It is now...

Or perhaps not. Ah well, there's always 2030 - the hundreth anniversary of the tournament, so an appropriate time to host it at 'the home of football'TM

They think it's all over...

So David Beckham is a bit of a joke? Well he's just made a speech which I suspect may win England the World Cup in 2018:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9250670.stm

World Cup Ramblings (5)

So my pre-tournament prediction that Engerland would definitely make the quarter-finals was wrong (even I didn't appreciate quite how bad they were). The inquest has already started, but I suggest that, instead of blaming the manager, the system, the linesman, etc., people just read this post from a couple of years ago:

http://floatlikeabutterflysting.blogspot.com/2008/06/42-years-of-hurt-and-counting.html

World Cup Ramblings (4)

Same old story - one minute the Engerland team are hopeless losers (and let's be honest they did look woeful against Algeria) the next they're going to beat Germany. In fact most of the callers to the Radio 5 phone in after the Slovenia game seemed to be of the opinion "now we're going to win it"!

To be honest, a victory against Germany wouldn't surprise me - but if they beat Germany, then Argentina, then Spain, then Brazil, even I will have to concur that they're deserved winners!

World Cup Ramblings (3)

Still sticking to my pre-tournament prediction that Engerland will definitely reach the quarterfinals, and probably the semis. The parallels with 1990 are scary: ridiculed after the opening 2 games, players force manager to change system, relatively easy route to the semis, come home as heroes..

World Cup Ramblings (1)

I hope:

France win the tournament: it would be poetic justice for all those corrupt/inept people who run the game if a team which blatantly cheated to get to the finals (and was allowed to get away with it) goes on to win the trophy.

Engerland get knocked out by the Ivory Coast: Sven is a great manager, and is unjustly maligned for his international record - guiding England to the World Cup quarterfinals in both 2002 (losing to the eventual winners) and 2006 (losing on penalties); losing only five competitive matches during his tenure; taking the team to a ranking of No.4 in the world. It would be sweet if he came back to haunt the FA and all those fans with completely unrealistic expectations of the national team.

I think:

Argentina are the best value odds to win the tournament: Messi, Tevez, Heinze, Veron, Mascherano, etc. but currently rated by the Bookmakers at 7/1.

Engerland will: Definitely get to the quarterfinals; probably get to the semi-finals; and possibly get to the final. They're one of the best 8 teams in the tournament, but not one of the best 4; however, they're due a bit of luck in the quarters/semis (e.g. winning on penalty kicks, being awarded a dubious goal; opponents having a player sent off). But let's be honest (however far they get) they don't compare with the likes of Spain in terms of skill, talent and flair.

I suspect (and hope):

The tournament will be decided by a controversial decision: this would (once again) highlight the need to adopt some of the ideas employed in American Football which prevent cheating and ineptitude. And hopefully force the authorities to finally act.

“42 years of hurt” (and counting)

Which of the following footballing nations is the odd-one out - Uruguay, Italy, France, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, England, Germany or Spain? Well, following Spain’s deserved triumph at Euro 2008, England are now the only one of these ‘footballing giants’ never to have won a major tournament on foreign soil. In fact, when you examine England’s record, it’s pretty appalling. Aside from '66, they’ve never reached a World Cup final – and they’ve only made it to the semi’s once (1990). Their record in the European Championship (winners of which include Denmark and Greece) is even worse – never a finalist, and they’ve only reached the semis twice (including 1996 when they hosted the tournament). Which perhaps puts into perspective the recent claims made by Premier League Chairman, Sir David Richards, that the number of ‘foreigners’ in the English game has ‘hurt’ the national side. The reality is that, aside from when they’ve had the (considerable) advantage of hosting a tournament, England have rarely performed well – often not even qualifying for the finals. Perhaps, rather than worrying about foreign players (or foreign managers), these high ranking officials might be better served concentrating their efforts on trying to win the right to host one of these tournaments. History suggests that this might be England’s only chance of doing well.