World Cup News 2

Report 2.

My Opinions

Colombia v Greece
Let's start with Colombia.Very able and organised and didn't need to get out of second gear to win.They know how to pass and move and will not have an easier game.
What to make of Greece ? I couldn't make out what their game-plan was.Their thinking seems to be 'why bother with 3 passes when you can use 23(and most of those sideways or backwards).Believe it or not,I was actually laughing at some of the things they were doing.The expression on their managers' face said it all,WTF ?

Uruguay v Costa Rica
Uruguay looked like they were out for a stroll and C R were coping but not really threatening.It was nice to see a penalty given for the rugby tackle,about time too. The impression was that Uruguay would eventually overwhelm their opponents but to be honest the C R goalie was not troubled constantly.Whatever was said in the C R dressing room at HT, it worked.They came out and gave Uruguay a couple of good hard kicks in the bollocks(metaphorically speaking) and that was really game over.C R added a third and the dominance shown by Uruguay in the first half was nowhere to be seen.

England v Italy
England are better to watch these days,having more pace and a younger side. There are still flaws though; the defence is basically crap.If the best RB in the country is Johnson then we are right up shit creek;same goes for Cahill,world-class ? I don't think so.Sterling will be a much better player when he realises he cannot beat three or four players every time.If he can grasp the art of passing,he'll be some player.The best I can say is the future looks brighter.Maybe we can look forward to the European Championships in 2016.We may as well,cos we aint progressing much further in this competition.I have,for a while, had a sneaking fancy for Italy. Maybe I'm pissing in the wind but I think they can win it. In Pirlo they have a master of his arts and up to this point I've seen no-one comparible.They all look very comfortable in possession. We'll see.

Ivory Coast v Japan
Didn't see this(it was on at 2 am,when I was spark out).


Ciao

World Cup News

                                                          The Story So Far
Change seems to be a dirty word in the world of football,from the top - Ms Blatter(I think I'll stay in post till I'm 150) & his cronies(alleged bribes;why,even Herr Beckenbauer seems to be tainted!) to the bottom, where diving,cheating,play-acting and downright brutality co-exist with brilliance. But change is a'coming;where Alex Song does his best to break someones' leg, Van Persie and Robben show us how real football can be.Where Brazil continue their cynical game,the hitherto 'unbeatable' Spanish are put to the sword by simply being outplayed.Welcome to the World Cup !

My opinions :

Brazil v Croatia.
True Champions have the right mix of skill allied to a degree of cycnism.Once again the cynical side of Brazils' game reared its' ugly head, Fred going down like he'd been hit with a shovel.Neymar pole-axing a Croatian with his elbow.They are being 'looked after' - again. Croatia look a decent side should not be dismissed just yet.

Mexico v Cameroon.
Mexico have a good team but didn't really start playing until the second half. Cameroon need to concentrate more on tactics and less on their rippling abbs.Is it my imagination or is Samuel Eto doing his best to look like a young Nelson Mandela ?

Spain v Holland.
The Spanish have now been shown that their 'ticka-tacka',wicka-wacka,shitta-shatta,bloody mind-numbing game can be beaten by playing 'Proper Football'.I'd like to think we've seen the last of that,but won't hold my breath.Holland; what a breath of fresh air ! When these two met in the 2010 WC Final the Dutch kicked the living shit out of the Spanish. The've realised there's a better way of beating them - football !

Chile v Australia
There was a time in this game where I could se a cricket score developing but fair play to the Aussies,they dug in and could have turned it around.Chile are most folks' 'dark horses'. I dont see that.They're good and could go far but lack that other important ingredient - cynism !

For what it's worth,at risk of being hung,drawn and quartered,I think Italy will beat England tonight but I really hope I have to hold my hands up and say 'I was wrong !' 

Chaio !

Football started in 1992

  My take on Greg Dykes' 'Plan' for a fifth tier 'B' team league.

