To Say That Some Must Have Paid Thousands To See This!
The World Cup Final has been a thuggish affair, with just a couple of clear chances, that anybody on their money should have put away with ease.
Now here’s an idea. I support Ipswich and have therefor seen most of the teams in the Coca-Cola Championship. Suppose you created a team of the league, from the best players regardless of their nationality and gave them a manager like Huddink, Hodgson or perhaps even Sven, for a one-off game against either Spain or The Netherlands, you would have had a much more enjoyable game, probably with a deserved winner. And it wouldn’t necessarily be the better-paid team, as Championship sides don’t always lose cup matches against clubs from the Premier League.
If you think, I’m biased towards the standard in the Championship, feel free to do the exercise with the Second Division of any European League.
We would certainly see more skill and commitment and probably less fouls and bookings too!
But some people must have paid thousands to see this rubbish!
I see though that Howard Webb has just sent off a Dutch defender. So that means the match will get worse as the Dutch play for penalties.
Are the Dutch PLeased With An English Referee?
The BBC’s panel of experts think that a couple of the Dutch team should have had an early bath!
But then you see much tougher football every day in England. And then the referee and his assistants are all English!
If they had been from l;ots of other countries, there would be a different situation at half-time.
The Dutch Are Hanging In
But for how long?
I think I’ll put some money on penalties!
There seems to have been litle mention in the build-up to this game, that The Netherlands was once controlled by Spain. It’s not history I know too well, but I seem to remember that the Spanish Armada was going to pick up Spanish troops under the Duke of Parma from Flanders for the invasion of Great Britain.
Perhaps, just as the first Elizabeth supported the Dutch in their fight against Spain, we should do the same today.
I Remember Jarlath Regan
I use one of Tadey Regan’s phrases, “The Struggle Continues” all over the place as a catchphrase and e-mail signature for example, as it sums up my life so well. For Tadey, it summed up his life in trying to be a success in that most difficult of professions, as a racehorse trainer. C and I had horses with him for several years and although we never had a winner, we had a great time.
But for Tadey, there was little justice in his chosen profession, as he continually struggled.
Jarlath is the youngest of Tadey and his lovely wife, Moira’s four children. I remember them telling C and myself about how after a big meeting at the Curragh, the kids would climb the fence and collect all the discarded Tote tickets. They’d then bring them home and look for any winning ones that had been unintentionally discarded. Needless to say, sometimes they struck lucky.
So perhaps Tadey and Moira have got one of their biggest rewards, as Jarlath Regan appears to be making a success of being a comedian according to this article.
Perhaps, this from a review might sum up Jarlath. It certainly fits my memories and C would approve if she were still here.
But then, you can see how the thought might never have entered his head, as Regan is a very laid-back chap, insisting that he’s never been in a fight and will avoid confrontation at every turn. He can’t even bring himself to shout at his dad when he phones up every single day with the same question about working the TV remote control.
The Place To Be Tonight
I am not far away from Stansfield, a small village between Haverhill and Bury St. Edmunds.
What is unique about the village is that its pub, the Compasses, is owned and run by a Dutch couple.
We went on Friday and it looks like tonight will be the night for a visit, especially as they look like they can cope with my dietary requirements and serve Aspalls Cyder.
No More ITV Football Hopefully!
It would appear that the second semi-final and the final of the World Cup will be on the BBC.
So I won’t have to watch the worst football coverage I’ve ever had to watch.
How To Be Rude To Visitors
I am watching the World Cup semi-final with a visitor from The Netherlands.
Their experience is ruined by the constant adverts and crass commentary on ITV. After all none of the adverts is relevant to someone with intelligence or who lives outside of the UK.
ITV also always refer to The Netherlands as Holland, which is incorrect, as Holland is just a province of the Netherlands. It’s like using England, when you mean Great Britain or the United Kingdom.
I tried to find a Dutch channel on SKY, so that we could both enjoy it, but there isn’t one.
So we just switched over to Radio 5 at half-time to avoid the drivel!
ran Ramsey’s 1966 Team Compared To Capello’s 2010 One.
I’ve beem comparing these in my mind and feel that I want to put my fourpennyworth to the debate.
Goalkeeper
I think everyone agrees that the long line of good English goalkeepers, whilst it may not have come to an end, has been temporarily halted. Ramsey had the incomparable Gordon Banks and whilst David James is not bad at all and played quite well in South Africa, he is not in Bank’s class. Ramsey 1 – Capello 0
Full Backs
George Cohen and Ray Wilson were not spectacular attacking full-backs who scored goals, but theywere very reliable defenders, who did a solid job and could also overlap with some skill. The pick would probably be Cohen and Cole. Ramsey 1 – Capello 1
Centre Backs
Jack Charlton should probably be compared to Terry, but he was definitely the better player, as he rarely made serious mistakes. Perhaps though today, his robust style might have been a liability, but no more than Terry’s. On the other hand, Bobby Moore, who was probably one of the best centre-backs that have ever played the game was much better than any of Terry’s three partners; King, Carragher or Upson. Ramsey 2 – Capello 0
Midfield
Ramsey’s midfield of Ball, Stiles, Charlton and Peters doesn’t compare directly with Capello’s first choice of Milner, Lampard, Barry and Gerard. Capello lacked a destroyer like Stiles, someone who could pass like Martin Peters and anybody who could run for ninety minutes like Alan Ball. There was also Bobby Charlton, who could score spectacular goals from midfield.So it has to be scored at least Ramsey 3 Capello 1
Strikers
Geoff Hurst and Roger Hunt were probably not that good. I saw Hunt play a lot for Liverpool and he didn’t impress me and as a Spurs supporter, I thought him inferior to Jimmy Greaves. But Greaves didn’t perform in the group matches and was dropped! In some ways Geoff Hurst was one of those guys, who end up in the right place at the right time, as he did to score a hat trick in the final. Both Rooney and Defoe are better than he ever was. Ramsey 1 – Capello 1
So Ramsey gets it by eight to three! Does this give any credence to assertions that the players we have now, aren’t as they were in the past?
We also have to remember that Ramsey had the knack of taking eleven players and then fashioning them into a team. He did that with the Ipswich Town side that won the First Division Championship (The Premier League Now!) in 1961-62. by playing a system with deep-lying wingers, Roy Stephenson and Jimmy Leadbetter, accurately crossing for one of the most deadly goal-scoring partnerships ever seen in the English leagues of Ray Crawford and Ted Phillips. The 1966 World Cup winners played a system without wingers at all, but with athletic players, who ran and ran to fill every gap!
Ramsey was a truly great manager and this illustrates how Capello is a man who doesn’t make the best of what he’s got. Remember too, that Ramsey was not allowed substitues for any reason whatsoever, so he wasn’t allowed the luxury of a Plan B. But then Capello didn’t have one of those at all!
It’s All Down to the Cyclists Now!
With Murray bowing out of Wimbledon, England failing in the World Cup, the cricket winding down after an England victory against the Aussies, it’s getting quiet on the sporting front.
But the Tour de France starts today and Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish should give us something to cheer about. I’ll be watching. Let’s hope that the victor of the Tour does it unaided by chemists!
Dave Whelan On England
Dave Whelan has been there as a player and now he is chairman of Wigan. He talked a lot of sense on Radio 5 this morning. Like me he criticised the management at the FA and Capello’s methods. He feeld that the Premier League should be in charge of England. I don’t necessarily agree, but he has a very valid point as the FA is totally useless.
The Anonymous Widower 