Goodbye 2009

Well what do you know... a look at the old clock on the wall tells us it's nearly the end of 2009 and indeed the whole decade. We never did much liked calling it 'The Noughties'... heaven knows what we're going to call the next decade... The Tenties?

Anyway, it's a time for reflection and a time for giving thanks in the old tradition. 2009 has been an interesting year football-wise but being one with an odd number, we had no World Cup or European Championships to enjoy.

Instead the focus was on domestic football, both here in the UK and elsewhere, and hopefully our coverage of all the important events on SPAOTP, The Sound of Football and The Onion Bag helped you get the most out of The Beautiful Game whoever you support.

As we head into 2010, we've got lots of look forward to in the coming weeks and months. The FA Cup Third Round is just around the corner, swiftly followed by the 2010 African Cup of Nations, then it's the closing stages of the Premier League and European league campaigns. After that, it's the FA Cup Final and Champions League Final before we finally get the climax to end all climaxes - the 2010 World Cup Finals.

It looks set to be a great year and we hope you'll choose us to enjoy it with. We'll be doing our utmost to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of whatever football comes our way, so all that's left is to say is a big 'thank you' for supporting us during 2009 and we hope you have a fantastic footballing 2010.

Happy New Year from all of us!

Chris, Terry and Graham, plus everyone associated with SPAOTP

Goodbye 2008

So here we are then. The end of another year. Where on Earth did it go, one has to ask?

So much has happened, so much forgotten and so much still fresh in the mind. Manchester United became World and European champions... Portsmouth won the FA Cup against Cardiff City, of all people... Spain won Euro 2008 (of all people)... Fabio Capello actually got England winning again while George Burley... well never mind.

Reading went down, Hull came up and went up, and up, and up... Teams lost their sponsors while others lost their managers on a regular basis... and at the end of it all, we find ourselves clutching onto those many disparate memories which soon will fade altogether. 2009 is almost upon us (at least here in the UK, in any case) and who's to say what we'll see next year?

All we know is this year has been one when SPAOTP almost came to an end back in May but has since been reborn, redesigned and rejuvenated - largely thanks to the two new friends I made back then who have joined me in writing the articles you see here every week. They are Duffman and Sp3ktor, and I can't thank them enough for all that they've done in helping to keep this particular ship afloat.

Not only have they worked their backsides off to produce so many wonderful posts, but they've given me more friendship, motivation and more often than not bloody good laughs to make me more proud of Some People Are On The Pitch than I've ever done in the two-and-a-half years this site's been running. Without them, this site wouldn't exist - of that I've no doubt.

So give them your thanks, but also give yourself a hearty pat on the back. You, our much valued visitors, give us the reason to write so much thanks to your comments, camaraderie and support. We love what we do because you seem to like what we do, and that makes us very happy indeed.

A good note on which to end 2008. I think. It's been fun, wouldn't you say? Let's all hope for more of the same in 2009...

To all our friends, visitors and co-bloggers around the world, we sincerely wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Best wishes,
Chris O.

2007 and all that...

So here we are at the end of 2007 (at least it is in the UK - if you live in Australia, New Zealand, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Thailand, China or Japan, it's now 2008). It's been a busy year for us and an eventful one for football generally. We'll bet a princely sum you've probably forgotten a lot about this year, so let us guide you gently by the hand down memory lane to remind you of all those things that happened while you had your back turned...

Alex McLeish became Scotland manager and promptly left again. Having taken over from Walter Smith in January he guided the Scots to within a gnat's whisker of a place in the Euro 2008 finals, but when the Italians pipped him to it, he stepped down. A great shame, but it seems the lure of the Premier League is stronger now than ever it was...

David Beckham announced he was heading off to the States to join LA Galaxy. It's fair to say he's had a minor impact on the field during his short stay so far, but his impact off it has been much, much greater. Interest in the MLS got a huge boost on the back of his arrival, to say nothing of Galaxy's commerical dealings in the States and around the world. Much is expected of him in his second season, and who knows - it might even reignite the England career we thought was over.

Italian football went into meltdown as violence raged in the stands and out on the streets. A police officer was killed during a fight between 'supporters' of Catania and Palermo and all fixtures were soon after postponed until a full investigation was carried out. Things haven't improved since the status quo was restored.