Mr Dyke has shown in an instant he knows nothing of non-league football. or its' followers.  I will use myself as an example. I stopped attending professional matches 3 seasons back. Anyone who has followed this blog will know the reasons but for those new to this site,they are thus ; the amount of money in the PL,the play-acting,cynicism,diving and cheating by the over-paid prima-donnas, the total ignorance of anything existing outside the PL by the media, ie TV,radio,newspapers,on-line.I could go on but I think they convey my general feeling about the PL. It's everything non-league is not.Non-League is proper football where (mostly)normal working blokes play because they want to and usually for no financial gain. We are all aware there is money circulating in some NL circles but really it,s pocket money compared to the PL. So for Mr Dyke and his cohorts to come up with such a derisory plan for 'boosting Englands' chances of winning future World Cups' while,at the same time, ruining the NL game, beggars belief.

We hear full support for the plan from Brendan Rogers and Roberto Martinez. From whence do they hail ? The Premier League.This laughable plan has been attacked by the very people who would be adversly affected were it to be given life.It has been roundly criticised by the likes of Stan Collymore(like him or loathe him,he knows his football).The best comment I have seen is the one from an Accrington Stanley supporter who tweeted 'at last,our dream realised,we could be playing Stoke City reserves'.

When will these people learn to keep their noses out of stuff they know nothing about ?

RANT OVER !!!!!

PS There will probably be more posts in this vein as I get more and more worled up about it.

It is all over now

So that is it. Another football season draws to a close. I should be sad, but I am not. Why should I be sad ? Because I have finally, after too many years to mention, decided that Shrewsbury Town is not for me and I shall not be renewing my season ticket. They limped out of League 1 with hardly any effort at all. The players did not perform, the Chairman decided to run the club as a business and the manager watched on with his hands in his pockets. If you run a club as a business then you must surely provide a spectacle for your customers. STFC did not and it is that, rather than relegation, that made me decide that enough was enough. That and the fact that I enjoyed the Alliance and WM Leagues more.
I shall not be giving up watching football any time soon though. Next season I shall devote my support to Proper Football. In fact I am off to the Cup Final on Tuesday. Not two fancy Dan Premier League sides [whoever they are] but the Proper Cup Final. Tipton Vs Quorn at Walsall’s ground. May the best team win.
See you there.

Rangers fail to cash in

West Midlands Regional League Premier Division  19/04/14

               Wednesfield v Black Country Rangers

A sparse crowd had gathered on a cold Easter afternoon to maybe see a battling Wednesfield lower the colours of one of the leagues leading lights(the hosts have a reputation for often doing so). But what a strange game ! BCR had an estimated 95 % possession but struggled to a) break down the home defence and b) put the ball in the net when they did get through. From the start the visitors controlled the game, had the chances but no way could they score. It then took a freak goal on 25 minutes to break the ice, the ball ending up in the back of the net direct from a corner. You wondered would this be the beginning of a huge score but it never materialised. Dominated as they were,Wednesfield refused to be overwhelmed, yielding numerous corners and throw-ins instead. The home side had a chance but the shot cleared the bar.

Half-time Wednesfield 0 Black Country Rangers 1

The first half domination enjoyed by the visitors was as nothing compared to the second half. The hosts were swamped as the visitors poured forward time after time. No sooner had the defenders cleared the ball, than back it came. Pressure paid off on the hour mark when a short clearance was quickly returned into the roof of the net. Wednesfield then had the odd breakaway and did enjoy short spells of possession but the visitors would quickly regain control.

And that was it really. A tale of one team totally dominating another but failing to cash in. Our view was of giving great credit to the battling qualities of the Wednesfield defenders, refusing to wilt under enormous pressure. Indeed the MOTM was a home defender( turned attacker in the second half)Wednesfields' number 5. This guy never stopped running,chased everything,even lost causes.

BCR look out of it now, the four teams at the top fighting for the title.

