Off the Ball

By Chop Chop

June 10, 2006 2:11 PM | Link to this

T&T and Sweden wasn’t boring, though.

Great game by Hislop, Yorke and Sancho.

Sweden better find the net against Paraguay. Of course, Ibrahimovic is probably due for a brace after today.

By Nicholas Irwin

June 10, 2006 2:20 PM | Link to this

Guilty as charged. I guess I made it no secret that I’m not the biggest England fan, but honestly, even if I were I’d be upset getting up early on a Saturday just to see that. On the plus side, had I wanted to go back to sleep, I could have done so with ease.

And yes, Sweden-Trinidad was a much more entertaining game. Anybody who claims that soccer isn’t worth watching because of low scores needed to watch that match. The game was thoroughly entertaining and tense, despite the scoreline, and the crowd was electric. The way the crowd reacted, Sweden basically felt like they’d lost and Trinidad basically felt like they’d won. So see? Scoreless ties can be entertaining.

By time for the truth

June 11, 2006 12:46 AM | Link to this

This brainless woman obviously has NO understanding of football. And the fact is there is NO such thing as “soccer” - its a moronic term deployed by arrogant countries who have a form of “football” that virtually NO ONE else plays with crash helmets and shoulder pads that rarely ever actually sees any football played with the feet. F.I.F.A. run the world game and U.E.F.A. the European game and the F.A. in England - no “soccer” at all in the offical titles, nor in the OLDEST league club side in the world - Notts County F.C.

And the ‘F’ stands for football!!

The whole point of the group stage of the World Cup is to win the group or at least advance to the knockout stage. Its not essential to be entertaining or high scoring as someone who actually understands the game noted above. Hopefully this lady will also have noticed that the attention span of real football fans is vastly greater than the usual 2/3/4 mins seen in the USA, punctuated by endless lowest common denominator TV commercials. What I still snigger about is how the Yanks when they had the world cup over here actually had the unmitigated gall to ask FIFA if they could split the 45 minutes halfs into two periods - for extra TV commercials. Happily they were told to take a hike!!

Yes Sven’s second half substitutions were as usual questionable, hence our lads ended up defending a bit too deep with not much service up front as the Boro’ sub was neither playing in the hole or actually as a target man. But the back four looked pretty solid and the wingbacks needed to push on with more urgency. But the distribution in the middle of the park was good at times. England, like several teams usually improve as the tournament progresses, especially this time as our two first choice strikers are hardly match fit.

AS for the snivelling morons allegedly “commentating” at ABC - they continuously ruin the beautiful game with their pig ignorance of the rules/terminology/culture, inability to spot simple tactical developments and imbecilicic patter. At least folks who know the game can sit and laugh at them. As for the execrable studio “wrap ups” - a six year old outside Layer Rd or Turf Moor could provide vastly more insight than any of these smug pearly white toothed Yankee wankers!! If a Brit tried to call an NFL game it would likely be just as pathetic.

Do us all a favour love - and sleep through the next few games - and read a few ENGLISH football reports written by English women journalists - they - like the men actually know what they’re talking about!!

By Nicholas Irwin

June 11, 2006 2:03 AM | Link to this

Ugh…so many things I could pick apart. I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s start with the football/soccer thing. NO ONE CARES!!! It’s what we call the sport. It is actually a proper name for the game, as it’s short for association football, but even if it weren’t, why would you care? It doesn’t affect anything in the least. Why already have a sport named football, so we name it “soccer”. Frankly, the only people who really care about this are pompous windbags who are trying to lord it over people, such as yourself. You can trot out all this crap about how it’s called football everywhere in Europe, and it still doesn’t matter. Soccer is what we call it here. Live with it. It’s the same game, and it’s not a big deal.

Secondly, no…I guess as long as you get the result, it doesn’t matter how boring you are, but you have to understand a couple things here. First, I understand that you’re an England fan, and thus don’t care if the game causes everyone watching it to spontaneously fall asleep as long as you win. I do understand that. But as someone who couldn’t care less what England does, I would like to see entertaining soccer, not the most boring match of the year. However, far more pressing to England is that this kind of play in the end keeps them for ever having a chance to win the World Cup. It wasn’t just boring play, it was crappy play, and I think we all know where it will lead, as I said earlier today. Until England starts getting a little more attack-minded, they will never win another World Cup. You simply can’t pack it in against the best teams in the world and expect to not give up a goal.

