World Cup 2014 Super Thread copyright warning #1645

Skylinehead

He was unlucky not to score a few times, first one where Di Maria scuffed a cutback to him, and when he hit the post from a free which led to Mascherano's goal.

Pro. F

Beefy78 wrote: »

Lennon hasn't been great this year (he's still surprisingly young). Johnson has been up and down and Hodgson doesn't seem to rate him. I find it hard to argue.

If Ox is out then hopefully he brings in a defender.

I think Lennon has been good as usual, it's Spurs being a mess that has been the problem. I agree that Johnson has been up and down.

For sixth and seventh options for their positions it's a weak argument that they are an indication of a lack of depth in quality.

I think this could be Di maria's world cup, the lad is electric!

Alfred Borden

Deleted User wrote: »

I think this could be Di maria's world cup, the lad is electric!

Agreed, i have a sly bet on Argentina to win it out so hopefully Messi can run riot too.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

I think this could be Di maria's world cup, the lad is electric!

Agree. His performance in the Champs League Final was electric.

K4t

I think Messi will outshine Di Maria in the electrical department.

Utopia Parkway

Pro. F wrote: »

Hodgeson has a huge amount of quality to choose from. He just makes a balls of it, manages the team poorly and then everybody assumes that England don't have good players.

Two wingers who would be in the squad or starting - Ox, Walcott - are injured. Sterling, Milner and Lallana are still in the squad. So for sixth and seventh choice wingers they could have Aaron Lennon and Adam Johnson. That is a very good pool of wingers.

Don't particularly rate Lennon. Don't think he's ever developed beyond knocking the ball past people are relying on his pace to beat them.

Johnson is just very inconsistent.

Pro. F

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Don't particularly rate Lennon. Don't think he's ever developed beyond knocking the ball past people are relying on his pace to beat them.

Johnson is just very inconsistent.

Fair enough. I suspect that if they were sixth and seventh choice wingers for the Dutch or Italians, or somebody like that, and playing in a league other than the PL, you wouldn't hold them up as a sign of those national sides lacking depth. But I suppose we can never know.

Smithwicks Man

Pro. F wrote: »

Fair enough. I suspect that if they were sixth and seventh choice wingers for the Dutch or Italians, or somebody like that, and playing in a league other than the PL, you wouldn't hold them up as a sign of those national sides lacking depth. But I suppose we can never know.

To be fair, there are plenty of players not in other squads that are better than players in the English squad.

Pro. F

Smithwicks Man wrote: »

To be fair, there are plenty of players not in other squads that are better than players in the English squad.

There are also players not in the England squad who are better than players who are in other big nation squads.

roanoke

K4t wrote: »

I think Messi will outshine Di Maria in the electrical department.

Agreed. Messi is amped up and is the current joule of the Argentina team. Sorry Di Maria fans, but the truth hertz.

Smithwicks Man

Pro. F wrote: »

There are also players not in the England squad who are better than players who are in other big nation squads.

I can't think of too many English players who didn't make the cut that are better than the players in the Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy or France squads?

K4t

http://news.yahoo.com/protests-hit-brazil-eight-days-world-cup-005229845--sow.html

Sao Paulo (AFP) - Commuters faced major traffic woes in Sao Paulo Thursday as subway workers went on strike, causing chaos in the Brazilian metropolis a week before it hosts the World Cup opener.

The Sao Paulo metro is the main transport link to the economic capital's host stadium, and the indefinite strike could pose a massive logistical headache for organizers -- as well as the 4.5 million passengers who use it daily.

Frustrated commuters broke entrance grilles at the station that serves the stadium, Corinthians Arena, forcing system operators CPTM to take emergency measures to open it.

With more people using their cars, bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched for up to 209 kilometers (135 miles), the worst congestion so far this year and the third worst ever recorded in the sprawling mega-city of 20 million people.

The strike affected three of the city's five subway lines, a system employee told AFP.

Sao Paulo was where mass protests erupted a year ago as citizens took to the streets to voice anger at rising public transportation fares.


The unrest ballooned into nationwide demonstrations against the more than $11 billion being spent on the World Cup.

A million protesters turned out last June during the Confederations Cup, a World Cup dress rehearsal.

The protests turned violent at times, overshadowing the tournament and raising fears of a repeat this year.

The movement has since lost momentum, but Thursday's transportation chaos risks rekindling anger with one week to go to the opening ceremony and match.

"I've come in from Sao Bernardo dos Campos (in the suburbs) and now I don't know how I am going to reach my destination," complained an exasperated commuter, 19-year-old Andre Luiz Diaz.

