Hot off the complaints of England player's over the unpredictability of the new
World Cup ball, Brazil keeper Julio Cesar has likened it to a cheap supermarket
ball.
We've all been enjoying a wonderful World Cup tournament that has featured some incredible teams
playing the beautiful game, but there are several improvements that need to be made to make it even
better.
Here are the top 7 ways to improve the World Cup:
- Remove the lots.
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AFTER allegations that Peter Crouch cheated with a teenage prostitute during a stag do hit the
tabloids, distraught WAG Abbey Clancy removed her engagement ring and fled to Spain, her mascara
all a mess. As you do.
But now and this is gonna shock you, so brace yourself it looks like Clancy is prepared to
forgive her lanky twat of a husband-to-be.
By Ollie Irish
At last, we present the cut-out-and-keep GIF of European football's best moment so far this
season. In glorious slow-motion too it's hypnotic stuff.
Video: Jessica Kastrop Wears Petr Cech-Style Helmet To Protect Against Stray Balls
More GIFs!
At this stage of the season, I'm not too bothered how we score or how we get the points, just as
long as we do. Obviously it would be easier on our hearts if we could grab two goals in the first
ten minutes every week but that would be too good to be true.
Today we didn't have to settle for scrappy goals or scrape a win.
Kelly Whiteside of USA Today writes of the relationship between Bob and Michael Bradley-
For Bradley, training at Princeton University is just as ideal. After all, this is where he learned
to play the game, where his father, Bob, coached the Tigers from 1984 to 1995. "I have a lot of
memories, watching practices, chasing after balls," says Michael, now 22.
Last year I wrote that Barca's win in the CL final was symbolic of the philosophy of football I
support: Attacking, possession, technically superior, pressuring high up on the pitch. This year,
Inter's victories in the semis and final of the Champion's League have challenged the Barca/Dutch
philosophy of total football.
With a nod to Must Read Soccer's daily compendium of what really are must read pieces of
writing, we'll try to feature a site here each week that deserves your attention.
This week, it's Zonal Marking, the best site out there on football tactics and strategy, with a
quite remarkable stream of daily articles on clubs and countries around the world.
The US game against England a 1-1 tie, as everyone knows was real entertainment and also, for
me, a moment of revelation.
After an early goal, when it seemed like it would all be out of reach very soon, star-studded
England seemed troubled by the innocent, sincere play of the Americans, who were able to pull even
later in the first half and keep it at that for the rest of the game.
Bobby Zamora's first 45 minutes in an England shirt turned another routine international
friendly into a full-on "c'mon!" session. At first England didn't seem to be playing through
Zamora, whose role as a spearhead was undermined by the team's reluctance to feed him balls he
could use.
Then Wayne Rooney went off and the whole thing changed.
Is this the first time that we've finally seen what Smuda is aiming for in the national team?
More or less between the 20th and the 45th minute we were absolutely in control of the game. It was
possession play at its best; not only keeping the ball, but creating chances as a result of this
possession as well.
England were booed off once again after another uninspiring performance. I don't really care for
the English football team so never feel strongly enough but they do get really boring at times.
I'm not sure if this is down to the manager or the general approach to football in England. I'd
love to know what Capello truly thinks about English football.
Well hello there.
I see you've caught me off guard. As you can see, there are a number of people desperate for my
autograph two to be exact so if you don't mind, I'll have to seduce you while making these Berba
fans' dreams come true. And no, I don't know who this short man with the normal sized head is in
front of me, but yes, he is freaking me out, as well.
At the beginning of the month there was talk that the club would stop playing the deafening
music as the players walked out of the tunnel, in a bid to get the atmosphere going. The club gave
in to this request and the ground was almost silent as the players walked out, with the exception
of the Burnley fans' singing, who are one of the few clubs to take up their full allocation.
Well, let's start with the positives. The USA looked very good in the first half. I live blogged
about how it was important for Jose Francisco Torres to come in and stake a claim for his spot in
the midfield, and I was happy to see Jose come in and dictate the flow of the game. His presence on
the field really cut down on the long balls from the back that the US team usually heaves forward
incessantly.
By Ollie Irish
Poor Rob Green. I mean that. I mean, how forking annoying that England should shoot themselves
in the foot in a World Cup, AGAIN, but for Green to make such a rookie blunder in front of more
than a billion people... well, I feel for him he's a decent bloke and a decent keeper.
Many of us are returning from a month of skipping out on work or, if you are like me, watching
World Cup games at your desk while pretending to work. I know the Cup is not over but I find myself
already looking ahead to Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014.
Like so many others, I am also transitioning back to watching MLS.
On Friday the draw takes place for the final Champions League qualifying round. Even now I'm
simultaneously incredulous and breathlessly excited that the name of Tottenham Hotspur Football
Club will be included. Yet even before the balls emerge from UEFA's tacky plastic cannister, our
preparation for the most significant match in recent times has been [.
By Ollie Irish
... That's the hot rumour on interweb avenue. More when we have it...
(Of course, this is only a rumour at the moment and it may yet turn out to be a mangled story
about United picking up a new sponsor in the form of the Japanese company, which of course is
famous for making printers.
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of four players who complained to the referee when Wayne Rooney was
sent off for supposedly stamping on Ricardo Carlvaho's balls.
Rather than blame the three England players who then went on to miss their penalty, with the
game finishing 0-0 after extra time, this country decided it was Ronaldo's fault that England got
knocked out of the World Cup.
Part 1 of Havant & Whotheheckareyou?-ville can be read here.
We last left this story with Bath City's defence bravely trying to fend off a relentless Havant &
Waterlooville attack. City had taken a 1-0 lead moments before, but up in the terraces there was a
feeling that something was definitely wrong.
