June 23, 2006
Man that's sad...
I just saw the ASDA supermarket ad where Michael owen is running around the store like a hyperactive 8 year old celebrating and playing football with produce. He looks so happy and you really have to like the guy.
This a day after we discover he won’t be able to play any more part in the world cup and is flying home. Just awful, he’s like Ian Wright - someone who’s just so excited to be a part of the World Cup and who genuinely loves football in the same way a school kid does. I wanted to give that man a hug. That ad just makes me feel sad now.
The Italy game was nice.
If you’re interested in who I’d pick now for Italy here’s my squad selection.
Out: Totti, Gilardino In: Del Piero, Inzaghi
4-4-2 Diamond.
Totti’s really not found form and he’s just not playing comfortably behind 2 strikers. Even when he’s given the space he’s not really had anything to do with it. Del Piero has pace, energy and he’s just as lethal as Totti from the corner and free kicks, he compares particularly favourably when you factor in Totti’s current slump in form.
Gilardino is a so-so striker in my book and since Toni needs to be on the pitch, I have to say Inzaghi ought to take his place, particularly with the great runs he managed in the short time he had on the field against the Czech Republic.
Best of all you have Inzaghi and Del Piero together who can support each other and who feed fantastically off one another. They did it for Juventus once, let’s see them combine for Italy.
Whatever happens, I’m still very pleased that Lippi is the Italy coach.
Now England, bring on Walcott, I’m tired of watching crappy long balls to Crouch because he can’t dribble past one defender or actually slot the ball into the net from 6 yards.
Later
John
Ok this time it's real!
AT LEAST THIRTEEN NEW EPISODES OF FUTURAMA
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!
When will we get them? Soon enough
Fry: That’s not soon enough!
Try 2008 baby! 2 Years to wait but it’ll be worth it!
Later
John
June 18, 2006
YES!
THANK YOU SVEN!
Peter Crouch is crap. Sorry, he just is. He’s worse that Bent by a truly staggering margin and his achievements for England appear to be missing several sitters, making 0 runs and scoring goals against truly mediocre opponents.
Sure the Swede claims it’s because he’s got a yellow card to burn off but I’m just happy we’ll get Owen with the service Rooney can provide against an opponent who won’t pack their penalty area with 9 men.
Time for bed
Later
John
Oh No!
China has decided to keep several Catholic bishops under arrest. It seems that Anthony Liu Bainian is getting pretty anxious. He’s vice-chairman of the Patriotic Association, a beuraucratic order set up at Mao’s behest in the 1950s to keep Chinese Catholics under state control.
Liu warned Chinese leaders that allowing the Pope to appoint bishops would lead to the church becoming the vanguard of anti-communist dissent as it did in Poland.
Can’t have that now can we?
Ah, the eternal optimism of the CCP is something that I always find impressive. The vatican almost made it believe that it wouldn’t be fighting Communism in China if it was allowed public recognition. Face it, as Pope John Paul II said, communism is fundamentally an anathema - an abomination against the human spirit.
I believe his Holiness Pope Benedict hasn’t forgotten that.
One Communist dictatorship down, only a few more to go. Go Go Team Catholic Capitalist Sedition.
Later
John
June 17, 2006
Italy 1 - 1 USA
Well that was an… interesting game.
You had the first sending off for what was quite possibly the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in a game of football - a deliberate, violent and purposeful elbow to the face.
Then an American received a red card for a 2-footed tackle in accordance with the new Fifa directives, silly challenge probably only worth a yellow under normal circumstances but understandable for this World Cup.
Then after half time, a second yellow for Pope. 9 v 10 - don’t see that very often at international level.
Overall I’m going to be slow to lambast Italy for that result for a number of reasons:
1) America are a good team
Yup, shocking though it may seem, America has a decent football team, not Italy’s standard but still not a walkover.
2) Italy played positive football throughout the game
They went a man down at 1-1 because of some utterly stupid play on the part of De Rossi and then kept playing attacking football. Marco Lippi deserves a medal for that.
