Raconteur

More of Big Sam's delusion: The Holloway stuff is just as bad as the bolded bit, but at least it's not self-delusion! http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=826470&sec=england&cc=3436

Was my first thought too!

That team would be pillaged down our left. If you're going to put square pegs in round holes, better to swap Raylor and Tavernier. We'd lose Raylor's crossing, but at least Jonas would offer young Jimmy some protection... If we're going to play a weakened team (whic I voted for), I like the look of ElDiablo's team, which at least keeps the same sort of formation to what we've been playing. More players in their natural positions, too.

Former NUFC player Craig Moore banged up for drunken shenanigans in Dubai: Pattern-fitting behaviour. To think he is possibly Australia's most respected captain

I'll have some of that! I had Routledge because I thought'd he'd get all the assists, but Ben Arfa is a must!

Hehe - I saved a nufc.com report on him too. This one is dated 11 September 2002, a 0-2 loss when hosting Leeds: Again, it's been obvious his entire career, and everyone can see it. And yet he remains... EDIT: One amusing part of that piece is the mention that Shola started out as a centre half (I also remember a version of Championship Manager that listed him as a CD and gave his full name Foluwashola). Can anyone imagine Shola as a centre half? The idea horrifies me!!!

Up, with some comfort. Of course, I said that before too

Yep no question. And before the statisticians go apeshit he wasn't a poacher but a genuine Number 10. The man should have been Brazilian. But anyone who says he wasn't world class doesn't know football.

The England first team can't make it past the second round, so why would the "B Team" do any better? Just goes to show how shallow the talent pool is - that said the same would be true of all but the top half dozen nations...

Aye, loads: Maicon, Dani Alves, Maxwell, Marcelo, Aurelio, Andre Santos, Kleber, Filipe Luis, Fabio, Rafael, Cicinho, Adriano, Bastos. In the past Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Carlos Alberto etc.. Which is true but then again haven't Brazil have always have a history of attacking full backs? They've also had a long history of great ball playing midfielders, which they definitely don't atm. I literally can't think of a genuine central midfielder they have. At the moment I can think of Gilberto Silva, Melo, Ramires, Thiago Motta, Lucas, Josue, Sandro...there's no Socrates, Rivelino, Zico types around. One player to look out for is Paolo Henrique Ganso of Santos.....I think Neymar is a bit overhyped but Ganso looks the real deal....a proper playmaker that Brazil have been lacking in producing in recent years. Aye there was a bit of outrage Dunga didn't select him for the WC2010 squad. He looks a talented individual. With him and Neymar (and all young Brazillians) it'll be interesting to see what happens when they move to Europe. Funny - I was just reading Vickery's article with a heavy emphasis on Ganso and Neymar. Worth a read if you can handle his style: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/timvickery/2010/07/spain_or_barcelona_no_contest.html

Let's cast the net even wider: Baggio > Zidane? Discuss. And maybe even Bergkamp > Zidane? Discuss.

That's the closest Torres will get to a trophy for a while - especially if he stays

This - while not exactly a one-man-band, they were carried to a certain extent by Zidane. No Newcastle fan can forget that France's World Cup winning team had a strikeforce of Stephane Guivarch!

This could be the key. Personally, I hope to God they don't get 2022 (because I want Australia to get it!), but if the Yanks do get the World Cup then they should be setting the goal of winning that tournament.

FYP Excellent post, devoid of any parochialism or ludicrous continental jingoism and chock full of pertinent observations. It's posts like this that make me glad I'm a member here - especially after some of the tripe on the preceeding two pages

An open wound to all Australians old enough... A bit like Craig Johnstone playing for Scotland

This foramtion doesn't really require two defensive midfielders, more of a Pirlo/Gattuso mix - one defensive ball-winner/anchor man, and one water carrier/deep lying playmaker. Germany are playing Khedira as the ball winner and Schweinsteiger as the ball player. And you don't even need to have world class players to make it work - Australia has used it for six years with Culina and Grella/Valeri. When we tried two defensive midfielders it went very pear-shaped. The key is organisation - you don't need brilliant players, just intelligent ones who are know exactly what to do and when to do it. Which is where The Prophet's otherwise very good team would fall down... Sadly, I think Doctor Zaius' last line will prove correct

It was from the highly respected and very reliable Daily Mirror...

Tempted to give meself a goal for that. Was just reading the BBC rumours page: If he really thinks he can get all of those for £15m then I'd score it Parky 2 Hodgson 0...

Sums it up for me too - thought he would have been better off staying at Fulham, because Liverpool is going to be a graveyard and he'll be lucky to get another job when it goes pear-shaped... Walk into any team in Scandinavia, they love him over there. Set up the Swedish League or something. Great career move, from Liverpool to Scandinavia. I doubt any team will be able to pay even a fifth of what he'll be earning at Liverpool. Saying that, I would my dick off if he came to AIK. Aye, but someone saying he'll be lucky to get another job - thought I'd point out the obvious fact he's regarded as Mr. Football in Sweden or whichever backwater country he created the football league for Doubt a manager without a job would be too worried about his wages compared to his last job if he was desperate for work (as the assumption was from the post I quoted). The logic of my saying he'll be lucky to get another job is that it took ridiculously long for his reputation to 'recover' after Blackburn, combined with what Greg said about his age. He'll be lucky to last 18 months before being driven out by mad Scousers - at which time he'll be mid-60's, will need some time to recover from the emotional torture the Reds put him through and after that who is going to hire a nearly 70 year old coach who, in England, has had one success and two "failures"? (Not that I think he's responsible for Blackburn's misery, or Liverpool's forthcoming failure) Obviously he could get a job somewhere, but I just feel when it comes to the top level (in England) he would have been better staying at Fulham...

Sums it up for me too - thought he would have been better off staying at Fulham, because Liverpool is going to be a graveyard and he'll be lucky to get another job when it goes pear-shaped...

As soon as I read this thread I thought of you - because I knew you would feel the same way as myself. Now we just need oldtype and other representatives of non-UEFA/CONMEBOL nations to try and describe what winning a World Cup would mean for a nation that has zero chance of winning one (for at least 20 years) I can't even imagine what it would be like if Australia won the World Cup - in fact, imagining the reactions of the Australian Rules and Rugby League fans and media and assorted bandwagon jumpers I'm not even sure I want to think about it! But I know the genuine football community would lose the plot! Exactly!!!

In days of yore when Austraila never qualified I always liked the Argies and the Dutchies, so I'd like to see them do well. I'd like to see England and Ghana out as soon as possible. Ghana in particular beacuse a) they were shite in the group matches and b) it tickles me that Africa would have no further representation after all the bollocks about this time being their time...

this and i cant see harper being fussed about going to Scottish football Isn't the theory that they'll buy Harper if they sell Boruc? As in trying to make some money and replace their keeper with an only slightly inferior one?