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What's the first sign of madness?

By nebbish (Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 01:34:38 AM EST) World Cup, footy, footie, football (all tags)

Suggs walking up your drive

Apologies to readers of the Popbitch mailout for the above, I'm running out of jokes.

Weekend

Went up to Sheffield for my sister's birthday and watched England-Portugal in a pub on Eccleshall road (forget the name, Sheffield Husiites). My brother-in-law knows the landlord so we had a table set aside for us in front of the plasma screen and table service throughout. All that was missing was a chamber pot and a barmaid to hold my cock while I pissed in it.

So, by far the best World Cup viewing experience of the tournament. Shame about the match.

Drank all day and went to a very good house night in the world's sweatiest nightclub, accompanied by sundry class As. The disappointment of the football receded until it was completely irrelevent. Definitely the way to do it.

England - as good as Brazil

So what went wrong? I'm of the opinion that we were fucked without a fit Michael Owen, and that's basically what it comes down to. I'm not sure there was anyone who could replace him, and I don't thing Sven thought there was either.

The lack of alternative strategies from Sven points to incompetence, but I'm not going to go on about it. Enough's been said.

I'm not blaming Rooney - I still think it was accidental, certainly looked like it.

Anyone know why Carragher had to retake his penalty? It looked fishy to me and the entire pub at the time, but nothing's been said about it since so I presume he went before the whistle.

Looking forward to the future - not sure about Mclaren yet, but a new captain and some new players (especially Aaron Lennon) will add a bit of excitement. Roll on 2008.

You're winner!

Reckon it'll be Germany, but hoping it'll be France or Italy. Not that bothered so long as cheating bastard scum Portugal get thoroughly humiliated.

< We are not amusing | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >

What's the first sign of madness? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

Portugal, Portugal, Portugaaaaaaal by Rogerborg (4.00 / 2) #1 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 02:07:46 AM EST

What language do they speak there? Belgian or something? Meeo supportio Portugalee! Mucho goodio playarees!

So, I guess the talk about cheating bastard scum players being penalised was so much twaddle then. I wonder how much longer the game can go on pretending that the referee is always right, even when he's wrong. And a cunt.

-
Metus amatores matrum compescit, non clementia.

: Objectively by nebbish (2.00 / 0) #2 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 02:22:35 AM EST

Portugal dived a few times and were a bit unsporting, but I suppose they weren't that bad. Problem was in their last match they saw yellow cards handed out to them willy-nilly as Holland dived all over the place, which probably doesn't reinforce your faith in fairness.
Why don't England cheat more? That's the real question. Oh, hang on.
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It's political correctness gone mad!
[ Parent ]

Rooney by gazbo (4.00 / 2) #3 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 02:55:15 AM EST

I thought the red card was for the pushing after the fact...

IIRC the penalty retake was because he took the kick before the whistle. To be fair, their goalkeeper didn't even move so I think it's likely that people weren't ready.

RE: referees/diving etc. I'm not going to blame either for our loss. We didn't have any goals disallowed (the penalty above excepted), no dodgy decisions led to a goal against us, and the red card (which could easily be argued as legitimate) if anything made us play better.

Nope, we lost this one due to good old English incompetence.

I'm hoping Germany win. No, seriously! Portugal and Italy are both precious little dirty bastards whose play style is to let the referee win the match for them^*, France winning twice in three competitions? Dear God no!

That leaves Germany.

_{^*I'm still not blaming the ref, but that doesn't mean I can't dislike their cheaty-cheat playing style.}

I recommend always assuming 7th normal form where items in a text column are not allowed to rhyme.

: Yes, yes, yes and yes by nebbish (4.00 / 1) #4 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 03:09:26 AM EST

Hence my opinion that it was the lack of Owen that was the real problem - we didn't play any differently after Rooney was sent off, so you can hardly blame the ref or the cheats. At the time I thought he was booked for dissent but, like you say, it doesn't matter.
I like France, I like the way they play football, I like Zidane and Henry. I want them to win most I think.
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It's political correctness gone mad!
[ Parent ]
: You know by idiot boy (4.00 / 1) #6 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 05:02:15 AM EST

It's really rare for me to agree with every single point in a post.
Very rare.
Though I do support France over Germany (undermines premise of comment).

[ Parent ]

Football by TPD (4.00 / 1) #5 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 03:47:50 AM EST

I'm still feeling gutted though it'll be my first chance to properly drink away the dissapointment tomorrow. Sad thing was from an England's point of view is Crouch did really well in the role Rooney looked so uncomfortable in. Had the 2 been on the pitch at the same time I think we'd have ripped Portugal's defence appart.

In terms of who'll win I can't see Portugal winning it - they don't look good enough (but then what do I know). After a ropey start France have pulled themselves together - best team in it now but I have a feeling their going to come unstuck by a Bartez looking even more "dodgy keeper" material than normal. Italy may dive there way to the title but I doubt it, so I guess my money'd be on the German's even if I's like it to be France.

why sit, when you can sit and swivel with The Ab-Swiveller^TM

I'm torn about the football... by Metatone (2.00 / 0) #7 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 05:12:45 AM EST

On the one hand, as the English press are so fond of pointing out, Sven is a muppet and deserves a blotch on his reputation after some of the fuggling around this year. On the other hand, they rather want to blame everything on him, which seems a bit much to me. The players surely have some responsibility for the results of their play (and the appalling passing at various moments.)

Red cards and Orc boys...

On the one hand, when I saw the incident it looked accidental, once you're off balance it's easy to put your feet on the wrong spot.

On the other hand, no-one, not even the rabid Sven-hating Rooney defenders seems to think it was an accident and if it wasn't it definitely deserved a red card.

As you say, we could well have gone on to lose with 11 men, the way we were playing and the blame for that does lie in part with Sven.

However, there's an enormous wall of rubbish coming from various pundits to the effect that "It's Sven's fault for putting Rooney up front alone to get frustrated. That's why he lashed out."

This makes me want to blame Rooney for the whole business, frankly. If you can't play a hard match in an unfamiliar position without lashing out then you're not an international class footballer.

Sure, we might have been better off with 2 up front against Portugal, but, sooner or later, there will be a game where, for the good of the team, Rooney will have to play up front on his own.

With any luck, he will learn some lessons from this (c.f. Beckham, Argentina) but I'm wary (and fed up) of the indulgence people are beginning to extend to "Orc boy."

And yes... by Metatone (4.00 / 1) #8 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 05:15:53 AM EST

I'm aware of the whole host of top class players who have got red carded for lashing out, over the years. But no-one pretended that they were right to have done so.

[ Parent ]

Yeah by nebbish (4.00 / 1) #9 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 05:20:37 AM EST

Bollock-stamping aside, when he walked up to the referee shouting and pushed Ronaldo I had my head in my hands. How stupid do you have to be to think shouting at a referee will produce a positive decision?

He's young (though that excuse is fading) and he's passionate, yes; unfortunately though it increasingly seems he is also very, very spoilt.

Maybe we underestimate the pressure on him though. He's treated like some sort of superhero (the press's fault as well as Sven's), which will confuse a youngster when things go tits up.

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It's political correctness gone mad!

[ Parent ]

: One would think. by anonimouse (4.00 / 1) #10 Tue Jul 04, 2006 at 07:08:52 AM EST

..that someone would read an opinion from a newspaper or play a TV commentary to the stupid sod just before a match, so he might try and remember to overturn this opinion for 90 bloody minutes.
Girls come and go but a mortgage is for 25 years -- JtL
[ Parent ]

What's the first sign of madness? | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

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