Only four games left, folks! Looking at my blogging habits, it may appear that after England’s woeful exit I went into something of a decline. Far from it. While this tournament has yet to match the all-time great World Cups, it has certainly had some fine moments, such as Brazil’s complete implosion against the Dutch, Germany dismantling Argentina and especially the electric final moments of Ghana/Uruguay. Read the rest of this entry »
Howdy folks. A couple of World Cup-free days to recharge the batteries and reflect that…well, maybe it was time I posted something that is not about football. I mean, the second round games were pretty entertaining, and there is still a lot to look forward to, plus away from the World Cup my beloved Liverpool have a new manager in Roy Hodgson, which is an encouraging appointment (although I’m reserving judgement), and can pre-season training really have started already, but wasn’t this meant to be a blog post about something, anything, other than football? Well, how about beer, then? Read the rest of this entry »
England limp out of yet another tournament, and as much as I hate to say it, I’m glad. In particular I’m glad that it was a rout, rather than an ‘unlucky’ exit, Lampard’s phantom goal notwithstanding. Now we can begin to actually focus on the shortcomings of English football, rather than blame chance (or penalties) for us not being more successful.
So, what is there to hope for, what could/should we learn, and how can we take English football forward – in the short-term, and the long-term? Read the rest of this entry »
It seemed like Euro 96 was the beginning of St George’s flags, rather than Union Jacks for footballing tournaments. This year the feel is more village fete than last night of the proms.
So, the group stage is nearly over. And we’re over half way through the tournament, at least in terms of games. This has not been a classic so far. In fact, the most memorable moments have generally involved New Zealand. And who would have thought that? Well, I did predict they might get a draw, but still, I didn’t think they would be the story of the group stage. Although now we have some big guns out – in the 2006 finalists France and Italy, and the knockout stage rapidly taking shape. Read the rest of this entry »
