Roiling football blather

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don_quixote

Trent End
i'll do a qualifying situation update in the morning, but i would say that you're almost certain not to see turkey now :( :(

with portugal, it's still out of their own hands. sweden are playing denmark but could well win. portugal are then relying on albania beating them.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Turkey 2002 were one of my all-time favourite World Cup teams (in a pretty dire tournament), so that's a bit sad. But let's hope Bosnia make it through the play-offs.

Poor Hungary. Poor Northern Ireland. :(

Oh, and England are obviously going to win the WC now. I can't WAIT for the next nine months of bullshit fawning coverage.
 
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don_quixote

Trent End
yeah i would take bosnia going through. fucking hell - imagine if bosnia draw croatia in the playoffs?

anyway, argentina look out on their arses.

and bahrain beat the saudis!! that means one of bahrain and new zealand will be in the finals. another "new" side (in my memory)

mexico beat honduras...
 
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crackerjack

Well-known member
don_quixote said:
yeah i would take bosnia going through. fucking hell - imagine if bosnia draw croatia in the playoffs?
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Still a chance they could get Serbia....:eek:

anyway, argentina look out on their arses.
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Tragic. They're home to Peru (out) and away to Uruguay (still in); Ecuador are home to Uruguay and away to Peru (good, but already through). Venezuela are home to Paraguay (traditionally shit away) and away to Brazil. But even if they qualify Chavez will blow it by invading America or refusing to play unless he can field Ahmadinejad as a sub or something. I would still be very, very surprised if Argentina don't get through - and gutted, as it will take some of the shine off England's eventual and inevitable triumph - though they may have to sack Maradonna to do so.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
don_quixote said:
and bahrain beat the saudis!! that means one of bahrain and new zealand will be in the finals. another "new" side (in my memory)
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the 1982 new zealand team of course were one of thew lucky few to face the greatest ever WC side, by many estimations (Brazil of Zico and Falcao and Socrates).
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
From Sky Sports website comments section. The idiotic jingoism has begun in earnest:

"Best England performance I've seen in my lifetime!, better than 5-1 v Germany and 4-1 v Holland. The balance is just right and the supposed 'ego's' have deservedly lost that tag. Bring on South Africa, this cements us as favourites in my view!"

Well then, you're a massive, massive twat.
 
hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
If Lennon plays or Walcott plays right wing, Brown should be at right back. You don't need an attacking full back overlapping someone as quick as that. It would be pretty impossible, anyhow. And Brown's the better defender at the moment. If it were Backham on the right, there's a stronger case for a quicker full back who's better going forward than Brown is.

I would guess, re getting the ball back, that against the better teams you would hope that Hargreaves was fit. He's really quick over that space in the midfield - actually, he's surprisingly pacey full stop - so he can play the pressing game the Spanish play so well. Dunno if he'll ever be fit again, though.
 
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crackerjack

Well-known member
hucks said:
If Lennon plays or Walcott plays right wing, Brown should be at right back. You don't need an attacking full back overlapping someone as quick as that. It would be pretty impossible, anyhow. And Brown's the better defender at the moment. If it were Backham on the right, there's a stronger case for a quicker full back who's better going forward than Brown is.
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the assumption is that Johnson has a season under Rafa to improve his basic defending. If not, it should be a simple matter just to slot Brown in come June. Meantime there's plenty to be said for a two-pronged attack down one flank. All England's goals, bar the keeper's gift, came from right-side crosses or runs. It does, for instance, massively improves Lennon's effectiveness if the defenders know he has the choice tearing down the wing himself, or cutting in, knowing he's still got a wide option in GJ.

and another edit: there's no reason why Brown and Johnson can't work in tandem in the WC - GJ for the easier games, WB when they know defending is at a premium, with the other on the bench to closed down/open up if needed. It would be folly to discard a defender with his attacking prowess (2 goals 2 assists already for Liverpool this season) just cos he's not very good at his, er, job (slanty emoticon unavailable on edits :( )
 
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hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
Agree largely. You can also use the full back put crosses in from slightly deeper areas, using the space that Lennon's pace has created. See, for instance, Brown's cross for Ronaldo v Chelsea in the Champs League final, Beckham's for Crouch against T&T last world cup, where Beckham was basically at right back in the 2nd half once Lennon came on.

