tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post115219375600373833..comments2023-11-05T08:01:10.010+00:00Comments on Think of England: On finding yourself in the odd position of celebrating a French victoryBrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152706410992237132006-07-12T13:13:00.000+01:002006-07-12T13:13:00.000+01:00They may as well have played me.They may as well have played me.Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152699402183449392006-07-12T11:16:00.000+01:002006-07-12T11:16:00.000+01:00Most goalkeepers move before the kick is taken. Ri...Most goalkeepers move before the kick is taken. Ricardo doesn't, the sneaky swine.<BR/><BR/>Have you ever played in a competitive football match and taken a penalty, Peter?<BR/><BR/>I have and I can tell you that when you've got to stand there on your own with everybody watching and depending on the outcome, the goal looks very small and very far away, and that the goalkeeper looks very, very bigBrithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152693685178748512006-07-12T09:41:00.000+01:002006-07-12T09:41:00.000+01:00You've missed the whole point of the penalty shoot...You've missed the whole point of the penalty shoot-out.<BR/><BR/>It's not a crap shoot, it's a test of the nerves of the penalty takers. <BR/><BR/>England (not Britain - I've had enough stick off the Scots thanks. The Scots were supporting Portugal) always, always go out on penalty shoot-outs. If it was a crap shoot, England would win 50% of them, instead of 0%.<BR/><BR/>When we lost the last Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152693538085487582006-07-12T09:38:00.000+01:002006-07-12T09:38:00.000+01:00You've missed the whole point - the only point, of...You've missed the whole point - the only point, of the penalty shoot-out.<BR/><BR/>It's not a crap shoot, it's a test of the nerves of the penalty takers.<BR/><BR/>England (not Britain - I've had enough <A HREF="http://thinkofengland.blogspot.com/2005/04/why-scottish-hate-english.html#comments" REL="nofollow">stick off the Scots</A> thanks. The Scots were supporting Portugal) always, always go Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152649782648714792006-07-11T21:29:00.000+01:002006-07-11T21:29:00.000+01:00... so the goalie could be something other than an...<I>... so the goalie could be something other than an accidental part of the action.</I><BR/><BR/>I didn't see the Britain festival o' penalty kicks.<BR/><BR/>My interest having been piqued somewhat recently, I read the article I linked to above about penalty kicks. Seems the writer got much more right than wrong. IIRC, in the final, neither goalie got so much as a finger on a penalty kick.<BR/Hey Skipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798930502187234974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152619024971717732006-07-11T12:57:00.000+01:002006-07-11T12:57:00.000+01:00I could watch Zidane play all day. At his best he ...I could watch Zidane play all day. <BR/><BR/>At his best he was football's Superman, but as was proved again, the point about men is that they can't be Superman.Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152555678857500082006-07-10T19:21:00.000+01:002006-07-10T19:21:00.000+01:00Ah, now that's a sensible way of talking about it ...Ah, now that's a sensible way of talking about it - tinkering tempered with respect for the basic premise and culture of the game. <BR/><BR/>Certainly, an extra sub or two in mid-summer tournaments where you have extra time would be worth considering. That's the kind of football pub blather I can tolerate, nay, that I regularly revel in.<BR/><BR/>What I cannot bear to hear is stuff like "Gee, whyBrithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152541414253733822006-07-10T15:23:00.000+01:002006-07-10T15:23:00.000+01:00One more thing: what's wrong with 0-0?Ukraine 0 Sw...One more thing: what's wrong with 0-0?<BR/><BR/>Ukraine 0 Switzerland 0 was indeed a dreadfully tedious game. I'd even go so far as to call it a maudlin match.<BR/><BR/>But Sweden 0 Trinidad & Tobago 0 was an absolute belter.<BR/><BR/>Trust a North American to need something as crude as a goal to make him happy.Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152540043842936232006-07-10T15:00:00.000+01:002006-07-10T15:00:00.000+01:00What, you think nobody talks about football and it...What, you think nobody talks about football and its pluses and minuses in football-loving countries? We don't talk about much else.<BR/><BR/>What we object to is the endless half-arsed, ill-thought out opinions on 'improving' the game from armchair experts in non-football loving countries, for whom the World Cup IS football, rather than the big summer holiday jamboree that makes an amusing break Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152519310876306422006-07-10T09:15:00.000+01:002006-07-10T09:15:00.000+01:00"I would move the spot another 10 yards back, so t..."I would move the spot another 10 yards back, so the goalie could be something other than an accidental part of the action. "<BR/><BR/>Jeez, you must really have it in for the Mud Peanut.<BR/><BR/>An accidental part of the action, <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991618.stm" REL="nofollow">unless he happens to be playing against England, of course.</A><BR/><BR/>ToBrithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152502149820759982006-07-10T04:29:00.000+01:002006-07-10T04:29:00.000+01:00I happened to be in a sports bar this afternoon.Ev...I happened to be in a sports bar this afternoon.<BR/><BR/>Every, and I do mean every, TV in the place was on the final. While not packed, you would have found the place commendably full.<BR/><BR/>What the heck was the French captain thinking?<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.slate.com/id/2144182/" REL="nofollow">Here is an interesting article on penalty kicks.</A><BR/><BR/>I know I'm just going to Hey Skipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798930502187234974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152467891927946742006-07-09T18:58:00.000+01:002006-07-09T18:58:00.000+01:00They're supposed to get a yellow card for 'simulat...They're supposed to get a yellow card for 'simulating' (diving). <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the officials apply that only occasionally, mainly because it's difficult to tell whether there is a genuine foul unless you've got a very good view of it. Which brings us back to video refereeing...Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152449805293363692006-07-09T13:56:00.000+01:002006-07-09T13:56:00.000+01:00Brit:I didn't mean to imply there is some American...Brit:<BR/><BR/>I didn't mean to imply there is some American exceptionalism at work here (also, the question I was really asking was the way you re-asked it for me).<BR/><BR/>Perhaps even more accurately, I should have asked what is it about football that will stop it becoming a major spectator sport in the US.<BR/><BR/>It is possible to do, though not easy. NASCAR has pulled it off over the Hey Skipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798930502187234974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152378538820828102006-07-08T18:08:00.000+01:002006-07-08T18:08:00.000+01:00Incidentally, I don't buy any of these arguments a...Incidentally, I don't buy any of these arguments about 'this particular thing is why America doesn't like soccer'.<BR/><BR/>First, what we;re talking about is not 'why doesn't America like soccer?', but 'why isn't soccer a major <I>spectator sport</I> in America.<BR/><BR/>There's nothing inherent in the game for Americans to dislike because they are uniquely American. That's just a crazy idea Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152377601950603552006-07-08T17:53:00.000+01:002006-07-08T17:53:00.000+01:00It would certainly be improved by some level of vi...It would certainly be improved by some level of video refereeing - there's a whole debate about that in the game at the moment. The arguments against are mostly about too many interruptions to the game - also, unlike say, baseball or cricket, football is a fluid sort of game, with a lot of fouls being open to interpretation.<BR/><BR/>Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, recently suggested having two Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9501938.post-1152376611823873702006-07-08T17:36:00.000+01:002006-07-08T17:36:00.000+01:00Brit:Agreed on everything, but ...If you can forge...Brit:<BR/><BR/>Agreed on everything, but ...<BR/><BR/>If you can forget for the moment my previous sacreligious comments on the perfect game, why wouldn't football be improved by something like four refs on the pitch, and instant replay?<BR/><BR/>I can think of a number of reasons why football will never become popular in the US, but this whole diving thing could well be #1.Hey Skipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798930502187234974noreply@blogger.com