philipl

The Argentinian substitutes said it all: Tevez, Ayala and Messi! No other country comes remotely close to the strength Argentina has in terms of being able to apply pressure in the last 20 minutes and through extra time. Just imagine Tevez and Messi running at a team cramping in that heat- massacre. Argentina are by a long way the stand out team of the World Cup so far. The likely Argentina v Brasil final could be one of the great matches of all time but Argentina are the all-round team of the two.

Agreed about the Mexicans and I would add their keeper looked good as well- O.Sanchez. One guy who will be upping his already mega-value is Crespo. To think that he is surplus at Chelski is quite frightening in terms of their squad next season.

Walcott's Premiership form is only as good as mine. Add him to Hargreaves on the list of players Philipl could replace in the England squad and nobody would notice.

A very reserved and under stated assessment.

Ecuador are a much better side than Paraguay which England were frankly lucky to beat. Germany (who are no better than OK) are swatting aside a Sweden side England struggled against. I think it is going to be finger nail chewing, elbow sucking, toes fingers and knees crossed etc etc but I'll be amazed if England don't squeak through utterly unconvincingly.

I didn't get round to writing any of the previews I said I would do so I am writing one I didn't promise. I am also going to hit Post New Topic now so I don't lose what I have written again. The rest will appear in edit mode. to the new message board! OK its now on the site. Ecuador is just about my favourite place on earth. Never mind, the raging incompetence, corruption, population growth (two women to a bed giving birth-think about it), road deaths (don't try Guayaquil to Quito by road although the wonderful raliway is sadly a truncated apology now), Ecuador is simply the most diverse place on earth in a space smaller than England. In fact nobody knows quite how small Ecuador is as nobody knows where the Peruvian border is and the last soldiers died at Peruvian hands trying to find out as recently as 2004. Ecuador is Latin America on steroids (or at least chewed coca) and then some more. The people are universally friendly although blue-eyed blond Germanic youths with uber Germanic names speaking the local hispanic are a hint of where the Third Reich went. Only the Swiss working class retirees are a pain. The locals engagingly wander the markets with wadges of notes held losely above their heads to proclaim their willingness to buy the wonders of the volcanic soil in the local markets irrespective of the Sucre being replaced by the US dollar. Guayaquil and Lagro are best avoided and the bit of Quito under the statue of Christ is dodgy at night but I'd wander the streets of Quito and most Ecuadorian towns and cities before volunteering for walking large chunks of Paris or Liverpool. Ecuador is Spanish for Equator and it sits smack on it. The Mitta del Monde (middle of the World) is 25km north of Quito where French scientists famously cast the metre rod which is held at 0C in Paris and is the root from which all the metric system originates. Sitting in 100F heat in Valletta, I yearn for the all year round 83F of Quito. Yes, its at 9,000ft but I found the altitude very handleable. I drove up to just under 15,000ft in the pass over to the Occidente and having achieved the highest altitude I am ever likely to, it was a stunning experience for the cloud to part revealing the smoking summit of Antisanna half way up the sky towering another 6,000 ft above. Twenty active volcanoes exceed 20,000ft including Cotopaxi, the World's highest volcano (for climbers the challenge is to make the summit at dawn and be in a plush Quito restaurant for lunch) and Chimborrazo- for a century considered the highest peak in the world and the summit remains the furthest point from the centre of the earth because of the centrafugal effect of the world's spin. The avenue of volcanoes- a vast plateau at twelve thousand feet 250 miles long is an awesome place. Yet in this tiny place is a Pacific Equatorial Coast the equal of any for beaches, dramatic headlands and stunning coastal mangoves and an appreciable chunk of Amazona on the Nappa River not forgetting the awe-inspiring 600ft Sao Francesco Falls. The wildlife diversity is stunning. Talking of which, the Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador. Believe me if you haven't swum with Penguins circling your head and and sea lions bobbing up to look at you, you've never swum- and I am a weak swimmer. They tell you not to to touch the wildlife, the wildlife cannot read so it touches you! I had a sea lioness sit on my feet and more birds land on me than I care to remember. If a Booby walks towards you, you move out of the way or risk a bit of a peck which given they are 2ft 6ins tall is not advisable. Albatross, Hawks, Frigates, Pelicans, Flamingos, Turtles, Tortoises, Iguanas (land or marine), Finches, Sting Rays, White Tipped Sharks- came within 6ft of all of them. Unforgettable. But the greatest impression left on me is the extraordinary achievement that is the colonial centre of Quito. Spanish perfection in a way that nowhere in Spain is, this vast area from the Presidential Palace south to the statue of Christ is a masterpiece of 16th and 17th Century Spanish colonial building. Within it is a gem of a Church unequaled with anything I have seen in the World. La Compagna (the Jesuit Church) is not just stunning for an array of gold to rival St Mark's in Venice but I have never seen an interior of a building achieve such a stunningly heavenly fusion of colours, of symbols (pre-Inca and Inca design is as prominent as Christian) or painting anywhere. Ecuador also has a football team. If SGE has the sense to double upon their right winger England should win. The Ecuador defence:

