WORLD CUP 2018

Lestratcaster

Why on earth is Kevin Kilbane on the BBC pundit panel? What the hell has he achieved in the game?

crunchman

Lestratcaster said:

Why on earth is Kevin Kilbane on the BBC pundit panel? What the hell has he achieved in the game?

Achieving stuff in the game isn't necessarily the prime consideration for a pundit.  Kenny Dalglish achieved a lot in the game, but he would be a completely rubbish pundit as no-one would be able to understand him.

All the ex-players going in to commentary/punditry isn't always a good thing.  To use an example from cricket, Michael Vaughan is poor on Test Match Special, despite his credentials as an Ashes winning captain.  Jonathan Agnew only played 3 tests, and took 4 wickets at an average of 93, yet he is immeasurably better as a broadcaster.

ChuckManual

"We've got to keep playing the ball backwards and sideways" - Martin Keown

...aaaaaaand that's why I choose the alternative commentary on the red button!

Lestratcaster

crunchman said:

Lestratcaster said:

Why on earth is Kevin Kilbane on the BBC pundit panel? What the hell has he achieved in the game?

Achieving stuff in the game isn't necessarily the prime consideration for a pundit.  Kenny Dalglish achieved a lot in the game, but he would be a completely rubbish pundit as no-one would be able to understand him.

All the ex-players going in to commentary/punditry isn't always a good thing.  To use an example from cricket, Michael Vaughan is poor on Test Match Special, despite his credentials as an Ashes winning captain.  Jonathan Agnew only played 3 tests, and took 4 wickets at an average of 93, yet he is immeasurably better as a broadcaster.

I just don't like him lol.

Lestratcaster

And what a tart Pepe is!

AliGorie

"Kenny Dalglish achieved a lot in the game, but he would be a completely rubbish pundit as no-one would be able to understand him."

In Scotland it's generally not the accent that's unintelligible it's what Kenny, it's what he actually says -

have a listen - Kenny's in here somewhere -

EricTheWeary

Just been sat in traffic listening to the second half of Portugal Vs Morocco. The North Africans know they are going home now, the post match analysis suggesting that Portugal are Ronaldo and ten blokes who stand about and won't be going as far as the results might suggest. 
Not sure we've seen an obvious stand out team so far. 

menamestom

Spain making hard work of Iran tonight.
Iran had a great chance near the end.

I can only imagine the negativity if England had ‘only’ beat a team as low in the rankings 1-0.

Truth is some of the leaser teams are very well organised and tough to break down, it’s interesting watching the bigger teams trying against such compact opposition.

EricTheWeary

I watched chunks of the Spain match - don’t know if it was just me but the crowd noise was horrible? 
My son was reading out the betting odds for the cup, Spain 9/2 and Iran 500/1 apparently. You wouldn’t have known that from what I watched. 

Bridgehouse

menamestom said:

Spain making hard work of Iran tonight.
Iran had a great chance near the end.

I can only imagine the negativity if England had ‘only’ beat a team as low in the rankings 1-0.

Truth is some of the leaser teams are very well organised and tough to break down, it’s interesting watching the bigger teams trying against such compact opposition.

Yes - every team is there because they have had to win matches and actually play well at some point. 

There are no easy matches at a World Cup. Anyone who thinks there are doesn’t understand the modern game.

Kebabkid

Mind you, the headgear was nice (again)!

JerkMoans

CHRISB50 said:

vale said:

CHRISB50 said:

The best thing I noticed about the England game was that the fucking brass band aren't there.

Having to listen to them play the Great Escape / Rule Britannia continuously over the years has been far more upsetting than the football played on the pitch.

it was the lack of creativity that was most grinding.

they should have played the jaws themesong every time england had control, the steptoe themesong everytime the other side got the ball & the death march whenever england got knocked out of the first round on penalties.

I like this. Football set to incidental music. It could replace commentary.

scrumhalf said:

I've never understood why they play the Great Escape theme.

Fifty escapees were murdered and a load more recaptured and sent back to the camp.

Me neither really. I always presumed it was the only tune they all knew how to play, other than Rule Britannia.

Should be ‘Mission Impossible’

axisus

Referees. Too many of them are terrible. Football has to be the worst officiated sport on the planet. 

p90fool

axisus said:

Referees. Too many of them are terrible. Football has to be the worst officiated sport on the planet. 

They don't have enough power to be effective. Watch some rugby. You want to scream "CUNT" in the ref's face? Get off the pitch. Want to roll around faking an injury instead of playing the game? Get off the pitch, you're not wanted. 

Considering the money involved in football worldwide FIFA's lack of interest in cleaning it up is quite amazing, and any referee who actually disciplined players for cheating would never work again. 

It would be so simple, especially with VAR. All they have to do is announce that from 2020, any obvious faking which can be demonstrated on a replay will be met with an instant red card. Not a yellow, not a ten minute sin bin, just get off the fucking pitch. 

FWIW I think the ref did well last night in the Spain/Iran game. A couple of times he signalled to Iranian players that they were welcome to seek treatment off the pitch if they were genuinely injured, which of course they declined. 

http://i66.tinypic.com/2w6ruj8.jpg

Dopesick

LOL Gary Lineker called Pepe a dick on Twitter. Was it genuinely him?

Well he is, he's a disgrace. I thought Sergio Ramos was bad (for different reasons) but Pepe embodies pretty much everything I despise about the modern game. I'd be the first in line to point and laugh if he accidentally gets toe punted full force in the fucking face.

munckee

Highlight of the world cup so far the attempted acrobatic throw in in the last minute by the iranian chap.  I got made to run round the field at school for a similar attampt by our PE teacher in the late 80s, who, incidentally, was sat in his car (a yugo) smoking and reading the racing times.  Great days : )

scrumhalf

We also now need the sanction of a yellow card for players who give the VAR signal to the ref (and it shoud have been the case ages ago that players waving an imaginary card at the ref get a yellow card).

The alternative punishment might be that they have to spend the rest of the game making the VAR sign and get sent off if they fail to do it every five seconds. Act like children, get treated like children.

EricTheWeary

munckee said:

Highlight of the world cup so far the attempted acrobatic throw in in the last minute by the iranian chap.  I got made to run round the field at school for a similar attampt by our PE teacher in the late 80s, who, incidentally, was sat in his car (a yugo) smoking and reading the racing times.  Great days : )

He couldn’t have picked much of a worse moment.

axisus

Dopesick said:

LOL Gary Lineker called Pepe a dick on Twitter. Was it genuinely him?

Well he is, he's a disgrace. I thought Sergio Ramos was bad (for different reasons) but Pepe embodies pretty much everything I despise about the modern game. I'd be the first in line to point and laugh if he accidentally gets toe punted full force in the fucking face.

That was totally disgraceful behaviour. They should get post-match punishments for abhorrent cheating like that. 

axisus

FIFA are sh*t part 1:

There are many reasons to hate FIFA, but I heard yet another one today. A reporter was asked if we had queried why Kane didn't get given the two nailed-on penalties. Apparently for the first time in World cup history FIFA are not running press/media sessions at the end of the day, so there is literally no forum for anyone to question anything that happens.