Tuesday 3 July 2012

The Reign of Spain

Okay, maybe they're not that boring, Spain.

They were, though - until the final. Even Arsene Wenger thought that all that possession with no end-product was pointless and negative, which is a bit like Katie Price calling Jodie Marsh 'a bit trashy'.

Maybe there were mitigating circumstances. Italy looked shagged out. They had one day less to prepare and they'd spent 120 minutes smacking footballs against Scott Parker just a week ago which could tire anyone out. (I reckon if they remake The Ipcress File Scottie should be there in the Michael Caine role, clutching that rusty nail into his palm to bloke out the pain.)

Pirlo couldn't wield much of an influence, which shouldn't detract from his awesome performance in the 'quarter-back' role. I remember Becks trying that position against Northern Ireland once. It was about as successful as a landing party of haddock soldiers.
Talking of Becks, if we must - well done Pearcey for leaving him out. Not only does he not really qualify on footballing grounds (they do exist and are not some political get-out-of-jail-free card for people who don't want the 'best' two centre-halves in the country punching each other out on the training pitch), but Pearce has tacitly admitted that the Olympic football tournament is a meaningless sideshow that not even a celebrity auditonee for Pirates of the Caribbean - how else do you explain the ludicrous beard? - could save.

Spain were also helped by Italians collapsing like they were two Allen keys short of a flat-pack bookcase. But, as Alan Shearer might put it, 'let's take nothing away from the Spaniards, they was top-drawer.'

Shearer's presence on the pundits' panel still bewilders, particularly when he was alongside the truly articulate Vialli and Klinsmann. I mean if you can't string together a meaningful sentence in your own language then what's the point?

But maybe, just maybe, all this flak served to needle Spain into a more progressive style because, fook me, they were good in the final. Not the best team we've ever seen but probably - alongside 1970's Brazil - the best national team.

Of course much will always be made of the absence of a proper centre-forward. An English translation of this would be someone who's 'good in the air and has a decent touch for a big lad' - or, to put it more straightforwardly, Andy Carroll.

But Del Bosque has worked out that keeping the ball is a good way to stop the opposition, and a Carroll or a Gomez, or in this tournament a Rooney, are a good way of guaranteeing that the oppostion get it back.

But on Sunday the flair players came to town. Italy's flat-back four was tailor-made for dashing little darts in behind them from the likes of Fabregas, Silva and Jordi Alba and the big noble lunks that held fast for Prandelli thus far were made to look like giant blue cones on a training pitch.

Certainly Spain's interchanges of pass were slicker than ever. Iniesta, Barca's friendly ghost and Xavi, part midfield maestro and part Pokemon character, set the tone. Busquets and Alonso stuck a stud in when necessary. Ramos and Pique were sturdy at the back, and Balotelli was pretty anonymous (if you can be anonymous when someone appears to have scored a scale model of the Andes down the centre of your forehead).

Ramos even found time to float forward and treat us to one of his trademark penalty-box tumbles. My God that man's a knob, which unfortunately doesn't prevent him from being a good footballer.

Torres was used as a tormentor of tired legs, and in Casillas they had the best keeper in the tournament, just about.

The defensive strategy of most of Spain's opponents seemed to be to let Arbeloa have as much of the ball as possible. Thank God they didn't have a right-footed Jordi Alba or we could have all spent the summer at home under British umbrellas.

Del Bosque deserves enormous credit of course for continuing to oversee a strong team ethic from players who use El Classicos to test out the relative strengths of (a) each other's shinpads and (b) the ability to fall over convincingly.

So yes, Spain fully deserved the title. They were all the things they'd not really been for the rest of the tournament.

All of which can't allay my disappointment for Germany who appear to be, dare I say it, squandering the talent of a golden generation. [Pause for small helpless chuckle].

All in all, it's been a very enjoyable tournament. Why they want to inflate this neat high-standard three weeks of football into a flabby doddering test of stamina in four years time is beyond me. Oh, apart from pure naked greed, of course. Perhaps Bob Diamond's putting together the next one.

Given Spain's ridiculous 4-6-0 formation  it's difficult for a Teesside brought up on a 4-4-2 to work out what the team of the tournament should be. You could do worse than pick Casillas and ten tiny Spaniards.

But here's mine anyway:

Casillas: Lahm, Pastapopolopodopolous (summat like that), Pique, Jordi Alba; Pirlo, Khedira; Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta; Balotelli.

