Millennium and Wembley Stadiums Compared
I’m not comparing anything, but their use for football, as I’ve experienced both in the last few days.
I’d say Wembley is very Jaguar, whereas the much less expediently-built stadium in Cardiff is more Audi, with more concrete and wood and less marble.
On the other hand, the sight lines in Cardiff, may even be better to those at Wembley. You also seem to closer to the action. I wonder, if this is because it is a much squarer stadium than Wembley. Only an architect with experience of sports grounds would know.
Food in both stadia is the usual gluten-rich junk, but then as the Millennium Stadium is in the centre of Cardiff, anybody who like me is choosy with his food will eat off-stadium. That is not really an option at Wembley, so I always eat before I leave home or in the centre of London.
The Millennium Stadium does lose on access to the trains, whereas Wembley has improved greatly in the last ten years. I believe Cardiff Central station is being rebuilt, so hopefully, better access will come. But a nearly three hour wait for a train to London is unacceptable, even if First Great Western were their usual helpful self, even handing out bottled water.
We Can’t Win Everything!
I did try to get to the womens football on Friday in Coventry, but there no tickets available. As they lost to Canada, I wasn’t that bothered, especially, as like many men, I’ll look upon the women’s side of the game in a different light.
I did go to Cardiff yesterday to see the men lose on penalties to South Korea.
I’m sure the system of deciding matches on penalties, was brought in by sneaky foreigners to make sure we never win anything.
Arise Sir Bradley
If after his exploits this year in the Tour of France (It’s the Anglo-Saxon’s now!) and then his untouchable performance in the Olympic time-trial yesterday, where he made a world-class field look like amateurs, he must be odds-on to be knighted in the near future. The web certainly thinks so.
Would he be the first Sir Bradley?
Searching the Internet only finds an anti-gay evangelical Christian web-site, a US wrestler called Sir Bradley Charles and a Sir Bradley Avenue in Sacramento, California. In my book only the last one has any credence. So who was it named after?
So I think he would be the first Sir Bradley!
There of course a lot of sites saying he should be knighted.
For different reasons, such as his part in bringing the Olympics to London, it can’t be long before Her Majesty corrects the mistake the Greeks made over David Beckham, by adding a knighthood to his name.
I Called It Right
I know a few Koreans and so I went with them to see them play at Wembley tonight against Gabon. We were a bit higher up in Club West.
Korea v Gabon at Wembley
The view was a bit better, than for the game last night.
It wasn’t an exciting game and the goalless draw was about fair. But it meant that Korea came second in their group.
When Great Britain won, it meant that the tickets, I’d bought on spec to see the quarter-final in Cardiff won’t have to be sold on.
I just felt the two teams might meet there. And I was right!
So it’ll be off on a High Speed Diesel Train on Saturday. What better way is there to travel to see your team?
Great Britain v Brazil At Wembley
I thought this would be a must-see event and as over 70,000 went I wasn’t alone in my thoughts. As ever I took a few pictures.
But there were empty seats as the pictures show.
The football was very good.
Perhaps to me, the difference between the two sides was that every time the ball went lose, the British team were on it, like a pack of hounds. Even the goal scored by Steph Houghton was after Brazil failed to clear a corner.
The one mistake Britain made was missing the penalty, but in the end that didn’t matter.
Scots Get Their Flags Wrong
At Hampden Park today, they showed the wrong Korean flag, as reported here.
The North Koreans got annoyed, but would they be missed if they pissed off home!
I for one would have cried all the way to the toilet.
So perhaps, Glasgow has done everybody a favour.
Are Rangers Really Going To Play In Division 3?
This post on the BBC web site leaves a lot of holes to be exploited and arguments to be settled.
There’s going to be a lot of money kilted by lawyers.
Trainers Boycott Race at Worcester Over Low Prize Money
It had to happen, as after all bookmakers can go off-shore to avoid paying tax and the levy, which funds prize money, but trainers can’t train horses in Gibraltar and fly them in for the race.
Unless a solution is found, racing will die in the UK and the mugs will bet on football, videos of horse racing and flies crawling up the wall.
If the British public reckon bankers are an evil lot, then they should take a strong look at bookmakers.
Swiss Prosecutor Says FIFA Took Bribes
It would appear from these statements by Swiss prosecutors, that FIFA was as bent as a nine-bob note when it was run by Joao Havelange. In a well-crafted phrase by an old accountancy mate, many at the top in FIFA have been screwed, glued and tattooed.
How far is this investigation going to go?
Team GB Chooses Fire
Team GB has announced two captains for the Olympics; Ryan Giggs and Dai Greene.
Both are Welsh and hopefully they’ll be able to put some fire into the teams. Admittedly, the football team has a strong Welsh presence with five members, including two of the three overage members of the team.
The only problem, I can see is it makes it even more urgent to find somewhere to park the dragon.
The Anonymous Widower 