As Climax Looms, All The World Cup Can Muster is a Semi

We are about to enter the last week, only four more matches (and only three that anyone cares about!)

It is strange, England being knocked out of the World Cup really has not affected my interest in it at all. I have never felt any particular affinity to this group of players.

The accusation that I am not patriotic has been levelled at me as a result of this. Though I would never claim to be ludicrously loyal to my nation, I feel that this group of players is so far removed from what makes me feel any pride about being English that I could never whip myself into even an artificial sense of national pride when watching them play

However, having stated my dislike for the players as individuals, I was pleased to see what Joe Cole had to say about the World Cup campaign - http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6244171,00.html - and agree totally.

It is not that we do not have good players, we just lack players who have the necessary qualities, technical ability and discipline to play modern international football.

It is a shame that he looks like he will end up down at Sh*te Hart Lane next season.

The Germans shone once again - now there is a team that is equipped to play high quality international football. Bastian Schweinsteiger looks like he is having the World Cup this year that everyone said Andrea Pirlo had last time round. What a wonderful post-hoc rationalisation that was, Italy won therefore Pirlo must have been outstanding.

After all the controversy about England's 'ghost goal' against Germany much has been said about the need for goal-line technology. Personally, I believe that it is necessary, linesman (whose job it is to be inline with the last defender) are often not in the perfect position to judge whether the ball has crossed the line or not. Their job should be made easier by the introduction of goal line technology which would enable a quick and correct decision to be made.

There has been a lot of argument about the cost of installation of the systems and to whom the bill would fall - in this article (http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/sport/hawk-eye-seeks-sponsors-for-goal-line-technology-deal/3015402.article) HawkEye suggest that the the cost would be easily covered by sponsorship revenue. Both FIFA and the Premier League love money from sponsorship, maybe someone should just tell them that they could make cash from the move. You would be surprised by how quickly the need to protect the integrity of the game would go about the window when they are faced with a pot of money from Barclay's, Green Flag, Carling or whoever it may be.

On that note, it seems like the majority of brands who have invested heavily in player endorsement deals may be regretting doing so. Everyone has heard of the 'Nike Ad Curse' - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jun/29/worldcup2010-spain - but overall this has not been a good World Cup for most big name players (the type for are used in adverts), regardless of whether they wear Nike boots or Adidas or Puma (just ask Kaka, Messi and Anelka). None of the players in that 'Pringoals' ad have done much of note in this tournament (on the pitch - looking at you Anelka), its just that that advert was so f*cking terrible in the first place that appearing in it was almost tantamount to being cursed from the off.

The brand associated with the World Cup that has stuck with me the most is Castrol - only because they do the 'Castrol Index' - something you can actually use and would refer to in normal (if very statty and geeky) conversations. And while some of it is nonsense - Capdevilla surely cannot have been the best player at the World Cup until yesterday - the brand has stuck with me more than most. And, I now know Mesut Ozil has scored one penalty and missed one penalty - both low to the keeper's left

Down and Kraut!

Everybody Say 'World Cup'!

The World Cup proper has now begun and thankfully this seems to have coincided with an increase in the quality of the games. The group stage was a disappointment, but as the tournament has progressed teams appear to be playing better, more fluid football. Maybe this is because they have been together for a while and are beginning to intuit the movement of their teammates, making everything that little bit less regimented. If this is the case it would be brilliant, a sort of Germany 2006 in reverse - bad group stage with a good knockout rounds rather than theother way round.

Spain seem to be starting to click into gear, Germany looked fantastic against England and the Dutch surely have to kick-on and start playing some total-football sooner or later. The South American teams are looking very good too, Uruguay and Argentina have played to their strengths and beaten teams who could have been stumbling blocks for them. Also, Brazil vs. Chile ought to be a fantastic game, if Chile have any players free from suspension

This is where the World Cup really starts to matter and it is really positive that the standard of the matches seems to be increasing by the day.

On to England, that team appeared doomed to failure from the moment we saw that they had lined up as a 4-4-2. Against Germany, a team who have three players in Podolski, Ozil and Muller who all play behind the opposition midfield but in front of the defence, you cannot play such a outmoded system which absolutely does not account for the strengths of the opposition. We do not have players in that England squad who are capable of following the intelligent movement of players like those listed above.

John Terry and Matthew Upson were pulled all over the place by these guys plus Klose. For almost every goal scored both our centre-backs had been sucked across to one side of the pitch, following decoy runners (or re. the first, getting ludicrously caught underneath a ball that has travelled 70yds.) The goals came from a German wide players being able to overlap the play on the outside, leaving the full back absolutely isolated.

Though this is clearly in part a personal failing on the part of both centre-backs, I believe it is also a product of the system we played yesterday. Had we have played 4-2-3-1, this would have allowed for the '2' to cover many of the runs made by the German forwards, leaving the basic structural integrity of the defence intact. But we insisted on playing only 1 defensive centre-mid, and not one who could ever be regarded as being genuinely defensive. Barry has been supported in defence by De Jong at City and by Petrov at Villa before that.