Not sure what formation that is so I've put del Bosque in charge. He'll sort it out for us.

In the meantime let's watch Andy Murray's opponents get their match completed so that the poor lamb is knackered before his quarter-final. home advantage should mean something, shouldn't it? Gawd help us!







95 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Bugger all, H2. I went there for a wedding a couple of months ago.


      Jedi

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  2. For once there was an intelligent,articulate couple of pundits on Radio 5 live Monday evening that said Brazil of 1958 was the bench mark,the only reason they aren't as well known because of the lack of TV coverage.

    The Spain as boring argument is only because they are miles ahead of anybody else,and often winning teams have these sorts of accusations thrown against them.If only Ipswich were as "boring".

    Still,3 weeks to see if Bradley Wiggins can win the Tour de France.I suspect it'll be Cadel Evans again,but there you go.

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  3. Not sure why Murray should have any home advantage. Tennis is not played home-away is it? None of the other champs (fed, rafa, djoker) won any home slams. If he wants to be champion, let him win it like everybody else.

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  4. Good stuff Robbo, it's a toss up between Brazil 70 or Bolton 58.

    it's a fix for Murray, Ginny Wade silver Jubilee year, this one for Murray. Rafa agreed so he could piss off early and watch Spain in the final. Plus it'll make up for the absence of Scottsmen in the Olympic squad.

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  5. Is Xabi Alonso the most under-rated footballer of all times?

    I think he is.

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    Replies
    1. L'pool letting him go because Rafa was having a luv in with Gareth Barry that spectacularly back fired was the begining of the end for Benitez and surely one of the biggest gaffs made by a PL manager in recent times.

      I remember he was being scouted by Arsenal at the time and I was most dissapointed he opted to go to Real. A briliant player.

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    2. Sure Iniesta and Xavi getallthe accolades but for me, he is the main player in the Spain team.

      The master and commander of their armada, if you will.

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    3. Totally agree. He was the heart of the LFC team.

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    4. He can tackle and kick long balls. He is not suited to tiki-taka. I dislike Busquets but he is more important to Spain team than X Alonso. Plus Alonso missed pen against Portugal. Nearly screwed up regulation pen in UCL final '06 too. If Alonso was a Barca player he would be centre back like Mascherano.

      Delete
  6. Olympic football, meh. I can't ever remember watching an Olympic match up, it's schedualed at a time that coincides with pre season training and will disrupt many clubs preparations for the coming season, it's not even endoursed by Fifa/Uefa.....

    Hold up, that may be it's one redeeming feature.

    It doesn't really mean fuck all anyway, the only important thing seems to be if Physco was right to leave Becks out or not, an arguement as tedious as it is pointless, but which does seem to bring up some classic opinions, here's 'Arry's;

    'There is no doubt Stuart will have upset a few in high places. They would have loved to see Becks in there. I am surprised and sad that he isn’t. Stuart can kiss goodbye to a knighthood.....'

    Hil-ar-i-ous, what a knob.

    So, in his divine wisdom who has Pearce decided the over 23 players should be. Well there's Micah "don't put me on the reserve list" Richards, Craig "I'm pretty handy with a nine iron" Bellendemy and Ryan "Broverly love" Giggs who, for 'Arry if you're reading, is a man who literaly screwed himself out of a knighthood.

    As far as the rest of the sguad goes, once again my main reaction has to be - Meh, Team GB doesn't really do it's name justice for as far as I can see it's made up of English players with a smidgen of Welsh lads (and over agers) with the most decent of the druids, monkey boy Bale, being banjaxed. There's not a Sweaty nor a Norn Iorlander in sight, are their under 23's as crap as their older contaparts? George Best and Kenny Dalgleish must be turning in their graves.

    We'll probably end up being tonked by the Peoples Democratic Republic of Whogivesafuck in a knockout round anyway, but on the otherhand it's more footy for us to marvel at and bitch about.

    I can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And continuing with the lack of N-Irish and Scotland players, why did the 4 associations go through all that hassle if Psycho (absolutely everything that's wrong with English footy) wasnt going to bother picking any player from the two of them?

      If you are in any doubt about Pearce's credentials in terms of football development then look no further than his insistence that younger players, if picked for senior squad, must also play on for the U21s. Muppet.

      Delete
    2. We'll probably lose to Senegal anyway. The yanks TV have already given a non-Beckham Team GB the swerve and the rest probably will as well.