But you make your luck and there is nobody in the England set-up good enough to make any luck for anyone except their own bank managers. So the concensus is that we have had a decent, not-outstanding, humourless World Cup so far.... cue Bob Fleming.

Interesting to see that they are public opinion testing the punishments before giving them out. Wonder if the points deductions are retrospective or for the coming season. If retrospective, presumably that leaves Inter with the Title and AC out of Europe next season. If for the coming season, it could mean AC are fighting relegation and Juve are alol but certain not to win promotion from Serie B. Of course, UEFA and FIFA might wish to join in the punishment fun and ban these clubs from international competition for a length of time. After the England ban in the '80s, that is the least I'd expect.

Once again, I couldn't believe how poor France were. Their coaching must be attrocious to allow so many accomplished and experienced players to perform so badly at the basics.

As things look, if we had a decent coaching set-up, England look to have a decent run to the Final. Ecuador are decently competent but are completely managable, the Portuguese and Dutch have dangerous players but not enough overall whilst the Brasilians are mis-firing. Unfortunately, we have an absolutely terrible coaching set-up which doesn't know what it is doing.

The Ukraine v Tunisia game was a stinker by all accounts but that seems to have been the only truly bad match which is not bad for such a big tournament. However, I just don't get the sense that this World Cup has taken off. Maybe it is German efficiency, England being predictably under-coached or a lack of a fairy tale story to get the immagination going. Loking forwards to the last 16, there are 5 games with obvious favourites and only Switzerland v Ukraine, France v Spain and Portugal v Holland which look to be open fixtures. Probably one underdog will upset one of the 5 front runners. The World Cup needs a genuine shock. So come on Sweden, Ecuador, Ghana, Australia and Mexico.

From Sky News: Juventus, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina have been ordered to stand trial over match-fixing allegations. Italian football federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi confirmed the four clubs will face questions over match-fixing allegations and demotion is a likely outcome if found guilty.

From the (admittedly unrepresentative) cross-section of fans I've spoken to: Fiorentina- state of shock and we came back from one forced relegation to the bottom serie Lazio- resigned to relegation to Serie B AC- we are not as guilty as Juve, Berlusconi will save us; none expect relegation Juve- ranges from we'll be relieved if its only Serie B to "We only did what big clubs are supposed to do!"

Well you've got a keeper who can turn the course of a game on his own......

I tend to disagtee but I'ne not been watching that much. There have been far more entertaining games than I think we could have expected with only England in parts being truly boring. Sweden v T&T was bad to be honest apart from the increasing hope that T&T would pull off the draw. For me, there has been exceptional play: Ghana v Czech Republic Spain v Ukraine Argentina v S&M Argentina v Holland was a superb game for technical ability on both sides Most games including the dead rubbers have been pretty exciting.