View galleryAnti-World Cup demonstrators take part in the so-called …
Anti-World Cup demonstrators take part in the so-called "World Cup without the people, I'm …
Workers went on strike at midnight after negotiations on a salary increase fell through. They rejected an offer of 8.7 percent, insisting on at least 10 percent, said the president of their union, Altino Melo dos Prazeres.

"If there's money for the Itaquerao (the nickname for Corinthians Arena) and the World Cup, how is it they don't have any money for public transportation?" Prazeres was quoted as saying by newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo.

He said any offer would have to be in the double digits to keep up with inflation -- a growing concern in Brazil, which is struggling with slowing growth and rising prices.

- 'Nothing has changed' -

Many say the national mood is much the same as during last year's riots.

View galleryMembers of the military police demand for better salaries …
Members of the military police demand for better salaries during an anti-World Cup protest outside C …
"Nothing has changed. The people took to the streets and no level of government has managed to respond to their demands," said Antonio Carlos Costa, founder of activist group Rio da Paz.

"Brazil has the seventh-largest economy in the world, but it ranks 85th on the human development index, there are 50,000 murders a year. It's normal for people to get angry when so much money is being spent building stadiums."

President Dilma Rousseff has defended her government's preparations for the tournament, insisting the money spent would leave a legacy of airports and transportation infrastructure that would benefit Brazil for years to come.

But the government has also faced criticism for chronic delays and disorganization.

Workers are still scrambling to finish several of the 12 host stadiums, including Corinthians Arena, to which firefighters have not given safety clearance to operate at full capacity.

Eight workers died in construction accidents at the stadiums, including three in Sao Paulo.

Much of the other promised infrastructure has been shelved, from roadworks and a high-speed train to subway and monorail lines.

Meanwhile, teams continue trickling into Brazil. Chile are due to arrive later Thursday, joining Australia, Croatia and Iran.

Brazil, who routed Panama 4-0 in a friendly Tuesday, play Serbia on Friday in a final warm-up before taking on Croatia in the kick-off match.

Just thinking, the pressure on the Brazilian team to perform and win the tournament outright is huge. There will no doubt be protests and controversy throughout the two weeks but what's going to happen if Brazil go out in the knockout rounds or don't even make it out of the group stages? Things could get very ugly..

UnitedIrishman

Beats wins at World Cup advertising.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_i3Lcjli84

Neeson

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Don't particularly rate Lennon. Don't think he's ever developed beyond knocking the ball past people are relying on his pace to beat them.

Johnson is just very inconsistent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffbdGCb9bE0

Paully D

Neeson wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffbdGCb9bE0

"I don't believe in systems in football." :rolleyes:

Pro. F

Smithwicks Man wrote: »

I can't think of too many English players who didn't make the cut that are better than the players in the Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy or France squads?

This is very subjective and you can just choose to quibble with any comparison I bring up. But fúck it, I'll try to stick to the more obvious, less controversial, ones.

France:
Evra < Cole
Sakho < Terry

Brazil:
David Luiz at CB < Terry, Shawcross and Dawson
Marcelo and Maxwell < Ashley Cole

Argentina:
Demichelis < Terry (and I'm sure Argetina have a few more weak CBs)
Maxi Rodriguez < Lennon, A Johnson, Jay Rodriguez, etc, etc.

I'm not very familiar with their defence (by all reports it's very weak), but are you telling me that all the left-backs in their squad are better than Cole?

Netherlands:
De Jong < Britton, Cork, Carrick and Barry
Clasie at DCM < Britton and Cork (although I do like Clasie, he's just not as good as those two)

Italy, Spain and Germany I'll give you.

I'm sure I've missed plenty more in all that, but searching around and comparing the weaker players in each top WC squad isn't the easiest job. The truth is you could say what you said about the English squad about most of the big sides at the tournament.

Pro. F

Paully D wrote: »

"I don't believe in systems in football." :rolleyes:

Playing your best players rather than only playing players that fit some system is hardly a controversial idea. Sure I've hear Carlo Ancelotti say that he chooses to do that, since he had problems with sticking too rigidly to a system early in his managerial career. Giles just didn't express it very well.

If you get over the fact that Giles doesn't express himself brilliantly and isn't usually familiar with players outside the PL/CL, he has a great understanding of the game and a lot of interesting things to say.

Richard Hillman

Giles is a fool. He doesn't believe in formations or tactics and then goes and contradicts himself by saying players are being played out of position. He genuinely believes that in this day and age you could just throw out 11 players and tell them to play.

