World Cup 2006

[tongue-tied lightning]

what an exciting way to lose

 

buncha bullshite right there

[Elixir Sue]

 

Can I just take this opportunity to say how much I fucking hate Frank Lampard? Not that he's responsible for the loss, but it seems like every shot he took in the entire World Cup went sailing WAY over the cross bar, and then he steps up with a weak-ass penalty kick that even I could have stopped.

 

I'm just bitter. And sad.

 

Oh, and way to go, Rooney.

[bobfrombob]

My opinion hasn't changed since yesterday; total crap way to decide anything

[cryptique]

My opinion hasn't changed since yesterday; total crap way to decide anything

The thing is, nobody really disagrees with you. But you have to decide these matches eventually, and playing endlessly begins to become dangerous beyond a certain point.

 

I hate penalties too, but that's the way things have been for a long time. Shrug.

 

Too bad for England. I thought they began to figure themselves out in the second half, even after Rooney's departure. Lennon sure was an upgrade from Beckham.

[tongue-tied lightning]

i'm not agreeing with the Rooney call either

yer right about Lampard

 

 

the better team didn't win

balony, why is it dangerous to play till a team wins ?

 

ahh, forget it

[cryptique]

balony, why is it dangerous to play till a team wins ?

You don't get to ask that question until you've run up and down a soccer pitch for 120 minutes in 85-degree temperatures. Seriously.

 

If you can do that and still be ready for more, fine. Personally, I've done it (though not for many years), and I understand exactly why they go to penalty kicks. That doesn't mean I like that resolution, but if two teams can't decide it on the pitch after two hours, they've (theoretically) proven that they're evenly matched, so you may as well settle it by some other means. It beats a coin flip.

 

Now, on to more important things:

 

VIVE LA FRANCE!

[Gobias Industries]

how could brasil lose? you failed me...

 

at least it screwed over my sister's bet as well as mine. i had portugal-brasil, she had italy-brasil.

 

i think it'll be portugal-germany in the final, however. damn the french.

Edited July 1, 2006 by poortranslator

[groselicain]

Loved the Rooney call- Nothing makes my day more than watching someone step on someone else's balls instead of mine.

 

Hated that Brazil didn't stomp the French like they should have. Oh well, someone else will in one of the next two.

 

Forza Azzurri

[Calexico]

Smell ya later Rooney, you ill educated,ignorant chav!

 

 

 

Vive Le France.....Terry Henry to bring another World Cup winner's medal back to Goonerland!

[bjorn_skurj]

Brazil never looked very Brazilian in this Cup; I'm not surprised France beat them. I'm penciling in a France-Germany final at this point. Zidane is playing like a man possessed. And what must Rooney do to redeem himself in the eyes of his countrymen? Kill himself? Go play in the MLS?

[Smokestack Joe]

ok after some watching i am taking France, all on account of Zidane!!

[bobbob1313]

Brazil looked like the USA in that game. Too damn afraid of the other team to do anything. it was disgusting.

[m_thomp]

Is the World Cup still on? I thought it all ended at 7.15pm UK time on Saturday?

 

Can this thread be deleted now?

[Albert Tatlock]

Ronaldo gave Rooney a subtle head butt (i.e. not a real head butt, but enough for an Italian to start rolling on the ground) and some verbals just before the kickoff. Rooney is still an idiot and should know better. Looks like Ronaldo is off to Madrid. I think Rooney would land one on him back at Man Utd.

 

My boss has now taken the England flag down hanging over his desk. I have been remarkably restrained this morning!

[Welsh Rich]

I have been remarkably restrained this morning!

 

Likewise... I didn't even send any text messages Sat evening. Was just a poor game and England really should have beaten a lacklustre Portugease side, but as it went to penalties there was always going to be one winner I think.

 

Nice holiday for Theo Walcott though!

 

Germany v France final... France to win now... think their arrogance and swagger is starting to come back and Zidane played exceedingly well against Brazil.

[m_thomp]

Sven-Goran Eriksson has left his job as England coach after five-and-a-half years in charge - and we are no further forward than when he was appointed.

 

He has reached three quarter-finals in two World Cups and a European Championship, and that is nowhere near the standard we should be achieving with the so-called "Golden Generation" of players coming through.

 

England and the Football Association have created a massive bubble that we all have to move around in and it is completely false.

 

Why should we be proud of the fact that we have one star on our shirt representing the fact that we reached one World Cup final 40 years ago?

 

Other countries have two or three stars to signify their World Cup achievements and both Germany and France have the power to add another in Germany.

 

It is embarrassing. We have only ever been in one final and two semi-finals.

 

How can we justify calling ourselves a world football power when we are not?

 

We have become all Billy Big Time and become too big for our boots, and yet we have got nothing to shout about because we have done nothing. This is what annoys me.