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    3. Is Kenny Dalglish dead? I must have missed that news bulletin, H, thanks for keeping me up-to-date.

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    4. He's been brown bread for donkeys Trott.

      What you've been seeing is just a brain dead zombie version of King Ken.

      How else could you possibly explain 35 mill for Carroll, the mad defence of Suarez and the acqusition and use of Henderson and Downing?

      *Cue eerie music*

      The truth is out there.

      Delete
    5. More like, Kenneth ripped off.

      Delete
    6. I thought Scotland and NI requested to not have any of their players chosen... Ah well, Olympic football is meaningless, but at least it is football. I'll watch it if I can get it. Something has to keep me 'til the PL season opens again, and MLS isn't cutting it, in large part due to the shitty commentators. I can forgive shitty football for good commentary, because at least then I can somewhat listen while doing something else. Shitty commentary can ruin good football, and MLS is poor enough to not require ruining, even if it has improved of late.

      What's the frequency, Kenneth (of making poor decisions)?

      Delete
  7. In other news;

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18610066

    Got to love the LWC's

    Finish fourth and give your manager the Spanish Archer, replacing him with a guy that got the postmans carrying bag at a local rival club for not doing well enough to be in the top four.

    It's a funny ol' game.

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  8. Becks should be in the Olympic squad Micah Richards indeed. Pearce can't handle the fact that globally Beckhamis far more recognisable and interesting than he is.

    Also AVB in at Spurs has to be the worst decision I've seen. Is he an Arsenal secret agent destroying all other London clubs I wonder. Bottom 3 for them in September methinks.

    New Olympic Anthem

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AEO21i-oN0&feature=em-uploademail

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    Replies
    1. Not one of their best efforts.

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    2. Juande Ramos, Part 2 - The Relegationing

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    3. I've found things more interesting on the bottom of my shoe than Pearce.
      I picked up a copy of his autobiography out of the bargain bin a few years back. Flicked through it and, no word of a lie, there was a pic of my school footie team I played in as a nipper. Pearce was so uninteresting, I was in the same class and team as him in primary school and didn't even realise. I think we had Gary Waddock too. Fryent in NW London if anyone is interested (probably not!).

      Delete
  9. First up, great blog Robbo. Been a while since I've been able to get here to comment. Hope everyone is well.

    So AVB it is then. I'm very happy with the appointment. Think he's got something about him, and he's worth a go. He may turn out to be shite, but I think it's a risk worth taking. I don't think the Chelsea job can be used as a barometer of his abilities - the ego's in that dressing room got him sacked. So I think if we can get rid of William Gallas, he should have no problems with ego's in the Spurs dressing room. Maybe VDV, but he'll be playing in his preferred position every game (we have no-one else to play there anymore, thanks Harry), so he shouldn't be any trouble (famous last words).

    Harry did enough to get a new contract at Spurs - but talked his way out of it. He acted like a complete knob, as H shows in his quote above, and now seems to be Sky Sports' expert on all things Spurs, having interviews out on the golf course saying how the next Spurs manager should get at least 4th with the squad that he assembled. You didn't assemble it Harry - your additions were Louis Saha (released), Ryan Nelson (played three times, conceded two penalties, and now released), Steven Pienaar (bought, not played, confidence destroyed, loaned out), David Beckham (who couldn't even play for insurance reasons) and a big South African defender who played a few games at the World Cup, and has now been loaned out. Brad Friedel as well, to be fair, who has been excellent, but surely has no more than one season in him. In the meantime, you alienated Corluka, Dos Santos, Bentley, Pavylchenko, Kranjcar and others who have all demanded to leave.

    Anyhow, Euro's were alright, not brilliant. Best team won. Unbelievable how Garth Crooks put a couple of English players in his team of the tournament, but goes to show the utter garbage who can pass as a pundit these days, and who's so ignorant of anything that's not English. Rooney was toss, as expected. I'd like to think that Roy would now cast off the old guard, but he's already asked Stevie G to stay on, and said Rio is still in his plans. Same old, same old.

    Great stage in the Tour lastnight. This Sagen looks like a real talent. Nice to see Cav winning a sprint and simultaneously giving an opponent abuse at the same time. Wiggo is looking frustrated despite his laid back attitude. Getting caught up in little crashes and not getting the support that Cadel is, from his supposedly weaker team. Looking good for Cadel at the moment, but plenty more twists and turns to come I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter Sagan reminds me of Sean Kelly Noel.Just hope he doesn't come a cropper doing his little celebrations.