Interesting comments in The Guardian's match report: The athleticism of Australia made their persistence feasible. Croatia were breathless in the face of it and Hiddink's decision to put the squad through a fierce fitness programme looked as if it was being vindicated, even if club managers might wonder just how depleted these men will be when the time comes, soon enough, to start a new domestic season. International priorities had consumed these players and footballers such as Blackburn Rovers' Emerton were at a peak of performance. The target was to sustain such commitment throughout 90 minutes against a Croatia team desperate to respond. Australia's domination did slacken for an interlude, but they fell behind again because of a grotesque mistake. Niko Kovac moved forward after 57th minutes to shoot weakly. The ball ran straight to Kalac but the goalkeeper, who is on Milan's books, went down and somehow bundled the ball over his own body. Hiddink's reaction was to introduce Aloisi, ensuring that Viduka had an outright striker to partner him. Understandably, the Croatian substitution was of a conservative cast, with the orthodox midfielder taking over from the more individualistic Kranjcar. There had been a contrast of that sort between these countries virtually from the start, but Croatia, to the benefit of this World Cup, suffered for it in the end.

Absolutely jbn, why is everybody pining for a Spuds sub? At least the barcodes are stuffed for next season.

Actually, we'll probably find that Inter won last season's title when all the dust has settled! This Times report says it looks bleak for Juve and that Galliano is one of the individuals charged in which case its curtains for AC as well: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2239475,00.html So which players do we fancy seeing in blue and white halves next season? Anyone got complete Juve, AC, Lazio and Fiorentina squad lists?

I am not surprised that Graham Poll presided over a complete horlicks. Is anybody? The lack of quality referees in the Premiership is rapidly becoming a crisis for our game. I struggleto think of a Prem ref I could nominate as being better than Poll who has clearly shown himself to be one of the worst refs at the WC.

I like the way the fixtures are falling apart from the way we will playing a load of relegation candidates in 4 of the last 5 games with- great if we are down there scrapping as we will have control over our own fate but no use otherwise.

I'm amazed that several hours after the news broke, it is left to me to report that Juve, AC, Lazio and Fiorentina are all to be tried.

