World Cup 2010

[no country for old wainds]

Yes, I'd be really surprised to see them advancing, still believe they're the weakest team in their group.

Beating Egypt and the Ivory Coast doesn't show much, this is a World Cup, my friend. Facing England, Argentina, France, Brazil, Germany, Italy and other traditional teams is something totally different

yeah i like how people are under this ridiculous impression than the ivory coast are world-beaters or something. they're generally not even good when drogba plays, and that's looking rather doubtful atm.

lol at the guy claiming that italy aren't serial divers. i mean yeah, the argies might be as bad and portugal are DEFINITELY the worst, but it's like comparing cat shit to dog shit man.

Italy don't play boring football. Their technique of passing, shooting is so beautiful. I love watching them play.

To me England play the most boring football (out of the stronger european nations). They play like bullies. The players are so limited in their strengths, except for one or two. Most players can do just one or two things. Yes, its effective, but having such a predictablity is boring to me.

Italy don't have strictly defined ways of attack.. they're more dynamic in their movement.

italy were totally lush towards the end of the last world cup, they were like a fucking tide. took a while to get going though.

english football is absolutely in the mire; we're so tactically naive, unrealistic, more interested in drama than actual success. we're like rabbits in headlights on the ball, nobody seems to know where their teammates are so everyone has to take 2 or 3 touches, which is why we'll get savaged if we come up against a team like spain who have telepathic understanding with one another. i think our coaching system is gradually trying to conquer the old HOOF IT UP TO THE BIG CENTRE FORWARD 4-4-2 ITS ABOUT PACE DSEIRE DETERMINATION MATE mentality but we're just way behind the curve and have been for many many years. it says a lot about england that they're actually revolving around emile heskey and that it might actually be the best system possible for this team; we need that kind of physical presence creating space in the opponent's half because we're simply incapable of creating anything in those areas via technical guile; again, watch spain and see how they pass through the eye of a needle without even thinking. aeons apart.

btw i consider rooney to be an exception to this rule, his awareness and vision and touch is just unbelievable, but i think he looks tired after a long season and i'm not sure he's capable of demonstrating his qualities at the moment. not convinced the system suits him either; i actually think that the one thing capello ought to try is playing him as a lone striker, because he's enough of a physical presence himself and he loves having all that space at his command and his alone. i'd actually play lampard off him in an attacking midfield role with two more behind him (barry and hargreaves! if only he was fit) with gerrard/j cole and lennon on the wings. i'm sick of having to accommodate gerrard through the centre tbh, i wish he'd die of aids (sort of biased though ).

 

[entanglement]

Agreed entirely.

And Lampard and Gerrard are so similar in their style of play, and neither of them can hold the ball in the midfield. There's absolutely zero command on the midfield! They both want to push in runs into the box themselves, and as a result the center of midfield ends up being commanded by the opposition. They need a center-of-midfield ball holder/distributer/tackler. Something like Mascherano/Mekalele/Toulalan, so that the force in the middle can confidentally move forward. In the current system, the defenders hold the job of lofting it up to Heskey.. that doesn't work as well when you have huge defenders like Mr. Beard on the american side. You get too reliant on your wingers.

Also, I think Lennon was bad. Milner was worse. Try Walcott. Is Downing in the squad?

 

[entanglement]

Heh I remember that there was a moment in play yesterday, when both Gerrard and Lampard passed to each other 3-4 times consecutively in confusion.. not knowing what the other is doing or what the other is expecting them to do.

 

[The Ozzman]

More like the Boredom Cup, amirite?!

 

[Badbird]

I thought you loved football Ozz.

 

[Bitencourt29]

More like the Boredom Cup, amirite?!

Some of the first matches were boring indeed, but we already had some pretty good games (Germany vs Australia, Argentina vs Nigeria). Also, it's just the beginning.