Third, the arrogance here about the commentating is pretty hilarious. The only country the English soccer (yes, that’s right…soccer) press knows anything about is England. I suppose they probably do pretty well with the rest of Europe, too. Their lack of knowledge of other continents, though, is actually outright hilarious. For instance, during the England-Jamaica friendly a week or so ago, the British announcer stated that Jamaica was on track for qualification last year until they had key losses to the U.S. and Mexico. Never mind the fact that a)they were actually eliminated from qualification two years ago in the semifinal round, failing to make it to last year’s final round; b) since they weren’t in Mexico’s group, they never actually played Mexico; and c)they were in the U.S.’s group, but the two draws they had against the U.S. made for some strange-looking key losses. This would take about five minutes of research…tops. The English press simply doesn’t care about anything outside of Europe, and thus have no knowledge of anything that goes on outside of Europe. Don’t complain to me about crappy announcing. At least the American announcers can be bothered to look up a simple freaking fact so that they won’t get something like that completely wrong on the air. I quite frankly would rather have that with occasional slip-ups because they don’t know the game quite as well than arrogance so thick that they just refuse to research things because if it didn’t happen in Europe, it doesn’t matter.

By Nicholas Irwin

June 11, 2006 2:05 AM | Link to this

In the first paragraph, that should read “We alreadly have a sport named football”

By time for the truth

June 11, 2006 1:05 PM | Link to this

yet another smug idiot humiliates themselves!!

The English football press know infinitely more about about world football than any yank hack- its football, not b******* rugby with crash helmets and thuggish functioning illiterates. Press coverage outside England involves English clubs compete in EUROPE every season and have done for well over 40 years now. There is a long hundred year plus tradition of international football matches between countries - you yanks cant do this because no one else plays that mindless micky mouse bollocks you have the hilarious impertinence to call “football”. As for the arrogantly named “world series” the world here is the US and one canadian team. For years now English TV has shown S American and European footy.

When exactly do the NFL’s team play with their feet? As for the moronic way most touchdowns are scored by simply running way ahead of the ball and waiting for a pass- anyone can do that - that’s why its outlawed in football and rugby. Its called offside!

It is NOT the same game here - here you yanks have pathetic shoot outs to make sure the insane obsession with winning every game is upheld. Over a season several draws - there is no such thing as a “tie” - can make a huge difference to clubs in all leagues. The points awarded are different too, so its not the same.

I recall seeing an North American indoor “soccer” league game in Buffalo years ago and the teams actually got different “points” for different ways of scoring goals and own goals etc - unbeleivable.

Your micky mouse teams continously play each other - the same exact teams year after year after year. There are 92 professional FOOTBALL clubs in England and Wales with FOUR leagues, and promotion and relegation gives every season real meaning. Same in Europe and S/ America with a number of leagues and relegation etc in every country. We have annual cup competitions that often pitch the minnows - some even non-league aginst the big premiership teams, every season!!

Perhaps the most pathetic thing @ Yankee sports is the “franchise” thing. In England and Europe clubs are part of their community, they are not bought and moved around to different “markets”. Many clubs have 100 year + histories. Many Fans travel home and away sometimes twice a week to all games and follow their team into Europe and on pre-season tours to other countries. Its a very different culture, especially at the smaller clubs where success is not the be all and end all. The NFL season is not even half an English football season!!

As just one example the yankee wankers on ABC yesterday asserted that for England fans Franfurt was a home game because it was only a 90 minute flight - this moronic bollocks was even repeated. Its a different country for christ’s sake - not flying from ATL to FL!!

The “biggest” part of football is the terrace culture and the fans interaction and the armosphere at games and the pre-match atmosphere etc. You yanks have NO real atmosphere at any of your games, no proper chanting, no singing, no (changing) original songs, no vocal banter with opposing fans etc its just child like “lets go Buffalo” or “lets go Braves” - you sheeple here even have the stadium announcers dictating when to “make some noise”!! But you do ram the national anthem down everyone’s throat for no reason at all. the national anthgem in England is used only at cup finals and national team games - much mopre appropriate than the gentle US brainwashing.

The commentators on FSC are not “proper” commentators - just amateur “in house” wankers that FSC use to keep their costs down. That American on Fox is by far the worst I’ve ever heard anywhere!! On ITV, SKY and the BBC you dont get the same coverage at all. Some FSC games are SKY feeds and the difference is amazing.

Your supremely ignorant critique of England ignores the point I initially made that BOTH of our main strikers are not even match fit. The world cup is about results - as are all competitive games. Just ask an Arsenal fan about 1-0 games and grinding out results. Its a subtlke thing which most yanks cannot ever grasp - the tension and relief from a 0-0 draw can be just as exhilerating as stuffing Man Ure 5-0.