The Guardian on Michael Owen: Newcastle fear the fall-out from a year without £17m striker Owen has made only 11 appearances for the club and the fans must wonder if they will see him again Michael Walker Thursday June 22, 2006 The Guardian Sitting in a Jesmond hotel a couple of months ago, Glenn Roeder, then the future Newcastle United manager, leaned across his tea and sandwiches and said: "This whole idea that the club is cursed is ######." As he took his Pro Licence course yesterday, Roeder may well have felt otherwise. His thoughts will surely have been blurred by the news from Germany that Michael Owen's immediate future does not involve kicking a ball. Article continues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since his £17m signing from Real Madrid in August Owen has done little of that. Owen has made 11 Newcastle appearances, and only four at St James' Park. The last time Owen was seen by a Tyneside audience was on December 10. Roeder, of course, has had to deal with this already. Owen played 29 minutes during Roeder's caretaker tenure from February to May, at Birmingham City. But he had Alan Shearer to call on then, at least until the veteran's knee gave way at Sunderland, and Roeder also had Shola Ameobi. When Shearer's career was ended prematurely there was then a call-up for Michael Chopra. Chopra played six times at the end of the season but last week joined Cardiff City on a three-year contract. So in terms of recognised centre-forwards Newcastle have only one available, Ameobi. However, that is not a straightforward situation as Ameobi has a long-standing hip problem. It may require surgery. Newcastle will see their Premiership fixture list this morning but that will not reveal their first big game of the season. It comes on July 15 in the Intertoto Cup -- 24 days from now. Regardless of Ameobi's physical wellbeing, the club need to have a fit and reliable striker for that occasion. That means Newcastle will have to enter the transfer market sooner rather than later. With the Football Association's insurance company taking care of Owen's wages until he is fit to return, the literal silver lining to the injury is that Newcastle are free of some £460,000 per month. Over five months that is £2.3m, over 10 months £4.6m. But even £4.6m might not buy Newcastle the level of quality they require both to compensate for Owen's absence - and Shearer's retirement - and to take the team on. Andy Johnson cost Everton £8.4m when he left Crystal Palace recently. Roeder has admiration for Jermaine Defoe and the two worked together at West Ham but it is understood that West Ham insisted upon a 25% sell-on clause when Defoe left for Tottenham for £7m. For Spurs merely to recoup their outlay any club wanting Defoe would have to come up with a sum around £9m. There is little indication that Newcastle have that sort of cash this summer, and any possible influx of investment from hedge funds would not come before July 15. The £17m paid to Real last August hurt finances and, though Newcastle would have moved for Fernando Torres had they not got Owen, Torres' World Cup displays for Spain will have made him a target for Champions League clubs. And Newcastle's £17m is spent. By comparison the Intertoto Cup is viewed as a Mickey Mouse competition but for Newcastle it is a route into the Uefa Cup and a European profile is regarded as essential to how the club's hierarchy sees itself. Even for relatively low-key Uefa Cup ties Newcastle are guaranteed 40,000 fans through the gate and there would be television rights sales on top of each game. A good run in Europe can bank a club of Newcastle's standing £10m. But progress of the sort Middlesbrough made last season is dependent on scoring goals and Boro had Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and, when necessary, Massimo Maccarone. But Boro paid over £20m altogether for those strikers. Roeder simply does not have the funds made available to his predecessor Graeme Souness. A concern for Roeder must be that today's Premiership fixtures' publication brings a hard August and September. It is unlikely a management course can cover how to cope with such a combination of pressures. Two years of hurt 2005-6 Minutes for Newcastle United 883 Minutes for England 722 Total minutes 1,605 (equivalent of 17.83 matches) 2004-5 Minutes for Real Madrid 2,372 Minutes for England 883 Total minutes 3,255 (equivalent 36.17 matches) Owen's injury nightmare began just weeks after his £17m move from Real Madrid to Newcastle when he was hit by groin and hamstring injuries. This added to the frustration of spending most of the previous season on Real Madrid's bench. Then, in December, he broke his fifth metatarsal in his right foot at Tottenham and his World Cup ended in heartbreak on Tuesday night when he damaged his cruciate ligament.

If England survive against Ecuador, we "only" get the winner of Holland v Portugal. Whoever wins that tie will be odds on in footballing terms to sort out the winner of England v Ecuador.

From the Times of Malta: Italy's football federation (FIGC) will announce today the names of any clubs and individuals to be charged over allegations of match-fixing. In brief remarks to reporters in Rome, president Guido Rossi said the FIGC would make an announcement "after the stock market closes as (bourse watchdog) Consob has requested". Any clubs charged would face trial at a sports tribunal next week in Rome's Olympic Stadium. Champions Juventus, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, among the elite of Italian football, have been investigated. The stock market closes at 5.30 p.m. which today will also approximately coincide with the end of Italy's crucial World Cup match against the Czech Republic. Thirteen of Italy's 23-man World Cup squad play for the four clubs that have come under scrutiny. Separate criminal prosecutions could follow the FIGC trial which is expected to deliver its verdicts between July 7 and 9, the weekend of the World Cup final. Two of the clubs that have been investigated are traded on the Milan bourse - Juve and Lazio. Milan is owned by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, head of the Fininvest media empire, and Fiorentina by the Tod's footwear tycoon Diego Della Valle. No one in the affair has admitted guilt and the FIGC's prosecutor Stefano Palazzi might decide not to press any charges, though this is considered highly unlikely. If clubs or individuals are found guilty they could face bans from the sport, fines, relegation from the top flight Serie A and be stripped of trophies won. Charges are likely to centre on sporting fraud and/or violating fairness and probity in the game. Palazzi, who is not expected to recommend penalties before the trial, received the findings of the FIGC's chief investigator, Fran-cesco Borrelli, on Monday.

No- with Bellamy at Liverpool he will be struggling to be on their subs bench next season.