11/07/10 00:14
Spanish Survive their Inquisition to do the World Cup and Euro Double!
So here we are, 30 days after South Africa and Mexico kicked off the FIFA World Cup 2010, it all distilled down to this one last game, The Final. This match was contested by Euro 2008 winners, Spain against The Netherlands, WC runners-up in 74 and 78. Never before had either nation had their name on the trophy but both teams had showed their tenacity, skill and luck to reach this final hurdle. Surely we were in for a treat, a goal fest, dramatic open end-to-end total football to give Nelson Mandela and the fans a right royal sporting spectacle? Er not quite... Spain started with great vigour and enthusiasm and the Dutch tried their best to counteract their European rivals and try and hit them on the break. Early on Ramos was denied a headed opportunity by the diving Mr Stekelenberg and it certainly looked as if the Spaniards were in command. Soon after the Dutch number 8, De Jong dived in Bruce Lee style on Alonso and put his boot right into his chest, how he stayed on the field nobody will ever know but suddenly the gloves were off! The yellow cards started to appear from referee Howard Webb's pocket (who said England wouldn't make it to the final?) Chances appeared at either end but the first half finished nil nil.
Come the second session and Robben latched on to a through ball and found himself onside one on one with keeper Casillas. As Arjen timed his run, his shot was saved by the faintest of touches off the Spanish keeper's foot. Soon after Sergio Ramos once again had a free header that he put over the bar, and once again Robben skinned Puyol to be heading goalward but that man Casillas thwarted him again. Another shed load of yellow cards were awarded and time was running out, in fact it did run out but it was still goalless. Extra time ensued and Fabregas the sub made a break for it but Stekelenberg stopped his shot much like his Spanish counterpart. Jesus Navas had a deflection that appeared to go in but it was just the side netting. As the clock ticked down towards what was looking like penalties, the second half of extra time was upon us and time for a hero. Well that man was Andres Iniesta, the Spanish number 6 who picked up on a Torres knock down (about the only good thing Torres has done all tournament) and he was patient enough to wait for the ball to drop before he powered it past the diving Mr Stekelenberg. The stadium erupted as Iniesta peeled off his shirt and ran to the corner flag where he was mobbed by his colleagues in jubilation. Surely there wasn't enough time for an equaliser and despite their efforts, Holland just came up short for the third time in the biggest football match on the planet. Webb blew the whistle, the Iberians dropped to their knees, captain Casillas shed tears of joy for they had beaten the Cloggies one nothing and were the World Champions. The Spaniards fifth 1-0 result in a row and are now the reigning Euro and World Cup holders! A quick change of kit into the traditional red jerseys for Spain, although this time with a little star sewn on to signify their achievement and the winners medals were worn with Spanish pride.
Not quite the festival of goals we had perhaps hoped for but enough drama and excitement to keep us all guessing right till the end. Maybe it should have gone to penalties, but then Paul the octopus hadn't predicted that so that was never going to happen. Well done Paul, you're like a mini 8-legged Buddha covered in suction cups!
And so to the final Footcall league...
Kevin Appleton and his team Tonbridge Street Elite managed to hold on to the very end. From claiming top spot after the Group Stages he made inspired choices for the Knockouts to keep him up there to eventually win by a clear 8 points; very impressive! Kev managed to predict both finalists and the winner but there was a faint chance of a Footcall upset if Holland had won and if Paul "Albion City Rovers" Firmston had selected them to win but a check on his prediction sheet revealed that he had chosen Argentina to lift the trophy, so there never any doubt that Kevin wouldn't be crowned champion.
Showing just how valuable it was to pick the winning team, was demonstrated by a number of formidable performances from Nick Stacey 3rd, Keith Firmston (4th), Martin Arscott (5th), Chris Amos (6th), James Vallender (7th on Accurate Scores), Rob Pearson (8th) and Lee Baker (10th), sadly Jon Hill who was in second after the Groups finished 9th but I will give him the award for most excited Footcaller 2010 as he really enjoyed taking part. Andy Brunt just missed out on the top by nature of Group Stages Accurate Scores, maybe 2012 will be his year?
Other players picking up 4 points today include Martin Acott, Jake Martin, Kate Blake (up onto the first page picking up a massive 14 points in the second stage and finally the only player on page two to guess Spain to win was Julia "Beautiful Bramble" Virco. Well done guys.
Finally we should pay tribute to the battle at the foot of the table. After the Groups, this appeared to be a three horse race between Mark Horner, Simon Jenner and Virginia Jenner. Well Super Syd Simon made inspired selections in choosing losers, not winners, for the Knockouts to force himself to the bottom of the Footcall pack. He only scored one solitary point (Paraguay let him down) and he claims the Footcall booby prize and gets himself a miniature England football boot full of cheap chocolate footballs which, I hasten to add, also doubles as a money box! To mark the lowest ranking place in the Footcall race this is now known as the Vuvuzela Award and we now have an official list of Vuvuzela Award Winners for last placed Footcallers with Simon Jenner adding his name to this illustrious list following on from Joanna Mackenzie 2008, Mark Horner 2006, Martin Lunn 2004, Sarah Roe 2002 and Christine Jenner in 2000.
So it's all over, 64 games played, 145 goals scored (plus one more from Frank Lampard), lots of disappointment from certain teams and individuals but lots of dramatic excitement to boot. What stood out for me though was the wonderful atmosphere generated by the host nation; a true credit to the beautiful game, let's hope in 2014 Brazil can lay on a spectacle to rival that of the South African event. It just leaves me to pack up the Footcall bandwagon for another two years before it rumbles into town again for Euro 2012 in Poland, maybe I'll see you all again for another lap round the Footcall block?
Until then... Adiós!
Dj
08/07/10 03:17
Q: What do you call a German octopus that correctly predicts it's team will lose?
A: Calamari.
Tonight saw the second semi final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and battling it out for a place in the final were Germany and pre-tournament favourites, Spain. The current Euro holders did just enough to see off Paraguay in the Quarters and were going to have to raise their game whilst those canny Germans appeared to be getting stronger and stronger as they brushed Argentina aside in the last round. Well one thing you can say about these teams is they understand the power of possession (far more than some teams I could mention) and from the kick off the Spanish appeared to intent on passing their opponents to death. Germany were happy to soak up this early pressure with a view they'll hit them on the break as they have done so effectively before. The team in red certainly looked more purposeful than they have done so far and Neuer had to be on guard as Villa, Pedro and Alonso attempted to unpick the formidable white defence. I'm not sure whether Joachim Loew's tactics were quite right having his team defend so deep, it just seemed to inviting pressure and after a goalless first half the second session continued much the same way.
Germany weren't without their chances as Klose tried to add to his overall goal tally. Ozil was brought down in the box and appealed for a pen but nothing was awarded. David Villa went agonisingly close, diving a la Gazza '96, as he tried latch on to an Iniesta cross. What the game needed was an early goal and we got one except it was in the 73rd! But what a great goal it was, a power header from the old Spanish stalwart, Carles Puyol who at certain angles, looks uncannily similar to ex Twisted Sister frontman, Dee Snider (for all you ageing rockers out there).
Spain took the lead and the game sprung to life. Germany pushed for the equaliser and maybe they could get it as del Bosque subbed their talisman Villa and brought on the hapless Torres. I think the teams lack of confidence in their frontman was highlighted when Pedro went tearing into the German box with Fernando screaming for it to be passed square for him to take a pop but Pedro thought better of it and attempted to go it alone and eventually tripping over his own bootlaces much like Torres has done in earlier matches.
Well the final whistle blew and once again the scoresheet read Spain: 1 Others: 0 that's the fourth one nil in a row! Who cares, a win is a win and the Spaniards were ecstatic as they celebrated their first ever World Cup Final.
And so to the Footcall league...Yet more points for the man in red (on the league table) Kevin. He managed to predict Spain to play Holland in the final and he's been very impressive in the Groups and continued his good form through the KOs. However he can't sit back a light up that big Cuban just yet because there could be twist in the tail. The man who's been hanging around the shadows of the top spot, Mr Paul Firmston, has also predicted Holland to be in the final and by my reckoning if he does collect the 4 points for the winner and Kevin doesn't, then Paul's Group Stages correct answers could just see him over the line on countback! I genuinely have not looked at anyone's KO predictions this year and I'm just waiting like we all are to see how it unfolds.
Further down the table the valuable 3 points for a Spain win have seen a bit of a shuffle but I was surprised to see how few people predicted them to get to the final. Both Nick Stacey and Keith Firmston have moved well up top, Mark Brown, Chris Amos, James Vallender, Rob Pearson even Jamie Marshall and Ian Pope have all done well today. Lee Baker, Andy Reg Brunt, Martin Acott and Paul Silk-Sleafer have all claimed three sweet little points to move them up page one of the league along with George Relf, David Ginger and Jake Martin. Further down only Julia Virco and Kate Blake stand alone as points scorers on page two.
So that concludes the voting from the East Peckham judges only one game remains, THE FINAL... Footcall is too posh to worry about the pointless third place playoff! So we will have a new winner on the trophy come Sunday evening, the question is, will it be Viva Espana or Hup Holland Hup, more importantly will it be Appleton or Firmston?
Dj
07/07/10 02:04
The Netherlands turn back the clock!
Tonight saw the first of the semi finals for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and this first showdown was between Holland and Uruguay who some felt (me for one) that they were lucky to have even got this far after they dismissed Ghana in a rather unorthodox fashion. The Dutch were the hotly tipped favourites to advance through this match but you could never count out the resolute nature of Diego Forlan and the Uruguayans even if Luis Suarez was having to sit this one out.
