World Cup 2010

[ste4_20]

We're all terrified of Germany on the assumption that what they did against Australia they'll do against better teams such as Ghana, the USA and/or England. If from the position they're in they contrive to finish second, we shouldn't be afraid of them.

What's the difference between Vuvuzelas and Marmite?

Nothing, but when was the last time 60,000 tourists tried to force feed you Marmite?

[eFestivals]

i offered you double or quits on england not getting out of the group and you ran like a child back to momma, because the only time youve actually fronted up to me, my knowledge outstripped yours, by a comfortable margin

In the same way you ran to your mummy when I suggested you bet on England winning perhaps?

You bottled it no less than me, remember?

Im going to come back to this again, i know how much you like it, but im betting you never kicked a ball above playground level, you dont 'support' a team, and have never coached a team. what you know about football can be written on the back of postage stamp, which is why, when challenged, i took your money.

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten you coached England, and that makes you right about everything football and everyone else wrong. Including The Kaiser.

So why won't you put your money where YOUR mouth is if you know it all? Not because you don't have any confidence in your own version, oh no.

you simply dont know what your talking about

i'll let the results of bets show how it really is

There's no bet here - you bottled it no less than me, remember?

I have my opinion, you have yours.

And the result of the one England match so far has me being more right than you, despite you knowing everything. Funny that, eh?

I don't guarantee I'll be right all the way thru, but my take on things is certainly closer to the reality of England than your own. If England do win, it'll be fluked.

[StevenHooper]

If England do win, it'll be fluked.

[Cardboard Box City]

im going to say that..........

Brazil wont win it

Spain wont win it

Portugal wont win it

Netherlands wont win it

Italy wont win it

Germany wont win it

Argentina wont win it

France wont win it

and guess what, i'll be right at least 7 times, maybe 8

saying england wont win it, and then saying you'll keep your money where it is is about as brave as Jeremy Kyle

i offered you double or quits on england not getting out of the group and you ran like a child back to momma, because the only time youve actually fronted up to me, my knowledge outstripped yours, by a comfortable margin

Im going to come back to this again, i know how much you like it, but im betting you never kicked a ball above playground level, you dont 'support' a team, and have never coached a team. what you know about football can be written on the back of postage stamp, which is why, when challenged, i took your money.

you simply dont know what your talking about

i'll let the results of bets show how it really is

[Tugger2k]

In the same way you ran to your mummy when I suggested you bet on England winning perhaps?

You bottled it no less than me, remember?

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten you coached England, and that makes you right about everything football and everyone else wrong. Including The Kaiser.

So why won't you put your money where YOUR mouth is if you know it all? Not because you don't have any confidence in your own version, oh no.

There's no bet here - you bottled it no less than me, remember?

I have my opinion, you have yours.

And the result of the one England match so far has me being more right than you, despite you knowing everything. Funny that, eh?

I don't guarantee I'll be right all the way thru, but my take on things is certainly closer to the reality of England than your own. If England do win, it'll be fluked.

[Langdale Wolf]

If England do win, it'll be fluked.

[StevenHooper]

It's things like this that make it so hard for most people to take anything you say about football seriously.

[pink_triangle]

With the exception of the 66 final (which was on home soil), England have only beaten one team once who've previously won the tournament. I'd say that's decent enough reason to want to avoid anyone decent until absolutely necessary.

[Tugger2k]

And the result of the one England match so far has me being more right than you, despite you knowing everything. Funny that, eh?

[eFestivals]

ive bottled nothing, i simply understand odds more than you do.

i have bet on england winning the world cup. but its not a 50/50 situation as in win, or not. as youd have me make. youve stated previously that we'll be lucky to get out of the group stages, back it up!!

no??

i wonder why??

Oh FFS. Take your head out of your arse. I understand odds no less than you do, and it's for precisely the same reason I didn't take your bet as you didn't take mine.

So you have no better claim to knowing more thru this than I do .... tho I'm not arrogantly claiming to know more - because I know I don't. But I also know you don't either.

It's all opinions and nothing more - as evidenced by The Kaiser.

i simply know more than you, as evidenced by the facts.

What, by England's win against the USA?

You and others ridiculed me when I said it wouldn't be a walkover. And so it proved.

Or doesn't Green playing shit for the moment he did doesn't count as England playing shit (and that's ignoring them playing shit for the rest of the game)?

Which facts are you referencing? Only the ones that are completely meaningless in the scheme of things, such as the opinions of a very small minority of players which are contradicted by many more players with different opinions.

[eFestivals]

It's just the constant going on when everyone else knows thats he's wrong but continues to tell people they are wrong.

Am I wrong?

We have the evidence of just one game so far.

And the evidence of that game bears out what I've said, and doesn't bear out what those say who say I'm wrong.

So so far it's me that's right, and not you and those with the same opinion.

I'm not so arrogant as to say that might not change. Meanwhile, you and yours are so arrogant to call me wrong when the evidence is against you.

The fail to date is not mine, but yours.

Let's see who's right when we know for sure, instead of the likes of you pathetically claiming victory on no basis whatsoever.