The attitude of most yanks to the world cup is of complete ignorance/indifference which is fine - America is (especially culturally and sporting wise) one of the most insular countries in the world and I am a US citizen with a US wife so I understand things here very well.

Football is a world wide game - yet you yanks dont play it properly as seen above - you dont have a proper league structure, your clubs are mostly pathetically supported, and there is no real national interest here in the biggest game on earth - other wise the TV coverage wouldn’t be as dire as it is.

Some US commentators have attempted to learn some fo the basics of the rules and terms - its hilarious when they “mix” them up though!!

As for a P.K. - I LMFAO every time the yankee t** say this!!

By Nicholas Irwin

June 11, 2006 2:35 PM | Link to this

Um…OK. Congratulations for writing a response without actually addressing any of my points. I’m fully aware that 0-0 draws can bring relief and entertainment. For instance, that Trinidad & Tobago-Sweden match yesterday was thoroughly entertaining and tension-filled. The England match, however, was not entertaining and not tension-filled. It was boring as hell and had all the tension of a church service. Hell, the England fans AT THE GAME were bored. Don’t try and tell me it wasn’t boring. Sometimes one has to admit that their team sucked and needs to play better rather than proclaiming that that’s how it was meant to be played.

Also, you still haven’t come anywhere close to presenting why it’s such a travesty that we call it soccer. Your rant about football is completely irrelevant. It’s not even what we’re talking about here.

Finally, this misinformation about Jamaica was by a British announcer. It was on the British feed. I agree that Max Bretos is a complete tool, but again, that’s really beside the point. Oh, and the MLS got rid of shootouts several years ago. Although I’ll forgive you, because I’m sure you probably heard that the MLS still has shootouts from a British commentator yesterday.

By time for the truth

June 11, 2006 3:44 PM | Link to this

I addressed the points that “needed” addressing! Such as they were. The England game was full of tension mate - watching the clock tick down at 1-0 was very bloody tense. Our conceding late on would have thrown the group wide open. I accurately and fairly critiqued the display in my intial response.

I note you IGNORED my factually undeniable points about US cultural/sporting arrogance and sporting inanity - just about the rest of the world plays football and calls it football - except for the bloody aussies! As I haven’t watched your awful local franchise product in several years (purely on TV) which is barely English Div 1 standard I was unaware the shoot outs had been discontinued. Thank christ for small mercies - eh??

“Football” existed long before the NFL type drivel was spawned, therefore calling an american sport played almost entirely with the hands - in 2/3 minutes spells at longest - with “quarters”, “football” is hardly 90 minute football. The name of the game and the nature of the game of REAL football was already indelibly established (globally) everywhere else. Imperiously and incorrectly labelling US b******* rugby (note the non football, rugby like goal posts) football and then when your own pathetic (national) attempts at “real” football emerged decades later dubbing that “soccer” so as not to really confuse the already dire attention span of americans already force fed this utter mindless shii__ite called NFL “football” is typical of american insularity. Clearly your comprehension skills are as p** poor as the MLS teams!! You repeat other moronic points from before - which I answered fully!! The minor Jamaican “error” was down to FSC use of (English) wankers … not proper commentators - (see again earlier post).

There is NO tradition of football in the US - no 100+ year club tradition, no tradition of supporting clubs home and away for 100+ years, football here is much more of a cynical marketing tool to try and engage the boys and girls who play a version of the game but have no understanding of the games’ history and traditions!! Which explains why US club teams aren’t being flooded with demands to tour Europe but why English and EU teams are coming here in the close season - to rake in some more transfer money!!

By E. Lewis

June 12, 2006 12:06 PM | Link to this

England won. At the group level it is really that simple.

Could they have done it differently and in a more spectacular fashion? Of course, but then Wayne Rooney could have re-injured when he’s going to be needed more as the team advances.

Could the team have exhausted itself in this early round? Stupidly, yes.

David Beckham’s own goal could have been shot straight in, but ask any footballer at this level and they will tell you that a goal scored is a goal scored no matter how you got it.

I am hoping to see great things out of Team England, but if they manage to take it all in a rather unspectacular fashion, I for one will not complain.

By E. Lewis

June 12, 2006 12:11 PM | Link to this

My biggest gripe about the ABC coverage was how the sports-probably-non-soccer(football) commentators spent more time talking about David Beckham’s wife than they did the his own goal.