After a steady start, suddenly the match was ignited in explosive style in the 18th minute when Gionvanni Van Bronckhorst melted a left peg firebomb of a piledriver in the top right corner that even the mighty Stevie Staunton would have tipped his hat to! I can just here the Alan Partridge commentary over that one. The keeper got a fingertip to it but there was so much power on it barely diverted the direction as the Jabulani flew in excess of 60mph (96.54km for all you Dutch fans), proving to the England team there is nothing wrong with the ball after all.
Whilst this lead might have collapsed a weaker team, Uruguay stayed solid and 23 minutes later that man Forlan popped up with a left footer of his own as he swerved the ball away from the diving Mr Stekelenberg to even the score sheet 1-1, I really don't remember him being that good at Manchester Utd. The Man from Del-Monte-video he say yes - game on! Half time rolled in with honours even and all to play for.
The second half started quite open with the team in pale blue testing the Dutch keeper once again but Wesley Sneijder, the hero of the Quarters for Holland, managed to sneak in a rather speculative shot that carried a faint whiff of offside from his colleague Robin Van Persie but between the sticks it went and the Cloggies were once again in the lead. They then started to rule the pitch and just three minutes later sealed the deal as Robben nutted in Holland's third. The South Americans pushed really hard to get back in the game and in the 92nd minute did manage another and they frantically carried the ball back to the centre circle to get the game underway again and try for an equaliser. The extra time really seemed to go on for an eternity but finally the whistle went and the Oranje army march on to the final for the third time. Can they go one better than the total football teams of '74 and '78? Come Sunday evening, we will know.
And so to the Footcall league...All top three players had Holland to win so no change there but with 7 points still to play for we will see if Paul or Martin can overtake Kevin. Other movers topside include Peter Mulvey, Nick Stacey and Keith Firmston now doing well in the money bracket. Tony Gardner, Me, David Blakeman and Mark Brown all picked up 3 points and Patrick "Why Did I Pick England to Win?" Ferguson once again gets another few points to add to his haul. Ric Robinson and Christine Jenner will be celebrating their points earned in honour of hero Johann Cruyff. Adam Billington, Lyn Rennie and look Where's the Salad Doris? James Ridley got it right as well to move him on to the first page of the league (crucially above Eddie). Dave "The KO Points Machine" Hope is now unbelievably also nearing the first page. Christopher Crouch and Paul Harrison bring up the rear of those that had a Dutch victory. Hopefully that covers all the winners today.
Spain v Germany tomorrow and I'm thinking this could be decisive in the world of Footcall.
See ya!
Dj
04/07/10 00:39
Whilst Germans send the favourites packing!
Today saw the final pair of Quarter Final matches and this afternoon we saw Germany take on Argentina in what, on paper, could be one of the best games in the tournament. Of course on paper, England should have beaten Germany so maybe we should tear up the pitches and play on paper! From a neutrals point of view we needed an early goal and that's what we were treated to as that man Mueller headed a free kick past the ramshackle Argentinian defence that had Alan Hansen apoplectic with rage. This early statement really put Maradona's men under pressure and despite scoring an offside goal, they looked quite shaken by the organisation of the Germans. It stayed 1-0 until half time then the Europeans, just as they did against us, put the hammer down. Miroslav Klose who's eyeing the golden boot added to their tally in the 67th as he latched onto a Podolski pass that cut the defence wide open, this was starting to look vaguely familiar. Just seven minutes later Friedrich scored his first ever goal for his country from all of 4 yards, 3-0. As the blue and white stripes pushed to get back in it gaps started to open up and with a minute to go, Klose once again put his name on the list as he volleyed a sweet cross straight past Romero for their fourth, it all looked so easy! The whistle went at four nothing, the Germans were through and Angela Merkel danced in aisles like she was at some sort of wedding. The tragic Argies went home empty handed once again but provided us with an abundance of entertainment on the field from the likes of Higuain and Messi but none more so than Diego's touchline antics.
So the winner of this match now will play the winner of Paraguay (my tip for the trophy) and the hotly tipped Spaniards. So let's review the first half... erm? where shall I start? OK that'll do, it was altogether unremarkable! Paraguay had a goal ruled out for being offside and that was it. I was dreading more of the same in the second half but at 57 minutes the blue touch paper was ignited! The big number 3 for Spain decided he'd show Cardozo his new judo move as he man handled him to the ground to award the Paraguayans a penalty. Cardozo, who scored the winning pen in the shootout with Japan, stepped up to take the honours again but this time round keeper Casillas saved it! Was this their chance gone? The ball was immediately back in play and went straight to other end as David Villa ran head strong into Paraguay's area where he was brought down and won the Spaniards a penalty! What drama! In the space of less than three minutes this game went from a sleepy Sunday afternoon with a hangover to a banging Friday night out with the lads! But there was more... Xabi Alonso stepped and belted the ball in the left corner and as they run off celebrating the referee decided to call them back for a retake because of encroachment in the area before the ball was struck. Madness really as this sort of thing happens on every penalty. OK so take two. Alonso opts for the other corner and this time the keeper, Villar guesses the right way and manages to save it. Paraguay survive the flurry as the players steamed into the box and even the appeal for what seemed to be a stonewall penalty.
Now it was end to end, the handcuffs were off and all 22 men were up for it. And on the 82nd minute the deadlock was broken as Spain attacked and Iniesta's run set up Pedrito who belted it against the post, then Villa connected with the rebound to hit the opposite post only to see the ball comically run along the goal line and hit the other post again and in the net! Unbelievable. This time the goal was legitimate and Spain were in full flight. They managed to hang to full time with the one goal lead and send their opponents home to South America.... 'citing!
And so to the Footcall league...Kevin and Paul both picked Spain to win and stay one and two but Jon moves above Martin Arscott into third. Very few people predicted Germany to win as Argentina were considered red hot favourites. Those that did include Baby Steven, I'm Feline Fine (who's had a wonderful day with two correct predictions) also Dougies Dreamers and Little Green Dynamos all had a German victory. Lot's of players predicted Spain to win including Hoof Hearted, Super Danny Rose, Same Old Same As!, Kevzoe, FC Billie Paulie, Phoenix United, Relfy's Rams, Capt Frost and KC's Claret & Blue Army all picking up a very welcome two points today. And so we move on to the semi finals on Tuesday where correct predictions are worth 3 points so let's see how things unfold.
Stay tuned.
Dj
03/07/10 00:50
Black Stars and Brazilian dreams comes to an end!
Today saw the start of the Quarter Finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and first up was Holland taking on number one seed, Brazil. This would be a big test for the team in tangerine and black and an early goal from Robinho didn't rock them too much, even though Brazil took their one goal lead into half time. One thing you can say about the Dutch is they do work hard with the likes of Kuyt, Van Bommel and Robben desperately trying to get their team back in the game but it was the number 10, Wesley Sneijder who was instrumental in turning things around. A sweetly struck free kick right into the heart of the defence caused more commotion than the thought of Kevin Appleton winning Footcall for the first time! The Brazilian keeper came to punch the ball away just as the big number 5 Felipe Melo thought he'd deal with it himself. I'm not sure what his intentions were but the faint touch he put on it with his head was just enough to see the ball whizz past the outstretched Julio Cesar and into his own net, 1-1. The Netherlands pushed on and just a quarter of an hour later a brilliant free kick was swung into Brazil's box and whilst the statuesque defence looked on, that man Sneijder again popped up to divert the ball goalwards with his head. Unbelievably Holland were in the lead and they managed to keep it that way until the final whistle. The players went mad, the stadium erupted and our official Footcall correspondent (the GLW) based in the Dutch town of Alkmaar, confirmed the wild celebratory mood for their home nation.
This evening's game saw Uruguay take on the only African nation left in, Ghana also known as the "Black Stars". A fairly open game made exciting by some haphazard defending and unorthodox technique. The first half was looking goalless until with almost the last kick before the whistle, Muntari decided to take a pot shot from about 35 yards. The ball flew over the head of one of his own players and the unsighted Muslera was wrong footed and couldn't stop the ball flying in the bottom right corner. After the break, Uruguay were determined to make amends and Atletico Madrid's main man stepped up to break the Ghanaians hearts just as he did to Fulham. He took one of the very few well struck free kicks of this tournament and put the ball in the net for the equaliser. As the game progressed a few chances occurred but always snuffed out as each team were reluctant to push too many men forward and it final bell went with the scores level. Into extra time and much of the same in fact there was a distinct air of penalties particularly from the South Americans. BUT.... on the 120th minute of the game Ghana were awarded a free kick with what must be considered their last chance to win it normal time. The ball was delivered beautifully into the middle of the box and then the comedy of errors ensued! The ball pinged about the six yard area like popcorn in a microwave. Ghana were frantically trying to get it over the line whilst their opponents trying to keep it out. Finally the ball did get past the keeper and was heading for the winner with absolute certainty and Suarez standing on his own goal line felt he had no other choice than to stick out has hand to prevent it from going in. For this he gave away a penalty, got himself a red card but he did stop the goal. So superstar striker Gyan stepped up for the penalty and promptly whacked it against the top of the bar and over! As he fell to his knees the final whistle went! Penalty shootout time again. Uruguay started well and Gyan took another one but this time he bravely stuck it in the roof of the net. A couple more decent pens scored before Uruguay missed one and Ghana missed two. This led Abreu to score the goal that would take them through and he did it with the most audacious chip of the keeper you're ever likely to see, even better than the Paraguay goal the other day! So Uruguay are through to the semis and the Black Stars are on their way home (via Nelson Mandela's house tomorrow apparently).
