Well, that was that then. No more World Cup for four whole years. I wonder where we’ll all be then? What we’ll be doing? It’s kind of easy to track life in World Cups, but it makes it go awful fast. But before I get too philosophical, here are my final thoughts… 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 »
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 »
England squeezed through. This was not an easy passage to the second round, and even if there were encouraging signs from yesterday’s game against Slovenia, England will need to step up considerably on Sunday against Germany. But we all know that, right? I mean it’s not as if England’s supporters are going to get carried away on a wave of jingoism and misplaced optimism is it? Oh. Well, anyway, here’s some more thoughts… Read the rest of this entry »
It’s not going to be good is it? I can feel it in my water. D-Day for a lacklustre England team has arrived. A win and they stay in, anything else and they are packing their bags (barring unlikely mathematical permutations). Read the rest of this entry »
Wait until next year 