West Ham United stunned the football world by signing a couple of Argentineans - Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez. Many thought it was a sneaky, underhanded way of breaking in a couple of big-name internationals that could be sold onto to a bigger club like Man United or Liverpool further down the line. Tch, as if... The novelty soon wore off, though, as West Ham were found guilty of breaking Premier League rules due to the way they'd conducted the deal. Though many expected a huge points penalty to be given out, instead The Hammers were made to pay out a record sum by way of punishment. And that was that - everything was sorted out to the satisfaction of every other club in Britain and no harm was done. Tch, as if...

England supplied three out of the four Champions League semi-finalists, but by the time the Final arrived only one was left, and even they couldn't lift the trophy. Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool all flew the flag with pride, but in the end Fillipo Inzaghi's two goals blew The Reds out of the water in a thrilling climax to the competition that ended 2-1 to Milan.

Wembley Stadium made its long-awaited comeback by hosting the FA Cup Final once again. Sadly the match itself didn't live up to its incredible surroundings as Chelsea beat Man United 1-0. It was in fact the Carling Cup Final that had more incident. Chelsea came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Didier Drogba, but while he was finding the net, John Terry was taking a boot to the head and being carried off and John Obi Mikel, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor all got a red card for their efforts. Who said it was it was the FA Cup Final's less interesting counterpart?

In April, we heard the sad news of the death of 1966 World Cup winner Alan Ball who died from a heart attack. We also said goodbye in 2007 to Seville's Antonio Puerta and just yesterday, Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, both of whom collapsed and died suddenly during matches they were playing in. They will all be greatly missed.

Back in England, the managerial merry-go-round whirled round faster than ever before, throwing off many a coach who thought they could hold on a little bit longer. Fulham parted company with Chris Coleman and later Lawrie Sanchez, Bolton went their separate ways from Sam Allardyce and later Sammy Lee. Sven Goran Eriksson arrived at Man City and promptly started spending the many millions of disgraced former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while Martin Jol made way for Juande Ramos at Spurs and Steve Bruce left Birmingham City. Even England lost their coach - Steve McLaren holding the door open for the aforementioned Italian.

In the Premier League, it was goodbye Charlton, Watford and Sheffield United and hello Derby, Sunderland and Birmingham. Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player since Andy Gray to win the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year awards as well as the PFA Fans' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Player of the Year awards too.

Transfer-wise, it was all change with the biggest headline of all going to the departure of Thierry Henry from Arsenal to Barcelona. Elsewhere, Tottenham shelled out £16 million for Charlton's Darren Bent, Man United finally picked up Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves and Liverpool splashed the cash to snap up Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun.

On the international front, England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 along with the other home nations, but elsewhere Iraq amazed the football world with a win in the Asian Cup while Brazil less unexpectedly lifted the Copa America once again despite a strong challenge from favourites Argentina.

Towards the end of the year, Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric found themselves arrested in the ongoing investigation into transfer irregularities and AC Milan became the first European team to win the FIFA World Club Cup.

All in all, it's fair to say that 2007 has given us lots to write about and we hope that in our 266 posts, we've done that sufficiently well to entertain, inform and please you. If we have, we've done what we set out to. If not, stick with us - our aim is to do even better next year.

That just leaves us to say an enormous thank you to all of you that have visited SPAOTP during 2007. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your interest, your comments, your compliments and your involvement in the site. We'd particularly like to single out Adam, Chris (B Squad), P.Shaw, Keving, Flicktokick, The Gaffer, Kedge, Kris and Emma, Chris C Paul, Sp3ktor, Sven, Duffman, Soccer Shout Phil, Blulu, HaveYouSeenLucky and Ratonbox as our most frequent and valued supporters, but if your name doesn't appear on the list, don't worry - we know you're out there and we can't wait to be of service to you again into the new year!

So that's it. We're drawing a line under 2007 and starting anew with 2008. Let's raise a toast to another great twelve months of football and whoever you support, may your team win and may it do so often...

Happy New Year from Some People Are On The Pitch!

SPAOTP Movie Review: In The Hands Of The Gods

You'd think given the hundreds of millions of people around the world who follow football that there'd be more movies on the subject, wouldn't you? Well thankfully there's one about to hit your cinema, and believe me it's well worth watching.