Pro. F

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Giles is a fool. He doesn't believe in formations or tactics and then goes and contradicts himself by saying players are being played out of position. He genuinely believes that in this day and age you could just throw out 11 players and tell them to play.

It's almost like he doesn't express himself very well.

Pro. F

Pro. F wrote: »

This is very subjective and you can just choose to quibble with any comparison I bring up. But fúck it, I'll try to stick to the more obvious, less controversial, ones.

France:
Evra < Cole
Sakho < Terry

Brazil:
David Luiz at CB < Terry, Shawcross and Dawson
Marcelo and Maxwell < Ashley Cole

Argentina:
Demichelis < Terry (and I'm sure Argetina have a few more weak CBs)
Maxi Rodriguez < Lennon, A Johnson, Jay Rodriguez, etc, etc.

I'm not very familiar with their defence (by all reports it's very weak), but are you telling me that all the left-backs in their squad are better than Cole?

Netherlands:
De Jong < Britton, Cork, Carrick and Barry
Clasie at DCM < Britton and Cork (although I do like Clasie, he's just not as good as those two)

Italy, Spain and Germany I'll give you.

I'm sure I've missed plenty more in all that, but searching around and comparing the weaker players in each top WC squad isn't the easiest job. The truth is you could say what you said about the English squad about most ofthe big sides at the tournament.

Ashley Cole as his peak was better than Marcelo. I would pick Marcelo every day of the week over him now. Evra and Cole are both shadows of their former selves.

Ferris_Bueller

Deleted User wrote: »

Ashley Cole as his peak was better than Marcelo. I would pick Marcelo every day of the week over him now. Evra and Cole are both shadows of their former selves.

Agreed, Marcelo gets a lot of flack but I think he is arguably the best left back in the world, barring maybe Alaba. Although some will argue he isn't even the best left back at Real Madrid.

Also think David Luiz is miles ahead of Shawcross and Dawson, prone to the odd brainfart but still a very good player.

Paully D

Pro. F wrote: »

Playing your best players rather than only playing players that fit some system is hardly a controversial idea. Sure I've hear Carlo Ancelotti say that he chooses to do that, since he had problems with sticking too rigidly to a system early in his managerial career. Giles just didn't express it very well.

If you get over the fact that Giles doesn't express himself brilliantly and isn't usually familiar with players outside the PL/CL, he has a great understanding of the game and a lot of interesting things to say.

Ancelotti has had success with many different systems over the course of his managerial career, as the below article alludes to. He'd actually be one of the managers who jump out for me that have done very well largely down to the fact that he has used many different systems over the years, adapting at each club has been at.

http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2292/editorials/2014/04/30/4784904/ancelottis-tactical-nous-eclipses-peps-stubborn-philosophy

......Ancelotti is simply cut from a different cloth. His craving for ‘dynamic’ football leads him to explore various facets of footballing tactics. His goal remains the same but he recognizes the different routes to get him there and embraces various systems.

In his early managerial career he impressed with a 4-4-2 system at Parma and then at Juventus he deployed a 3-4-1-2 formation in order to use Zinedine Zidane behind Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi.

At AC Milan he enjoyed great success with the ‘diamond midfield’ that engineered the re-emergence of the deep lying playmaker or ‘regista’, a role Andrea Pirlo eventually flourished in. He then shifted to a 4-3-3 as Chelsea boss and finally, after a lot of tinkering, seemed to settle on a 4-3-2-1 system at Paris Saint-Germain.

At Madrid, his dynamic 4-3-3 system makes the most of the qualities of his players. The pace, energy and penetration they provide has set them apart over the last few months.

In the first leg against Bayern itself, he set his side up perfectly in a 4-4-2 and they could have scored more than the one goal if they made the most of their chances. With a full-strength squad on show at the Allianz Arena for the return fixture, they quickly rectified that by plundering four.
.....

Giles is stuck in the 60's/70's and can't accept at all that the game has moved on from then. He's another one of these dinosaurs who come out with the "I don't believe in tactics" rubbish.

Just as great players don't necessarily make great managers, the same goes for pundits. Even ignoring the fact that he's not the best at expressing himself (which pundits should be able to do, to be fair) Giles was obviously a great player but the game has long moved on from his era now, he hasn't.

Pro. F

Deleted User wrote: »

Ashley Cole as his peak was better than Marcelo. I would pick Marcelo every day of the week over him now. Evra and Cole are both shadows of their former selves.

