World Cup!!!

Because that novel isn't going to delay itself
User avatar
Bryan Russell/Ink
Posts: 430
Joined: December 20th, 2009, 10:44 pm
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » June 12th, 2010, 4:59 pm

Nathan Bransford wrote:
Ink wrote:What's the old saying? Better to be lucky than good... :)
I think you mean to say that it's lucky that Tim Howard was born in the USA.
It was certainly a tale of two keepers. Howard making big saves, and Green basically throwing the ball in his own net. But, you know, Howard was a former Man United player. :) They teach 'em good.
The Alchemy of Writing at www.alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com

User avatar
Bryan Russell/Ink
Posts: 430
Joined: December 20th, 2009, 10:44 pm
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » June 12th, 2010, 5:04 pm

Nick wrote:
Nathan Bransford wrote:
Ink wrote:What's the old saying? Better to be lucky than good... :)
I think you mean to say that it's lucky that Tim Howard was born in the USA.
Howard doesn't really matter that much. Don't get me wrong, the man is definitely good, but England were a bit off form. Much better form that other recent matches, but still naff. Milner was overly aggressive and not really doing his job, and Carra's been out of the nationals too long to be as effective as he can be for the Reds. Rooney was pretty visibly tired by the end, and Crouch was brought in a little too late I thought. Still think Darren Bent should have gone in Heskey's place; Heskey is mediocre-at-best. Bent lacks international experience, but was one of the best forwards last season and has pretty consistently been good. If England had been in a bit better shape, seen a few less bookings, I think they could have gotten another goal in during that second half. Green's mistake really was dumb luck for the USA. Really feel sorry for him, too. He is going to be raked over the coals through Hell and back by the press, mark my words.

I had hoped for England to go out with Argentina and South Korea with a victory after their first match, but a 1-1 draw isn't a bad result. This doesn't even vaguely halt my hopes England will take home their second Cup.
The problem is that England don't have anyone to properly pair with Rooney. It's a lot to ask of one guy to score all the goals. Especially when Lampard can't buy a goal in a big game for England. Frankly, I'm a little surprised they just don't go with five midfielders. Use lots of pace out wide and put three guys in the middle of the park to control play.

And Aaron Lennon was killing me. I like him, but can he pass the ball at the appropriate time? Like, when his teammate makes an open run rather than after he tries to dribble past two guys and gets stuck?

I did think the US was solid. Donovan was sharp. But Green really gifted them one. I'm gonna call him Robert Greencard from now on. :)

(Okay, not really, as I kinda feel bad for the guy - and I prefer when games are decided by skill rather than flukes)
The Alchemy of Writing at www.alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com

User avatar
Nathan Bransford
Posts: 1553
Joined: December 4th, 2009, 11:17 pm
Location: Pasadena, CA
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Nathan Bransford » June 12th, 2010, 5:14 pm

Still think USA deserved the tie even if the circumstances were fishy. That Altidore run was very close, and otherwise they played them pretty evenly. NOT THAT I'M BIASED.

Agree with you guys about Heskey, and England's midfield looked extremely shaky. Milner was being eaten for lunch before his substitution, and agree with Ink about Lennon and Lampard. England's defense and Rooney will keep them very competitive, but they definitely weren't looking like world beaters.

User avatar
Bryan Russell/Ink
Posts: 430
Joined: December 20th, 2009, 10:44 pm
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » June 12th, 2010, 5:22 pm

I gave the edge to England, but the US was pretty solid. I don't think the tie was completely unearned. I just wish it was with a beautiful shot from Donovan curling in rather than Green handing the ball backwards into his own net while doing some sort of breakdancing move on the ground.

And Lampard... the funny thing is that in England and the Champions League he's a dominant player. Dominant. And yet in a World Cup or European Championship he just doesn't make the same kinds of plays. Kind of baffling. And Lennon... man. A couple times Rooney made these great angled runs and Lennon just had to slide the ball across and Rooney had wide open shots on goal from a great range. And Lennon just wanted to beat his man. And the guy closed him down. And by the time Lennon realized that and looked to pass the defense had collapsed in and Rooney was no longer free. I yelled "Pass the ball!" so loudly once that I woke the baby. :)
The Alchemy of Writing at www.alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com

Nick
Posts: 236
Joined: December 10th, 2009, 5:59 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Nick » June 12th, 2010, 5:28 pm

Some of it, though, looked less like form and more like playing down, which a lot of teams were doing (France took it a bit to the extreme). Understandable really. Exhausting yourself in the beginning is a bad way to go, but couple that with the shaky form and suddenly you've got a problem. Still, I'm confident the US and England will advance out of the group, regardless of who wins the group and who takes runner-up. It's the Round of 16 where things should get interesting. There won't be a lot of smaller nations left at that point, if any, and odds are neither the US or England will be paired with them. In fact if you look at the line-ups, assuming the US and England advance (as winner and runner up, respectively) and the group that will be their pairing for the next round (D), if Germany run-up in their group (which I can see happening, given their poor shape and loss of key men) that puts the US up against Germany in the Round of 16, and even with Germany in the shape they're in, it's going to be a tough fight for the USA. I am hopeful the US makes it to the quarter finals, and I think they can conceivably reach it, but it's going to be rough once the group stage is over. Meanwhile, again assuming England to be runners-up of Group C and Germany runners-up in D, the two most likely teams to advance from D as winners are Australia or Serbia; neither side poses a terribly big threat to the English game.