And so to the Footcall league...Kevin is still top as he had one correct score today and these predictions are worth 2 points but Paul Firmston and Martin Arscott move in closer to the top as they both picked up four points for two correct predictions. Sadly Pornista FC is heading the wrong way and Stephen Hills looks like he's running for them as well. Big time movers today include EastFife4Forfar5 with two right answers along with How'ard? Gerrard! (where did Nick come from?), Paul's brother Keith and his Warlords have done well and so did Ace men Dave & Adam Billington, even I got them both correct today! David Blakeman and Leigh Boardman showing some refound form and after all those one pointers Dave Hope can't stop scoring he also got two 2s today. As did Christopher Crouch who's also showing some signs of improvement. My player of the day will go to Mr Patrick Fergus Ferguson, head of the East Peckham GDG as he has rocketed up the table during the KO Stages and his patience has been rewarded with a lovely little "Desmond" today (2-2), well done sir!
Until the next games.
Dj
30/06/10 03:18
Resolute Spaniards send their Iberian neighbours packing!
The final second round matches in the Knockout Stages were completed this evening with a quality exhibition. Not necessarily in fine attacking football but some first class defending. Both Spain and Portugal had experienced highs and lows in the build up to this match and this was certainly their sternest test. Who would triumph? Would it be the vivacious Ronaldo and his twinkle toes or the defiant David Villa the Spanish goal machine? Both star players had chances with David taking his opportunities from close range whilst Cristiano tended to opt for the more speculative long range effort. Torres looked out of sorts at one end whilst his keeper had to defend his goal on a few occasions from Almeida. Both teams appeared to cancel each out but eventually it was the reigning Euro champions that won the day as Mr Villa latched on to a through ball to chip the keeper at the second attempt. The Spaniards dug in ready to ride it out and finally Capdevila went down like he'd been shot by a sniper when Costa had barely touched him. Whilst Sepp is pushing through a new rule about goal line technology he can add sterner rulings about cheeky players looking for a cheap red card.
Earlier in the day nothing happened! Except the mighty Paraguay beating Japan to get through to the Quarter finals! Possibly the game of the tournament so far packed with goals, it ended 5-3, crikey what more do you want? Well if you haven't seen the highlights, don't bother, they're weren't any. Paraguay were given a couple of opportunities which they squandered and at the other end Matsui clattered the bar. Lots of huff and puff but alas no goals in 120 minutes. But then we had an 8 goal feast within the next 10 minutes. Admittedly it was from the penalty spot but it certainly made a dull game a little more exciting especially as it wasn't the English taking them. Komano was the first to miss for Japan, and finally Cardozo stepped up with the pressure of putting his nation through to the last eight of the cup for the first time ever. Well the Paraguayan was as cool as Matt Le Tissier from 12 yards but rather than opt for power he just trotted up and slotted it perfectly in the corner almost dead weight like the perfect putt. Fortunately the Japanese keeper went the wrong way and Paraguay were through... Hoorah! Oops my favouritism for the South Americans coming to the fore there.
And so to the Footcall league...Well Paraguay broke the run of all the clean sweepers to date. None of those with all the correct results so far predicted them win but then pretty much they had Spain to be victorious. I should mention teams Baby Steven and Porky Parry's Peaches who have had 7 out of 8 predictions since the second game are doing pretty well. Also David Ginger has achieved a creditable 7 from 8. I'd like to mention a few unsung Footcallers, Julia Virco, Darryl Abbott, Tim Jennings, Sharon Hills, Keith Reynolds, Bryan Relf, John Dawson, Simon Dudson and Paul Harrison all of whom show a glimpse of what they could do with the right motivation and management behind them. Hopefully you haven't lost faith now that England have gone on holiday and you are still bothered enough to read this nonsense. My belief in Paraguay seeing me rocket up the charts is still alive and I am totally convinced they will thrash Spain 9-8 in penalties on the next round.
That'll do for now.
Dj
29/06/10 01:09
Q. Why didn't the chicken cross the road?
A. 'cos FIFA said it didn't!
England are out and already the questioning has started, was it da management, was it the players tired legs, was it the fact that the WAGs stayed at home? What strikes me is that the best I've seen England play was in Euro 96, especially when we destroyed the Dutch and that year it was publicly documented that three quarters of our team were a bunch of pissheads. Who could forget the dentists chair? So here's my solution to the England problem...
First off, we need to get back to basics. Sobriety clearly doesn't work, we tried that and we're on our way home early (again). We should be up till all hours on the razzle dazzle, getting permanently drunk on alcho-pops and White Lightning. Next, we need to sack the manager, it doesn't seem to make any difference whether he's there or not and his £6m salary will be much needed for rehab trips to The Priory. Team selection will be decided by who can piss the highest, of course this does mean first on the team sheet will always be Peter Crouch! We need to recruit more egotistical self-centred proper hardened drinkers to take us forward, throughout the 90s, the Arsenal back four were often slaughtered on a Saturday afternoon and they were the best in the business! I'm sure Messrs Terry & Cole could lead the revolution and come the Euros 2012 we will be a babbling band of lushes and no doubt they'll get us those all important column inches on the front (not the back) of the tabloids. I'm sure if we back the boys, this is the future of English football, however we all must do our bit by buying them a drink whenever they're seen out on the lash. We've proven this approach works and of course if we fail to qualify from the Group Stages we'll have the perfect excuse... "What chance did we have? We were off our effing faces!"
Well enough of that ranting, the World Cup is still going on and so is Footcall 2010. After looking pretty sharp in the Group Stages the Chileans were out classed by the South American neighbours, Brazil. It took half an hour before the score sheet was blotted by the Juan and only with a rather fine header. From there on in it was pretty much auto pilot for the boys in Pantone 116 (yellow/gold). Just four minutes later they doubled their lead with some very slick passing to cut the Chileans wide open and Luis Fabiano tucked away the second. In the second half the cream really rose to the top as they really made a statement to the other teams in the competition by taking the game by the scruff. Ramires went on a Stevie McManaman-esque mazy run to set up Robinho for the Brazilian third. They march on to the quarters where they will meet the winners from earlier in the day.
They aforementioned team just happens to be Holland after their victory over Slovakia. The afternoon game saw old man Robben, who from a distance looks much older than his age but certainly can run like a whippet, put the "cheeseheads" in the lead with a little gem of a goal. For the best part of an hour there were chances at both ends and the Slovaks certainly had opportunities to equalise. The Dutch hung on and eventually diced up the Eastern European defence with the industrious Kuyt running the line to set up Sneijder for an empty net, 2-0. The Slovaks pushed on and we were finally rewarded with a penalty with the very last kick of the game. In fact I'm surprised the pedantic ref didn't blow the full time whistle as Vittek run up to take the spot kick. They got their consolation but it was all over 2-1.
This sees a real showdown in the Quarters between the Netherlands and Brazil so maybe we'll have some "total football" to make the respective legends of Cruijff and Pele sit up and take notice. Let's hope so!
And so to the Footcall league...We have to hand to Kev as he pushes on with a perfect 6 so far and only Rob Pearson, Neil White, Chris Amos, Martin Acott and Carol Gerrard can lay claim to that. Ric Robinson has done very well so far so too is Olly Gale, Adam Jones, Jamie/Ian/Sean/Adam/other people from Zone and Keith Firmston all picking up vital points. My bruv Syd, has also a perfect 6 but they are all zeroes :-) but perhaps what's most astonishing is how well Dave Hope is doing, maybe in the next round he'll get a score other than a 1 or a 0.
Later today sees the final second round games and in an effort to be completely transparent, I should let it be known that I am throwing my weight behind Paraguay. I only mention this if by freaky chance they do start doing well and I start moving up the charts I don't want any eyebrows being raised in suspicion. Please email me if any of you would like to see my predictions.
Dj
28/06/10 02:41
Q. What's the difference between the German keeper and the Tonbridge heist thieves?
A. Manuel Neuer got away with it!
It's all over, we can all pack up and go home (unless of course you don't support England). Once again the old rivals of England v Germany was packed with incident and shrouded in controversy. Fabio Capello named an unchanged team from our victory over Slovenia. We were playing in red and optimism was high, surely our experienced crew would triumph over the very young Germans in a match that has never been decided in normal time during a knockout match. Unfortunately we didn't factor in the ageing washed up strike force of Klose and Podolski and in classic Sunday morning route one fashion saw Mr Klose mug Mr Upson and squeeze the ball in past the diving Mr James. Not since the Crazy Gang pioneered such a move of the keeper hoofing it down the field for the frontmen to tuck the ball into the napping opposition. Shocking! OK, no worries, we'll dust ourselves off and go for the equaliser. Er, no. As we pushed forward, it bl**dy happened again! Those canny Germans picked our pocket again and this time it was Podolski that managed to find the far stick and sneak the ball in past the diving Mr James. Up until then the diving Mr James was actually keeping our boys in it with a number of telling saves, off his fingertips, off his feet and even off his fresh new corn rows!
OK, no worries, we'll dust ourselves down get ourselves back in the running. Five minutes later an incisive England move the looked like a pinball table ended with our offending defender, Matt Upson, making up for his earlier error as the ball bounced off his face and into the German net. We were on the scoresheet and with a bit of luck we can strive for the equaliser.
Well lady luck was ever present but the problem was just like half the German team she too had Deutsch heritage! As the ball pinged about on the edge of the German box it landed sweetly for Frank Lampard to lob it goalward over the defence and the outstretched keeper, Manuel Neuer. He was beaten, it struck the underside of the bar, it dropped down nearly a yard over the goal line a la World Cup Final 1966. A goal! Queue celebrations! The players went nuts, the manager went nuts, Beckham went nuts, the fans went nuts, we went nuts! We were back in it. But.... Nooooooooooooo! Just one problem..... The Uruguayan referee, Jorge Larrionda, didn't effing see it go in! OK, no worries, the referee's assistant will have seen it. But sadly this time this linesman wasn't Russian and he must have been off at Specsavers because the flag remained by his side :-(then we had a frantic rush to get back and defend the oncoming German attack. We had to quickly put the misdemeanour of the year behind us and consolidate the situation and head for half time just 2-1 down.
