gazza ladra

And to think that last week some innocuous post was said to be approaching RAWK levels of awfulness. I can't remember the author or the post. But it was not even close.

No but that's why we were rusty and they were sharp.

Fans continue to hate Pardew. Media: Fans turn on Pardew again.

Gouffran.

Too true.

Cut to the chase. Is he pants or not? If your expectation level was low in the first place then fair enough. I do think people are romanticing the effectiveness of his crossing and dead balls. He hasn't really delivered consistently on that front, albeit scoring in some crucial goals in derbies and Europe. He's tidy enough and has a decent touch but we have enough players like that and he is an abysmal full back. NUFC is supposed to be something like the 20th richest club in the world. Ryan Taylor shouldn't be anywhere near our squad. Still, I like the guy. I don't think anyone was seriously comparing his skills to Beckham or any other world class footballer. But compared to the players on our squad, his dead ball skills stand out. (Sadly. There's no Robert in this team.) And given the lack of ideas coming from our manager... a Ryan Taylor free kick is sometimes our best chance at winning those games that we should be winning anyway.

No, didn't say he isn't "pants." I said that he's exceeded expectations-- or my expectations certainly. He arrived with such a cloud over him. Kinnear, Nsomnia, and all that. I wasn't expecting much. So I don't think that the current good will directed towards him is entirely a matter of people "extrapolating their most recent memory backwards" as Taylor said.

I'd love to see almost anyone new finish in the top four-- if only because it'll keep Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool, etc. out. I hope that Southampton do keep it up. (They won't of course.)

On the contrary, I think he's performed better than expected. Sibierski part II. He's not a great footballer by any stretch of the imagination, but we've seen plenty of more talented signings do far less for the club than he has.

Shocked we didn't close that out.

Commended for being English.

He reminds me so much of Bocanegra in his prime. Maybe even a bit better. Let's hope so. Christ, we've got to set the bar higher than that.

http://www.shadowlocked.com/images/stories/LISTS/iphonemoviekiller/010_Scarface_1983.jpg Ah, SSR went there first.

I'm sorry but this is a bunch of nonsense. Do Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina have healthy domestic leagues? Why do the Belgians and Dutch bother with their domestic leagues when a clearly superior product is just across the border? Its not about just about money. Its about having a football culture. We're getting there-- that takes time. My ten year old son plays football every day. When he's not playing football, he's playing futsal. He's all football crazy. And that's true of most of the young athletes in his school. (That was to the case when I was his age--we were all playing baseball and basketball all summer.) The World Cup is a big deal. Every four years it generates new fanatics. I saw something about that fool running around dressed as Teddy Roosevelt. Turns out he wasn't a fan until the 2006 World Cup -- had disdain for the game and US fans before then. I think there are a whole bunch of young athletes who are right now deciding to dedicate themselves to playing football/soccer instead of basketball, American football, baseball or whatever. We've missed a big opportunity by passing on playing in the Copa America in the past few decades. 2016 is going to be huge. And like this World Cup, it's going to create new fans and produce a larger pool of players. Those leagues are still healthy because they were built up ages ago when football was less international in countries which have long, rich footballing histories. You're trying to build something from the bottom up with the MLS in a world where every Premier League game is live on TV. The two cases are not even remotely comparable. Trust me, I've seen this movie before in Korea after 2002. Of course MLS has a much better shot given that they can throw around much more money, but if you think America's rise to a footballing superpower is some sort of manifest destiny you're liable to be grossly disappointed come 2018. Again, I'm not saying it's impossible. But it will be hard. The Premier League is the least of our worries. More people watch the Mexican League than English football in these parts. Obviously, I neglected to mention the changing demographics of this country. That's another factor-- its not quite manifest destiny In any case, I know people who watch the Premier League, and the Mexican League, and MLS and anything else they can manage to stream online. It's not one or the other.

Argentina and Belgium have had pretty identical tournaments so far. I do think that Switzerland are a good bit better than USA though I'd rather have the US back 4 and keeper. Neither side has a good striker and the Swiss are better in midfield. You'd have Damarcus Beasley over Rodriguez? That's like the best left back in the world cup against the worst. USA have a better keeper I agree. Switzerland have a way better midfield and Drmic despite not being much of a goalscorer is better than clint Dempsey as a striker........ On Belgium winning at a canter. It simply wouldn't have happened. They were taking so many shots because they had USA pegged back. If they scored they would have sat back more and let USA into it. Its just the way football goes unless one team is way better than the other. Its a bit like saying in the Iran Argentina game that Iran could have hammered Argentina because they had a lot of chances I'll not hear a bad word spoken about DaMarcus Beasley. He more than held his own against some of the best wing players in the tournament and still got forward relatively often. Hardly the worst LB in the tournament, and I'd go so far as to say he was comfortably in the top half of LBs who appeared. This.

I'm sorry but this is a bunch of nonsense. Do Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina have healthy domestic leagues? Why do the Belgians and Dutch bother with their domestic leagues when a clearly superior product is just across the border? Its not about just about money. Its about having a football culture. We're getting there-- that takes time. My ten year old son plays football every day. When he's not playing football, he's playing futsal. He's all football crazy. And that's true of most of the young athletes in his school. (That was to the case when I was his age--we were all playing baseball and basketball all summer.) The World Cup is a big deal. Every four years it generates new fanatics. I saw something about that fool running around dressed as Teddy Roosevelt. Turns out he wasn't a fan until the 2006 World Cup -- had disdain for the game and US fans before then. I think there are a whole bunch of young athletes who are right now deciding to dedicate themselves to playing football/soccer instead of basketball, American football, baseball or whatever. We've missed a big opportunity by passing on playing in the Copa America in the past few decades. 2016 is going to be huge. And like this World Cup, it's going to create new fans and produce a larger pool of players.

Called into an "emergency" meeting just before the game and got out just before Belgium scored. Then I had to go to a 3pm meeting. Missed the last two goals. Crushed. Awful day.

When is the last time Cameron was played in midfield? Odd.

Cheddar Helmet

No they didn't. Kicking a ball about is not football, it's kicking a ball about. Just like how having a scrap outside of a cave 4000 years ago wasn't boxing.

for at least this cup, do you think region of the world had anything to do with it? Yes, heat and humidity are completely unknown in Asia.

Great post.

We have to do something different I can post this right, is from US Soccer.

No. The day we're knocked out there will still be those who will claim that Donovan would've made the difference.