Les miserables out, Bafana Bafana finish with a flourish (World Cup Braindump #6)
by Steve
The inconveniences of work meant an afternoon of listening to the radio and Jan Molby’s dulcet tones. Do you think Liverpool had some sort of pundit bootcamp for its players in the eighties and early nineties? They are everywhere. But anyway, I digress. As is my right and my wont. This series isn’t called a braindump for nothing.
And anyway, this is my first post written on a fancy phone rather than a computer. Marvel at the technology that allows me to go on and on without any tangible point or reason, as I head back home from a tough day at the coalface. When I say “coalface” I mean “computer screen”, you understand.
Shall I get on with it then. For all you loyal readers willing to indulge me. Thank you for preserving. Now recoil at the sheer majesty of the footballing insight! Or not, as the case may be.
The French are out! Hurrah! They will be dancing on the streets of Dublin tonight, no doubt. Karma is a wonderful thing. As is the French being hopeless. As they leave the World Cup with one measly point amid squad insurrection and unrest, I will let you insert your own joke about “strikers” here. Because its all about interactivity here, people.
I’m rather pleased with myself that I tipped such an outcome (well, the failing to qualify bit, anyway) prior to the tournament’s start. I’ll overlook the other tips that, with the benefit of hindsight, look optimistic at best.
While it is sad to see the hosts go out, they couldn’t have exited the tournament in better fashion. What a way to go – beating the finalists from the last World Cup, knocking them out in the process. On paper they had to be one of the poorest sides in the tournament, if not the poorest. So, four points and France’s scalp is a great return.
Wait until next year 
I love Jan Molby’s voice. He’s almost entirely Scouse but every now and then the odd word crops up to remind me he’s actually Danish. Sublime passer of a ball too. Not so much with the running around though.
I was so pleased to see the Frtench self-destruct for two reasons. Firstly, as you say, they only reached the finals courtesy of a handball from Mr Henry and I reckon most Brits feel solidarity with the Irish over that one. More than that, though, it’s also thrown the problems in the England camp in a different light. We’ve had one or two players who obviously think they can manage the team better than Capello (step forward Mr Terry and place your head on this chopping block) but we’ve not had a full-blown rebellion. Disagreements are normal in a squad but open revolt is rare – did none of the French players ever stop to think that this might be their last World Cup, their last chance to pull on the shirt with pride and do the best job they could? The English are less interested in revolution than in moaning anyway so Terry was just being thoroughly English. I expect to see him on Grumpy Ex Footballers once he hangs up his boots.
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“Grumpy Ex Footballers”! I like it!
Evra, Anelka, Henry et al have certainly done us a service. No matter how bad things get, we can always think to ourselves that it could be worse – we could be French!
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