Basically, it looked like it wouldn't work and it didn't.

Looking at the weather we have had for the past week, how good would it have been if they had gone ahead with the plans to out big-screens in Regents Park? What a good day out that would be - beers, sun, football! http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23806325-world-cup-football-screens-in-regents-park-will-disrupt-open-air-theatre-managers-warn.do Bloody Open-Air Theatre goers, with all their culture and whatnot!

Talking with a friend about the nature of advertising around the World Cup got me to thinking, is anyone actually affected by the hoardings around the pitches? Until I looked to find out, I could not remember whether it was Mastercard or Visa who were the 'Official Credit Card of the FIFA World Cup' - and they will have spent Millions upon Millions getting that prominent position. Maybe that sort of thing does stick in your mind somewhere, but I can honestly state that I feel no more inclined to use one than the other.

Having said this, I do know that Leyland Steel advertise(d?) around Premier League grounds and I have always wondered why they would do this. Do they think someone is in the crowd or watching the tele thinking 'I really need an industrial quantity of steel, but I am damned if I know who to get it from'. Who knows?

There is a nice summary of the various World Cup 2010 ads here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jun/23/world-cup-food-drink-advertising

Hopefully the Knockout Rounds continue to be as enthralling and filled in equal parts by sublime skill, goalkeeping errors and officiating disasters. This seems to be the perfect recipe.

Oh yeah, finally - YES it was over the line - YES we should have some form of goal line technology - but NO it probably would not have made any difference.

Blog Post no.1826438

Well, this world cup has changed very quickly from when I wrote last week. Suddenly it looks as if all the predictions people had made may have been very hasty.

After Spain losing to Switzerland there is a very real possibility that they could end up facing Brazil in the Round of 16 - one of the two stand-out favourites would fall at that stage. Having shown in their previous performances that both look eminently beatable, this World Cup could be there for the taking.

But probably not for England - playing Carragher and Terry as a centre back pairing is a ludicrous idea. They have been left with absolutely zero pace in the centre of defence. Every player we have selected as the CBs is the player who is typically assigned to attack the ball at club level. We have no sweepers! They will almost inevitably fail as soon as they are faced by any half-decent striker with a modicum of pace. For christ's sake, they made Altidore look like as passable international level striker and he does not even make the Hull starting XI.

Germany impressed in there first game, for many people this must have been the first chance to see the attacking flair of Mesut Ozil, who shone during the 4-0 defeat of Australia. But, the player who really stood out in my eyes was Sami Khedira - he had quality on the ball, good vision and broke in to the box from a deep position constantly. This combined with intelligent reading of the game and strength in the tackle means that he is the player that I now desperately want Arsenal to sign.

Having said this, they are currently losing 1-0 to Serbia and are a man down to a couple of ridiculous decisions from the Spanish referee. It will be interesting to see how such a young and relatively newly formed team reacts to such adverse conditions.

I believe that there are no nailed on certainties for the finals or the semi's due the unpredictability of the this particular competition. Though I believe that when Holland 'click' they could be a match for anyone and are potential winners of the tournament.

A lot of this unpredictability stems from the increasingly defensive mind-set of teams. There is such an aversion to risk and such a great fear of being absolutely tanked that teams seem to be defending in greater numbers than at any previous World Cup I can remember. There is no certainty which comes from the knowledge that in a attacking game Spain will outscore Switzerland. As is evidenced on an almost weekly basis in the Premiership if teams defend well and attack on the break a terrible team can beat a far superior team forced in to mistakes arising from the frustration that comes from facing 10 defenders.

More predictable is the media's obsession with the new World Cup ball. Provided, as always, by Adidas it has been blamed for everything from misplaced passes to the growing collection of goal keeping howlers. Surely everyone would be happier if Adidas just spent the next four years creating a pretty new pattern rather than redesigning a ball.

... and they're off

Game One done and dusted!

I missed the opening ceremony – I had to revise about what amounts to good contractual consideration instead. But to be perfectly honest I am not sure which is the more boring of the two – promissory estoppel or an opening ceremony.

It is probably the opening ceremony – I had to sit through what felt like 4 hours of dreadful posturing by official mascots and dancers at Euro 96, as an impatient 10 year old. Ever since that point I really have been put of opening ceremonies on the whole.

I watched the game with a couple of pals who live around the corner. Used ITV's Internet Player – the quality of the stream was absolutely shocking, I could barely see the ball and the site was a nightmare to navigate. Eventually we gave up and decided to visit a less reputable but far superior website.

The game itself was slightly anti-climatic and a 1-1 was probably a fair result. I loved Mexico's adventurousness, Carlos Salcido (their left-back) was typically the furthest forward player in their play. But the stand-out player was Giovani Dos Santos – the left-footed playmaker who I believe is still on T*ttenham's books. His ability to run with the ball, head up and looking to pick a pass was outstanding. We are all looking forward to seeing more of him as the tournament progresses.

