The official CUK World Cup commentary thread

[MrMark]

Of course Fabio may have made an error in not taking this man to the World Cup.

[minestrone]

Which doesn't mean it can't be done, thankfully football success isn't just about statistics and here's some very recent ones to prove my point:

England were 3 places ahead of Italy in the FIFA world rankings in the month before the last world cup, Italy never once looked convincing and even had to rely on a last gasp injury time penalty to get passed Australia!! ...Yet they went on to beat France in the final (who incidentally knocked out an under par Brazil on their route to the final), no team wins the world cup without a bit of luck on the way.

Look at Greece in the 2004 Euros, 35th to 14th in a month. A mate of mine had £20 on Greece at 150/1 because they had a good manager.

Capello is a good manager, I still believe.

Not going to happen mate, while I agree Rooney is a simply outstanding footballer he will not be able to take you through the stages where you come up against very good teams. Argentina would totally throttle the English defence, Brazil and Spain also.

It's the quarters at best this time around.

[quackhandle]

Some good posts in this thread. My little football story is of a mate who is a part-time coach and was doing a degree and his thesis was Brazilian foot coaching. He was allowed to coach some of the Leeds first team back in 1999 where he was describing a Brazilian method of coaching. All of the British based players struggled to understand it, apart from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who said he'd done in Holland when he was 6 years old!

Also has anyone asked why Beckham is still involved with the England Squad? I think it's because that should England do better than last time (Semi's or better) he can't bare not to be seen with a successful England team. Maybe he's said the team can have a go on Victoria if they win the WC?

qh

[shaunbhoy]

Capello is a good manager, I still believe.

Having Capello is the single most important factor in England's chances. I believe that had they a decent manager in place 4 years ago, they might have gone all the way. The problem now is that many of that "golden" crop of players is slightly past their prime. That said however, I would not be totally surprised if they make the semis, although I feel the quarters is a bit more likely.
If they can keep their big players fit (Rooney, Terry, Gerrard, Lampard etc.) then that will also have a huge bearing on where they finish.
Still don't see them winning it though, but you never know.
I predict a 2-1 win for them over the USA in the first match by the way.

[Zippy]

Having Capello is the single most important factor in England's chances. I believe that had they a decent manager in place 4 years ago, they might have gone all the way. The problem now is that many of that "golden" crop of players is slightly past their prime. That said however, I would not be totally surprised if they make the semis, although I feel the quarters is a bit more likely.
If they can keep their big players fit (Rooney, Terry, Gerrard, Lampard etc.) then that will also have a huge bearing on where they finish.
Still don't see them winning it though, but you never know.
I predict a 2-1 win for them over the USA in the first match by the way.

Much as I would lke to disagree, I think the quarter-finals is the most likely outcome, taking into account the injuries and lack of gumption of those who are fit.
Assuiming Eng-ger-lund win their group, who are they expected to play next? (Please God it isn't the Germans or the Argies as the Sun headlines will wind me up)

[gingerjedi]

Much as I would lke to disagree, I think the quarter-finals is the most likely outcome, taking into account the injuries and lack of gumption of those who are fit.
Assuiming Eng-ger-lund win their group, who are they expected to play next? (Please God it isn't the Germans or the Argies as the Sun headlines will wind me up)

It may well be the Germans or Australia, I know which team I'd prefer to meet skippy.

[sasguru]

Having Capello is the single most important factor in England's chances. .

Capello is vastly overated. At this stage (after 21 games in charge) the turnip aka Graham Taylor had a better record.
Capello has not succeeded in beating any of the big teams, remember.

Prediction: Quarters again.

[minestrone]

There was a great program on Scottish Television last night about the stats of the World Cup, I don't think would have been shown down South?? but if you are a World Cup fan is a must watch.

The presenter is known as a bit of a knob up here but it is a good show...

Similar content | STV Video

[minestrone]

There was a great program on Scottish Television last night about the stats of the World Cup, I don't think would have been shown down South?? but if you are a World Cup fan is a must watch.

The presenter is known as a bit of a knob up here but it is a good show...

Similar content | STV Video

On that link provided (may be dynamic so the link may change) the 5th story down is a link to "The riot that banned alcohol from Scottish football".

Celtic won the cup, Rangers fans invade the pitch while the cup is being presented, chucking bottles at the police while singing a song that is now a criminal offence due to its sectarian content.

Manchester anyone?

[shaunbhoy]

Capello is vastly overated

Capello was born in Pieris, Italy, in 1946, and made his professional football debut as a midfielder in 1964 with SPAL, where he spent three seasons before moving to Roma, where he won the Italian Cup. He was later sold to Juventus, where he played during the 1970’s. He also played for Italy, and achieved notoriety by scoring a goal for Italy in 1973 to help defeat England at Wembley for the first time ever. He ended his playing career in 1980 with AC Milan.

Capello made his name as a football coach beginning in the early 1990’s, and has won the domestic league title with every team he has managed in his career, including Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus. He has claimed championship victories in 4 major cities – Milan, Madrid, Rome and Turin – and has led his team to a major league championship in 7 of the 16 seasons in which he has coached. He also once led AC Milan on a run of 58 straight matches without a loss
Oh yeah............HUGELY overrated..............in the mind of a man who knows about as much about football as the average girl guide!



Stick to commenting upon virtual motorbikes you wish you owned sg. Doing that makes you look more than stupid enough. Leave the footy discussions to those that understand the game.

HTH