It's called In The Hands Of The Gods and it's a fly-on-the-wall documentary that follows five young football freestylers from England whose ambition is to meet one of the legends of the game - Diego Maradona. The trouble is they've only got enough money to fly to New York and they need to get to Buenos Aires.

The story of how they do it is an entertaining and moving one. Mikey from Liverpool, Sami from Leeds and Danny, Paul and Jeremy from London use their football skills and tricks to busk their way through the United States, Mexico and South America. Though they set out very much as a team with a common goal, their unity becomes fractured along the way as personal grievances and abject adversity start to come to the surface.

Their story is one which plays to many of the human emotions. Firstly and very quickly we get to know about the five men as individuals, their backgrounds and the skills they've developed since entering the exciting world of football freestyling. Though you may not know what freestyling is by definition, the sheer awe-inspiring displays put on by each of our subjects leaves you in no doubt about its appeal and ability to inspire wonderment.

Next we're heartened by their team spirit - the sheer 'one for all and all for one'-ness they exude as they head off to the USA proclaiming "the Americans will be buzzing over our freestyle." To reach Argentina and Maradona, it's essential they are, for it's the American public who'll be bankrolling their airline tickets for the second half of their journey.

Despair soon follows. Despite performing on seemingly every street corner to hundreds of appreciative passers-by, they find they simply haven't generated enough cash to enable all of them to progress into Mexico. It triggers a turn of events that sends us on an emotional rollercoaster with our five heroes as they come to terms with the possibility of losing their dream and their friendships.

With everything that's going on in the film, it's hardly surprising that the 100 minute duration absolutely flies by. There's much to see, hear and feel throughout whether it's Mikey's Scouse humour, the beautiful scenery of the Americas or the passion shown by each of the individuals. It's actually hard to find fault with the film, so my advice is to go see it yourself if you need reassurance of how good it really is. Failing that, get it on DVD when its released - you'll want to watch it again and again.

In The Hands Of The Gods appears in cinemas nationwide from September 14th 2007 (Certificate 15).
Website: http://www.inthehandsofthegods.com

Over for another year...

Well, that's it my friends. Another Premiership season has come to an end and although it may not have been exciting all the way through, it certainly had an exciting finish.

Manchester United were, for my money, worthy champions. They were the most consistent, had the best goalscorers and were able to get a result more often than everyone else while playing badly. Not that they finished with a good result yesterday, but then they didn't need to. All the damage had been done right from week one and no-one could match them for sheer quality week in, week out.

As has been mentioned before, one man stood out for them – Cristiano Ronaldo. He created chances and scored goals with great skill and competency, thereby justifying Sir Alex Ferguson's determination to buy him in the first place. Together with Wayne Rooney (who had a few 'quiet' spells this season) and old faces like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, United had all the weaponry they needed to run out as the number one team at season's end.

Chelsea matched United step for step at the start of the season and were all set to make it a genuine two-horse race, but my November the Blues had started to crack and by the end of December a six-point lead had opened up. Two months later it was a nine point gap, and the fight was as good as over.

Jose Mourinho's men just couldn't recapture the spark of the last two seasons. Lampard was regularly below par, John Terry and Joe Cole were often absent through injury and the likes of Ballack and Shevchenko frankly didn't live up to their inflated price tags. They managed to reduce Man United's lead towards the end of the season, but they'd left it too late. At least they'd won the League Cup back in February, though.

Arsenal were surprisingly below-par too, finishing fourth this year. They also foundered during November, picking up just four points - a run of form that transferred to their Champions League campaign (where they were knocked out in the second round) and the FA Cup (which they exited in round five).

Despite being fourth in the table for much of the year, they never ventured much higher, largely due to the absence of their outstanding striker Thierry Henry due to numerous injuries. Their only honour of note this season was as runners-up to Chelsea in the aforementioned League Cup final which they reached on the strength of their younger players performances in earlier rounds.

Liverpool claimed third spot in the league on goal difference from the Gunners and also reached the Champions League final where they'll once again meet AC Milan later this month. Rafa Benitez has once again mixed experience burgeoning young talent to create one of the best Liverpool sides seen for many years. Peter Crouch's England form last summer continued into the early part of the Premiership season while Steven Gerrard maintained his high standards with many a fine performance in the famous red shirt.

At the back, Jamie Carragher, Steve Finnan and John Arne Riise remained rock solid, giving Liverpool one of the best defensive records of anyone. In goal too, Jose Reina gave the team even more resilience, restricting Jerzy Dudek to a handful of appearances this season.