After the break it looked as if we'd all put our boots on the wrong feet because our German adversaries started to take control and run rings around us. This didn't look good as time and again they were picking our pocket as the frustration start to creep in and we lost our shape and discipline. On the 67th minute the team in white unravelled our defence and Mr Muller powered the ball in past the diving Mr James. Just three minutes later we were carved wide open once again that man Muller again slotted home another past the diving Mr James to see the score 4-1, leaving me seriously considering whether to ever buy another fruit corner again! And so they kept command for the next 20 minutes, despite Lampard slamming the topside of the crossbar in well struck free kick. The final whistle blew as they showed us the door with 23 plane tickets home.
We were done. Time to go home. Questions will be asked about the management, the players, the techniques and especially the goal line technology. SEPP BLATTER... TALK TO ME! Word is, England already have a new coach... it's picking the team up from Heathrow tomorrow afternoon!
Later on saw the return of Maradona and his Argentinian superstars. The took on Mexico in an entertaining game that saw a suspicious opening goal that looked distinctively offside. More issues for FIFA to consider over the rest of the summer. Tevez was the man to latch on to Messi's chip and tuck it away and even though it looked like the officials agreed they had made a terrible mistake that let the goal stand. The Mexicans went nuts! Not 10 minutes later Mexican defender Osorio gifted Higuain a golden goal which he dispatched with fine skill, 2-0 which is how it stayed until the obligatory Mexican/Argie bargie that happened as they walked off towards the tunnel. After the half time oranges the baby blue and white stripes looked sharp and that man Tevez scored a wonder goal as he belted it past the diving Mr Perez, in fact it was kicked so hard, the keeper would have not even saved it in super slow mo. Three nil now and this was looking like a rout. Mexico did manage a consolation goal but the dominant Argies saw off the bandits very convincingly. Maradona went nuts, he really does make quite an entertaining touchline spectacle.
And so to the Footcall league...
Well not much movement really. It seems the top 10 remain unchanged. Kevin is pulling away and Martin Arscott moves up one and we had a few double ones, mainly from you unpatriotic lot! Zhaomin Meng, John Trent, Mark Brown, Rob Pearson (again) Martin Acott, Neil White (apparently he has a master plan), Carol Gerrard on form and Ric Robinson who's now top of the table (page two that is!) Russell Morris showed no faith in England nor did Paul Wakefield (I hope Jack sees this) Paul Harrison and Mr Micky Mallioni also picking us to lose. Players of the day should go to Eddie Bojtler and Christine Jenner (The GLW) for a perfect pair of ones today, of course their excuse is that they share a common Scottish nationality, thanks for your support guys :-)
Let's see how Holland and Brazil get on tomorrow.
Dj
27/06/10 03:08
Time to see who will hold their position and who will drop down like a stone!
The Knockout Stages got underway this afternoon and all but a few casualties have submitted their predictions for their winners and I want to thank everyone for participating. Obviously the top o'tablers will keen to hold their position or leapfrog one or two and really make their mark on Footcall 2010. Those of you hanging about mid-table like a spare part at a wedding might have fancied taking a few risks in their predictions in the hope that their results come in and sneak up the league on the outside lane.
So off we go, 3pm saw Uruguay take on South Korea for the opening KO match. The South Americans are gifted with two class players in Diego Forlan and the formidable Luis Suarez and it was through him that they took an early lead mainly because of a Korean keeper error. They were looking dominant but you just can't fault the Asians for their fitness and determination. They hung in there and one of the players called Lee (heck there are quite a few if you check the team sheet) managed to ping in a header and draw level and well deserved. I'm sure Bolton will grateful for a few of those next season. Soon after Uruguay were denied a stonewall penalty and the game jogged along 1-1 until it started to rain, proper cats and dogs. As the Uruguayans tired a flash of inspiration from Suarez proved decisive as scored one of the goals of the tournament and see them trough to the Quarters.
The evening game was between Ghana (the only African nation left) and the victors of England's group, USA. The Black Stars started unbelievably when Portsmouth midfielder Boateng scored after just 5 minutes, hey Ric... if only he managed to tuck a few of those away last season maybe Pompey wouldn't be playing in the Championship. The Americans managed to level the books in the second half when they won a penalty and it looked almost certain that it was going to extra time. And in the 93rd minute the dynamic Gyan powered in a peach of a goal to retake the lead and they hung on to the lead despite USA really going for it even with their keeper, Tim Howard, almost forcing a very late equaliser.
And so to the Footcall league...
We now have a new look league table showing the players with their carried forward scores from the group stages which are indicated by the yellow square in the CF column. Now we have the top 10 in the list highlighted to show the prize money bracket. At the other end of the table we have the players that will be fighting it out for the mystery prize (sadly for Mark, I can reveal that it's NOT an iPhone). Then we have the holding pen of those that didn't manage to submit their KO entry and they won't score any more points.
Correct predictions here only carry a lowly one point but it's the zeroes that perhaps have more affect on the league standings in later games. Kev managed to predict both winners today and so did Paul Firmston and Martin Arscott. A few other top players have dropped the odd point but poor old Stephen Hills got both teams wrong and he slips down a place. Lot's of double ones sprinkled throughout notably from Rob Pearson (where did he come from?), James Vallender, Neil Jefferis, Darren Arsoctt, Neil White, Adam Billington and David Bourne, so let's see how this all unfolds over the next few days. Syd's Super Soccer Stars managed a double zero to move back to the foot of the table.
Tomorrow is the big one. England take on their old adversary, Germany! Maybe it's better for us to take them on earlier in the comp we all must be positive for a brilliant performance and an emphatic victory... unless of course you are supporting England ;-) I fancy Rooney to knock in a hat trick and if pray it does go to penalties, have no fear, we've been practicing!
COME ON ENGLAND!
Dj
25/06/10 00:58
That's it, 48 games done and the Group Stages are concluded.
In London Marathon terms we're just going round the Isle of Dogs and perhaps there's a sense that the end could be in sight and today saw the decision of Groups G and H and maybe for once, it all went according to how the bookies might have predicted it.
This afternoon saw top ranked team Brazil take on Portugal whilst at the same time the Ivory Coast battled it out with North Korea. The Korean Geordies were washed up and this match saw the bullish Elephants decisively take the three points with a comfortable 3-0 win. The problem was they needed to score a shedload of goals and hope that in the other game Portugal felled the mighty Brazilians like a lumberjack in their rainforest... ooh little bit of politics ladies and gentlemen! Well the truth is the best you could say about the Portugal Brazil game was that it was uneventful. Players run up and down, both teams took half hearted shots from long range, Ronaldo did his usual remonstrating with the ref, plentiful petulant petty bookings and blogger all happened to write home about. I'd love to be able to report that a little JRT ran on the pitch and ran rings rounds the defence body swerved the big number 5 and nosed the ball in the Brazilian goal but that didn't happen and all we had were the grimaces on Dunga's face. He must have been desperate to get on and show Baptista the Beast exactly how to pass the ball. It finished nil nil which saw both teams through. If they get to meet each other again later in the cup this needs to perk up and show us some class.
The evening games saw Chile play Spain whilst the Swiss took on Honduras. The Spanish started promisingly, scored early and managed to get a Chilean player sent off through Torres tripping over his own boot laces in what looked like a Freddie Starr pratfall. Spain scored again and Chile, who look good at times, managed a consolation goal and the match finished 2-1. Switzerland needed to win against the lack lustre Hondurans. They didn't, it finished 0-0, so they went home! Well at least they've got cracking chocolate, lovely scenery and a network rail system that we'd kill for in the UK... ooh a little bit more politics there for ya, sorry, I seem to have gone a bit Ben Elton for some reason! All this meant that Spain (the lucky ones) and Chile qualified for the final two places.
And so to the final Footcall Group Stages league...With his last breath Kevin Appleton (Tonbridge Street Elite) has managed to leapfrog Jon Hill (Pornista FC) to claim top spot and I'm sure he'll be mighty thankful for the 3 pointer he got for the Ivory Coast 3-0 prediction. Other notables throughout the table include Peter Mulvey, Jack Wakefield, Peter Nilsen, Zhaomin Meng and Spencer Collins all of whom had back to back red squares. Even Lyn Rennie managed another one today, whatever next? Simon Dudson, Jake Martin, Robert Hatch and Dean Turney all managed another 3 and player of the day must go to my bruvver, Simon, because he miraculously managed to claim his first exact score which tragically sees him off the bottom of the table to be replaced by Mark Horner. This has left poor old Moomin's are Satin's Slaves, Dave Hope, all on his own as the only player without one single 3 pointer but he did manage 23 ones which is quite impressive, if they'd all been 3s he would be top of the table by a clear 26 points!
So we're done for the Groups and now the real pressure is on, not just for the footballers but the Footcallers too. You have to now predict the teams you think will win the Knockout Stages matches. The last mail I sent out explains everything. You have until 1pm this afternoon to get your entry in.
I suppose this rather topsy turvy cup saw France capitulate, Italy collapse, the USA arrive at the last minute and England left to deal with Germany... does this sound familiar?
Until tomorrow (or should I say, later today).
Dj
24/06/10 00:19
...your boys took a hell of a beating!
