How England will win the World Cup this year...

[skeptik]

I think the offside rule should at least allow the offensive player to be a couple feet past the defender.

 

[JayKeeley]

I'll admit, I watched several games while on vacation this past week (I had cable) and they were as boring and annoying as I previously discussed. I have two main points of contention with soccer I'd like to discuss.
1) Why does the World Cup garner so much attention when, in its 51452345 year history, only some 6 teams have the won the fucking thing? I mean, if you're not rooting for England, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain, or Argentina, what's the point? Why not cut the field down to 16 and stop the round robin silliness? Why not a best of three series? At least the wins would have some statistical relevance.
2) How does soccer garner so much fanfare when the most exciting parts of the game are instantly nullified by a simple foul? If all it takes to stop someone from scoring is to knock them down (which will, of course, be greatly embellished by the ball-carrier) and you get to stay on the pitch (no penalty box), why is this game so exciting?

Who knows....it's the national past time so people don't dissect it in that manner. Likewise, you can take any sport and just pick out the flaws and focus on them and ignore the rest.

The world cup is more about community anyway, even if it is the 6 big teams that always seem to win. It's not always about the end result, it's more about how the game is played, the theater of it all....and of course those upsets that end up in the history books.

JayKeeley, I don't want to cause any trouble here so tell me where I might discuss these issues. I played the sport for ten plus years and ten years later, I'm wondering how I ever made it through a game without going crazy.

Well, I'd like to keep this thread to World Cup updates so you can discuss it all in the American Football thread. If it's just a matter of taste then I imagine the discussion point is moot.

 

[JayKeeley]

RE: Off Side

YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE RULE!!

Otherwise you're just going to have a fucking numpty standing by the opposite goal all day long waiting for someone to kick it up there...

They draw the line at where the striker is LEVEL with the defender, and the striker must be involved in the gameplay....I agree, sometimes it can be frustrating as hell because it stops some exciting action, but where do you draw the line otherwise?

If it's 2 feet past the defender, then how does a linesman recognize what 2 feet is? What if it was actually 2.1 feet? I mean, you just can't measure these things on the fly, however, the naked eye can most likely see when 2 people are at level.

 

[skeptik]

Of course one would not be able to exactly pinpoint 2 feet, but then again, if you look at the Ukraine vs Tunisia game today, one cannot always detect handballs either. It's not an exact science, but I think that a striker should be allowed to be slightly past the defender, because it can have a detrimental effect on the game. I think there have been quite a handful of bad offsides calls already in this world cup as it is, and it's not like the strikers are intentionally past the defenders, it just kind of happens by way of positioning, not expecting a pass, etc. All in all, however, I think that the Ukraine vs Tunisia match was not only the worst played of this World Cup, but also easily the worst judicated.

 

[JayKeeley]

You're right...I think the offside rule is continually morphing as well. I don't think it's always been the case where the striker must be exactly level...

I didn't see the game today -- the Spain group is the most redundant group of the bunch...but as for worst refereeing, could it possibly have been worse than the Australia v Croatia game yesterday? That was an absolute joke. Two missed penalties AND THE REFEREE HANDED OUT THREE YELLOW CARDS TO A PLAYER. That has NEVER happened before. There was so much mayhem, the refs couldn't keep it under control.

They're now reviewing the game and it's likely the referee will be sent home. (And he's an Englishman -- and one that is normally quite articulate about the way he conducts his games!).

 

[skeptik]

I've seen both, and I honestly think that today's game was even worse -- that, however, would get the second spot in my reckoning.

 

[JayKeeley]

jesus, then the game today must have been REALLY bad, haha. Damn, I'll go read the game report. I wonder who the ref was...

 

[skeptik]

If I recall correctly, it was a South American, but I didn't catch the name.

 

[dorian gray]

This has been a pretty bad WC thus far. I get the impression all the cards are an attempt to halt the holding, tripping, and grabbing so that the speedy, flashy players can do their thing, a la the new NHL. Only problem with that is that no one is sent off the field for two minutes, so it just keeps happening. Further complicating things is TOO MANY cards are being handed out, thusly removing players for the ENTIRE GAME AND A FOLLOWING MATCH. Pure stupidity.

 

[dorian gray]

holy mother of all creatures big and small

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/pgStory?contentId=5676192

holy shit

 

[lurch70]

oh man, i sure fucking hope Brazil wins the whole enchilada ... there will be freaking nakedness and debauchery in this area I work

 

[Henrik Main]

This has been a pretty bad WC thus far.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH get out

Excellent display by the Swiss team tonight, I'm extremely thrilled with the group victory

 

[skeptik]

Switzerland's defense has been quite impressive throughout. They don't really seem to get as much credit as I feel they deserve.

 

[Henrik Main]

Lol, even as a huge Switzerland fan, I have to admit that Senderos and Müller have been pretty so-so this World Cup. Excellent against France, decent enough today (until Senderos had to go off with an injury :\ ), but pretty bad against Togo. Philipp Degen and Magnin/Spycher have been pretty damn excellent, though

 

[skeptik]

Well I missed the Togo game, so... :|

 

[lizard]

Man is germany this good or is sweden on dope

 

[JayKeeley]

Look, I accept that England might lose tomorrow to Ecuador....

.....but holy fuck am I glad we avoided Germany!!

2-0 up which means Germany have scored 11 goals in 3.5 games.

Sweden should bring out their star player:

 

[Henrik Main]

God, I love Germany.

 

[JayKeeley]

How is it that Germans NEVER EVER show signs of panic or nerves? They have always had this cold blooded sense about them.

Is it cultural? Just like the meditarraenean or south american countries are flamboyant and overly dramatic, Germany on the other hand play football like they're playing poker.

 

[JayKeeley]

PENALTY!!