World Cup 2006

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

England to do it. Just have a strange feeling it's going to happen.

Brazil, Italy or Argentina would be the others, but I really do believe England will do it actually. Oh and I expect the Czech's to do very good too.

[fineintent]

Wow, we were utterly shit. Lush goal by Hungary though.

Michael Carrick must be pissed off as fuck. Although Carragher was ok, he didn't really look comfortable, and Hungary are hardly good.

[Liam]

Wow, we were utterly shit. Lush goal by Hungary though.

Michael Carrick must be pissed off as fuck. Although Carragher was ok, he didn't really look comfortable, and Hungary are hardly good.

England...the only place where you will find fans bemoaning a friendly win of 3-1 when the other team stuck 10 men behind the ball practically at all time.

We did what we had to do, the fact that we broke them down says something at least as it hasn't always been our strongest aspect.

[fineintent]

Meh, I thought Hungary played ok football at times, while we lacked any sort of flow and were generally sloppy. It is this sort of result that'll have the Sun, and idiots, saying "OMG WE CAN WIN IT" when, in reality, if we play like that the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France or maybe Holland will tear us apart.

We lack any width which, given the frailty of Paraguay's fullbacks, is an area we'd really need to exploit. Beckham continues to get slower but, granted, hit a few nice crosses. For someone who practises free-kicks for hours, you think he'd be able to score one though. If the manager had any balls, and this isn't typical Spurs bias, he'd put Lennon in straight away.

My negativity is because I've been in a pub surrounded by morons who were like "We're definately going to win it" and "Theo Walcott is amazing" etc. If Owen breaks down, or worse if Gerrard gets injured, we're actually fucked.

[Liam]

Meh, I thought Hungary played ok football at times, while we lacked any sort of flow and were generally sloppy. It is this sort of result that'll have the Sun, and idiots, saying "OMG WE CAN WIN IT" when, in reality, if we play like that the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France or maybe Holland will tear us apart.

But thats an unfair comparison really, as there would be more gaps to potentially exploit against teams like France, Brazil and whatnot as they'd also be pushing. England had to spend a lot of the time trying to move the ball around in tight spaces with ten Hungarian men behind the ball, which is going to be hard no matter what team you are. We'd be able to play a different game against teams at the World Cup, and at least this match showed that we can grind out results (albeit against Hungary) and that we can take our chances (we didn't have loads, but scored 3 goals).

And people act as if we are a one or two man team constantly. If Gerrard or Owen break down, maybe someone else will stand up to the plate? It is not as if we are a team of 21 shit players and two superstars...we have people who can perform, but either don't always get the rub of the green when it comes to first team England appearances, or don't shoulder as much of the weight when these main players are performing their heroics. I'm not saying we could do without Owen or Gerrard, but still....

And saying Beckham should score free-kicks just because he practises them a lot is a bit of a weird comment, since most free-kick takers practise them, I'm sure, and the vast majority of free-kicks aren't goals.

Edited May 31, 2006 by HGwannabe

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Very amusing when Lineker, Hansen etc laughed about Owen Hargreaves coming on instead of Carrick! Ridiculous. Every England fan I know has a sinking feeling when Hargreaves comes on.

The wosrt thing to happen in that game though was for Crouch to score. He doesn't belong in an England shirt and is only there cos of his lanky frame. The fact he scored will make Eriksson sure that he made the right choice in putting him in the squad, which WASN'T the right choice. At least Eriksson is gone after this world cup and I can't see Hargreaves in the squad when McClaren gets his hands on the squad.

As for world cup winners. I've been saying Netherlands for last few months since I heard the draw. They've got an amazing young squad like the 70s and late 80s and they actually seem to be in it together for once.

France have no hope as their squad is falling apart and Henry NEVER performs at international level.

Spain will collapse as always and Italy haven't advanced as a team in years and are well known to be slow tournament starters.

England will get as far as Brazil (semis I think) after beating the Argies in the quarters. Netherlands will beat Brazil in the final and everyone will be happy.

And saying Beckham should score free-kicks just because he practises them a lot is a bit of a weird comment, since most free-kick takers practise them, I'm sure, and the vast majority of free-kicks aren't goals.

When he was playing in Italy Gianfranco Zola had a freekick scoring record of 1 in 3 direct freekicks. That's apparantly the highest ever of a freekick specialist.

Interestingly Roberto Carlos hardly hardly ever scores freekicks.

Edited May 31, 2006 by ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster

[Dan]

Why do people not accept that Crouch is a GOOD player.

He never played one bad pass and took his goal very well.

On the evidence of the past two games, if we play the loan striker role, I'd much rather have Crouch than Owen at this moment in time.

[Guest Ringo Mars]

Gerrard needs to die for his dive, that cheating cunt.

I hate divers

[fineintent]

Owen will come good, and will be invaluable to us in the latter stage as he is pretty much the only goalscorer we're taking to the World Cup.