      Bookies odds for the TDF are Wiggins at evens,Cadel at 2-1 and 16-1 bar.I may break the habit of a lifetime and have a small nibble each way on Denis Menchov.

      Delete
    2. Be worth a punt Jacks. There seems to be a group of dark horses (or at least, not fancied as much as Cadel and Wiggins) who could all take out the prize.

      Seems to be things going on at Sky though. Bradley not happy with the support he's getting, Cavendish not happy at having to 'freelance' someone else's sprint train. I thought it was telling yesterday how in one of the final crashes where Cav got stuck and left in a group a minute or so behind that no-one was sent back to ride with him. Bernie Eisel was instead riding with Wiggins. I know their priority is Wiggins, but I doubt Cav is liking it.

      Delete
    3. To be fair to "inane Garth" (tricky), even UEFA put Stevie Me in their tournamnet squad.

      Obviously not a vintage year for midfielders (whatever Spain might think to the contrary).


      Jedi

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    4. Much as I'd love Wiggo (daft nickname if you ask me) to win Le Tour it's hard to like a guy so dour - is Andy Murray his PR coach? And Cav comes across like a likeable version of Wayne Rooney. you can almost see his two brain cells pinging about in his noggin like a couple of Higgs Bosons after a skinfull...:)

      Delete
  10. State of Origin game 3 tonight, with the series locked at 1-1. If Queensland win, they'll have won 7 in a row (the previous record was 3 before this current run), but for the first time since I've been here, NSW actually stand a very good chance tonight. And as always, the chances of a huge brawl are very high. Going to be a great match.

    England move up to 4th in FIFA rankings. Italy up to 6th. No further comment.

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  11. That fountain of utter gubbins Garth Crooks included Gerrard and Glen effin Johnson in his team of the tournament. Can you believe that? Actually I can, for this so-called pundit, who probably earns more for his childlike opinions than any of us in our "real" jobs has always spouted shite.
    As for Aliens Versus Baldrick - a good appointment methinks, if Levy shows hitherto undiscovered reserves of patience and sticks with him. Of course he'll prob be sacked at Xmas after Spuds plummet down the table when they discover that Bale's back injury wasn't just an excuse to keep him out of Pearce's clutches. And Pearce has a beard!!! Really??? This I must see...

    ReplyDelete
  12. thyve found the higgs boson. rooney was sitting on it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ..that was after he tried to head it and fell over...

      Delete
  13. Evil David Beckham brought shame on his country yesterday when he punched the masco. wenlock and mandeville (shudder) will be breathing a mighty sigh of relief

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/players/david-beckham/9369401/LA-Galaxys-David-Beckham-loses-his-temper-during-pitch-scuffle-against-San-Jose-Earthquakes.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. aye poor David, to top it off, his mates Tom and Katie are gettin' a divorce, shunned by Stuart Pearce, it's a fuckin' hard life eh.

      Happy Independence Day to the Yanks, behave yerselves, it's revocable.

      Delete
    2. and while they are at it, they should perhaps ponder why is it that every time earth is attacked by aliens, they start with USA?

      Perhaps its the americans that make us a target in the first place.

      Delete
    3. we'll only be safe when the yankees have worked out how to make the higgs particle into a weapon

      Delete
    4. Always start with the US because we are prepared.

      http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-obama-alien-invasion-20120627,0,6297016.story

      Better yet, five minutes into this clip:
      http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-23-2012/inside-the-political-curtain-with-john-oliver---herman-cain

      We take this very seriously.

      By the way, if you do revoke our independence, a tip for you: if you keep the flag and the measurement system the same, most of us won't notice.

      Delete
  14. Please don't bring up the Alonso -Barry story again. it's not nice to make a grown man cry.

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  15. We've all been conned, conned I tells ya;

    http://deadspin.com/5923264/sorry-mario-balotelli-didnt-really-make-this-german-fan-cry-how-tv-lied-to-you-during-euro-2012

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  16. How the fuck does this make any sense? ;

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18703497

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They've been at the brown acid, obviously!

      Delete
  17. Any Americans reading this - Happy Freedom From Colonial Oppression Day....can we have our tea back?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. We're quite fond of our artificially flavored sugar-based high fructose corn syrup tea-like beverages here.