Cole isn't a shadow of his former self, nor anything like it.

Pro. F

Pro. F wrote: »

Cole isn't a shadow of his former self, nor anything like it.

Why can't he get his game at Chelsea then?He was the best left back in the world for a period of time....

Pro. F

Paully D wrote: »

Ancelotti has had success with many different systems over the course of his managerial career, as the below article alludes to. He'd actually be one of the managers who jump out for me that have done very well largely down to the fact that he has used many different systems over the years, adapting at each club has been at.

http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2292/editorials/2014/04/30/4784904/ancelottis-tactical-nous-eclipses-peps-stubborn-philosophy

Ancelotti is a manager who picks his system to fit the players he has at his disposal. That gets hailed as tactical genius because he is successful, yet when a pundit auld lad espouses the same thinking he is slagged off for it.

Ancelotti: “When I was at Parma I had the opportunity to buy Roberto Baggio who liked to play as an offensive midfielder behind the striker. I said to him ‘I want you to play striker because I don’t want to change the system’. It was a mistake because Baggio was a great player and I needed to find a position for him.
“As a manager you must know the characteristics of the players and build a system where the players are comfortable. I cannot think that Ronaldo has to work in the same way as Angel di Maria or Luka Modric or Sergio Ramos – they have different characteristics.” link

Paully D wrote: »

Giles is stuck in the 60's/70's and can't accept at all that the game has moved on from then. He's another one of these dinosaurs who come out with the "I don't believe in tactics" rubbish.

It's just a miscommunication. The guy obviously sees and acknowledges the importance of organisation and tactics. He praises teams who are well organised for that all the time.

It's only when bullshít artists start waffling on about tactics as if they're more important than skill and motivation that he comes out with the "I don't believe in tactics" type of line.

Paully D wrote: »

Just as great players don't necessarily make great managers, the same goes for pundits. Even ignoring the fact that he's not the best at expressing himself (which pundits should be able to do, to be fair) Giles was obviously a great player but the game has long moved on from his era now, he hasn't.

I'm happy to put up with a pundit who can't express himself so well when he has such a good understanding of the game and is such a good judge of a player and is willing to go against the grain of popular opinion. Give me him over a smooth talking spoofer any day.

Pro. F

Deleted User wrote: »

Why can't he get his game at Chelsea then?He was the best left back in the world for a period of time....

For the same reason that Mata couldn't get his game at Chelsea. Because Mourinho liked another player more than him.

Paully D

Pro. F wrote: »

Ancelotti is a manager who picks his system to fit the players he has at his disposal. That gets hailed as tactical genius because he is successful, yet when a pundit auld lad espouses the same thinking he is slagged off for it.

But Giles clearly didn't have the same thinking. He specifically said "I don't believe in systems in football", but you're just putting it down to him not being able to express himself. It sounds pretty clear what he said to me. Even the worst communicator in the world couldn't say that but yet mean something else.

Pro. F

Paully D wrote: »

But Giles clearly didn't have the same thinking. He specifically said "I don't believe in systems in football", but you're just putting it down to him not being able to express himself. It sounds pretty clear what he said to me. Even the worst communicator in the world couldn't say that but yet mean something else.

This is utterly stupid. You don't seem to have the slightest notion of how conversation and spoken language works.

Dickerty

Absolutely AWESOME WC ad for Beats here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_i3Lcjli84

glued

Pro. F wrote: »

This is very subjective and you can just choose to quibble with any comparison I bring up. But fúck it, I'll try to stick to the more obvious, less controversial, ones.

France:
Evra < Cole
Sakho < Terry

Brazil:
David Luiz at CB < Terry, Shawcross and Dawson
Marcelo and Maxwell < Ashley Cole

Argentina:
Demichelis < Terry (and I'm sure Argetina have a few more weak CBs)
Maxi Rodriguez < Lennon, A Johnson, Jay Rodriguez, etc, etc.

I'm not very familiar with their defence (by all reports it's very weak), but are you telling me that all the left-backs in their squad are better than Cole?

Netherlands:
De Jong < Britton, Cork, Carrick and Barry
Clasie at DCM < Britton and Cork (although I do like Clasie, he's just not as good as those two)

Italy, Spain and Germany I'll give you.

I'm sure I've missed plenty more in all that, but searching around and comparing the weaker players in each top WC squad isn't the easiest job. The truth is you could say what you said about the English squad about most of the big sides at the tournament.

