FIFA World Cup 2010

[Anonymous]

Group C will be gone after the next round =/

Serbia, Ghana, Germany....Bit too much.

Thanks for the prediction. You have been wrong about us so far, I expect that will continue. I think we take Ghana...if Germany wins...then...

 

[luckyboy]

Thanks for the prediction. You have been wrong about us so far, I expect that will continue. I think we take Ghana...if Germany wins...then...

Can't see Germany not winning. And Serbia should win.

 

[The Hitch]

Group C will be gone after the next round =/

Serbia, Ghana, Germany....Bit too much.

But after the Algeria draw, i remember people on here saying they didnt expect England to beat Slovenia. But it happened comfortably. They have a very very good team, they beat Germany in a friendly in Germany last year, and as long as they're in it they have a chance.

 

[FastMatt]

USA advances and France is out? Who would have thought!!

 

[The Hitch]

ah. so clinton was with sepp blatter. I shouldnt be surprised. corruption inc.

Looking at the US game, they could have won that 5-0 even without the disallowed goal.
But considering their midfield commander plays for fulham, their target man plays for hull city reserves and their messi played briefly for everton, this is not a team that should be topping englands group.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Thanks for the prediction. You have been wrong about us so far, I expect that will continue.

No, I predicted them to advance in every pool I entered. I also cheered for them today, my comment on Slovenia was just a general observation.

Struggling that hard to score against Algeria I just think they can't beat any of the candidates in Group D. Ghana could happen, Serbia and Germany are too strong.

But maybe I'm wrong, who cares. Our countries won't win this tourney anyway.

 

[Anonymous]

No, I predicted them to advance in every pool I entered. I also cheered for them today, my comment on Slovenia was just a general observation.

Struggling that hard to score against Algeria I just think they can't beat any of the candidates in Group D. Ghana could happen, Serbia and Germany are too strong.

But maybe I'm wrong, who cares. Our countries won't win this tourney anyway.

Very true.

As Hitch said above, we SHOULD have won 5-0, but missed easy goals. Not good. I am a little pi$$ed at Algeria playing for the tie though. Really weak plan there Algeria.

Serbia and Germany are both great teams. We will need luck if we get to either.

 

[The Hitch]

No, I predicted them to advance in every pool I entered. I also cheered for them today, my comment on Slovenia was just a general observation.

Struggling that hard to score against Algeria I just think they can't beat any of the candidates in Group D. Ghana could happen, Serbia and Germany are too strong.

But maybe I'm wrong, who cares. Our countries won't win this tourney anyway.

you dont think netherlands will win? they have as good a chance as anyone in europe other than spain in my opinion.

 

[Cobblestones]

Hey, we actually won a game! And we won the group! A few more games and we win the world cup! Maybe I'll even watch it then (unless it clashes with the TdF).

 

[ak-zaaf]

you dont think netherlands will win? they have as good a chance as anyone in europe other than spain in my opinion.

Bronckhorst is way to slow for a modern day back. Can't defend and can't overtake the winger enough. Heitinga and Matthijssen are pretty good defenders, but they seem to lack in communication. There were a lot of small errors in the first matches, errors that will cost you at good teams.
Van der Wiel is great, but also lacking in 'emergency break' defending skills. Ajax school, admirable but deadly against better opponents.

Defensive midfield is great, no worries there.

In the front Van Persie spoke out in the media before the tournament about wanting to be the striker, he's collapsing under that weight so far.
If our attack can get there **** together we might beat 1 real contender but were lacking some crucial skills for a title: Killing a game when you're 1 goal ahead, frustrating opponents without getting cards, keeping control of fast paced wingers and defending collectively.

It's not going to happen for Holland.

 

[The Hitch]

Hey, we actually won a game! And we won the group! A few more games and we win the world cup! Maybe I'll even watch it then (unless it clashes with the TdF).

first mountain stage, Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz is on same day but final is on slightly later.

 

[luckyboy]

Bronckhorst is way to slow for a modern day back. Can't defend and can't overtake the winger enough. Heitinga and Matthijssen are pretty good defenders, but they seem to lack in communication. There were a lot of small errors in the first matches, errors that will cost you at good teams.
Van der Wiel is great, but also lacking in 'emergency break' defending skills. Ajax school, admirable but deadly against better opponents.

Defensive midfield is great, no worries there.

In the front Van Persie spoke out in the media before the tournament about wanting to be the striker, he's collapsing under that weight so far.
If our attack can get there **** together we might beat 1 real contender but were lacking some crucial skills for a title: Killing a game when you're 1 goal ahead, frustrating opponents without getting cards, keeping control of fast paced wingers and defending collectively.

