1) We need to start a petition urging the English Football Association to allow referees to access video replay to examine potential goals during the 2010/2011 Premier League season.
I think we can get 100,000 signatures. I'll personally present it at the door of the Football Association in 21 days. I'll write one up.
2) Germany were simply better than England. The England defense was awful. John Terry misjudged the distance of an opposition goal kick by 5 metres, thus allowing a one-on-one. Germany's goalkeeper set-up a one-on-one from a regular goal kick. Unbelievable.
3) Brazil were brilliant today vs. Chile.
4) My top three teams from the beginning of the tournament were: 3 - Germany; 2 - Brazil; 1 - Spain. I'm sticking with this. Germany will beat Argentina, while Spain vs. Brazil, when it happens, will be a cracking game.
Just some comments.
- Brazil performed superbly today versus Ivory Coast. They were simply wonderful.
- I hope Keita is suspended. It would be a farce if he escapes punishment for showing absolutely no respect for his opponents or the game of football. That said, Torosidis of Greece deserves equal treatment. These stupid antics of football players are so easy to penalize. There is no reason not to come down hard on such behaviour. Keita and Torosidos: I hope you are both suspended for the next game and ridiculed by world media.
- Luis Fabiano showed splendid skill on the second goal but then clearly handled the ball. He cheated to score. Following the goal, the referee appeared to ask him whether he handled, to which Fabiano responded: "No." "Ha ha ha," responded the referee. Fabiano lied. He handled. The referee bought his lie.
- Refereeing recently in this World Cup has been appalling. 1) USA were cheated out of 3 points; they also should have had a man advantage for a bunch of the second half. I will now be cheering for the USA to go through in their group; it would be unfair if this does not happen. 2) The referee in Brazil vs. Ivory Coast could not control the players. Granted, I found the incessant complaining by the Brazil manager and players harmful, but the referee has a job to stop such behaviour early. Dunga could have been sent from the bench and players could have been booked for disrupting the game. But, instead, the referee allowed the complaining and then sent off Kaka for nothing. Luckily for the Brazilian, the decision won't have a major impact on the tournament. Kaka will return for Brazil's next important game. 3) Germany were treated badly.
- Well done New Zealand. I found it hilarious that clothes kept falling off New Zealand fans as the game went on. They're having fun.
Top 3 performances thus far:
1) Brazil vs. Ivory Coast
2) Germany vs. Australia
3) Argentina vs. South Korea
- Brazil performed superbly today versus Ivory Coast. They were simply wonderful.
- I hope Keita is suspended. It would be a farce if he escapes punishment for showing absolutely no respect for his opponents or the game of football. That said, Torosidis of Greece deserves equal treatment. These stupid antics of football players are so easy to penalize. There is no reason not to come down hard on such behaviour. Keita and Torosidos: I hope you are both suspended for the next game and ridiculed by world media.
- Luis Fabiano showed splendid skill on the second goal but then clearly handled the ball. He cheated to score. Following the goal, the referee appeared to ask him whether he handled, to which Fabiano responded: "No." "Ha ha ha," responded the referee. Fabiano lied. He handled. The referee bought his lie.
- Refereeing recently in this World Cup has been appalling. 1) USA were cheated out of 3 points; they also should have had a man advantage for a bunch of the second half. I will now be cheering for the USA to go through in their group; it would be unfair if this does not happen. 2) The referee in Brazil vs. Ivory Coast could not control the players. Granted, I found the incessant complaining by the Brazil manager and players harmful, but the referee has a job to stop such behaviour early. Dunga could have been sent from the bench and players could have been booked for disrupting the game. But, instead, the referee allowed the complaining and then sent off Kaka for nothing. Luckily for the Brazilian, the decision won't have a major impact on the tournament. Kaka will return for Brazil's next important game. 3) Germany were treated badly.
- Well done New Zealand. I found it hilarious that clothes kept falling off New Zealand fans as the game went on. They're having fun.
Top 3 performances thus far:
1) Brazil vs. Ivory Coast
2) Germany vs. Australia
3) Argentina vs. South Korea
Interesting article from the Guardian.
The World Cup is picking up. Germany have been most impressive so far. They massacred Australia.
Argentina look excellent going forward, dominate attacking set-pieces, but display a conspicuous inability to defend properly.
I'm not worried about Spain yet. 90% of teams would have jumped at the chance to control 60% + of possession, have 20 odd shots on goals and a swath of indisputably great opportunities. Though I do admit that they looked susceptible to the counter.
The World Cup is picking up. Germany have been most impressive so far. They massacred Australia.
Argentina look excellent going forward, dominate attacking set-pieces, but display a conspicuous inability to defend properly.
I'm not worried about Spain yet. 90% of teams would have jumped at the chance to control 60% + of possession, have 20 odd shots on goals and a swath of indisputably great opportunities. Though I do admit that they looked susceptible to the counter.
World Cup Day One
The atmosphere was great. The play was crap.
France and Uruguay ensured that I fell asleep. Literally, I fell asleep and woke up at the final whistle, in time to turn over to watch the news.
While Mexico's defending was absolutely atrocious. They were technically far superior to South Africa, and yet they were in the end rather lucky, if I can use that term given what I'm about to write, to finish with a draw. I must admit; my first thought after South Africa's goal was not "wow, what a finish!" It was "This is a really, really, really suspicious goal (following 10 minutes of really, really, really suspicious defensive play in which no measures were taken to alleviate the most obvious of suck)." South Africa simply should not have been allowed to get open time after time in the final third of the pitch; this happened to an extent at which I questioned the sincerity of Mexico's defenders. Sorry, but I know you just don't allow that kind of defending to continue if you care about winning a game.
The atmosphere was great. The play was crap.
France and Uruguay ensured that I fell asleep. Literally, I fell asleep and woke up at the final whistle, in time to turn over to watch the news.
While Mexico's defending was absolutely atrocious. They were technically far superior to South Africa, and yet they were in the end rather lucky, if I can use that term given what I'm about to write, to finish with a draw. I must admit; my first thought after South Africa's goal was not "wow, what a finish!" It was "This is a really, really, really suspicious goal (following 10 minutes of really, really, really suspicious defensive play in which no measures were taken to alleviate the most obvious of suck)." South Africa simply should not have been allowed to get open time after time in the final third of the pitch; this happened to an extent at which I questioned the sincerity of Mexico's defenders. Sorry, but I know you just don't allow that kind of defending to continue if you care about winning a game.
Michael Sokolove examines the Ajax academy. This is a good read.