Well another big pin falls in this extraordinary World Cup. First we saw the French crash and burn and now we see the Italians get their marching orders! This competition gets more and more bizarre by the minute, next you'll be telling me Japan having qualified for the Knockout Stages :-) The Italian opponents, Slovakia, were impressive picking up all the loose balls and managed to forge a two goal advantage in this must win game for the reigning cup holders. Italy looked to be getting back into into with a goal but Slovakia knocked in another then shut up shop and made it a niggly game in the last few minutes. The boys in blue scored again but it wasn't enough and sensationally the Slovaks went through!
The other game going on at the same time saw a rather tepid nil nil between Paraguay and everyone's favourite, New Zealand (unless your Australian!) A lot of defending went on this game mainly in the NZ box and it finished goalless and Paraguay through topping the table, little did they know what was going on in the other group game.
Group E was played out by Netherlands and Cameroon. Van Persie managed to nutmeg (NUTS!) the Cameroon keeper to score the first. Eto'o scored an equaliser but the Dutch sealed the win with an 83rd minute decider from Huntelaar. Holland had already qualified but this just cemented their position on top. The other game in this group was being decided by Denmark and Japan. The result here was crucial and Japan's Honda scored a screamer of a free kick then Endo followed it up with a better strike! Tomasson tucked away a penalty at the second attempt to give the Danes faint hope but soon after Okazaki finished off the pastries with a Japanese third.
And so to the Footcall league...A right royal 7 points today has seen little Jonny Hill move topside yet again and with a three point lead and 9 accretes scores... remarkable! Also Stephen Hills is running up the inside rail and now into a creditable third and Andy Booth is showing some form. Adam Jones has come from nowhere (he was ready to throw the towel in last week) and how Alex Church is on the first page is beyond me :-) David Blakeman and John Trent doing well and James Snowy Parker is pulling miracle after miracle to move into 46th which doesn't sound that good but four days ago he was knocking about around 100th! Even James buddy, Steve Cowland scored another red square. Go Georgy Relf Go! John Dawson doing well and Kate Blake is now starting to close in on Jonny's lead. My big question is there hope for Dave Hope?
Yet another 3 for Sophie the Dog but my player of the day has to be the one and only Lyn Rennie who has had to suffer the ignominy of seeing his daughter rocket up the table whilst he languished in the bottom realms like a Hull City player on loan to Portsmouth. Football Cliche Alert >>> At the end of the day, he dug deep, sprayed on the Ralgex, pulled up his socks, and hung on in for his first 3 pointer making it a game of two halves! Thank the big FIFA god for the 2-1 Dutch win that sees him get off the mark. Come on Lyn... Pornista FC is only 98 places above you if you keep going like this they'll only be 97 places come the final.
That's it for now, look out for the Knockout Stages predictions you will need to do tomorrow, this will be your opportunity get right back up the Footcall league unless of course you are already at the top!
Dj
PS. I'd like to make a small apology for my Wimbledon ramblings yesterday. This is indeed Footcall not blooming Tenniscall so I will draw a line under that little episode, so if you don't want to know who the world's longest tennis match look away now....
John Isner USA
6/4, 3/6, 6/7, 7/6, 70/68
183 Games
11 hours 5 mins
215 Aces
23/06/10 03:24
England are through to the Knockout Stages!
Well we did it! Hands up who had England to be heading home? OK, OK, put your hands down, thanks for your faith guys ;-) All by the skin of our teeth as we scraped a 1-0 win against the mighty Slovenia. Just as importantly as the result was the way we played (notice all the first person tenses in this review because we won!) What a difference though from many players on the field particularly our resolute defence of Cole, Upson, Terry and the other one. I'm not going to say we're going to win the cup but getting through the Groups was the objective and you'd have to say mission accomplished. It must have been because we were playing in red; all the best teams play red! Defoe scored a peach and blimey even Joe Cole came on, admittedly he did very little but he got a few minutes under his belt. We were looking like topping the table but the other match in the group between USA and Algeria was settled by a late goal from former Everton striker, Landon Donovan. This saw the biggest soccer nation in the world (well, nobody else calls it that) top the group with England nestled in behind just edged out on goals scored. Then came the wait to see just who we'd be up against next.
The evening games decided group D and apparently Germany played Ghana whilst the Aussies took on Serbia to see who would go through. Sadly for them, in true Arsene Wenger stylee "I did not see it!" Not because I was out out or attending an official state opening of a new branch of Lidl nor was I queuing for the new iPhone, I was in fact watching a blooming tennis match! Not any old tennis match but a record breaking tennis match on Court 18 at SW19. A game that had the first sets played out yesterday and finished two sets all because of bad light. So this French bloke and the other fella (American I think) came back at 2pm to finish the deal. Well the thing about Wimbledon is that final sets don't finish in tie-breaks and you have to win by two clear legs (sorry games). Maybe your average set might last an hour and a long one might even finish 14-12 but not this one. This Duracell (other batteries are available) of match finished 59 each! In fact it only finished because they ran out of light again! Short of nipping out for a couple of miners hats with lamps, these guys called it a day and agreed to come back tomorrow. They had been on court for nearly 10 hours of play, I'm not sure what Dan Maskell would have said about that! Would you believe (I'll be done soon, don't worry) that the final set which was over 6 hours was longer than any match played before in it's entirety. Ooh I say!
So all in all, it got dark and we went back to the football :-) Germany dug in and Ozil scored a corker of goal and in the other game Australia managed win 2-1 over the Serbs despite the Serbians missing a golden opportunity to equalise near the end. The result of all this sees Germany top the table and will go on to play... drum roll please... England! Although Germany beat Ghana it was the Africans that managed to go scrape through on goal difference as the first to represent their continent. Ghana will now play USA in the next round.
And so to the Footcall league...A few 3s for the England result from Harry Whitehouse, Colin Jessop, James Vallender (thanks for looking after us today James & Laura) and Danny Searle so they all move in the right direction. Even I managed to guess that one correct along with Peter Short and once again Kate Blake and Dan Mackenzie pick up a bunch of points.
The other games sprinkled red squares a plenty, apologies if I miss anyone off, let's congratulate Louis Turney and Nick Stacey, Matt Clark, Patrick Ferguson, Kev/Zoe and Olly and especially Simon Dudson for guessing his first correct scoreline (go easy on him, he's a Man U fan!) Unbelievably Adrian Frisby is storming up the charts into 84th. Sadly after climbing up Gemma Evenden and her dog Sophie drop back down again, everybody say aaaahhh!
So we have a new leader once again, in fact he's been there before, Kevin Appleton moves topside with Paul Firmston close behind and yesterday's top boy, Dean Smith drops to fifth... it's fast and furious in the world of Footcall.
I'm done. Byeeee!
Dj
PS. Thank you to those who have emailed me in appreciation for my ramblings (of a madman), keep em coming, it's nice to know some of you are reading this nonsense!
22/06/10 00:39
Bye Bye France!
Today we had the final matches for Groups A and B. This saw the hosts South Africa take on that great footballing nation, World Cup Champions 1998, France. Our cross channel neighbours perhaps shouldn't have even been there after some underhand (you could say overhand) tactics as Thierry Henry handballed in their qualifier match against Ireland but that was all in the past and surely they could put the guilt behind them and storm through to the latter stages of the tournament. Well obviously the sleepless nights caught up with them as the team and management fragmented before our very eyes even refusing to train in a protest to a decision from the manager to send home "Nico". South Africa needed the win and dug deep to play as a team unlike their opponents and they finally managed get their reward with a marvellous 2-1 victory. However they needed the result in the other game going on at the same time between Uruguay and Mexico to go their way and sadly for them Uruguay managed to sneak a one nil victory which saw them top the table but more crucially for the Bafana Bafana saw Mexico through as runners up on goal difference! And so ends an era in French football, I'm sure they'll be having a big clear out before their next international, perhaps we'll see Domenech at Anfield next season or maybe we'll see a few washed up French players at St James Park snapped up in a buy one get one free deal!
The evening games decided Group B and we saw a hard fought display of quality by Argentina against a resolute Greece that looked like they were playing for the draw! Had nobody told they had win this match to qualify, at times it was bordering on the bizarre! Finally though Messi was instrumental enough to set up two goals which saw them cruise through to the KOs 2-0. In the other game, Nigeria played out an exciting game against South Korea in a four goal thriller. Nigeria had to win to qualify and maybe they might have as they missed several golden opportunities including Yakubu's miss of the tournament as he stood less than six yards from an empty net and put it wide! Unfortunately for the boys in green, the 2-2 result was enough for South Korea to qualify as runners up.
And so to the Footcall league...We have a new leader! Dean "Scouse" Smith has moved topside on 32 ahead of Jon, Paul, (and Ringo). We've had some real movers today notably Lee Baker now up to 5th eyeing up the money, Stephen Hills and Ryan "Yet Another" Smith also doing well. Colin Jessop picked up another 3 after getting his first the other day and Paul Wratten scored well today. Jo Mackenzie is getting better and we see Neil Witt the Fourth, Martin Acott and James "Salad Boy" Ridley all on to page one. John Dawson and David Frost have realised how this game works and let's give player of the day to Rob "Hoof It" Pearson and Alex Church (not near the bottom anymore) both did remarkably well.
I will sign off with special mention to Gemma the wonderdog Evenden, Dean Turney and finally me ol mate, Adrian "Genesis" Frisby all of whom collected their first red square today, well done guys your patience has paid off!
Dj
21/06/10 02:14
Rampant Portuguese thrash North Korea 7 Zip
Finally we have a proper scoreline to make a statement to the other competition contenders. Not only did Portugal destroy NKDPR they managed to get six players on the score sheet despite it only being 1-0 at half time. Even Ronaldo got his first of the cup although the control of the ball in the build up was far from textbook.