Are you serious about De Jong? Easily Milan's player of the year and had a much better season than those 4 players combined. Also Marcelo is currently a much better player than Cole. De Jong at his worst his still a much better player than the likes of Britton and Cork

Iused2likebusts

Pro. F wrote: »

This is very subjective and you can just choose to quibble with any comparison I bring up. But fúck it, I'll try to stick to the more obvious, less controversial, ones.

Brazil:
David Luiz at CB < Terry, Shawcross and Dawson


.

Luiz gets an awful press in england and has made a few errors. I feel his style of play is better served in a more possession based league than in england. For brazil a team that will want a footballing centre back he is nearly as good as they come. Thinking of the likes of shawcross/dawson in a brazil jersey is no comparison. Im sure luiz will do well at psg and would have no problem playing at real/barca IMO. I agree with a fair few of your other comparisons particularly Cole who has been written off way too early.

greendom

Luiz and Thiago Silva will probably be the best centre-back pairing at the World Cup. They work so well toghether.

patmac

K4t wrote: »

http://news.yahoo.com/protests-hit-brazil-eight-days-world-cup-005229845--sow.html



With more people using their cars, bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched for up to 209 kilometers (135 miles), the worst congestion so far this year and the third worst ever recorded in the sprawling mega-city of 20 million people.
..

Jaysus that's some tail back, looks like the whole thing is getting very messy.

Liamalone

Dickerty wrote: »

Absolutely AWESOME WC ad for Beats here...

Where's the awesomeness? Nowt special imo

Dont be at yourself

Anybody picked up any of the soccer mags for their world cup previews? Doing a bit of traveling next week and looking for reading material...

patmac

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Anybody picked up any of the soccer mags for their world cup previews? Doing a bit of traveling next week and looking for reading material...

When Saturday Comes is excellent if they have a World Cup edition.

Kylo Ren

Dickerty wrote: »

Absolutely AWESOME WC ad for Beats here...

I find the Beats ads pretty ridiculous but this is an amazing spoof

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq94liFIBRY

eh i dunno

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Anybody picked up any of the soccer mags for their world cup previews? Doing a bit of traveling next week and looking for reading material...

cant beat 442. 2 free mags for the world cup. One last month and one this month

I am pie

Local news here showing cops battering heads in the Sao Paulo subway this morning, subway workers striking for higher wages and threatening to continue. Saying here that Sao Paula will be at a standstill if no subway trains run.

They gave all public sector works the day off for Brasil games in Sao Paulo, I wouldn't be surprised if they just extended it to all games. Trying to alleviate the transport issues.

K4t

I am pie wrote: »

Local news here showing cops battering heads in the Sao Paulo subway this morning, subway workers striking for higher wages and threatening to continue. Saying here that Sao Paula will be at a standstill if no subway trains run.

They gave all public sector works the day off for Brasil games in Sao Paulo, I wouldn't be surprised if they just extended it to all games. Trying to alleviate the transport issues.

Which is fine but what if the unthinkable happens and they get knocked out early?! Everybody will turn on the government. Things could get very, very messi.

GLaDOS

Dickerty wrote: »

Absolutely AWESOME WC ad for Beats here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_i3Lcjli84

The girl at 3:00 looks like she's having fun

glued

The FourFourTwo complete guide to the World Cup is absolutely rubbish.

aodea

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Anybody picked up any of the soccer mags for their world cup previews? Doing a bit of traveling next week and looking for reading material...

World soccer is excellent, only draw back is its before the sqauds were announced but still very close. The Racing post world cup guide is tremndous as well. really breaks down the figures.

Utopia Parkway

Ribery ruled out of WC.

I am pie

K4t wrote: »

Which is fine but what if the unthinkable happens and they get knocked out early?! Everybody will turn on the government. Things could get very, very messi.

The people that might turn on the govt already have, some protests have just cause but you have to feel that the subway workers is an example of unionised opportunism.

I can't see Brasil dropping out too early, but if they did drop out I think you're more likely to see mass indifference rather than violence. Again, anyone with a bone to pick is already out protesting and don't really care about the national team. You might see a few riots and absolute transport shutdown, but nothing much worse.

I am pie

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Ribery ruled out of WC.

Shame, last WC for him at his age.

xtal191

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Anybody picked up any of the soccer mags for their world cup previews? Doing a bit of traveling next week and looking for reading material...

The guide in the Racing Post is bay far the best, I think it was only in yesterdays one though.

Vinz Mesrine

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Ribery ruled out of WC.

Didn't he train today?

Anyone

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Ribery ruled out of WC.

Massive blow to the underage prostitution industry of Brazil.