It's not going to happen for Holland.

At least if they don't win it this time, there's a load of good young guys that are gonna come through - Hiariej, Bruma, Pieters, Fer, Wijnaldum, Biseswar, van Wolfswinkel..

 

[Galic Ho]

Heres how i understood your post

You supported Australia so there must be some great conspiracy against them.

Your post was long so I shortened the paragraphs and will refer to each in turn.

Your first paragraph was based on a major assumption. That I naturally will see Australia as hard done by. I'd view any team that has been treated exactly as the Socceroos have, as being hard done by.

You dont like Brazil so there must be some great conspiracy by the referees in their favour. I also find it ironic that you would like to see the team of C Ronaldo punish another team for cheating

Assumption here is that I don't like Brazil. I do, Kaka and Robinho are great players who I like to see play well. I don't like diving, it is that simple. Brazil weren't at Italy's standard but were trying very hard. My point was they were asking for trouble. Between the 70 and 80 minute mark they took it up another notch and Ivory Coast naturally became aggrivated. Yes Keita did a douchebag move, yes Kaka was hard done by but given the manner in which Brazil had been playing and diving I think if they'd played cleaner the incident would not have happened. I was saying Brazil motivated Keita to do what he did. As for Ronaldo, my point was clear...heaps of Premier League watchers disliked his antics, yet in the Portugal v North Korea game he was very well behaved. Exceptionally well behaved. He was doing what you alluded to below...playing smart. It removed the rubbish, kept the game flowing because there were few referee whistles and naturally the goals flowed. Great to watch.

You dont like Chille so you say there must be some great conspiracy on their part too. i myself really wanted Switzerland to win that match as it would damage Spains chances of topping the group. However the Swiss player went in with his elbow. I dont think it should have been a red but it was a close call and the referee took the other view.

I don't dislike Chile either. It really comes down to behaviour and dynamics. I call it as I see it. Aussies believe in fair play and honesty. I see a lot of low moves and poor character on field. Hard core football supporters in this country often believe we need to drop this attitude. My point is simple...be aware of it and don't get caught up. Like Neill and Grosso last world cup. Don't give a known diving nation, like Italy, a chance to dive in the dying seconds of a game. Behaviour wise I thought Chile were disgraceful. They had their own antics shoved back in their face. Unfortunately for the Swiss they copped the flack with the red card. Oh well. Most Aussies have been expressing the same feelings. We play sports hard and don't go down easily...we're tough. Football is thus not the preferred football code in this country. Perhaps you've heard of State of Origin, the 3 match Rugby League contest between the states of New South Wales and Queensland? That is tough and the most watched sporting event each year in our country. Whilst football (soccer) has theatrics and diving, it will struggle to break the stranglehold League and AFL have here...kind of why we will struggle to win the rights to the 2022 WC.

I think we shoulkd give refferees a bit more leniancy. Yes football is as corrupt as this thing of ours, but not at the referee level as much as at the Sepp Blatter level. The referees dont go out there with the intntion of knocking one side out. They just do as good a job as they can controlling a fast paced match for 90 minutes with 22 players to monitor.

simple...video referee and a match oversight committee who can overturn yellow and red cards. Not match results, but certainly the severity of punishments. I also think they really need to stamp out diving and review the card system. Have green, yellow and red. Some yellows are given for soft calls, 3 greens and you're off would be sufficient. 2 yellow and you're off and one red.

As for players diving you are right, they are diving all the time and its disgusting. For me its not as much about being wimps as about having absolutely no honour (not a quality limited to football i know, but perhaps most prevalent in it).

If footballers had half a brain they would realise by now that being the good guy in incidents like these (especially on the world stage) would be considered an act of huge honour. They seem to be too stupid to realise this.

It is a system wide attitude. Just like Omerta. It needs to be stamped out, however the main benefactors and recipients of this behaviour once played the game and are now in the positions to have it removed. I don't see it happening. You'd need a Greg Lemond type persona to stand up and be counted...I don't see the European powerhouses doing that. Short story, remove Blatter and Platini. New blood, new vision, stronger attitude and enforcement. Name and shame the divers and punish them. They'll quickly stop.