This game was followed by Chile v Switzerland which was a more sedate affair certainly on the score sheet as the South Americans managed to break down the resolute Swiss defence with their tiny army knives, with a head from Mark Gonzalez to take the three points, top the group and see them through to the Knockouts.
We were treated to a mini masterclass from the Spanish as they showed a real return to form. They looked like a completely different that lost to Switzerland and it was David Villa was the star of the show knocking in two fine goals but didn't manage to take home the match ball as it put his penalty agonisingly wide, maybe he thought he'd leave FIFA to keep (or burn) all those sodding Jabulanis!
And so to the Footcall league...Paul hangs on to the lead but he's feeling the heat from the quality predictors of Dean Smith and Jon Hill. Leanne keeps moving up and Harry Whitehouse is looking solid in 8th. Cool Dave Billington, Jamie & Ian and Reggie the Rooter showing some form. Ms Hawkins collects yet another 3 and I must warn you all that she is taking Footcall 2010 very very seriously! Darren "I was in last 6 days ago" Arscott is now unbelievably in 24th and would you believe after collecting 18 one pointers finally Colin Jessop got his first 3, nice one Col! Chris & Nick had a good day as did Russ "The Gladiator" Morris! Baby Steven scored another red square, so did David Blakeman and a lovely honeymoon present for Steve Cowland who also collected a 3. My eyes don't deceive me, but yes, Gavin Day also managed to pick the right score for Spain, so did Adam Billington and so did I, which is a true miracle. Kevzoe and finally Dan Wizbits Mackenzie (first three) did well, both picking up 4 points today. Let's give some high fives to Simon Clark and Kate Blake for their five-fer pointers today!
I should mention at this point that Nick D'Avanzo had predicted 6-0 to Portugal and would have been jubilant for about 2 minutes before Tiago knocked in the seventh and spoil the Footcall prediction of the year. My brother Simon is all adrift on his own in 113th really securing that place his own.
The title of player of the day, or should I say players of the day must go to Jill "Hotshot" Fuller and none other than Christine "not really feline fine but happy with her results" Jenner! Both managed to pull in a massive 7 points today to see them bounding up the table. You know I'm thrilled for the Chelsea supporting glory hunters, haven't they won enough for one year? ;-) Come on the GLW, keep picking up those points... Apple launch their new iPhone on Thursday!
Tomorrow sees the return of that unified nation that struggles on through adversity no matter what problem stands in their way, yes I'm talking about France! Can they beat South Africa? Will Mexico and Uruguay play for a draw? Will the French start one mass UFC type brawl seeing the players all pile on the manager like it's a giant game of British Bulldog? Who knows?
That's all folks!
Dj
20/06/10 00:46
Never has a one all draw been celebrated like it was a victory!
Apologies for the lack of a report last night, the GLW and I were otherwise engaged in celebration of our friends Clare and Steve's wedding. So a bit of catching up to do...
After the aftermath and dissection of the England game, thank you to those who emailed me to vent their despair over Capellos decision making, we had to put it behind us knowing that next Wednesday is crunch day. Anyway Holland took on Japan which saw the Dutch through 1-0, top the group and through to Knockout Stages, it just wouldn't be the same if they hadn't qualified, maybe this year the trophy could be Tango'd! Lots of you predicted Holland would win but only three of you had it down for a one nil. They were Nick D'Avanzo (his first 3), Paul Wratten and also Paul Silk Sleafer with only his second red square since the very first game.
Later in the day saw the match up between Ghana and Australia. This ended honours even 1-1 although The Black Stars had the numerical advantage in players as Harry Kewell got sent off for the Aussies. Ghana top the group but still much to play for. This game sees us past the halfway point of the Group Stages and there were 3s a plenty. Notably Paul Firmston moves topside once again with a new player coming up on the inside rail, Dean Smith. Kevin picked up a welcome 3 and Paul's brother Keith Firmston did well along with Danny Searle, Peter "Must Beat Colin" Short, Adam "Where am I in the League?" Jones and Footcall's biggest Man City fan Aaron Sutcliffe. However high five must go to Olly Gale for getting off the mark with his first red box, nice OG, you've moved out of the bottom three!
The day ended with Cameroon v Denmark in a cracking end-to-end game which saw the Danes romp home 2-1 with a great goal from Nicholas Bendtner. A few threes here from Paul Barden, Chris Amos, Peter "Taxi!" Mulvey, Dazzer Alldritt and Matt Green on a charge! Martin Acott also had it right, as did John Dawson and finally, yes finally, David Ginger is off and running with a 3, hey David... you're only 31 places behind your mum!
Today started with a scintillating performance from Paraguay as they won 2-0 against Slovakia, I think they could be a dark horse in the competition. Up Ya Ballacks picked this score along with Barry "BA Baracus" Smith who's on fire today, but still aint gettin' in no plane fool! Andy Booth nailed it and little George Relf who thought he'd show his dad how to play Footcall, only to find Bryan also had it down for a two nil! Dawson goes back-to-back red and let's not forget the players at the other end of the table... Kate KJ Blake and Gemma "I have a new dog, Sophie" Evenden picked up some one pointers as they limber up for an unbelievable charge in the second half.
The afternoon game was something from the World Cup Story books. A more one sided affair you perhaps couldn't put on paper as New Zealand (ranked 78th) took on the reigning champions, Italy. Nobody gave the K1w1s a chance against the mighty Azzuri. Neither did anyone see NZ taking the lead and then hold off the Italians as they tried every trick in the book to gain the advantage. Finally the holders managed to draw level in the 29th with a dubious penalty decision. We then thought they'd run away with it but all credit to the boys from the All Whites as they hung on even Chris Wood almost snatching a winner that would have seen the Southern Hemisphere fans go even more nuts than they were. 1-1 it finished and they savoured every minute like they'd one the trophy. And so to the Footcall table, understandably nobody scored a point... hang on... look closer... one person, Ric "I don't really like pasta" Robinson managed to predict this result, I will need to consult the record books to see if this has ever happened before for someone to score three with all the rest zeroes! Ric rockets up to 20th.
Finally we saw a masterclass from the Brazilians as they dissected the Ivory Coast 3-1 even though one of their goals had been inspired by Thierry Henry as it not one but two hand balls in the build up. Kaka got sent off for wearing a yellow shirt, or something non-sensical, even the ref didn't see it, he was looking the other bl**dy direction! Lots of threes here in the Footcall table. Albion City Rovers take a 3 point lead over Dean Smith. Stephen Hills is coasting up the table (he's now got more points than his highest snooker break ;-) and even Sharon is off and up the table with her first red square. Mark Brown looking is solid in midfield, Leanne Rennie showing her dad where the top of the table is and Neil Jefferis has had a good day along with Garry Furze and Neil "YTee" White, special thanks go to him for keeping me up to date with the scores throughout Saturday. David Frost, Andrew Healy, Julia Virco and finally Paul "30 character limit" Wakefield has his first 3 pointer, whatever next?
Cheers for now.
Dj
19/06/10 02:38
...it makes me ashamed to call myself Algerian!
What can you say that hasn't been said before? It looked like we had all the tools to put on a devastating display but we barely threatened the Algerian keeper and goalless it finished :-( Even when we brought on the little and large duo of Defoe and Crouch still nothing could be carved out. Now we're faced with a must win scenario against Slovenia, the country with the smallest population (2m). Maybe England play better with their backs against the wall. On Wednesday, we will see!
Earlier in the day the complete antithesis of the England game happened in a four goal thriller between the USA and Slovenia. Chris and Nick, our Stateside buddies from New York, came over to support their team and were treated to a wonderful come back from the Yanks as they managed to rescue a draw. I'm sure Nick is taking all the credit for managing to pull that iron from the fire.
Game one of the day between Germany and Serbia also had a star of the show... the Spanish referee, Mallenco! He made a number of questionable decisions which saw Klose pick up two yellows and his marching orders. What was more amazing was that Jovanovic managed to put Serbia on the score sheet and then they defended for their lives and they took all three points.
And so to the Footcall league...Only five players had Serbia to win (nobody had 1-0) but they included Julia Virco, Dean Turney and my mother, Virginia. In the USA game three people amazingly predicted it would be 2-2 including Clive Catterall, Keith Firmston and player of the day Steve Skyla Goodwin, great call guys! The less said about the England prediction the better. Nobody had down as goalless but we'll give a little nod to Andy Brunt, Chris and Nick,Clare Hawkins, Shane Barden, David Frost and me ol mate, Paul Wak Wakefield.
Much Love!
Dj
18/06/10 02:01
Viva Mexico Cabrones!
A remarkable victory for the Mexicans as they inflicted Irish revenge on the French team, destroying them two nothing! France were tame with little threat to the South American goal and it was the pace of Mexico that was the decisive factor as they beat the offside trap for the first and were first to ball to force a penalty for the second. Both goals were beautifully finished as Hernandez rounded the keeper for goal one and old man Blanco (crikey I'm older than him!) tucked away the penalty perfectly in the bottom left corner. What was astonishing was that Domenech didn't call on Henry to make the difference, if only Zidane was still playing, he certainly would have provided the inspiration so desperately required, at the very least he could have started a ruck on the edge of the goal area! Now they look dodgy to qualify so just watch for Mexico and Uruguay play out a goalless draw in the next match to see them through.
Earlier in the day, Greece struggled through against a 10 man Nigeria scoring two goals which are the first they've ever scored in the World Cup Finals. Not the most scintillating of matches but a result is a result eh? For a lot of Footcallers 2-1 was a popular score.