Edit: And of course you don't discard Johnson. Brown's a good option for the squad cos he can cover centre half too.
 
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don_quixote

Trent End
crackerjack said:
Tragic. They're home to Peru (out) and away to Uruguay (still in); Ecuador are home to Uruguay and away to Peru (good, but already through). Venezuela are home to Paraguay (traditionally shit away) and away to Brazil. But even if they qualify Chavez will blow it by invading America or refusing to play unless he can field Ahmadinejad as a sub or something. I would still be very, very surprised if Argentina don't get through - and gutted, as it will take some of the shine off England's eventual and inevitable triumph - though they may have to sack Maradonna to do so.
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oh my god, i am so wet at the thought of venezuela vs north korea in the world cup.
 
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don_quixote

Trent End
re: full backs. it's interesting to note the last few world cups have always been won by the team with the best full backs.

brazil of 1994-2002 were so strong because of cafu and roberto carlos, but were trumped by lizarazu and thuram at their height. in 2006 italy had grosso and zambrotta.

you can have good wingers, but mobile full backs give you wing domination. why do you think germany have pursued with philip lahm so long even though he clearly cannot defend for shit?
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
That's awful. And why the fuck is he taunting Arsenal supporters? They never did anything bad to him - he was just a very lackadaisical player who fans rightly thought wasn't giving enough.

I'm beginning to hate Man City more than I did Chelsea. At least Chelsea had renegade charm in the form of Mourinho when they bought their way to success. I honestly want United to bury them.

Edit: and dues to van Persie for 1st Arsenal goal, he stayed on his feet after a two-footed challenge and still manaaged to score an amazing goal..
 
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crackerjack

Well-known member
baboon2004 said:
That's awful. And why the fuck is he taunting Arsenal supporters? They never did anything bad to him - he was just a very lackadaisical player who fans rightly thought wasn't giving enough.
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Except for giving him a load of (deserved) stick and reputedly keying his car.

Adebayor should - and will - get a ban for that and a fine for the goal celebration. But the way he skipped past 4 Arsenal defenders was fucking sublime. I also thought Van P's press statement was a bit unnecessary, given it was a reaction to his two-footed foul that caused it.
 
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scottdisco

rip this joint please
baboon2004 said:
I'm beginning to hate Man City more than I did Chelsea.
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i'm biased as i'm a City fan (albeit a very ambivalent, mostly lapsed one who despises the very concept of both the takeovers and rather felt we died of shame as a club when Shinawatra came in and has not given any money to the club or any of its publications since) but give it a little bit longer on this, eh.

when the majority of the City team turn into a bunch of graceless whingers who bully the ref every match for lots of 50:50s, and when City start employing charmless scumbags like Kenyon and rude snobs like Buck, then i'll agree neutrals can have reached that tipping point ;)

Adebayor needs to be banned and the celebration was stupid, to be clear.

good full back point from Don_Q.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I'd be pissed off with Arsenal fans if I was Adebayor, true, but then I wouldn't have played games for the club as if I didn't give two shits about anything (I can only comment on the televised games/MOTD - dunno if he behaved like that all season).

City looked class on the ball from the very brief highlights i saw, so I definitely welcome that. They're just not very lovable*, with Bellamy, Barry, Adebayor etc.

*any more, I should say.
 
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scottdisco

rip this joint please
baboon2004 said:
City looked class on the ball from the very brief highlights i saw, so I definitely welcome that. They're just not very lovable*, with Bellamy, Barry, Adebayor etc.

*any more, I should say.
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you are entirely correct here, i'll freely admit (and my digs at Chelsea were not entirely fully serious although Bruce Buck's verbals against 'the men of the Manchester Ship Canal' once when slagging off United will not be forgotten by either half of Mcr in a hurry). some West Ham i was talking to in a Borough pub recently when i was down were incredulous when i formulated my views as 'i'd rather we didn't have the takeovers and were still struggling, potentially in the Championship*' - i realise this may sound very self-indulgently/pretentiously hairshirt, perhaps, but hey.
it's certainly a minority view round my way among Citizens, although one my United mates (can all afford to) share.

* relegation a definite possibility that new season without the slight boost Shinawatra bought to us (though, granted, in the end it was a hill of beans compared to the UAE money and stable, coherent new direction this lot have brought) as we had just completed a truly woeful season the summer he completed.
 
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