2014 FIFA World Cup

[METALMAN]

Look at little FIFA's pet Matt, defending all the rules.

RULZ RNT KOOL

[Gazz]

Picking an England squad from that lot is depressing.

Picking an England squad for the next competition's qualifiers after clearing out all the dead wood is much more fun. It's 40% Southampton. ¬_¬

[Noah]

BBC isn't showing an Australian game. Linekles works for the BBC. So putting 2 and 2 together, Lineker hates plubby

[Gazz]

Lineker hates Australia because you call took the piss out of his jewfro.

[Meacon Keaton]

I think Lineker may be doing the Aussies a favor.

[Baddar]

Italy v Uruguay is an ITV game.

[Lineker]

Why would the BBC have Oz games? iirc SBS normally carry the games over there.

[Colly]

You're entirely missing the point that the 23rd man is there specifically for the role of the third choice keeper.

No I'm not. :/

But you clearly are. That or you're just being argumentative for the sake of it. The 23rd man was included specifically so that teams could have 3 goalkeepers. Not so you could have an extra player, so that you could have an extra goalkeeper.

At no point have I misunderstood the rule change, I just don't like it, which is what you started arguing against.

It's not the extra man that's the issue, its the extra man then insisting that extra, plus two others are 'goalkeepers only'. From your analogy its far more like going from a 22 lane road that anyone can use to a 23 lane road where cars can only use 20.

My issue is far less numbers based, its more against the measure that prevents Andys suggestion of naming Lampard as third keeper, which is the separation of keepers from 'players'. One thing I do agree with you on is that the goalkeeper is a specialist role on the pitch, i.e. a different set of rules apply to the person in the keeper top while they're playing. On the bench, or in a squad, they're just another player, and should be able to be used as such.

It happens less and less in more developed footballing countries, but this rule prevents a player who might be third choice forward and second best keeper from doing one or the other. Or indeed when we're chasing a goal against a tight defense with Sturridge, Rooney and big lump Carroll crocked as usual Woy 'doing a Stuart Pearce' and hoying 6'7 of Fraser Forster up top, potentially sticking Jagielka in goal to add to the fun:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/nov/21/outfield-goalkeepers-the-knowledge

They're both unlikely, but not unfeasible, and it just feels like a fundamental rule change to fully separate outfield players from keepers, which seems weird to me.

tl:dr: I'd only want to take two keepers...

[Lineker]

Germany plan to build their own team accomodation at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as local facilities do not meet requirements, according to Bild newspaper. The paper says local hotels weren't luxurious enough so the German authorities are creating the sports village for the team, complete with 13 housing blocks, a press centre and training pitch.

[Colly]

Something something towels on sunloungers.

[gunnar hendershow]

Didn't they do this after World War II?

[TCO]

The German's are building a complex? When we went to the World Cup in 2002 we didn't have bibs or balls first day of training!

[brenchill]

The German's are building a complex? When we went to the World Cup in 2002 we didn't have bibs or balls first day of training!

Doddsy locked them in the back of the OPAL

[Lineker]

Croatia defender Josip Simunic will miss the 2014 World Cup after being given a 10-match ban by Fifa for discriminatory behaviour. Dinamo Zagreb's Simunic, 35, led Croatia fans in a chant with pro-Nazi connotations following their 2-0 World Cup play-off win over Iceland. "The salute was discriminatory and offended the dignity of a group of persons," Fifa said in a statement. Simunic, who denies any political intent, was also fined £20,000.

[9 to 5]

Good.

[Rafael]

Very good.

[MDK]

Very, very good.

[Baddar]

The vanishing spray will be used at the World Cup!

[brenchill]

So excited about the spray!

[Lineker]

Hopefully it will eventually make its way over to Europe as well.