Game one of the day was an altogether more exciting affair. Argentina with probably the best attack in the tournament and also the worst defence ran out winners 4-1 against South Korea. Mr Messi, probably the best player in the world, ran riot once again having a hand much of the play but without scoring. It was his frontline partner, Higuain, who scored the first hat trick of the competition. They look awesome up front but if they want to win the trophy they are going to have to sort out their defence. They remind me of Newcastle Utd 96/97 season, loads of talent up front but a little bit suspect at the back. We just need Maradona to come out and say "I would love it if we beat them, love it!"
And so to the Footcall league...Paul Barden (Blue Moon) and John Trent picked up a 3 pointer to move up a few places. So too did Shane the Kulpritt Barden but it was the notable move off the bottom spot for Super Alex Church who picked up his first 3 and storm up to 108th!
Quite a few 3s in game two including Darren "Badders" Alldritt, yet another correct score for Jill Fuller and Sam Ford. Gavin "Lampkin" Day and Jake Martin picked up their first red square along with Matt "My Arm Hurts" Green and Captain David Frost. I'd like pay special tribute to Leigh "I love Chris Hollins" Boardman who had a wonderful back to back 3 pointer, possibly the most appreciated 6 points in the history of Footcall. Also to my good buddy Steve "3 Lions" Cowland also picked up his first 3 possibly the best present he could ask for ahead of his wedding on Saturday. Good luck to him and Clare for their big day!
Prediction of the day must go to David Hitch. For Crying out Loud was the only player to guess Mexico to win 2-0, was it a guess or did he know something? Hmmm, I'm suspecting foul play, perhaps we should raise an investigation ;-)
England back on tomorrow, surely they can't put us through the mill again, not against Algeria?
Dj
17/06/10 00:55
...that's right, none of you!
Here are the 113 Footcall results for Spain v Switzerland...
0,0,0,0... and 109 more 0s :-)
This possibly is, correction, definitely is, the lowest scoring day in Footcall history. Not even our competing Swiss resident, Alan Church, had Switzerland to win. I'm tempted to look through the list and award a half point to anyone who predicted a draw!
Earlier in the day we had the game of the tournament, Honduras v Chile. An exciting game full of entertainment which saw Chile take the 3 points. Now this result did wonders for our league with 3 pointers galore strewn up and down the table. These include Louis Turney, Ian Pope, Leanne Rennie and Stephen Hills. Sam Ford, Keith Firmston and James Vallender also collected a rare 3 to boost their positions. But we have a band of merry men (and women) all to lose their 3 point cherry and they include Ric Robinson (great team name Ric), Jill Fuller (Hoorah!), Sean & Adam (lunchtime legends), Tim Jennings (B&H Superking), Clare Hawkins (about time too), Sean Broad (A sign that things are looking up) and Peter Short (Colin is in his sights), well done everyone who knows where this will take you.
Finally South Africa took on Uruguay in the second game of Group A. It was vuvuzela madness at kick off and the support for Bafana Bafana was a real sight to see. Unfortunately for SA it was the two time World Cup winners that ran the show headed by former Premiership player, Diego Forlan, scored 2 of their 3 goals. Surely Alex Ferguson will be putting in a bid to bring him back to Old Trafford? Surely Uruguay must be a dark horse tip to upset a few results in later matches. And so to the Footcall table, a whole bunch of ones as lots of people had Uruguay to win but prediction of the tournament so far must go to Clive Catterall (KC's Claret & Blue Army) who nailed it spot on 3-0. Clive is blistering up the charts into 66th position!
South Korea back on the stage later today against Argentina. I really can't make my mind up whether to support South Korea or North Korea; so I suppose I should go and talk to my Koreas adviser!
Come on... stop you're groaning, you know you'll be using that one later!
Dj
16/06/10 03:28
The football might not be that entertaining but at least we've got Footcall...
Day 5 of the World Cup and I think it's fair to say it's still yet to kick off. We've had a bit of quality from the bossy Germans but the Italians last night along with the Portuguese and the Brazilians didn't really set the world alight as we thought they might. Anyway it's still early days and the first games of the Group Stages are often a cagey affair whilst the players bed in their brand new Nikes, you know the silver ones with the orange backs (are they giving those boots out on the gate or what?) It seems that teams are more concerned about losing rather than gunning for the three points, hence all these tame draws. We've had 14 games with only 23 goals and that's about 10 less than the last World Cup. Maybe it's the ball, maybe it's the altitude, maybe it's the "let's get 10 men behind the ball" approach some teams are adopting who can tell but it's not adding up to many goals and as such a few Footcallers have a little off in their predictions. Mr Paul Wakefield predicted Brazil would romp home 7-0 against the WC minnows, North Korea, or Korea DPR, as we should call them. Well the team in red certainly gave the samba boys a good game and maybe just the experience saw them through.
This afternoon Portugal played Ivory Coast in a bore draw 0-0 which actually wasn't that bad other than the lack of goals. Ronaldo, probably the best player in the world, hit the crossbar and the one armed Drogba, probably the best player in the world, came close at the final moments of the game. What's more amazing is that not a single person predicted this would be 0-0... quite remarkable!
Game one of the day was Slovakia v New Zealand and the Slovaks took the lead with a neat header and looked to be cruising for the three points. No doubt many of you were also thinking this is it, 3 points are in the bag for me too, but you weren't counting on the team from the Southern Hemisphere (where I myself have played my best football) heading home an equalizer in the ninety bloody third minute! I did have a few emails this afternoon full of much stronger expletives over that result! On behalf of the fourth official and Footcall I can only apologise that the whistle didn't get blown a few seconds earlier. The dopey defender, Reid, took his shirt off in celebration and promptly got booked for it, let's hope that doesn't come back to haunt him later.
And so to the Footcall league...Movers and shakers today include Paul "Up The Irons" Firmston who moves top alongside Jon Hill, nice little 7 pointer for Paul today, surely this is the highest West Ham have come to the top of a table in a long time? Martin Arscott is showing some Ballacks as he moves up to 5th and Ryan Smith does well too. Scott Ellis the Gooner has had a good day, in fact he and Zhaomin Meng were the only players today to have Brazil to win 2-1 because everyone had them to win by a much bigger margin but the goal fest never came. I'm happy for those that got their first three pointer today like Adam Jones, Sam Wozny, Aaron "Gary Neville's biggest fan" Harden, Robert Hatch and David Bourne rising from the flames. However for those of you losing faith in your predictions think about this, 24 hours ago Darren Arscott was languishing in 113th place (rank last) on 1 solitary point. A day later he's now up into 73rd on 6 points up there with the likes of RotorSwift, Killing Time, Clarky's Dreamers, EP Monchenglandbach and the dynamic duo of Swinging GIblets & Chris Hollins is Beautiful. Hey Darren... maybe if the Group Stages ran until Christmas you might make it on to the first page of the leaderboard ;-)
Cheers for now - BRB!
Dj
15/06/10 01:48
Three more games done and dusted and it's all change at the top.
Yet another valuable 3 pointer takes him clear with a the new young upstart on the block, Jack Wakefield pushing hard, as he took a lovely 7 points today to see him up into second place. Kev seems to be on the slippery slope downhill as he drops to third. Other players showing some form include Dean Smith, Paul Firmston and Jack's mother Emma collecting a lovely 6 pointer today.
Holland winning two nothing by nature of the Scouse contingent of Daniel Own Goal Agger as he's now known, along with Dirk Kuyt saw them brush off the Danes quicker than it takes to grill half a dozen rashers of bacon! This was a popular scoreline for Footcallers including Mark Horner (2006 last placed player) James Sandiford, Louis Turney and top Chelsea fan Carol Gerrard and other Essex player, Barry Smith, it's always nice to see the points being distributed geographically! Finally three players have picked up their first 3 pointer and they are Keith Firmston, Andy Booth and Eddie Bojtler, things really are looking up.
So on to Japan v Cameroon and surely we'd see some dodgy defences and loads of goals. Well not really, a fair amount of excitement at both ends but just the one goal from Keisuke Honda (he's known as "Civic" in dressing room) tucking away the only goal of the game. Eto'o showed a bit of class for Cameroon and Mbia came close with a screaming shot that belter the crossbar. Only 5 Footcallers got this scoreline including the dynamic duo of Neil Jefferis and his ol sparring partner David Jenner, that's meeeeeeeeeee! Hurrrah my first 3 pointer (quick toot on my Vuvuzela for that!)
Finally reigning champions Italy fancied a quick run out against Paraguay, knock in half a dozen goals then back to base camp for spag bol and rendition of Nessun Dorma! Er No. First of all it p***ed hard and it clearly was the wrong type of rain because the South Americans certainly gave them a game and they even took the lead. So the Italians dug deep and managed to rescue a draw from a corner where the Paraguay keeper did his best Superman impression leaving his goal wide open for the equalizer. And that's how it stayed 1-1 and it was surprising just how many predictions had a one all draw including Chris Amos, Dan "the floorman" Wilks, Reginald Brunt, Stevie G Skyla, Paul Wratten and special mention to Darryl "I just wrote down a bunch of numbers" Abbott, well done Darryl, you're up to 37th now.
That'll do. See ya.
Dj
14/06/10 00:33
Just as it was looking like Kevin Appleton was starting to pull away from the field we have a new player charging up the table in devastating form. Jonathan Hill has bounded up the charts like a little gazelle picking up an unbelievable 7 points today along with the 3 he got last night he's the first this year to have a triple 3. Well done Jonny keep it going fella! Not only Jon though achieving 7 but John They Call Him the Juan" Trent also collected as many points for his scores, he's now up to J8.