I also can explain the referees. FIFA pulls refs from all Leagues, but each zone is in charge of rule enforcement. The WC pulls them together and FIFA is finally having the ruling say, not the individual zones. For example, when we qualified in Asia, we picked up a lot of cards because our players were getting carded for things that were allowed in their club leagues in Europe and Australia. Asian ref's were very soft and loving towards divers. Some of the really weak Asian teams had players stretchered off every 3-5 minutes. It was pathetic. Made Italy look tame. Hence why we get games like the Serbia v Germany game with almost a dozen cards and the Chile v Swiss game as well. Those ref's are probably like that all the time and are not use to how tough players in Europe are. It explains part of the gulf in ref standards. FIFA needs to set a school up before the tournament and teach their own standard and make it very clear. In other words, don't give the ref's too much leeway.

 

[The Hitch]

Your post was long so I shortened the paragraphs and will refer to each in turn.

Your first paragraph was based on a major assumption. That I naturally will see Australia as hard done by. I'd view any team that has been treated exactly as the Socceroos have, as being hard done by.



Assumption here is that I don't like Brazil. I do, Kaka and Robinho are great players who I like to see play well. I don't like diving, it is that simple. Brazil weren't at Italy's standard but were trying very hard. My point was they were asking for trouble. Between the 70 and 80 minute mark they took it up another notch and Ivory Coast naturally became aggrivated. Yes Keita did a douchebag move, yes Kaka was hard done by but given the manner in which Brazil had been playing and diving I think if they'd played cleaner the incident would not have happened. I was saying Brazil motivated Keita to do what he did. As for Ronaldo, my point was clear...heaps of Premier League watchers disliked his antics, yet in the Portugal v North Korea game he was very well behaved. Exceptionally well behaved. He was doing what you alluded to below...playing smart. It removed the rubbish, kept the game flowing because there were few referee whistles and naturally the goals flowed. Great to watch.



I don't dislike Chile either. It really comes down to behaviour and dynamics. I call it as I see it. Aussies believe in fair play and honesty. I see a lot of low moves and poor character on field. Hard core football supporters in this country often believe we need to drop this attitude. My point is simple...be aware of it and don't get caught up. Like Neill and Grosso last world cup. Don't give a known diving nation, like Italy, a chance to dive in the dying seconds of a game. Behaviour wise I thought Chile were disgraceful. They had their own antics shoved back in their face. Unfortunately for the Swiss they copped the flack with the red card. Oh well. Most Aussies have been expressing the same feelings. We play sports hard and don't go down easily...we're tough. Football is thus not the preferred football code in this country. Perhaps you've heard of State of Origin, the 3 match Rugby League contest between the states of New South Wales and Queensland? That is tough and the most watched sporting event each year in our country. Whilst football (soccer) has theatrics and diving, it will struggle to break the stranglehold League and AFL have here...kind of why we will struggle to win the rights to the 2022 WC.



simple...video referee and a match oversight committee who can overturn yellow and red cards. Not match results, but certainly the severity of punishments. I also think they really need to stamp out diving and review the card system. Have green, yellow and red. Some yellows are given for soft calls, 3 greens and you're off would be sufficient. 2 yellow and you're off and one red.



It is a system wide attitude. Just like Omerta. It needs to be stamped out, however the main benefactors and recipients of this behaviour once played the game and are now in the positions to have it removed. I don't see it happening. You'd need a Greg Lemond type persona to stand up and be counted...I don't see the European powerhouses doing that. Short story, remove Blatter and Platini. New blood, new vision, stronger attitude and enforcement. Name and shame the divers and punish them. They'll quickly stop.

I also can explain the referees. FIFA pulls refs from all Leagues, but each zone is in charge of rule enforcement. The WC pulls them together and FIFA is finally having the ruling say, not the individual zones. For example, when we qualified in Asia, we picked up a lot of cards because our players were getting carded for things that were allowed in their club leagues in Europe and Australia. Asian ref's were very soft and loving towards divers. Some of the really weak Asian teams had players stretchered off every 3-5 minutes. It was pathetic. Made Italy look tame. Hence why we get games like the Serbia v Germany game with almost a dozen cards and the Chile v Swiss game as well. Those ref's are probably like that all the time and are not use to how tough players in Europe are. It explains part of the gulf in ref standards. FIFA needs to set a school up before the tournament and teach their own standard and make it very clear. In other words, don't give the ref's too much leeway.

much better.

Apart from the ronaldo point. He didnt dive against North Korea because its north korea. If they progress, i would expect him to revert to his nature- cheating. (not just in england but diving for pens in spain as well)

And you did not defend your original charge, that Keita cheated as a protest to the unfairness of the situation. good to see.