 

[Episteme]

Australia got thrashed pretty badly but they deserved it. Horrible defending and no team synergy. "Let's kick the ball and hope it goes to someone that's on our team." Weak.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Some of the first matches were boring indeed, but we already had some pretty good games (Germany vs Australia, Argentina vs Nigeria). Also, it's just the beginning.

i think you're clutching at straws a bit here, this is by far the worst world cup of my lifetime and those two games you mention would've been par for the course at the last world cup, which itself wasn't exactly a classic.

And Lampard and Gerrard are so similar in their style of play, and neither of them can hold the ball in the midfield. There's absolutely zero command on the midfield! They both want to push in runs into the box themselves, and as a result the center of midfield ends up being commanded by the opposition. They need a center-of-midfield ball holder/distributer/tackler. Something like Mascherano/Mekalele/Toulalan, so that the force in the middle can confidentally move forward.

yeah. there probably isn't an english player who can hold, distribute and tackle at a high level, but there aren't many of those in the world; it would be possible once heskey's abandoned to play a specialist holder AND a specialist deep-lying playmaker though just like, say, liverpool did quite successfully for a while (alonso+mascherano style partnership). barry & ideally hargreaves would suit this, and then it's a question of who to put in front of them out of lampard and gerrard, both of whom would finally be given license to roam forward without fear of consequences. i'd say lampard because he's had maybe the best season of his career and gerrard has had his worst.

Also, I think Lennon was bad. Milner was worse. Try Walcott. Is Downing in the squad?

frankly i rate lennon and milner over walcott and downing (and swp for that matter), but i don't think milner is a winger really, and lennon is still a little bit raw (though he's come on leaps and bounds at spurs this season). i'll tell you who we do need in the first team though: JOE FUCKING COLE.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Australia got thrashed pretty badly but they deserved it. Horrible defending and no team synergy. "Let's kick the ball and hope it goes to someone that's on our team." Weak.

yeah, but, i don't think you can cast this off as simply being australia's fault. i don't think there are many teams who could destroy even an incoherent australia team in the manner germany did in that game; the ease, imagination, explosive-yet-controlled pace of it was frightening. ozil is the next big thing, people were going on about diego a year ago or so but i think ozil is even better, just a totally gorgeous player to watch. if sneijder ends up underperforming for the dutch due to alleged tiredness, then this guy will be a more than worthy substitute in terms of being easy on the eye methinks.

 

[entanglement]

JOE FUCKING COLE.

 

[arg]

this year is extra-boring-as-fuck. every game has been low scores, ties... snoozefests except Germany vs Australia.

hope Spain brings it up a notch.

 

[Badbird]

Yeah, lot of people are saying this years game is boring. My least favorite thing about this event is the horns by far.

 

[no country for old wainds]

id go as far as to say that the horns have ruined the tournament. chile honduras has been reasonably entertaining so far...

 

[sevag00]

Yeah, it was an entertaining game. Although, i believe, not many people watched the game because of the teams.

 

[Badbird]

id go as far as to say that the horns have ruined the tournament.

Agree. From what i've seen, lot of futball/soccer games have songs and everything, but the games have been destroyed bu the horns.


I would rather watch paint dry than hear thoses horns.

 

[arg]

.

 

[muzmaze]

Glad the 'dog won as well...and screw Spain. Not for nothing but found it rather startling that the Swiss only have 2-players that are under 6'-1".

I'm no soccer fan-boy genious or anything and I know a 1-0 soccer game can be at times very entertaining. But I seriously think they should simply make the nets a bit larger...one way to see more goals wich would not hurt the sport / world cup at all imo.

 

[Badbird]

I said this in other thread but the horns are the worst part about this event.



EDIT: Oh fuck, I post about it here.

 

[Satanist Hobo]

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.


That is all.

 

[Bitencourt29]

Wow, Spain's result was unbeliavable...I had fun watching their match

Interesting to note that americans are much more interested in the World Cup nowadays. Just read an online report saying that some 17 million people in the USA saw the match against England, beating the number of viewers of the NBA Finals' first four games (which varied from 14 million to 16,4 million). That's something !!