3) Kasey Keller is a god between the posts
Holy crap is that guy good. He made two of the best saves I’ve seen in the tournament so far, maximum stretch, excellent positioning beforehand. In fact he probably has spots 2 and 3 in my top 3 for the tournament (#1 being John Terry’s goal-line clearance in the England v Trinidad & Tobago game).
4) I have £5 on America to reach the Knockout stages
nuff said.
Later
John
June 14, 2006
Brazil 1 - 0 Croatia
What a joke. If you had painted the teams black and white in the 2nd half I would have thought Croatia were Brazil. The World Champions deserved to be punished with a late equalizer or even a 2-1 defeat for that display, only bad luck kept the Croatians off the scoresheet.
Spot the Difference:
You can? I sure as hell couldn’t during the game.
Later
John
June 13, 2006
Woah..
1-0 up, 10 minutes to go, 1 substitution left and Italy subs on Del Piero.
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been with Italy’s tactical choice. It paid off too as they snatched a victory-sealer 2 minutes later - something that simply wouldn’t have been possible under standard Crapattoni tactics.
The US getting beaten by Czechoslovakia was pretty annoying. Firstly I had a small wager on them reaching the knockout stages (unlikely now) and secondly it means that the Czech’s aren’t as out-of-it as I’d formerly hoped.
The float is currently sitting at £22 with 2 bets still floating: The aforementioned USA to qualify wager and the astonishing £5 at 22-1 for Luciano Toni to win the golden boot this year - C’mon! he scored 30 goals in Seria A! He looked positively dangerous all through the game today and his self-setup volley looked like it was going to be the best goal of the tournament, it was almost on a par with Gazza’s Euro 96 belter against Scotland, the difference of course being that Gazza’s shot went in.
Nonetheless, if Italy can manage some better link play (and for pities sakes, get some BREADTH to their game) they’ve got an excellent chance this year. No infuriating defensive substitutions this World Cup!
Lots of World Cup blogging, no current affairs - what gives? Just a little tired from Work is all - 2 Hour GCSE Math Papers in a crowded gymnasium on a stiflingly hot day are harsh enough on the students.
Imagine you’re in there without the exam to keep your mind busy, you’ve gotten 4 hours sleep thanks to your ridiculous Hayfever giving you breathing difficulties in the night and the antihistamine you took with breakfast has laid you out like a shovel to the face.
Now imagine that you’ve suddenly caught sight of one student’s arse pressed through the little hole in the back of those plastic school chairs and in addition to her display of a chronic case of builder’s bum, you are privy to perhaps the single most disturbing vision you’ll receive this year: The skank 15 year old who’s trousers are completely hidden from view, is wearing a red thong.
You’re hot, exhausted and now you’re probably going to jail because you saw a 15 year old girl’s otherwise-nekkid ass.
Who wears a thong to school!?
Later
John
June 10, 2006
Italia Redux
After years of bitching about Trapattoni’s love for Seria-A style defensive substitutions, I had to endure Sven pulling one out of the hat during England’s game.
Subbing off Owen in the 2nd Half just left the rest of England’s attack stranded - one striker running around up front has never worked, Italy proved that effortlessly last World Cup after Trapattoni subbed off everyone who wasn’t either a defender or Vieri in the second halves of all their games.
All you do is cripple your remaining attackers and put more pressure on the defenders - who are already embattled in late game facing the prospect of fresh attacking substitutions from an opposition who are throwing everything behind the ball to snatch a goal back.
Sven asserts that he did it to link up play between with the forwards. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! There’s nothing left to link to once you undertake that sort of substitution!
You get 1 striker, standing on his own in the opponent’s half. Every time.
Looking forward to Italy’s game though and at least I made some money from the match (yes, the classic £20 Football Float has been re-established after having served me so well in the past - another £100 in the bank certainly wouldn’t go amiss).
Later
John
June 09, 2006
I must have it...
From the Times:
A competition to find a rallying anthem for Trinidad & Tobago’s Soca Warriors was won by a song called Goal in dey Pooney that, translating roughly to Goal in your Vagina, did not find favour with the Football Federation.
I really need to hear that song. It has to be better than this wishy washy Embrace nonsense they’re trying to foist on us. Guess it’s back to Three Lions.
Later
John