that period. But, if Liverpool do get rid there will be a queue to sign him I'm sure and not some obscure club either. Morality goes out of the window.
probably right sensible but the difference being Suarez has carried out his despicable acts on the field of play. Until this last episode I have always been a bit of a Suarez and lpool fan but not sure i would agree with him continuing to play in the premiership. At the risk of making a sweeping generalisation it is not surprising that there are a few wife beaters, drunk drivers,gamblers, drunks and a lot more besides- if they had better moral standards or were more intelligent they would probably be playing rugby or cricket for a living! By definition football is a 'win at all costs' gladiatorial battle that can never hope to achieve the poetic beauty of cricket or provide the pride of a hard fought game of rugby regardless of the outcome. Football has become purely a results driven business and often (which we know only too well) what happens for the 90 mins is commonly not as enjoyable as it should be.
If Suarez stays in English football....will it be compulsory for all players to have an upto date tetnus jab.
Yep lyndhurst but there is a host of naughties that go on on the field of play and some tackles for example are more than X rated and even career ending. Managers still say they didn't see it and home fans who defend it so in some senses Suarez isn't more of a git than some others. I think the headline here is "biting" rather than kicking or even punching. It's seen as such a playschool thing to do. Little todlers do it until taught not to and then most don't again. Rugby has had it's incidents and probably the only reason cricket doesn't is because they don't get close enough. I don't think rugby is as stiff upper lip and fair play as it maybe once was. Perhaps it's just the win win at all cost sport in general mentality that has taken over and too much money in most of it to be healthy.
I think we all like a fierce tackle (by one of ours) and feel that too much of that has been taken out of the game. We can even understand somebody who loses his rag and punches an opponent. There's a honesty to it even if you are going to let your side down by being sent off. But biting and spitting...? It's as unmanly and unsporting as it is unhygienic. People like Strachan need a slap, as do those who describe diving as "he drew the foul" or "he played for that one" or "he felt the contact and was entitled to go down". It's cheating, that's what it is. Individuals may sin but that doesn't make sin a good thing.
For me most consructutive WC for a longtime. We have performend at an acceptable, but in reality under acceptable level, for far to long. Best thing we could do this WC is blood the youngsters. The GOLDEN AGE went on far too long, , if we are honest 1990 was are WC, luck and a post killed us. We need to learn to take the kick in the happy sacks and move on. Yeah great to be close every 4 years, last 16, qtrs, semis..... srry but who gives the FCUK. This could and should be are revolution.
PS on the Surez saga as an old Devon County youth player. As an old style defender we would have sorted that **** out at 15 year old. This is 100% FIFAs issue. Old skool played hard, bit of dancing OK. Now if u so look at an attacker...foul. Get close to an attacker...foul. Beat him in the air should be.. NP. Beat him the the air...get a back , hit the turf..No foul ( 3 dislocated shoulders, slipped disk, and too many concusions to count!!!). Ball won clean from behind..foul, ballet dancer falls under the wings of a butterfly...penalty.Football was played by the working man against the working man and supported by the working man. I abhor what this clown has done to the game but he was bred from the FIFA rules.
I wondered where you had got to Mexijan and now I know. Slow boat to China was it? My last word on the Suarez saga. I absolutely agree about the way the game is run nowadays. Tackling is being taken out slowly but surely and the cheats seem to get every decision. Suarez was allegedly off balance and falling over. He couldn't help it the player's shoulder just happened to be in the way and fell into his teeth. I also agree with the condemnation of the pundits for even tollerating players who fall down at every opportunity. This "he felt a touch and was entitled" crap is what's wrong in the game and breeds cheats. This world cup for me has shown so much diving around by all sides as to make it a joke at times. Tonights match being one of them. Some hard tackles but some very easy falling down. Referees are on a hiding to nothing because these players are so bloody good at it. Must be very hard to see in real time and only one time. Easy for us in slow mo and 6 different angles. Maybe they should review a game after it's ended and like they do for off the ball things the Refs can't see they should do retro bookings for the divers. When a Manager hasn't got any players from his squad left due to them all being on 2 yellow suspensions he might have a word. I so wanted Chile to do the impossible tonight. Can't see Brazil going to the final to be honest they looked too nervous and the pressure on them is showing. Lucky side though.
Since when has Brazil played in a World Cup with only one genuine star player Neymar.....poor compared with previous teams.
Columbia v Uraguay = nail biter............or ear or arm or leg or.........glad of this result because of the Uraguyan attitude. No other reason.
Been watching the Costa Rica v Greece match tonight which has now gone into extra time. I can't watch anymore and it is the worst game I've seen in this competition. I no longer care who wins this one.
I've seen worse. Admittedly, not many as it's been a good world cup, and even Iran v Argentina turned out to be a good game (bloody Messi). They show Conference football on BT Sport I believe. I don't think the Conference will be on Sky any time soon as they had the opportunity to do something a bit 'out of the box' with Sky Sports 5, but just decided to go for the boring route.... La Liga, yay. Champions League, yay.... Admittedly Dutch football is alright, but I'd rather they televised more interesting football than more Barcadrid snoozefests, like Greek football, or Norwegian football.... or even Russian football. I don't think Glen Johnson is physically capable of defending. Even at Portsmouth his defending was terrible but he was at the time great at attacking, however if you take that from him, then you basically have nothing left. Actually, I have to say, this game had an entertaining end. Penalties now. Come on Greece
Apart from USA v Belgium I think the last round of matches were a big let down in comparison to the group matches. I had actually been quite impressed with the standard of games and it was kind of picking me up and encouraging me to watch more. But, true to norm, it has gone back to the cagey style and because all of the expected have got through to the next round with no giant killing it is beginning to take the shine off the competition for me. Poor old Andy is out of Wimbledon.......whatever next to make my life bleaker. Headline that says Red Oilygurkin buys Exeter.....
