World Cup Thread

[DerbyshireGull]

I rarely post on here nowadays but I just thought I'd begin a new World Cup thread for anything to do with the errrrrr World Cup. I have to say that on the face of it there doesn't appear to be a lot of enticing group games. Surprisingly given my deep dislike of England I am looking forward to their clash with Italy, Brazil v Mexico, Spain v Chile, Holland v Chile but other than that it's much of a muchness. I still think it will be a cracking tournament though.

My money is on the Argies with a bit on Chile as an outsider. I like them.

For the first time in 20 years I'm ditching the Germans so I recommend you all get to the bookies and lump on them to win because it WILL now happen.

[cambgull]

If we can get through the group stages, we have a decent chance of getting through the next round too as Group C looks like to be quite weak. Should be an interesting one. I can't wait, personally.

[Jeff]

My interest started to wane when a lack of "interesting" teams qualified. It's always more interesting when nations you have scarcely heard of or have no football pedigree are able to make it to the WC.

But for small changes in fortune, we could have ended up with Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Iceland, Panama and Uzbekistan all qualifying for their first finals. But no, it's just Bosnia.

That said, I'm sure once the tournament is up and running it will be interesting. I enjoy how little stories develop in the groups (away from the England group media attention will inevitably be focussed), and with no real fodder qualifying a lot of the groups are tough and well balanced. Some big teams will miss out on the round of 16 so it will be interesting to see who. Columbia - if without Falcao - could well be one of those. Hopefully England won't be the other!

[Gullscorer]

Never mind the games. The stadiums (stadia?) are not ready. The infrastructure's not ready. The natives are rioting. And the Brazilian Wandering Spider is anticipating the influx of foreigners with relish. This tournament is already notorious for its bad news value, just as the Qatar World Cuo will be newsworthy for the number of footballers' deaths caused by the heat..

[DerbyshireGull]

This could be won by an outsider, even England. Forget about Holland, they have some bang average players now and some well past it, Germany and Spain I feel have slowed a little and mellowed out, France could be interesting with a lot of young talent and a manager in Deschamps who likes them to work as a unit, Brazil are the obvious ones on home soil but I've seen little from Neymar et al to suggest they are anything better than their European counterparts. Italy, like France have some promising youngsters and a more attack minded coach in Prandelli so could be a dark horse and I also like Chile but their group is horrendous. If they can get out then I can see them going far.

Then you get Belgium who are filled with young talent but will be getting their first real test together as a team, the usual boring run of the mill European nations like Russia and Greece as well as limited African nations too. Argentina at the likely odds appeal to me the most though as they haven't tasted success for a while now, are in their neighbours back yard so to speak and have some quality if you discount De Michelis. It is their time I feel but it wouldn't surprise me to see a French, Italian or even England win.

[DerbyshireGull]

No long now! Saturday will be a laugh - up until 4am watching Ivory Coast v Japan! Can't wait!

[gullintwoplaces]

I want England to do well, I think they will do better than most expect.

And I don't like the Argies, that goes back a long way. Dirty, cheating, scumbags. I would support anybody against the Argies, and that means anybody, even North Korea if they ever get to play them. Simeone (remember him? got Beckham sent off) showed the great Argentine spirit of fair play in the Champions League final, running on the field before the end to have a go. I remember the 1966 game, the handball from the cheating dwarf Maradona in 1986 and the years of dirty play that they have shown the world.

[HeavenAndHele]

I'm supporting the Argies... but only because I picked them in the office sweepstake! I got Spain last time, so that worked out well... (mind you, I got England in the Euros, so it's not all good).

[DerbyshireGull]

I want England to do well, I think they will do better than most expect.

And I don't like the Argies, that goes back a long way. Dirty, cheating, scumbags. I would support anybody against the Argies, and that means anybody, even North Korea if they ever get to play them. Simeone (remember him? got Beckham sent off) showed the great Argentine spirit of fair play in the Champions League final, running on the field before the end to have a go. I remember the 1966 game, the handball from the cheating dwarf Maradona in 1986 and the years of dirty play that they have shown the world.

There is a moral story in this. Cheat, lie and do whatever it takes to win and guess what? YOU WIN!!

Play fair and honest and guess what? You lose.

Football is no different to life itself.

I prefer the latter tbh but i'll be telling my little one to do the former. Life has changed and society has changed immeasurably for the worst these past 15 years or so and there is a new culture out there. Embrace it or lose. Do whatever it takes to get ahead, the ones that don't bleat about unfairness and the crumbling of the fabric of our whole society whilst popping off down the food bank.