      Delete
    2. Only because the Queen paid her lend-lease debit in full, I say, "Come pick it up. Its still at the bottom of Boston Harbor. It'll be delicious."

      Delete
  18. Wasn'* aware I'd lost i* *o be hones* !

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  19. I hink I saw i in Rogets hesaurus

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  20. So, it's bye bye RvP.

    I knew hr'd be off the moment he said he'd talk about his future after the Euros

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where's he going to win trophies? Man City's bench/rotation? May I suggest a loan to Real Salt Lake? MLS semi-finalists last season, currently second overall in the West. Season ends before winter sets in, grab the trophy, return to Arsenal. Job done.

      Delete
  21. Right. England ahead of Italy. And Portugal. And Brazil. And Argentina.

    Does this mean you made it past the quarters in the Euros? Or that you will in the World Cup? Do you get bonus points for lowering expectations before rising above them, much in the same way one clears a high jump bar after the previous jumped knocked it to the ground and forgot to put it back?

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  22. I know this is nonsense,but England's ranking has jumped because they run on a 4 year cycle.4 years ago we didn't play at the European Championships.The other thing to look at is we haven't lost that many games.We may not be any good,but continuing to be top seeds for qualifying tournaments means playing noddy teams we're expected to beat.

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  23. What should I do if i get to spend three days and two nights in Middlesboro?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just looked at map, should I go to North York Moors National Park or Hartlepool? Are there any football teams playing there or other sports events to watch? I'm not British I don't know these stuff.

      Delete
    2. If the weather is nice, you could do lot worse then spending a day at the Moors park. Absolutely lovely place.

      Delete
    3. See a psychiatrist.

      Jedi

      Delete
  24. So, where will RvP go, now he's finally loosened Wongeur's grip on his short and curlies? Citeh? Possible, but they have plenty of strikers (even if they offload any Argentinian golfers). Manure? On the slide, I reckon. Juve?

    Have to go now, I think, and collect the cash.


    Jedi

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    Replies
    1. It has to be Citeh, they're the ones that are offering stupid money.

      Who's gonna turn down 1mill a month, when you know this is probably your last contract?

      I get that, he'd be a fool not to go, but the parting statement is all a bit tasteless.

      Delete
    2. What are the current odds he'll be joining AVB at White Hart Lane?

      Delete
    3. I'll bet against it, any money you like.

      No way will Levy agree to his wage demands. Wonder if he'll "do a Rooney" and sign on for the Gooners again for a "masssive" (thanks Rafa) pay rise. His "parting statement" was pretty similar to Fat Boy Wonder's.


      Jedi

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    4. I'm assuming the Anonymous visitor to Middlesbrough is not RvP, though three days is about all of him they could afford.

      Delete
  25. Looks like goal-line technology is on the way in then. Blatter was against it, and then England get some luck with a goal not being given against them and Blatter gets it introduced quicker than you can say 'John Terry is a cunt'.

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    Replies
    1. Did everyone miss the blatant offside in the build up to the 'goal'? I mean, even Platini saw that!

      Delete
    2. Yes, the "goal" was offside, so it should not have counted anyway. But that doesn't negate the fact that goal-line technology is a good idea. Just reminds us that, surprisingly enough, linesmen or whatever they're called now are fallible.

      Delete
  26. I get it that RvP wants to earn more cash. I do to and if someone came in with an offer to more than double my earnings (from 90K to 220K a week in this case) I'd be off too.

    Except, I wouldnt demand to be released IMMEDIATELY, ignoring the terms of my current contract nor would I write an open letter, slating my current employer.

    Even more so if the current employer had stood by me while I only turned up to work HALF the time I was there and was a petulant, self involved prat the first 3 years of the total 7 years.

    But then, may be I'd do the same if I were a footballer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. this is a good sign Spit, let the healing begin!

      Delete
    2. I'm not bothered much with him leaving trott, its the matter of it.

      Delete
    3. ah well, if he wants trophies, recent history suggests that the teams spending loads of money are the teams that win 'em. so, he has a point, even if he is being a bit of a prat in the delivery. Good luck to him, hope he gets loaned out to Bolton.

      Delete
    4. Who hasn't done something like that before?

      But honestly, who wouldn't? No matter how your previous employer has treated you, if you were going to more than double your current wage to do the same job and possibly earn more recognition for it (and more bonuses along the way), wouldn't you go?