[eFestivals]

thing is neil, heres the point where you get yourself into trouble

your the one that makes the sweeping statements of 'fact'. me, langdale, cbc, we couch our statements with buts, possible, if's.

because as any football fan knows, football is unpredictable. there are probable outcomes. ive not once disagreed with you that england 'probably' wont win it. the odds are staked against them, as they are everybody, but probably doesn't mean definitely. but there are NO definite outcomes in football.

i could say now that blackpool will go down next season, or that they will win the premier league. one is much more likely than the other, but nothing is set in stone.

i have no wish to fallout with you over this mate. i simply find your constant sniping and negativity of those that want to have a little fun, a little belief, and yes, even a little dream, tiring

I don't discount the possibility that I might be wrong too.

But to date all of the evidence is my favour and not yours.

My comment about The Kaiser was simply to point out the ridiculousness of some of the statements by you and others that "cos a top player has said it, that gives my take a realistic basis". It means absolutely f**k all.

The proof is on the field and nowhere else - not in your head or any player's, and not in your fantasy days as England's coach. Let's see what happens on the field, and then we'll get to know who has had the best take on it.

Claiming a victory now as you and others are doing is stupidly ridiculous, particularly in light of the evidence.

[Tugger2k]

I don't discount the possibility that I might be wrong too.

[Langdale Wolf]

If you can't dream and can't have that bit of faith in a side you follow and love through blind loyalty, there would be no point of football.

3 of the supposed 'fancied sides' have drawn their opening games - France, ourselves and the Italians. Out of those three sides, I think we performed best, though still nowhere near good enough to trouble the best teams in the tournament.

But what of the other fancied teams we've already seen?

I also thought that Argentina - although dangerous coming forward - were as tight as Jordan's chaff at the back, and up against a more potent attack would be severely tested.

The Dutch did okay, a pretty solid start, but again big questions remain with their defence, and they were up against a very generous Danish backline themselves.

The point I'm trying to make is that any of the above could step up several gears and become a force in this tournament - and I include England in that. There is a lot of football left to play, and after 11 games I have only been really impressed with one side - Germany.

It's still wide open. I maintain my previous prediction of 1/4 finals - maybe even semis - for England.

I have no doubts that we'll improve, and I have no doubts the other supposed 'mis-firing big guns' will improve as well.

[Tugger2k]

It's still wide open. I maintain my previous prediction of 1/4 finals - maybe even semis - for England.

[eFestivals]

I also thought that Argentina - although dangerous coming forward - were as tight as Jordan's chaff at the back, and up against a more potent attack would be severely tested.

I agree. But even so, their defence was better than England's against the USA.

The point I'm trying to make is that any of the above could step up several gears and become a force in this tournament - and I include England in that.

thing is that there's a basis to think that those others might because they often turn into that better team. Sadly, the same only very rarely happens with England, and there's zilch from Pat's time that suggests that they suddenly will.

And of course the one player who brings that ability to the England team got left behind. So where's it going to come from?

It's still wide open. I maintain my previous prediction of 1/4 finals - maybe even semis - for England.

I'd say on the evidence so far from all teams it's looking very unlikely we'll make the quarters.

[TheGayTent]

It (the equal split to the clubs) still exists for the FA Cup, doesn't it? Or have they stopped it in the last decade or so?

(I know it continued to work that way for some years after the Prem started, but aren't sure of the situation now).

[Langdale Wolf]

I agree. But even so, their defence was better than England's against the USA.

[Cardboard Box City]

but defensively they looked absolutely all over the place. Gutierrez at RB?!

[Langdale Wolf]

I suspect the Argies will struggle if they keep defending like that against better opposition. Gutierrez was getting turned inside out.

[pink_triangle]

the thing i believe is, that should we get to the 1/4's, then were simply 3 games away from glory. and all sorts of teams have been able to play above their level for 3 games in the past, why not us in the future.

[pink_triangle]

I suspect the Argies will struggle if they keep defending like that against better opposition. Gutierrez was getting turned inside out.

[eFestivals]

I agree with you, but the same thing could be equally said about glen johnson. I think the better teams would be licking their lips about playing against him. I wonder if argentina may play burdisso in the latter stages.

the same is true for all of our defenders, including crocked Rio. It's not like they've been able to cut out balls across the face of goal on so many occasions, and if we'd have been playing teams with decent finishers on those occasions, the defenders errors would have been goals against us.

We're simply not as good as some are imagining. It'll take all of our players playing at the best to win it, and I just can't see it happening, because it happens so rarely. It's not like the wins in Germany have been convincing (our two best games in the last decade), even if the results have been good - on both occasions it could have very easily been the same result against us if the luck had run their way and not ours.

[Tugger2k]

really looking forward to the 2 games later today

Drogba cleared to play in a cast which is good, I couldnt see the Ivory Coast getting anything without him, now the game against Portugal becomes a highly pressurised game.

and it will be interesting to see if Dunga allows the Brazilian's off the leash in the late game. i suspect he wont

[pink_triangle]

really looking forward to the 2 games later today