Well done the Argies. If Terry Butcher could have got away with the Hand of God then he would have taken it, not owned up and said it was no goal. Most people are the same ultimately if success depended on it. Why pillory Diego?

[happytorq]

I prefer the latter tbh but i'll be telling my little one to do the former. Life has changed and society has changed immeasurably for the worst these past 15 years or so and there is a new culture out there. Embrace it or lose. Do whatever it takes to get ahead, the ones that don't bleat about unfairness and the crumbling of the fabric of our whole society whilst popping off down the food bank.

Well done the Argies. If Terry Butcher could have got away with the Hand of God then he would have taken it, not owned up and said it was no goal. Most people are the same ultimately if success depended on it. Why pillory Diego?

I've been speaking to a few people I play with of late and it's interesting how the South American countries don't see a lot of the stuff that their teams have done as 'cheating'. It's stretching the rules of the game to gain an advantage. As they see it, it's up to the referee to stop stuff like that from happening - and what's more, the English myth about 'fair play' they find quite odd and quaint. Granted, this is a small sample size (about 20 guys) but I don't think it's too far from the prevailing feeling. Take the Suarez handball in the last WC - ok, he broke the rules, but he was punished according to the rules of the game. That his team still had an advantage is basically the fault of the rulesmakers. I'd have been immensely pissed off if an England player had done anything different in the same situation, tbh.

[gullintwoplaces]

Interesting comments above. I am not pillorying Maradona because of the one handball incident. I am pillorying the Argentina team because they have demonstrated many times what a cheating, nasty bunch of animals they can be. Remember the 1990 World Cup Final, where they behaved shamefully and ended the game with 9 men? I remember the 1966 Quarter Final against England when the animals in blue and white stripes disgraced the game.

I have no doubt that they delude themselves that all they are doing is "stretching the rules" and that it is up the refs to catch them. Thing is, when the refs DO catch them, they complain and whinge and scream and spit and, on one occasion that I remember, refuse to leave the field when sent off and have to be escorted off by the police. If an English player had punched the ball in the net, there wouldn't have just been complaints in the media, massive crowds would have demonstrated in Buenos Aires and set fire to the British Embassy. The are kidding themselves if they think that they are just playing the game.

I see that Roy has told the players not to mention the Falklands if we play Argentina. Good sport Roy, but i guarantee that the Argies will mention what they laughably call the "Malvinas", as well as plenty of other insults. Following the example of the spirit of the comments above, I think I might just mention the Falklands if I was playing for England, as well as suggestions about the former jobs of the players' mothers.

[happytorq]

Interesting comments above. I am not pillorying Maradona because of the one handball incident. I am pillorying the Argentina team because they have demonstrated many times what a cheating, nasty bunch of animals they can be. Remember the 1990 World Cup Final, where they behaved shamefully and ended the game with 9 men? I remember the 1966 Quarter Final against England when the animals in blue and white stripes disgraced the game.

The West German team were just as culpable in the final. shocking diving that they kept getting away with (as they had done the entire tournament)

I see that Roy has told the players not to mention the Falklands if we play Argentina. Good sport Roy, but i guarantee that the Argies will mention what they laughably call the "Malvinas", as well as plenty of other insults. Following the example of the spirit of the comments above, I think I might just mention the Falklands if I was playing for England, as well as suggestions about the former jobs of the players' mothers.

the Falklands thing is dumb - it should be a closed issue now, for a whole variety of reasons that shouldn't really go here. You get the distinct impression that the islands only get mentioned by Argentinian politicians to distract the public from the other, larger, issues that the country has. And oh look..there might be oil there so let's start stoking it up again.

[gullintwoplaces]

You are right that it is the Argie politicians that keep bringing it up. If they do that then they can expect to have it thrown back at them. Their claim to the Falklands is about as legitimate as ours to the Faroe Islands, promised to Britain by King Harold the Hairy of Denmark when he had one too many about eight hundred years ago.

Can't agree with you about the World Cup final in 1990 though. Argentina kicked lumps out of the Germans from the start of the game. A disgraceful football team, always have been, always will be. They have no concept of fair play, none whatsoever.

[chunkygull]

And so the countdown begins......



(FIFA are still a bunch of w@nker$ though!)

[chunkygull]

well the opening ceremony was $h1t (admittedly I turned it off after 15 mins), lets see if the football is any better.