It’s been interesting to read/hear the media response to last night’s England-France friendly. On the surface, I think we’re all broadly in agreement… England were lacklustre, France were worthy winners, England still lack technical precision, France have returned from their World Cup embarrassment much better than England, and so on. But some of the reaction [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Football'
He’s not God, he’s just a naughty boy
July 4th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Football
Despite the potentially damaging nature of the bad refereeing decisions (suffered by England and Mexico) in the second round, the controversy was fairly short-lived. There’s always another controversy round the corner, and the hot issue is now Luis Suarez’s deliberate handball in the dying seconds of the Uruguay-Ghana match. However, I just can’t understand why [...]
Expert analysis?
June 25th, 2010 · No Comments · Football
I know I said that the football world is getting smaller and less mysterious, but if you gain all your knowledge from TV pundits, you’d probably disagree. Judging by the pre- and post-match studio discussions, you’d think we were still in the days of grainy monochrome footage from lands we’d barely heard of. With the [...]
World Cup 2010 gets even weirder
June 24th, 2010 · No Comments · Football
Yes, it’s official. This is the weirdest World Cup ever. It was always going to be a little different… first one hosted in Africa, the massed Vuvuzela orchestra, the return of Maradona as cheerfully optimistic misfit manager with some odd ideas about defensive tactics, the mystery of the North Koreans. But then it turns out [...]
World Cup 2010
June 12th, 2010 · No Comments · Football
Anyone in close proximity to me (in either a physical or online sense) will probably have been flattened in a tidal wave of schoolboy excitement by now. Yes, the World Cup is underway, and I’m finding it hard not to burble continuously about it. That old lady in the checkout queue? Of COURSE she’s interested [...]
No, THIS is England!
June 4th, 2010 · No Comments · Football, Music
If you’re on Facebook, you can’t have failed to notice the groups with names like “ENGLAND SHIRTS BANNED IN ENGLISH PUBS!”, “ENGLAND FLAGS BANNED BECAUSE THEY OFFEND ISLAMS”, “LICKLE KIDDIES CALLED RACISTS FOR SUPPORTING ENGLAND”, and so on, ad nauseam. And of course it’s all gibberish. A legitimate complaint is misunderstood, a comment is taken [...]
Tags:carers uk·england flag·england shirt·facebook·idiots·tabloids
Michael Foot 1913-2010, Keith Alexander 1956-2010
March 4th, 2010 · No Comments · Football, Politics
Sorry to break the recent blog silence on a sad note, but two people I admire died yesterday, postponing my inevitable BBC-related burble. Now, Michael Foot is obviously the more well-known of the two, so there’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The first political party I ever supported (or at [...]
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lolronaldo
July 11th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Football
Poor little Cinderonnie. Wicked Uncle Alex is stopping him from going to the ball Real Madrid. Still, all is not lost… it turns out that his fairy godfather has arrived in the shape of… Sepp Blatter! Yes! FIFA’s own surreal stand-up comedian has likened Cristiano’s plight to modern slavery. Apart from the bit about being [...]
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Euro 2008: Final
June 30th, 2008 · No Comments · Euro 2008, Football
Germany 0-1 Spain Iberian skies clear for first time in 44 years And that was that. Spain reined in some of their semi-final brilliance, concentrating on effective organisation, while chaotic defending proved to be Germany’s downfall. Even if a fitter Ballack had ensured an equaliser, Spain always seemed to have more to offer.
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Euro 2008: Days 17 & 18
June 26th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Euro 2008, Football
SEMI-FINALS… Germany 3-2 Turkey Storms, real and metaphorical A seriously short-staffed Turkey played out of their skins, but the fairytale had to end. Typical German ability to win ugly when they really didn’t deserve it; to be fair, though, they were denied a penalty on 50 mins. Russia 0-3 Spain Scorchio! Another fairytale comes to [...]
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