      No need to be an ass about it while you go, but still.

      Though if you're going to go, you could do a lot worse than the comment made by Latrell Sprewell when turning down a 3-year $27m contract extension with a team that not winning much of anything:

      http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/vcolumn041108-Sprewell.html

      Delete
  27. Hi Guys
    As an avid reader of this blog and comments I would like to say:

    1) well done Robbo, top effort!

    2) regarding EURO offside "goal", I have looked at this a number of times and it looks to me like the lad was level at worst == onside. Unless it was some form of "offside" from previous phase about 10 minutes before ...

    \ __^v^
    \( )|'
    /\ /\

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  28. this must make Suarez and JT so happy

    http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2012/07/05/3223114/extra-time-manchester-united-confuse-park-for-kagawa-in

    --BeeZee

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  29. If arsenal hve this special category so-called "marquee" players important to the brand supporter/ team morale etc, Henry... fabragas...(not Nasri) ...rsvp then why don't they have a special pay category to keep them? One good thing, walcott is reported to be considering departure, as if anyone top club would want him.

    Nice stadium, gooners, btw

    ReplyDelete
  30. My kids had a go at me this a.m. We went to see the Olympic torch pass.nearby, church bongos and a bell band sparked up, we high fived motorcycle policemen, cheered the nutter running with his fake plastic torch, then, then came the fuckin sponsors including Lloyds bank, greedy slavery profiteers and filthy economy destroyers, I loudly booed them of course and the pretty girls gave us a very wide bearth, so my boys didn't get little green Lloyds flags to wave, boo hoo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're a horrible father, denying your young boys branded trinkets because of your moral values.

      And if your boys are older, you're a horrible father for denying them pretty girls.

      For shame.

      Delete
  31. Where's Rod lately? It's time for you to enjoy a Federer match. That boy Murray, his life has been so tragic, it even brings a lump to his own throat. I don't want either of them to win.

    Up and at 'em, off golfing early, beat the heat.

    Come on ye Whites, Matt Mills, now that's a proper footballers name that is.

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  32. Mickey Mann was the ultimate footballers name trott ....alliterative, spondaic, demotic and not least because when you chant it you can't help thinking of mickey mouse . To Me Pluto! Back Door!

    Tennis is sport for grannies who dont like sport or in other words a bag o shite

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  33. England have the worst team any of us can remember. That's not going to stop them rising to 3rd in FIFAs world rankings next month. Brazil, as 2014 hosts (so don't play qualifiers) meanwhile drop to 11th.

    You wouldn't put Blatter and his bunch of doddering amateurs in charge of a whelk stall, would you, particularly not one which also sold plastic footballs. They'd probably get confused and give you a serving of plastic footballs with salt and vinegar and a whelk to kick around on the beach.

    When I was a kid we were poor and me and my brothers in our knitted trunks we always used to kick around a whelk on the beach, the bounce could be unpredictable but we put that down to the uneven sand. Our mum used to shout warnings that it was the only whelk we were getting so go easy, as she tucked into a tray of plastic footballs served up by that fat foreign bloke ...signor twatter, shatter, something like that.

    Our football skills suffered; being shouted at by your mum as you gently tapped a whelk to each other across the effluent on rhyl beach probably wouldn't get you category 1 academy status these days, but in those days it was par for the course, some kids didn't even have a whelk and weren't allowed to use their feet in case they wore them out, so had to head paper clips to each other while their nan moaned at them , so we were happy we knew English coaching wasn't the best and they were simpler times.

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    Replies
    1. Ha ha, I laughed so hard I almost cried, picturing a young dignag in knitted trunks.

      Delete
  34. I'm gonna start playin' golf with a whelk.

    Did you have tide line technology?

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    Replies
    1. A bit embarrassing if get beat by it trott

      Delete
    2. an old drift wood plank and a whelk, just like when Blog's nan's nan invented the game on Rhyl beach.

      Delete
  35. When is the SPL going to start selling Club 12 shirts? I could go for one of those...

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  36. There are more things to life than football and golf isn't one of them

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  37. The old man turning it on to get past Murray rather easily in the end. And Murray probably playing one of his best games as well.

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  38. Don't mention the Scottish play!!!!!

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  39. Robbo, I expect to read your thoughts about this in the next post...

    http://inrng.tumblr.com/post/26769888220/wiggins-quote

    ReplyDelete
  40. By working with a private student loans for people strategy is
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