oldtype

Just had a look at a video for their proposed first five stadiums. They do look absolutely incredible; sights to really behold if they were ever constructed, but i just don't know. Qatar? It's not exactly a footballing nation. Haven't really paid any attention to these World Cup bids... who's are the best? Depends on your definition of "best." Japan pretty much gave up on this several months ago so they're as good as out. I don't think we've got a prayer either. So that leaves the US (safe option), Australia (the "historical significance" option), and Qatar (batshit insane option.) What complicates things is that while the US probably has the most votes right now, they won't be able to secure a majority for several rounds. There's a high possibility that Korea, Japan, and Qatar will unite behind whichever bid lasts the longest, which means one of the three could possibly sneak in if they randomly survive the first two votes.

The Qatar bid is a complete joke for so many reasons. I suppose that means they'll win it.

Screw rationality, if you were in my shoes, would you be going "yeah well twenty years seems too soon so I hope my own country fails."

Want: England, South Korea Will probably get: Russia, USA

In the end I think the presentations mean very little and are done for show more than anything else. There are only 22(24?) voters, all of them have been lobbied halfway to hell and have already decided to vote for whoever gave them the most jewelry/booze/whores by now. The presentations are much more pertinent for the IOC, when you have 200+ voters so you can't possibly lobby them all individually.

Bingo! That of course is the reason why it's an England only bid. Spain and Portugal at least have a track record of qualification and good performance in recent WC tourneys. By the same token it will be an absolute raving joke if Qatar get the WC without having even gotten into the final Asian qualification round for nearly a decade.

Not really as they're not in the same bid group, so it's a bit redundant claiming it'd be a joke if they got it when they're not up against the same competition. I'm aware they're not bidding against one another. Not sure how it's "redundant" either. Just commenting in general - England '66, USA '94, and Korea/Japan '02. Which of those three should get its next turn first? It's not about "turns." By that logic we should be awarding this to Russia and Qatar by default.

If we're going by infrastructure (footballing + transportation + lodging) South Korea and Japan are so far ahead of the rest of the pack it's not even funny. America is obviously going to make the final vote almost by default because you're America and you're alone in a bunch of Asian countries. The key is going to be which Asian country comes through and how many of the other Asian country's votes they'll be able to pull together to go against the USA. IMO, you want to go up against the Aussies because they have almost no pull within AFC and therefore would be very soft in the final vote up against the USA. I wouldn't be so sure. Transportation you would probably have us (smaller, better rail networks), but on the others I highly doubt it. But it's about more than just infrastructure. We have more, better, and newer stadia. Not sure about lodging to be honest. I don't disagree that it's not about infrastructure though. In the end, you can always build new stuff. It's the political considerations that count the most.

If we're going by infrastructure (footballing + transportation + lodging) South Korea and Japan are so far ahead of the rest of the pack it's not even funny. America is obviously going to make the final vote almost by default because you're America and you're alone in a bunch of Asian countries. The key is going to be which Asian country comes through and how many of the other Asian country's votes they'll be able to pull together to go against the USA. IMO, you want to go up against the Aussies because they have almost no pull within AFC and therefore would be very soft in the final vote up against the USA.

It's such a huge disadvantage for us in these presentations that we don't speak English as a first language. We had a decent presentation, but all the stuttering was just painful to listen to. I would also like to shoot the buffoon who translated the dubs for the videos. This sort of thing just grates on me even more now that I'm a professional interpretor.

Have to say Blatter looked blatantly sympathetic towards the Korea bid. Sigh, dare I hope.

Bill Clinton looks about as disinterested as I've ever seen him making a speech

Don't see how they could justify giving it to Australia with their non-existent footballing/transportation infrastructure. I suppose crazier things have happened. As long as it's not Qatar.

Russia and USA imo. I just know the US is going to get 2022 just to force me to go there again instead of getting to visit some fun new country. Really have no desire to go to Russia whatsoever even if they do end up hosting as well.

He'll actually get that England cap at this rate

Somewhere, Messi sighs in relief. Would be hilarious if he actually fails to score again this season

Was scoring less than 1 goal in 4 for a French second division side at age 21.

He's excellent when called upon but he won't be able to do it every week. Start making him a regular starter and I fear we'll be seeing another Nicky Butt situation. (Player that only plays well when he's had a two week rest)

We weren't so hot but a point is more than good enough for this fixture. Particular credit should go to the central defenders for coming in so suddenly and doing a decent job. It'll be interesting to see which two end up sticking around after Liverpool. We should be a much, much, much better team when Barton is back next week so very much looking forward to the six-pointer with West Brom.

Don't pick fights with Norwegians over snow. It's like picking fights with Koreans over Starcraft.

Jesus Christ man, what part of you motivates you to pick fights over the most ridiculous, insignificant things ever?

Well, our (Korea's) bid for 2022 is a complete non-starter now for obvious reasons.

I'm sure he'll be just as good as the last player we got that "Sir Alex changed."

Funny, that's the exact opposite problem we have. We set aside the "talented" kids and have them do nothing but eat, sleep, and play football at such an early age that most of them end up jaded, traumatized, and unable to read and write by age 18.

Who knows what'll happen 12 years in the future. For all you know there's some random Norwegian eight-year old out there who's going to become the next Pele and Chris Hughton could choose to seek a new challenge at Norway after winning the treble five times with Newcastle. I think the far more unlikely scenario would be this whole "host some games in North Korea" thing being actually doable and not complete hogwash.