The General Football Thread

Would love Costa Rica to make it.

 

The way the draw played out means England v Iran will be an opening day fixture too.

 

Is this the first fixture between the two? Will Johnson fly to Qatar and meet the Iranian leader there?

 

We are the second game as well.

Oddly enough Qatar won’t have the opening game, they are third on the day, assume they have pushed it back so Ecuadorians can watch it at home (seems surprisingly considerate for FIFA).

First game of the WC is Netherlands - Senegal.

 

Also, we're playing at 3pm local, which is a much more reasonable time to get sloshed on a Wednesday than the 9am I initially believed it would be.

 

They actually seem to have had a good idea in scheduling the games according to the time zone of the teams involved this time around.

 

Some of the matches are still tough in some locales, but that's pretty unavoidable given the number of time zones that need to be juggled, but it's definitely more reasonable than most previous tournaments. There isn't a Canada match where the start times are earlier than 7am anywhere in the country, and at a glance there aren't too many sides playing games in what would be the 2am - 6am range.

 

Looking forward to the Old Firm Derby, should be spicy!

 

And Ramsey scores inside 2 mins!

 

What a start from Rangers, this sets the game up perfectly.

I've gone for double chance Rangers or a draw.

 

1-1!

 

Phew!...1-1 inside 6 minutes!

 

Bugger, Celtic take the lead, great first half.

 

How has a fan smuggled a glass bottle in?

 

A moronic Rangers fan has thrown a glass bottle onto the Celtic penalty area...

 

Just noticed that Obafemi scored twice in the Welsh derby with Cardiff.
Pleased to see that he is starting to make a bit of a name for himself and has scored 8 in his last 11 games.
An odd fact.
Swansea completed the double over Cardiff. Being reported that this is the first time either side has done this in 110 years!!!!

 

Who'd have thought it? Mike Dean choosing not to apply the rules when it suits him.


Favourite game: "Manchester City versus QPR has to be [when City won the title in 2012]. Bearing in mind what was at stake, I don't think it will ever happen again - team winning on goal difference with the last kick of the match."

Booking Sergio Aguero for his celebration in that game: "Unfortunately it had to be done. [If he was already on a yellow card] I'd have totally not done it. I'd have told the bosses 'think of the bigger picture'."

 

It was more interesting to me in his BBC interview how he said he enjoyed choosing how to referee in the ‘grey area’ situations. It was a very odd choice of words

 

I don't think it's odd. I can see where he's coming from, that area where it's down to a ref's interpretation of events, rather than just following the letter of the law. I remember a few years ago when he sent off a Cardiff player for a ridiculously cynical challenge on Lucas Moura which falls into that grey area. He deliberately took him out off the ball to stop him breaking away. It was an "orange" card challenge so was in that grey area.

 

Now for the good news.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2022/apr/05/david-squires-on-christian-eriksen-and-the-comeback-story-of-the-season