But yeah, good points. Video technology is needed but will never happen.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Bronckhorst is way to slow for a modern day back. Can't defend and can't overtake the winger enough. Heitinga and Matthijssen are pretty good defenders, but they seem to lack in communication. There were a lot of small errors in the first matches, errors that will cost you at good teams.
Van der Wiel is great, but also lacking in 'emergency break' defending skills. Ajax school, admirable but deadly against better opponents.

Defensive midfield is great, no worries there.

In the front Van Persie spoke out in the media before the tournament about wanting to be the striker, he's collapsing under that weight so far.
If our attack can get there **** together we might beat 1 real contender but were lacking some crucial skills for a title: Killing a game when you're 1 goal ahead, frustrating opponents without getting cards, keeping control of fast paced wingers and defending collectively.

It's not going to happen for Holland.

I expect RvP to improve. Robben coming back will improve the morale again.
I think a lot of the frustration comes down to the opponent. Both Japan and Denmark sat back and copped the pressure against us. I think we have lacked urgency so far, especially when attacking. They never got out of 2nd gear, and are capable of better football, despite their claims of satisfaction.

I expect this to change however, especially against the better teams, who will not sit back, and allow the dutch to use the space more effectively. But the big players are gonna have to step up; robben, RvP, Sniejder.

I don't think we will either though. I do think we will make semis (and yes, if we play brazil in the quarters, I boldly predict we beat them) though. I too worry about the defense, Gio was really poor against japan I thought. They're gonna give way too much space away against better opposition.

 

[theyoungest]

Bronckhorst is way to slow for a modern day back. Can't defend and can't overtake the winger enough. Heitinga and Matthijssen are pretty good defenders, but they seem to lack in communication. There were a lot of small errors in the first matches, errors that will cost you at good teams.
Van der Wiel is great, but also lacking in 'emergency break' defending skills. Ajax school, admirable but deadly against better opponents.

Defensive midfield is great, no worries there.

In the front Van Persie spoke out in the media before the tournament about wanting to be the striker, he's collapsing under that weight so far.
If our attack can get there **** together we might beat 1 real contender but were lacking some crucial skills for a title: Killing a game when you're 1 goal ahead, frustrating opponents without getting cards, keeping control of fast paced wingers and defending collectively.

It's not going to happen for Holland.

So by the same logic, you don't think it's going to happen for Argentina either? Because their defense is even worse.

And the "frustrating opponents" part is covered pretty well by Van Bommel. He's learned to do it without consequences (knock on wood).

 

[ak-zaaf]

So by the same logic, you don't think it's going to happen for Argentina either? Because their defense is even worse.
.

Samuel and Demichelis made it to the CL final...

Argentina has better players overall.

Demichelis might not be impressive, but he's no worse than what we got.
Despite what some poeple here might think, none of our players come close to Messi. And if Persie doesn't shape up our attack skills our worthless. Argentina has strikers who score.

Van Bommel is the only one in the other example. The rest can't do it. Card magnets when things don't go their way.
The rest just stands.

 

[Moondance]

Germany are not exactly convincing in the first 20 minutes or so. I hope that this wont be the end for Germany. Would be soooooo disappointing.

 

[Moondance]

Horrible miss Mesut...

 

[ak-zaaf]

For people who like tennis:

Spoiler

Check out the Mahut - Isner game right now.
50-50 in the 5th set. nearly 9 hours played and every record broken

 

[The Hitch]

Damn i wish i could watch this.
But a tennis match that started yesterday, was 25 25 in the 5th set at the end of the Group b games. Its now 51 51.

 

[The Hitch]

For people who like tennis:

If anyone has been recording this they would have run out of space, and would probably be grateful to know the result in advance, saving them 9 hours of their lives.

I have been watching it sporadically. Do you know when the last time mahut was broken was? sets 3 and 4 were tie breakers so i assume he wasnt broken in those and he won the 2nd. Im guessing he hasnt been broken since set 1 which would make it something like 70 consecutive service games unbroken though im not sure.

 

[icefire]

Ha! Wimbledon's live score web page is unable to display the number of games correctly

However they show impressive figures for aces (Mahut 84, Isner 93), winners (290, 313) and so on

 

[Moondance]

The sheer amount of one-on-ones that have gone they way of the goalie this tournament is almost staggering.

 

[Galic Ho]

If the Group D games remain draws then Germany goes through with Ghana. Someone in the Australia and Serbia match needs to score.

I also must ask a question. What are they feeding people in Serbia? Their players are huge. Very tall men. Maybe they have no other sports to play other than basketball or tennis.