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!
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.
A Legal View On England’s Second Goal
England did score a second goal last night, but the officials didn’t give it. It was just one mistake of many they made and they weren’t all against England.
Yesterday, I was having lunch when the goal was scored, with a judge. I asked her about the rules of evidence. For instance, if you setup a camera to see who was nicking your garden gnomes, would that be evidence in court. The answer is yes, so in a court of law, that was a goal, as clearly the ball crossed the line on the video replays.
How long can FIFA carry on their rediculous stance, that there should be no video evidence on important decisions? After all, cricket, tennis and rugby have used the technology for years and it can be argued that it has improved those games by adding not just fairness, but drama as well.
I do wonder though, that this goal could be a turning point. It must worry the major leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, where so much could turn on a wrong decision, that it could be in their interests to introduce the technology for league matches. After all, supposing Frank Lampard had scored that goal for Chelsea and not giving it, had cost them a Champions League place. Would a British court rule in Chelsea’s favour? Not sure, but remember that in the end Sheffield United won compensation from West Ham over the Tevez Affair.
What would FIFA do if the major leagues went it alone? Probably throw those counties out. That could be a good thing for football, as we’d then hopefully get a new breakaway independent organisation to replace FIFA without the old farts and their dubious and rather odd decisions.
But remember this goal wouldn’t have made any difference, as England were so bad!
I also saw that the standard of the officials in the other game was bad, as one Argentine goal was offside.
So another thing FIFA must do is to allow professional referees only at the World Cup. Perhaps too, they should have officiated in say 50 matches in a major league. I suspect if that were to be the case, then the best officials would be recruited to the major leagues, no matter where they came from. That would be another good idea, as the standard of refereeing is not what it was in the English leagues and there is a need for some competent new blood.
Sir Alf Will Be Turning In His Grave
If you thought Algeria was bad, then today’s match against Germany was even worse!
You pay a manager £6,000,000 a year and the team serves up this tripe! So I know the first head to roll.
I suspect though the old farts at the FA will duck the decisions they should make and blame everybody except themselves. Endless reports have told them what to do; like cut down the size of the commitees that don’t manage our national game, stop employing people who don’t perform, that they then have to fire at great expense, get the Academy at Burton built and make sure Wembley has a playing surface worthy of the best footballers. Perhaps too, they should also make sure that the Premier League creates a few more world beaters, like the acadamies in Italy and Germany do. But then you don’t mess with the Premier League! They mess with you and give you crumbs if you’re lucky.
So who should replace Fabio? I watched the whole of the match and saw the faces of David Beckham and Stuart Pearce. Even they couldn’t do anything! But give them the authority with most of the old farts removed and Pearce as manger and Beckham as the enforcer and things might just work out.
Oh! No! It’s the Germans Again!
It had to happen didn’t it! Will it be penalties on Sunday afternoon?
I hope not!
So Far So Good!
England are a goal ahead, thanks to Defoe. But the biggest improvement is in the advert-free coverage of the BBC. The commentators don’t say the crass statements and make the mistakes, that those of ITV do!
Spam in French
Over the last couple of days, I’ve started to receive the usual search engine optimisation spam in French. It’s funny but it seemed to start after France’s real troubles started in the World Cup. I wonder why?
New Zealand Draw With Twelve Man Italy
What a result and well played New Zealand and of course Tommy Smith of Ipswich! But according to Robbie Savage on Radio 5, it wasn’t a penalty, but a well-carried out dive. And where did the officials get four minutes of added time from at the end? Obviously, they didn’t want a nice holiday being feted in New Zealand.
But Italy have followed the pattern of well-fancied European teams.
Let’s All Support Nobby
Nobby Stiles, one of the heroes of 1966, has had a very small stroke.
I wish you well Nobby and here’s a deal; you get well and I’ll try to do the same!
What is it about a problem shared?
The Anonymous Widower 