Category: Uncategorized

World Cup exit

So it is all over for England. No more need to be up at 2am to watch games.

It has been interesting to read the responses to the game and the performance. England were poor, and all the limitations that were apparent have been the same ones that have existed for years. Unskilful defenders who cannot take the ball out and pass. The long ball game-typified by the back pass to the goalie who then humps it upfield. Poor ball control and hopefull passes.
Lots of reputation and little substance.

As you get older it sinks in that this situation has existed since you can remember and that there is no longer any reason to think that it is going to change. Future optimism is wasted.

Because I was alive in 1966, the famous game seems more real-but it was 44 years ago! There is nothing to make one think that there will be a time when England will change and so be capable to winning. So this takes me back to a question I asked my Dad many moons ago sitting in the pub with him and my brother Patrick-“Did he think that in his lifetime Brentford would reach the FA Cup final?’ Well they have not and will not.

Now likewise, will England reach the World Cup final in my lifetime?

Will things change? No. Come August suporters will have forgotten the pain. They will be happy to see fast but less skillful Premiership football played by an assortment of international players, ensuring ‘their’ team is doing well. The club corporates will be happy because the money will be still flowing in, and so the players will be happy as they will still be paid handsomely.

Total hard case sporting dudes

Yes that is us, not the soon to be successful England football team.

This morning we completed the Harbour Capital half-marathon and 10K.
10C, strong southerly wind to chill the bones a bit more and rain. What do you expect when you organise a race at the beginning of winter?

Preparation has not been ideal. Bad weather makes for less training, and the athletes curse- a viral illness in the week of the race did not help. However, the adults were all “Skins”-uped, which I am sure helped with muscle fatigue in the conditions.

So the ‘scores-on-the-doors’:
Sara completed in 2-03, a magnificent 10 minutes faster than in February.
Tel finished in 1-52, a much more satisfactory time. All was feeling good until the last 3k when the legs seized.
Joe did a fine 63 minutes.

No photos of us this time as we left Isaac and Eleanor at home. We did not think we could justify hypothermia just to take some pics and shout “common on” three times.

So what next on the athletic horizon? To be decided when the legs function again!

1-0 full time

A nervous finish. A win and a move onto the next round. A much better game but there are some players who do not inspire confidence. They really should have scored more, and a concern that they did not. Against better teams they will need to take their chances.

The Germans are lurking!

Off to bed.

Three toothless pussies destroying my mental health

Only now have I worked up the power from within to consider recording my emotions from the weekend.

If Wayne Rooney thinks it is tough, then he should consider what it is like for the millions(?) like me. It is hard to remember a game I have had to watch that was so poor. There must be thousands of Sunday pub team players gripping their mobile phones awaiting the inevitable call up from Fabio. Where does the manager go from here? Is it his fault? A change of style, personnel and tactics are surely needed but what of the players? How can they be so bad, so disinterested and apparently unfamiliar with each other? Can they pull themselves out of this huge rut?

One can try to look on the positive side. We have been here before in 1990 and 1986 when the team was turned around after similar appalling starts. Linekar 3 Poland nil etc. This situation looks desperate. Who is in charge ion the field? Who is meant to control the ball and direct operations? No one it seems as judged by Rooney coming to the half way line looking for the ball and Terry’s awful back pass because he did not have the confidence to go forward.

Maybe one just needs to accept that this is the way it is meant to be. Like Catholics England supporters are meant to endure suffering in order to understand life and appreciate the value of the longer term goals.

Maybe old age and memory loss cannot come quickly enough so that the pain of watching England play football is gone within the flicker of a neurone.

Anyway, the super whites are about to conquer the world after a tremendous 1-1 draw. Now sing along with me to a 1996 tune-” Three ferns on my shirt…….”

Late night glory

So the All Whites have made history. Well NZ history anyway, by earning their first World Cup finals point with a ‘stunning’ last breath equaliser. For Joe, Shaz and myself it meant a 1-30am bedtime.
The game was entertaining if not pure quality. The All Whites did seem to lack a midfield, and relied on the Wimbledon methodology quite alot. They were not embarrassed by Slovakia but the opponents had some better ball players. I am sure they were mightily upset to et the game go at the death. “That’s football!”. The mighty Brentford playing contingent did well-though the commentator seemed to mention all sorts of associations and interesting facts, without mentionin the importance of player development in west London.
So, it is another 1-1 draw for the teams in white. Somewahat different expectations and emotions attached.

Armchair sport

This weekend has been intense. It has required planning and stamina in order to make the most of the sporting contests available.

Friday offered the rugby league as ever.

Saturday evening started with the All Blacks-Ireland game in New Plymouth. As a contest it was ruined when Ireland had a player sent off after 15 minutes. My TAB bet on Ireland to win quickly went up in smoke at that point. The game turned out to be better than I thought, and just showed how it could have been if ‘rush of blood’ to ‘brain’ had not occurred.

Immediately following that game was Australia -England from Perth. England were shite. I do not know what came over me to think that they would be any better. Given that they were shite in the Six Nations, and that they were flattered by their placing, I should have known exactly how things would have panned out. Australia were fast, skillful and enterprising. england were ponderous, error prone and bereft of ideas. when will I learn?

Then it was up early (6-30) for England’s first game in the World Cup. It is hard to know from here how well they have actually played recently, and also difficult to keep tabs on the individuals in the team. Watching England is all about heartache, and so it turned out.

A dream start followed by the same limitations I have observed all my football watching life. An inabilty to control and hold onto the ball, route 1 attacks and nervous jitters at the back. The goalkeeping bloomers are a relatively recent addition to the scope of events. But what a classic.
Trying to be positive; I have seen worse at the start (and middle, and end) of major tournaments. If Italy can play crap at the beginning of tournaments and go onto win, then maybe so can the three lions.

Time to watch more football, read more news about the teams so that I can lose some more money at the TAB-as an expert.

I have been saddened to note that there has been insufficient recognition of the role of Brentford FC in the development of NZ’s new classy defender-Tommy Smith.

Come on you whites.