Result ; Wednesfield 0 Black Country Rangers 2 

Entrance ; £2(concession)

Programme ; £1

Drink ; None available !

Crowd ; 25-30(est)

Referee ; Good     

Wolves Casuals keep up the pressure.

                         West Midlands Regional League
                       Premier division  12/4/2014
                      Wolves Casuals v Dudley Sports

As the season nears completion, Casuals continue to pile the pressure on Lye, Pegasus and Shawbury. Having won 10 of the last 11 games(the other being a draw) they are without doubt,the form team and the one to be feared, seemingly thriving on three games a week. Dudley S had a go of sorts but truthfully were never really in it with a serious chance, even against a changed Casuals side.

Ten minutes into the game Casuals took the lead and the impression was an avalanche was on the cards but Sports stuck to their game and resisted all efforts from their hosts, their big number 9 ploughing a somewhat lone furrow up front. Casuals were having some freedom on the right where their number 2 was giving the defender a torrid time.

Half-time ; Casuals 1 Dudley Sports 0

Casuals continued in the same vein, controlling the game, with the visitors limited to the odd sporadic attack and as in the first half,they increased their lead after about ten minutes. The introduction of Melligan for Casuals injected some pace into the game and it wasn't long before a third goal was added,quickly followed by a fourth. With the game won or in Sports' case,lost,the visitors had a little purple patch,putting their hosts under some pressure but lacking a cutting edge to inflict any damage.

  The impression was the hosts could have moved up a gear had they needed. Casuals are a very good side and Sports had a go,did their best and did well to contain them to four goals.

 Click on a pic to enlarge.

                                                                                                                                     

Result ; Wolves Casuals 4 Dudley Sports 0

Entrance ; £2(concession)

Programme ; £1

Drink ; £1.10

Crowd ; 40(est)

Ref ; Good

Tividale leave it late.

               Midland Football Alliance  5/4/2014

                      Tividale v Coventry Sphinx

You certainly get the impression nerves are beginning to fray at the edges as the season draws to a conclusion and Tividale home in on the title. They have enjoyed an unbelievable season and look destined to move up a level,having looked to all but blinkered observers,the best team in this league by some way. But this is April, the time when realisation kicks in ; the time when tired limbs are asked to go the extra mile, play three games a week ; the time when crunching tackles that were brushed off with a grin earlier in the season, now leave players grimacing in pain. This is pressure time.

Coventry Sphinx came to town with their own record of six wins and a draw in the last eight games. Obviously a side to be reckoned with ; and it showed. Highly organised with a terrific defence and a midfield with the uncanny ability to win nearly every second ball. They had absorbed all that Tividale could throw at them and with virtually their first serious attack they took the lead on 24 minutes. The keeper got his hands to it but it had been hit with some power. The hosts certainly looked a little off colour but that would be taking away from the visitors who really do look a competent side. Tividale drew level on the stroke of half-time with a goal of some quality,the ball being fired from way out on the right wing into the far top corner leaving the keeper grasping at thin air.

Half-time ; Tividale1 Coventry Sphinx 1

If anything,the visitors improved in the second half forcing errors from the home side and from a free kick,they again took the lead following a goal-mouth scramble. Tividale are top for a reason. They're a very good team and don't know when they are beaten. With the clock winding down and the visitors seemingly home and dry with three points in their pockets and weathering persistent Tividale pressure, a low cross was fired in from the right and headed into the net.

This was probably a fair result. It wasn't a vintage display from the hosts but as already stated, you can't be brilliant all the time ! I think this may be the first time I've seen CS and I was impressed.

As for MOTM, there were a couple of contenders from each side but my vote goes to the visitors' number 5. 

Click on a pic to enlarge

 Result ; Tividale 2 Coventry Sphinx 2

Entrance ; £3(concession)

Programme ; sold out

Drink ; £1

Crowd ; 117

Referee ; Good