Still, we'll have to wait and see how the Group D boys play tomorrow. At this point the tournament is still anyone's guess.

As to Lampard, my biggest issue with him was not really being up in front of goal during corners. Lampard is a god at turning in good headers. Get the ball to him, and he will take it there. Yet he seemed to always be a little down the pitch, and at least one corner stands to mind where he was kicking in.

moosebabble
Posts: 15
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 2:57 pm
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by moosebabble » June 13th, 2010, 1:18 am

I totally have World Cup fever! I even listened to part of the match on the radio while driving to work.

All those vuvuzelas make World Cup over the radio sound like a professional bee-keeping contest.

User avatar
Ishta
Posts: 167
Joined: February 22nd, 2010, 3:31 am
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Ishta » June 13th, 2010, 10:17 am

I hear you saying that the USA was pretty solid, but I disagree. They finished the first half well, and they were definitely fairly solid in the second half, but for at least the first thirty minutes they seemed just a shade behind. Their marksmen were always behind England's players, and they couldn't quite keep up with the ball. But I give them full credit for picking up the pace for the second half of the game.

I couldn't really say how either team did compared to how they've been doing lately, since I don't really follow soccer throughout the year anymore. But it was an enjoyable match to watch yesterday.

Nick
Posts: 236
Joined: December 10th, 2009, 5:59 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Nick » June 13th, 2010, 10:35 am

So Slovenia have taken charge of Group C. Depending upon how Friday's matches play out, England or the US could be out of it. The matches are definitely going to be rough. Slovenia & Algeria were tearing each other apart. Miracle there weren't more red cards.

Serbia & Ghana playing some great football at the moment. Still banking for the Serbians to win this one.

Edit: Well, both sides started out strong, but wow this game has gone to pieces fast.

User avatar
Bryan Russell/Ink
Posts: 430
Joined: December 20th, 2009, 10:44 pm
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » June 13th, 2010, 2:50 pm

So much for Serbia. That was a pretty stupid hand ball.
The Alchemy of Writing at www.alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com

User avatar
Bryan Russell/Ink
Posts: 430
Joined: December 20th, 2009, 10:44 pm
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » June 13th, 2010, 3:28 pm

And that was a gorgeous display of football by Germany in the first half. Sorry, Aussie mates. :)
The Alchemy of Writing at www.alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com

Nick
Posts: 236
Joined: December 10th, 2009, 5:59 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Nick » June 13th, 2010, 4:04 pm

Honestly although I wanted Serbia to win it and thought they would, I'm not that upset about the result. I got the one thing out of that game I wanted: to see Milan Jovanovic play. Definitely glad he's signed on to Liverpool. Not fantastic, but very good, and our supply of good substitute forwards at the moment consists of men needed for other areas. Could even see him being first team material if he ups his game a bit and adapts well to the English game.

As to the Germany match: This is ridiculous. To quote LFC's twitter, "If this was a boxing match you'd want the Ref to stop it. Devastating play by #Ger & the poor Socceroo's are being put to the sword."

Claudie
Posts: 707
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 3:57 pm
Location: Quebec
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Claudie » June 13th, 2010, 6:22 pm

Nick wrote:As to the Germany match: This is ridiculous. To quote LFC's twitter, "If this was a boxing match you'd want the Ref to stop it. Devastating play by #Ger & the poor Socceroo's are being put to the sword."
And of course, the first match I miss is that one. Sadface!
"I do not think there is any thrill [...] like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." -- Nikola Tesla

User avatar
Heather B
Posts: 234
Joined: May 23rd, 2010, 7:56 pm
Location: Newcastle - the Australian one.
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Heather B » June 14th, 2010, 5:30 am

:( Socceroos lost... so disappointing.
Journey to the Cuckoo's Nest

http://heathermbryant.blogspot.com.au/

User avatar
Emily White
Posts: 77
Joined: December 8th, 2009, 2:25 pm
Location: Lockport, NY
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Emily White » June 14th, 2010, 2:17 pm

I am NOT a huge sports fan by any stretch of the imagination, but all this World Cup love going on here piqued my interest. I checked out a game over the weekend and it was pretty fun to watch! But what's with all the buzzing? I kept thinking bees were swarming the house.
Find out about ELEMENTAL, my YA Space Opera (available June 21, 2011) on my blog and ELEMENTAL's facebook fan page

Nick
Posts: 236
Joined: December 10th, 2009, 5:59 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: World Cup!!!

Post by Nick » June 14th, 2010, 2:32 pm

Emily White wrote:I am NOT a huge sports fan by any stretch of the imagination, but all this World Cup love going on here piqued my interest. I checked out a game over the weekend and it was pretty fun to watch! But what's with all the buzzing? I kept thinking bees were swarming the house.
It's the vuvuzelas. It's what they do in South Africa apparently. Fortunately they're not a usual thing. Even more fortunately they're talking about banning the things for the duration.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 15 guests