 

We have no right to be as confident or arrogant about our football as we are. It has been not been anywhere near good enough.

 

And sadly, Eriksson has not taken us on to the next level.

 

He has never come up with a blend in midfield that can take us forward. Our back four has been terrific, but there seems to be a dearth of forward talent after Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.

 

Eriksson has also shied away from the big decisions. Everyone knows my view on David Beckham and the fact that I felt he should have been dropped during this World Cup.

 

I am not, despite what people have said, anti-Beckham. I just don't subscribe to the theory that you play your so-called best players without question.

 

Sometimes you need to get the best blend.

 

 

Beckham has received plenty of criticism during this World Cup

It's like baking. You need to mix the ingredients correctly or you get a flat pudding - and this World Cup was the football equivalent of a flat pudding for England.

 

I honestly think England would have gone further had Eriksson sat up and taken the tough decisions, and my honest opinion is that there were times when England would have been better off without Beckham.

 

Take Frank Lampard. He has not been at his best. Would Eriksson have considered leaving him out if we had gone further?

 

He has moved from system to system and there have been different teams. There has been no sense of continuity.

 

Other teams in the World Cup have had their teams and systems set out before they arrived. We never had that.

 

The 4-1-4-1 system never worked. It was a system that suited Eriksson more than the players because it enabled him to get the star names in the side.

 

Eriksson's attitude to friendlies has also been poor. His constant use of players for token appearances has been an abuse of international matches.

 

We had people like Alan Thompson given one match and then discarded. This wasn't conducive to continuity or for players getting valuable international playing time.

 

The big disappointment in this World Cup was that England just didn't play. I was optimistic, but that was based on Eriksson taking the big decisions - it didn't happen.

 

At least at Euro 2004 England played well against France, Switzerland and Croatia, and also against Portugal before they went out.

 

It just hasn't happened for them here, despite the fact that their preparation conditions were perfect and their draw was pretty well perfect too.

 

They missed a big chance against Portugal because the route was opening up. Portugal will not win the World Cup, and yet they have got past England.

 

In Eriksson's defence, there have been positives.

 

He picked up the squad and got us to the World Cup in 2002. There was that magnificent 5-1 win against Germany in Munich and successive wins against Argentina - but not a lot else that springs to mind.

 

So Eriksson moves on to his next job, leaving us no more advanced than when he arrived.

 

We have older players who won't be at the next World Cup and younger ones who have had injuries and may not make it either.

 

There is surgery required as Eriksson leaves England behind.

 

What that guy said. Terry Butcher, former England captain, speaking his brains on England's exit and Sven's legacy. He's pretty much got it spot on - he tended to pick all the 'star' names and then try to fashion a formation and a team around that. It just doesn't work like that.

[Guest Laminated Kat]

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out, Sven.

 

 

The World Cup is dead to me.

[Guest Laminated Kat]

 

Can I just take this opportunity to say how much I fucking hate Frank Lampard? Not that he's responsible for the loss, but it seems like every shot he took in the entire World Cup went sailing WAY over the cross bar, and then he steps up with a weak-ass penalty kick that even I could have stopped.

 

I'm just bitter. And sad.

 

Oh, and way to go, Rooney.

......what a total fucking waste that PK was. I'm torn over Rooney. I don't think he deserved the red card.

[tongue-tied lightning]

would we think differently of Sven if we could kick da fuckin' ball in the net ?

 

that was a crap call on Rooney.

all these officials need a bit more trianing.

 

biggest "IF" was Owen getting hurt

[Guest Laminated Kat]

I believe the refs caused a few teams to lose key matches.

[groselicain]

ok after some watching i am taking France, all on account of Zidane!!

 

Totally disagree with that, but WHO IS IN YOUR AVATAR?

[Albert Tatlock]

Puts Rooney in the shade - Boris Johnson tackles a German

 

 

For the uninitiated, Boris Johnson is a Tory MP, a bit of a clown - think Monty Python upper class twit of the year competition - although the fact that he seems genuine, has little time for spin, and actually answers questions with wit and good humour wins him some points with me. He is playing in a charity celebrity/ex-footballers 'Legends' match just before the world cup. Seems like he went to a rugby school.

 

Plus, he never even got a yellow card.

[Synthesizer Patel]

I love Boris. If it weren't for him appearing on occassion on Have I Got News For You, I think I would have given up watching that show long ago. Going head first into the groin really is a classy move by Boris, it's moves like that which won us 2 world wars and 1 world cup!

[groselicain]

GOAL BY GROSSO!

 

GOAL BY DEL PIERO!!!

 

IT'S OVER!

 

ITALY IN THE FINAL!!!!

[Hodie]

WOW!!

 

Brava italia!