Its funny because Sven has had 5 years in charge and still has absolutely no idea of who is in his best 11. Hargreaves coming on before Carrick is a fucking joke - he's had 30 caps to prove himself, he's not good enough, move on. The fact that McClaren wanted to sign him for Boro gives me enough reason to worry.

And Liam, if Gerrard or Owen break down we are legitimately fucked. While we have other good players - could you see Hargreaves stepping up to the plate in midfield? Or Jenas? Or Crouch (while a decent link up striker) scoring the goals needed to win tournaments? Or Walcott for that matter?

While having the likes of Crouch and Lennon to bring into a game is undoubtedly a positive, without Owen (which could legitimately happen) OR Gerrard (which is just me "what if"ing) we'd be ruined.

[AJ]

LONDON (Reuters) - A hotel is offering football-free breaks for "soccer widows" desperate to escape wall-to-wall coverage of the World Cup.

Any guest who overhears a member of staff mentioning the f-word -- football -- will be given a free glass of champagne.

"The bookings are starting to stream in," said Mike Bevans, manager of the Linthwaite House Hotel in the picturesque Lake District, one of the country's prime tourist destinations.

The sport supplements are being taken out of daily newspapers and, instead of blanket TV coverage of the big games, guests will be offered a string of romantic movies on DVD like "Dirty Dancing" and "Pretty Woman."

The World Cup finals in Germany start on June 9, with the final in Berlin on July 9

So we all pack the girlfriends' bags and send them off. We'll be able to watch the football in peace.

[Liam]

And Liam, if Gerrard or Owen break down we are legitimately fucked. While we have other good players - could you see Hargreaves stepping up to the plate in midfield? Or Jenas? Or Crouch (while a decent link up striker) scoring the goals needed to win tournaments? Or Walcott for that matter?

While having the likes of Crouch and Lennon to bring into a game is undoubtedly a positive, without Owen (which could legitimately happen) OR Gerrard (which is just me "what if"ing) we'd be ruined.

Gerrard bulk of the work can be taken up easily by Lampard IF Lampard is on his game (which he hasn't been recently admittedly). Obviously, we'd need to stick someone in midfield with him which will change things about a bit, but if we are just talking about players stepping up the plate when they are absent, then Lampard could do that.

Up front? Well, Owen would be a big miss, but Crouch can score goals as he has proven, so maybe? He isn't as good a goal-scorer as Owen by a longshot, but he can get them, and we've always been able to score goals from other areas of the pitch so it would alleviate some of the pressure on him. Admittedly, this is where Sven fucked up with just 4 strikers, but yeah....they'll probably replace Rooney with Defoe though, which could be a plus.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Have I missed something about Rooney? I know he'll miss the first two or three games, but what's the big deal? England should certainly be able to get through to the next stages without him, in which case he'll then be back for the actual BIG games. Maybe it's because I'm a Rooney fanboy, but I still believe we'll see him on super form at some point throughout the World Cup.

Hargreaves is just pointless however. It's beyond me as to why he's in the team ahead of SWP.

[The Kraig]

I temporarily reside in Trinidad (and Tobago) so I'll be supporting ma boys, mon. (¬_¬)

No but seriously, lots of the T 'n' T players play in the Scottish leagues so I'll be supporting them.

I can't see Brazil not winning. If France win, I'll be forced to kill something.

Edited May 31, 2006 by The Kraig

[Summers]

I like Hargreaves. It's great being the only Hargreaves fan alive.

[fineintent]

Yes JP Rooney will be in 'super' form. He won't be training for a good 2-3 weeks, he can't walk, Man Utd clearly don't want him to go, but that doesn't matter, right?

We all remember how effective an injured Beckham was in Japan right?

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Yes JP Rooney will be in 'super' form. He won't be training for a good 2-3 weeks, he can't walk, Man Utd clearly don't want him to go, but that doesn't matter, right?

We all remember how effective an injured Beckham was in Japan right?

[Liam]

Considering the amount of people who are like "I can't see Brazil not winning it" (Kraigy, but I've seen it from others)....I'm gonna state now that Brazil won't win it.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but Brazil will not win the World Cup in my eyes.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I like Hargreaves. It's great being the only Hargreaves fan alive.

Question is, when you're watching England play down the pub and Hargreaves is brought on after 60 minutes and the pub descends into a chorus of booing and swear words, do you THEN make your Hargreaves love known?

[fineintent]

He's a strong guy with a broken foot. He can try and play with a broken foot, it won't work, and we'll waste a squad place on someone who will actually be able to run.

He's a great player, but there's no point pinning our hopes on a crocked 20 year old. I wish people would just except that he is in no way fit enough to play any part in a major tournament. He might be training by the time we hit the quarters, but he will be a few matches off fitness when we need a performance most.

[Guest Ringo Mars]

I like Hargreaves. It's great being the only Hargreaves fan alive.