The other teams in England's group, Algeria and Slovenia played in a fairly tepid game that ended with the Slovenians winning 1-0, so they top the group and now Algeria need to get something out of the game against England on Friday to stay in. Should we be worried? Those that guessed this scoreline correctly include, Tony Gardner and Everton's Empty Trohpy Cabinet, Dean Smith the Scouser, Me ol China Peter Nilsen, Matt Clark, Chris Amos (the unsung hero of Footcall 08) Foster Louts Dazzer, Jamie & Ian, Martin Arscott and Garry with 2Rs Furze. See how those 3 pointers propel you up the table.
On to match two of the day, Serbia v Ghana. The Serbians full of players with the same end syllable were somewhat disappointing and the African team claimed the first victory for their continent - let the party begin! The top Footcallers for this game were Kevzoe, Paul (where's Keith?) Firmston, little Jack Wakefield and Lee Baker.
Finally the game of the day, Germany v Australia. Surely the Aussies with their European experience and sporting pedigree be able to give a very young and old German side a good run for their money? Errr No! An early powerblaster from Podolski set the Germans on the way to a right romp home four zip, and they looked like a well oiled Mercedes as they bossed the game from start to finish completing 530 passes in the process. They even managed to get Tim Cahill sent off in the process.
Almost everyone had Germany to win but only two people have made the best prediction of the tournament so far and they were Dave Aces Billington and Leanne Rennie and here team Renoir's Red Carders, which seems very apt with three red cards happening in one day. Lots of one pointers up and down the list especially Emma Wakefield who has 6 of em with no threes yet.
We should pay tribute to all the mid-tablers treading water (me included) your time will come. At the other end of the table we should mention Alex Church, David Bourne, Olly Gale and Footcall 08 Group Stage winner, Darren Arscott all propping up the table in 110th.
That's it for now. See ya!
Dj
13/06/10 02:08
There is no truth in the rumour that BP just hired England's goalkeeper to stop the oil spill...
Not what you'd call the best of starts to the England WC campaign :-( hopefully my acronym of the World Cup doesn't mean our chances have gone down the pan! We started so well, full of vigour and promise with captain fantastic Gerrard latching on to a Heskey (who doubted him?) pass to tuck the ball in the bottom right corner... SWEET! Well maybe not if you were watching ITV HD as just as the ball crossed into the box, we lost transmission and it cut to an unintentional poxy advert for Hyundai. We couldn't believe our eyes when it came back on with the boys celebrating down by the corner flag! Nice one ITV, your coverage is good as your dodgy commentary. Never mind, we were one nil up and in full control surely this we would be a walk in the park from here?
Not quite, USA are no push over and whilst they are not blessed with international stars (crikey they don't even call it FOOTBALL) they rode out the England pressure and they were rewarded for it. On the 40th minute Fulham winger, Clint Dempsey took a speculative shot that really wasn't going to trouble our man between the sticks, except this is England we are talking about! As the new ball bounced across the surface, Robert Green got down to collect the ball as a matter of routine, he didn't set himself quite fully behind the ball and it pinged off his gloves and slid behind him into the net as he buried his face into the turf. He was distraught with what happened, you could see it and so were we. At least he can call himself a true England keeper now, this ranks alongside Seaman being lobbed from 30 yards, Robinson being bobbled against Croatia, countless Calamity James balls ups and who could forget Scott Carson?
Maybe we can excuse Green because the problem was that this wasn't a Premiership football this was a new World Cup football. This new ball has come in for some criticism from the players because it's light unpredictable nature.
Brace yourselves everyone... RANT ALERT... Why oh why oh why do FIFA insist on introducing a new ball every major tournament? It would seem obvious to me that they should play with exactly the same ball as used in the Premiership and Champions League for the past four years? This is what the quality players are used to, not some 99p Peak Frean's ball from Woolworths... I could buy a better ball down Hastings seafront! FIFA FAIL! RANT OVER!
OK time to regroup! England pushed on but the States hung on and went in at half time all square. Cut to the ITV studio, start off with an apology for the interruption in transmission then over the three amigos of Southgate, Vieira and Keegan. Don't get me started on the quality of Kevin Keegan's punditry, he had the nerve to say our keeper was Green by name and green by nature. I'm sure if he had still been England manager that's exactly what he would have said to Robert in the dressing room! At that moment Adrian Chiles had a look on his face like he was wishing he was back at the BBC.
Second half. You know the deal... lots of huff an puff, golden opportunities spurned (like Heskey one on one with the keeper) but no end product. Game over; one all it remained. It's fair to say that England had the three lions share but let's give America some credit here; kick off was at 1939 but they didn't turn up until 1941, then they stole the show. All seems very familiar doesn't it?
Let's not forget this was game three of the day. Earlier in the afternoon Maradona the Messiah (he paid me to put that) and his band of merry men from South America took on Nigeria. This saw Messi up against Shittu (insert your own joke here) and this really should have been a walk in the park for Argentina. So it appeared when Heinze headed in a corner to go 1-0 up. We thought it would be a barrage of goals from there on as Lionel Messi, possibly the best player in the world, just fired at the man of the match, the Nigerian keeper, Vincent Enyeama. He saved a number of attempts that on any other day would have seen the Argentines romp home comfortably. Well they did hang on just like the buttons on Diego's suit!
The early kick off of the day was between South Korea and Greece. The most successful Asian nation showed how they could pose a threat in this competition. They tucked away two goals against a lack lustre Greek team who will need to pull their socks up if they want to qualify. South Korea could be a team to watch, they are up against Argentina next and could give them a run for their money.
So what have all these results had on the Footcall league?Top boy is still Mr Appleton! Another 3 pointer sees him 2 points clear (I'm sure Mick is delighted for him). Joint second is Mark Brownie Badger and Stephen Run 4 The Hills, well done guys. Other notables include Matthew Rudd and my Mother, Virginia, who I had to talk into taking part for the first time, she won't mind if she qualifies for a prize but don't forget Mum, as you always used to say to me... It's the taking part that counts ;-). Other movers and shakers include the consistent Danny Searle and Paul Harrison. Three pointers include our New York based couple of Chris and Nick, one all was the perfect result for them, Peter Mulvey, Sam Ford and Jonny Hill all picking up valuable points.
That's it for now, over and out!
Dj
12/06/10 01:20
Right that's it, day one complete, the hosts have played and kept up the successfully tradition of the opening game with a cracking strike against the Mexicans to take a surprising lead. Even though the South Americans bossed the game early on, they struggled to pull a draw out of the hat. Tshabalaba rifled a goal in the top right corner for what could be one of the goals of the tournament! After the South African goal was scored I updated the league table and only 5 players had predicted 1-0 to SA but in classic Footcall style they lost their 3 pointers when the equalizer went in. This brought in a whole wave of others to the top of the table, 28 players all told, one of whom is the GLW (good lady wife) along with many others including Blue Moon, Where's The Salad Doris (nice one James) and for Jo Mackenzie, things clearly have got better as she's already got nearly more points than she got in total in Footcall 2008. Not the greatest quality game but exciting none the less and if the Africans had scored instead of hitting the post right at the death things, would have been different.
And so on to Uruguay v France. What a contrast from the opener, a total bore draw! Well maybe not that boring but it certainly was very cagy and whilst Forlan showed a bit of promise and Ribery ran like a headless chicken down the flanks, not a great deal happened to test the keepers as the formations pretty much cancelled each other out. The 0-0 scoreline was not a popular choice either with only a handful predicting a draw and just three players predicting a no score draw, all three are seasoned Footcallers, Alan Church, Peter Nilsen and top of the tree is Kevin Appleton and his team Tonbridge Street Elite the only player with a perfect 6 points, careful Kev, it's a long way down.
So we move on to the one to watch, England v USA let's see how we get on.
I'm off to buy my own vuvuzela to annoy the cats!
Dj
11/06/10 03:15
So we are off and running... Footcall 2010 rumbles into town for the 6th time!
What a magnificent turn out, an unbelievable 113 entries! For a long while I was standing on one leg as we had 111 entries ('Nelson' for all you non-cricket fans out there) but a couple of last minute players bumped it up and so we've broken the previous record of 84 in 08 which is tree-mendous! Thank you to each and everyone of you who has taken part, I will do my best to give you a mention in dispatches whenever I can (good or bad) and I shall endeavour to keep you entertained along the way. I hope you like the new website and the communication features like the text messaging (nice eh?) all here to enhance the Footcalling experience, just wait till we get the T-shirt, bottled water and cuddly mascot! Before I go any further I have thank my good buddy Spencer for his sterling efforts in compiling the code behind the site enabling players to enter online. Whilst I have put together the design of the site, it's Spence who has built the engine and for that, I'm truly grateful. BTW, he did pay for his entry.
A few old faithfuls have returned for another lap round the Footcall track but as we all know, experience counts for diddly squat in this game and just because Mick Mallion has won it twice does not mean that he has an advantage nor will he get to keep the trophy if he wins again. A warm welcome to all the Footcall virgins taking part in 2010; I hope you enjoy the excitement that taking part will bring to the spectacle of watching the matches. I know from experience how a late goal can take you from joy to misery and then back again as another goal hits the back of the net with the last kick of the game! You might not have ever given a monkeys about the Honduras football team before but believe me, if you've got a three pointer riding on their result you will start to care quite a bit about how they get on!
This is the first of many Footcall reports of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa and let's hope for a good 'un. No bad tackling, no dodgy referee decisions, no England penalty shoot outs and most definitely no "Hand of God" from the Argentine coach. Of course the tubby little former number 10 would need a step ladder and a snooker cue to reach a ball to out jump Shilton these days!
So sit back and enjoy the biggest football tournament in the world and let's see how far your predictions take you.
Stay tuned folks and happy Footcalling!
David Jenner