Now, in my opinion we didn't play the best football we could have but, WHO CARES!!!! It was the
last game of the season, what mattered most was the result. And, to top things off, Aris also won
which mean Oly finishes fifth in the league! IM LOVING IT!!!!
Alright, as I mentioned in the post before Oly had a very depleted squad.
The photo above is the Tiento, the official ball from the very first World Cup in Uruguay in
1930. Do you suppose the players might hush up about the Jabulani given this as the alternate
option? Likely so.
Jens Heilmann is a photographer who decided to take photos of the balls from the previous 26
World Cups along with this year's whipping boy of a ball with wonderful results in decidedly better
shape than the one above to boot.
This afternoon's much anticipated match between England and the United States ended in a draw.
USA will continue with a higher level of confidence, while the English are left trying to figure
out just what happened.
Just four minutes into the game, Steven Gerrard found himself in front of the U.
The last five regular season matches between the Fire and the Crew have ended in 2-2 draws. This
one also could have ended in the same manner if the Fire had not blown several chances to at least
put a shot on goal and make Columbus goalkeeper Will Hesmer work. The Fire managed a total of 16
shots but only 2 of them were on goal.
You've already seen the video of all the red cards in the 2010 World Cup but now it's time for
something of another variety. Here are fifteen of the best assists from last month's tournament.
From Rafael van der Vaart to Robinho, check out the finest flicks, crosses and through-balls.
I didn't follow the Bolton games last season and couldn't really see how Wilshere had played for
them. Obviously, Coyle was highly impressed by the youngster and started him in most games so that
says a lot.
It is interesting to get a first hand glimpse of how the youngster fared and if you've missed
those games, the following compilations will give a good idea.
Evansville Courier & Press, August 8, 2010
We do a lot of video analysis with our players at the University of Evansville, which I believe to
be one of the best teaching tools available. We have what I see, what the player sees, and the
truth (the video), because the video never lies.
I'd say this is our first "must win" game of the season. I know it's a bit clichéd but playing
against a newly promoted team at home has to be a certain three pointer. Of course, there can be
episodes like the one with Hull a couple of seasons ago but I'll be really surprised if we perform
anywhere near as bad as we did that day.
After a two-week break for Arsenal Station due to illness, I return to my blogging duties at the
best of times. After our satisfactory result/disappointing performance at Liverpool last weekend,
Arsenal needed to put in a quality performance. Of course, there are huge issues still surrounding
the squad, but a 6-nil victory, no matter the opposition, can only give the team confidence going
forward.
Winning, while not playing well in an away game – that is the sign of champions. I think this
game showed us that Arsenal have learnt some lessons and made many improvements over the
summer.
I was most impressed by our collective defending. We all knew what Blackburn were going to do.
Their primitive style is not a surprise for anyone.
West Brom are a team that I respect. I'd even say I like them and will support them in their
quest to avoid relegation. They are a team that deserves to do well in the Premier League. I feel
this way because the Baggies are a team that tries to play football the right way. They fight hard,
but not dirty; they try to defend well, exploit set-pieces, shoot from distance – but they don't
intentionally foul goalkeepers, or kick opposition players, and their manager is not a scumbag.
Finally, the full compliment of goalkeepers is in U.S. WNT training camp. When camp started, it was
just Jill Loyden getting some personal training from U.S. goalkeeper coach Paul Rogers. She was
then joined by Ashlyn Harris, then Alyssa Naeher, and finally veteran Nicole Barnhart arrived
yesterday. During today's morning training, Rogers had his 'keepers catching balls with SPARQ
weight vests on.
By Chris Wright
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has warned midfielder Stephen
Ireland that he will have to start proving his worth to the club after being overlooked
for yesterday's derby stalemate with Birmingham.
After the game, Houllier had stark words for the bench-bound Ireland:
"Stephen needs to work harder.
He caught a purple ball thrown at him from a height of 105 metres.Gavin Henson and David Seaman
entered the record books today as they both caught a ball travelling at terminal velocity above
Wembley National Stadium, London. The record-breaking moment marked the launch of Cadbury Spots v
Stripes' biggest game of Catch in the UK.
If you didn't understand Arsene Wenger's faith in this team, watch this game again and
again.
If you didn't believe the earlier games between the sides were close and the first goal made a
big difference, watch this game again.
I don't want to get too excited over one win. That's not in my nature.
AFC head honcho has come out to suddenly backtrack on his disagreement with Sepp Blatter. Rumors
were flying that FIFA president hopeful came out against Blatter in a row over allocation of funds
for grassroots football in Africa. However, though the two have been described as good friends, bin
Hammam seems quick to smooth over any rough edges.
By Ollie Irish
Ollie's Photoshop skills = almost as bad as Liverpool's form this season
"Inter are working to sign Steven Gerrard [this summer], given that Liverpool are in
economic difficulty," an Inter source has told Corriere dello Sport.
Reina
Carragher Skrtel Kyrgiakos Insua
Mascherano Lucas
Degen Aquilani Riera
Kuyt
Goals:
Kuyt 6' 90+3' (pen)
Even with this season's horrors, Liverpool hasn't done too badly in ‘statement games.'
Admittedly, basically every game's a statement game with the shape the side's in, but 2-0 wins over
United, Everton, and now Spurs (and a 1-0 win at Villa) are nothing to sneeze at.
'Boring, boring Villa' sang our fans in frustration, as we once again failed to find the net at
White Hart Lane against stubborn opponents. For me though, there was a far more boring reality that
I see looming on the horizon.
Liverpool are now fourth, despite having played terribly for most of the season.