Naturally, the most talked about player at the WC is Leo Messi. Predominantly the area of discussion focuses on his natural ability being stifled by Diego Maradona's somewhat regressive tactics. At Barca, Messi is the player he is due, in no small part, to the players around him. Dani Alves overlaps creating space and Xavi... well is Xavi. By that I don't mean an interfering c*nt who should keep his nose out of Cesc's potential transfer to Barcelona – what I mean is that he is quite good at kicking a football in the right place for Messi to score.

Argentina seem intent on playing 4 centre backs across the back and two deep-lying centre midfielders and though JS Veron was an extremely talented player I believe he plays too far back and lacks the engine to link the play well enough to benefit Messi as he should. And Mascherano is an overrated trier of a player whose woeful passing ability has been terribly exposed by playing alongside Lucas and not Alonso this season.

I am off to a mates house for some beers and French humiliation. His missus is out which is good , in light of him getting drunk last night on 8% cider at the wonderful Southampton Arms in Gospel Oak. Being pissed he couldn't work out how to work the keys for the door to his flat – so of course his natural response was to attempt to kick the door down until she came down to open up (or so he reported).

I have recently got an Android phone (HTC) which is fantastic, I have been using its Google Talk app to communicate with mates around the world regarding the world cup. Very odd to be talking to a Swede in Canada watching Mexico in South Africa – but useful nonetheless to be able to communicate across the globe insantly. And plus it is open to everyone with a Gmail account, not limited only to Android phones.

I have been listening to Guardian World Cup Daily, Times Football and 'It's Gonna Go to Penalties' podcasts. It is fantastic to be able to have all the information I need digested into an easy-listening occasionally humorous form. I recommend them all highly.

My desire to gamble is being greatly increased by the constant 'product placement' style agreements which lead to me being encouraged to put money on anything and everything by the hosts of said podcasts.

Next time I write – I will be a free man and I will never have to think about the legal grounds for a Judicial Review – how f*cking amazing will that be!

THAT WAS LIQUID FOOTBALL

Leo S-P - 22:22, 2-6-10

I like football. I like football very much - but football does not like me at all, it finds ways to disappoint me on a regular basis. I am an Arsenal fan, with enduring hope which carried me through the late-Graham, Houston and Rioch years into the Wenger-age.

I look forward to every game/collection of games, desperately hoping that the players, managers and fans don't let me down. I really want the World Cup to be the exhibition of positive, attacking football that it should be. But, having seen the selection of almost every major nation, I have a singular sense of disappointment - there has been an overspill of pragmatism flowing from the results of recent World Cups where mitigation of loss has prevailed over footballing idealism.

I have never attended a World Cup - I have however, been to the Euros, seeing a grown, tattooed, hulk of a man balling his eyes out after losing to Germany in '96 on penalties was a real eye-opener - the C18 tattoos did not look so hard when obscured by his mates soggy hanky.

Every Euro or WC I make a bet with a popular online bookmakers on an outright winner of the tournament, in exchange for a free Football shirt, something of a tradition. At this point it seems pertinent to say that no one who reads this should ever follow any gambling advice I give - in 2008 I avoided my traditional Spain bet on the grounds that they were 'bottlers' who had lost me too much money already, at 12-1! 12-1!

The best way to watch the WC is at someone's house, with beers, rubbish snack food and without any emotional investment in the game. If its England - shut your eyes, hope for the best, but expect the worst.

I have been somewhat oblivious to the sponsorship that surrounds the World Cup - I don't watch TV and ignore Internet adverts, so it all passes me by.

This is a better preview of a World Cup that I could ever do, probably should have just posted this and left it at that - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVxf0YjyjdI

Welcome Leo!

Hello Leo,

Welcome to your very own World Cup Blog; you have hit the big time now haven't you?

I'd just like to take this opportunity to outline what this blog is all about. We are really interested in getting your views on what is exciting/not exciting around the World Cup tournament, how you are consuming the event and content around it, your stories from all of this, as well as some pictures (these can be anything, we would just like material that will bring your experience to life even further - e.g. mobile pics?). Hope that's clear enough!?

Please note that we have taken you on because we feel that your opinions would represent people who really love football well; for that reason whatever you can give us over the next weeks will be extremely invaluable.

At the very least we would like you to contribute one post per week, and this will be generated from a set of questions which we will e-mail to you on the following Wednesdays throughout the tournament. It would be extremely helpful if you could post your response to these on the Wednesday evening or Thursday morning at the latest. The dates which we will remind you to blog with new questions will be:

• Weds 2nd June
• Weds 9th June
• Weds 16th June
• Weds 23rd June
• Weds 30th June
• Weds 7th July

If you feel like blogging at other periods too :-) feel free to blog about anything concerning the World Cup (and it would be great if you could bear in mind the following things):

• Your feelings and emotions around the World Cup
• How you are using different channels to access World Cup content
• Your opinions about the event sponsors and your perception of the brands
• Advertising activity which you found interesting
• Any other things which peaked your interest in the tournament

Any questions just shout @ my work e-mail (which is 'Max.Colson@phdnetwork.com')

Cheers for this, it's much appreciated!

Max