163 replies to this topic

[TAP]

At least Rooney didn't get sent off

[AxlsMainMan]

I miss Oliver Kahn.

[freedom78]

England looked much better than the US in the second half, with a few minutes near the end as the exception. We were lucky to hang on. That second half reminded me of 2006, with Italy and the Czechs getting a lot of good chances against us. Fortunately, I have it on good authority that Algeria plans to play with a number of peglegs, including two of their defenders, and half the Slovenian side were eaten by great whites off the cape.

England are awful so far besides the goal.

Care to amend this post?

Not really. It was a soft goal, but England didn't deserve to be winning. Might See Crouch in the second half, Rooney likes playing with Heskey but he's hardly seen the ball.

It was a soft goal...shouldn't those be LEAST likely? To apply my baseball eye, he looked like a shortstop trying to glove it from the side...wasn't properly in front of the ball and so it caromed off of him.

I have no clear understanding of the internal dynamics of English football, so didn't know of Rooney's preference. Crouch in late, and his height gives him two decent chances. Also, I do like Rooney. He reminds me of an old school boxer or perhaps an MMA fighter, for some reason, and I can picture him being comfortable in either (with training and practice, of course). Assuming the English move on, I look forward to cheering him on, as he wasn't great today (non-existent in the first half).

Anyway, now we can focus on what's important, which is getting seven points out of the group and seeing the best teams advance (Slovenia and Algeria, of course...they tie tomorrow and win out!).

Of course, now with this tie, if England and the US win out, then it comes down to goal differential to see which team meets likely group D winner Germany. I suppose it could be Serbia, if things drift their way, but doubtful.


EDIT: You were right about "card happy", though a number of those on dangerous challenges seemed justified. I wonder...when someone get's that reputation, do players just say "fuck it", knowing that they'll get carded anyway, and play harder and MORE aggressive? Self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

[TAP]

England have problems going into the next game. Looks like King is injured, and Carragher looked way too slow in defence. Lennon and Wright-Phillips were predictable headless chickens - fast and can beat players but can't pass/cross to save their lives, that's where Beckham is missed. Rooney needs to refind his form, wonder who (if anyone) will partner him next game. The good thing is that they nearly always play poorly in the first game, the bad thing is that in 2006 they continued to play badly in subsequent games. Can see us losing to Germany on penalties again.

[TAP]

I didn't think he was too card happy, they all seemed pretty much deserved to be honest. Did you watch Netherlands-Portugal in 2006? That one was crazy.

[freedom78]

I didn't think he was too card happy, they all seemed pretty much deserved to be honest. Did you watch Netherlands-Portugal in 2006? That one was crazy.

In hindsight, yeah...probably all reasonable.

[TAP]

I didn't think he was too card happy, they all seemed pretty much deserved to be honest. Did you watch Netherlands-Portugal in 2006? That one was crazy.

In hindsight, yeah...probably all reasonable.

In fact, there might have been a couple of reds on another day. Carragher could have got straight red (instead of yellow) or a second yellow a bit later, and your guy who fouled Gerrard with studs up could have gone too.

[TAP]

http://www.guardian....-cup-goal-gaffe

Haha, that's totally awesome, catch it before the video is removed for 'rights'. Not only did England suck, but so did the English TV coverage.

[TAP]

http://www.beergenie...d-the-world-cup

[freedom78]

http://www.beergenie...d-the-world-cup

Done with a sense of humor, but I'd have liked to see them do a nice balance between a country's most popular beer and its BEST beers. Shit, the best US beer on there was listed for PARAGUAY! I can think of many beers made right here in bath-less winter country that are ten times as good as anything on that list, including InBevweiser.

[freedom78]

Germany looks predictably sharp.

[TAP]

"Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins." Gary Lineker, 1990.

[*D*]

US' defense really has me concerned. now with Howard's rib injury.... could be an early exit for us. England got behind our Defense WAY too many times. Germany looked fantastic but how good is Australia? that will be the tale of the tape how they keep it up against other teams.

[freedom78]

I thought the defense looked decent. Better than the attack at the other end, at least. Australia is 20th in the FIFA rankings, though there's clearly a dropoff from upper tier teams (i.e. Germany) and mid tier teams (i.e. USA and Australia a few spots behind). Of course, FIFA rankings are shit. My ass the Egyptians (!!!!!!), Russians, or lackluster Greeks are better than the US. Also, I must have missed this, but why did France get a group ahead of Portugal? Portugal are legit contenders...France will need some serious luck and only made it in on a blown call. Makes no sense to me.

[TAP]

Looks like Howard is ok thankfully, been a fan of his for a while. Hope Buffon (the Italian goalie) is ok, he's the best in the world IMO and the WC will be worse without him even though I love to see Italy lose. Germany looked strong, but Australia were naive and had their best player sent off, and it's rare that eventual winners look great in their first game. Will be interesting to see how they deal with Serbia for example. France are seeded because they were runners up last time, and remember that Portugal also had to go through a playoff to get to the finals (they finished behind a weak looking Denmark) and haven't played yet. France looked weak in the early games in 2006 too from what I remember.