Martin Jol should be feeling very proud of himself. Not content with steering Tottenham into the UEFA Cup at the end of last season by finishing fifth in the Premiership, he did so all over again, equalling their highest league position since 1990.

The undoubted star of the show was Dimitar Berbatov, a close season signing from Bayer Leverkusen who scored, on average, one goal in every two games he played in all competitions. Berbatov showed a high level of skill and ingenuity in the games he played, but never in an overly fancy way. The Bulgarian's brilliance on the ball was born out of sheer technical efficiency, doing exactly what was necessary to score goals - no more, no less. It spearheaded Tottenham into another UEFA Cup campaign next season where you can expect them to at least match this season's run to the quarter finals.

Everton and Bolton both improved on last season's final positions and consequently earned a place in the UEFA Cup next season too. Rather worryingly for Bolton, however, is the recent departure of Sam Allardyce who undoubtedly gave them the sort of edge that Sammy Lee will find difficult to maintain.

Blackburn and Newcastle both failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup as they did last season, but all is not lost for Mark Hughes men as their tenth place finish gives them entry to the Intertoto Cup. An opponent from Lithuania, Wales or Poland will initially attempt to derail Blackburn's face-saving exercise in the summer.

Having saved Newcastle from relegation last year, Glenn Roeder can feel rightfully unimpressed at the way his contract came to a premature end recently, but with Sam Allardyce looking likely as his replacement, the fans may be right to expect more success for their club in 2007/08.

Without question the best of the promoted teams this season were Reading. Following in the footsteps of West Ham and Wigan the season before, Steve Coppell's men did exceptionally well to finish eighth, just missing out on qualification to the UEFA Cup by a single point.

Reading's strength came from the sheer range of players that could score goals for them. Though Leroy Lita and Kevin Doyle excelled with a combined total of 20 goals, others such as Hunt, Sidwell, Kitson and Ki-Hyeon were all on standby to put the ball in the net too on many occasions.

Both Portsmouth and Aston Villa can be well satisfied with a mid-table finish after escaping relegation last year. Martin O'Neill arrived amid much optimism that he could turn Villa's fortunes around and despite failing to finish in the top-half of the table, they weren't far off in the end.

Harry Redknapp has worked wonders for Pompey. In his inimitable fashion, he's taken the cast-offs from clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham and brought in overseas talent like Benjani Mwaruwari and Niko Kranjcar to make a far more potent team than that we saw last term.

Middlesbrough and Manchester City continued to tread water, fairing only slightly better than last year although both managed to reach the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

And then there was the bottom six, almost all flirting with relegation at some point of the season or another. Watford, predictably but no less unfortunately were the favourites to return to the Championship and were the first to confirm their departure. Above them, Charlton and West Ham remained stuck in the bottom three almost permanently with no way means of getting out.

That was until February when Charlton, now under the leadership of Alan Pardew, went on a run of form that saw them lose only once in eight games. Similarly at Upton Park, West Ham threw off their pre-Christmas takeover shackles to secure seven wins in their last nine games. It was this run which unquestionably set them up for a last-day rescue act they could not have foreseen a couple of months ago.

Sadly for Charlton, a return to their previous poor form came as they failed to win any of their last seven games. It means the Addicks will be absent from the top flight next season for the first time since 2000.

Joining them and Watford, somewhat surprisingly, are Sheffield United. Surprising because they'd looked to be playing well enough to stay in the Premiership all season, even if they weren't setting it on fire. A slow start was eventually improved upon and Neil Warnock's team were comfortably above the relegation places but once again the run-in to the end of the season proved critical.

A 3-0 win over West Ham was the only decent result they earned and though they were fifth from bottom going into yesterday's games, it wasn't good enough. Defeat to Wigan by two goals to one became their undoing.

While Fulham underachieved once again, flirting with relegation right up until the penultimate week of the season, Wigan were in much more trouble. Earning many plaudits for last season's feats on their Premiership debut, the Latics headed into turmoil during the middle of March. Seven matches without a win caused deep concern all round and entry into the bottom three came at the wrong time for Paul Jewel and his men.

On the last day of the season, Wigan had to get their first win in eight. They scored first through Paul Scharner, conceded an equaliser from Jon Stead and had Lee McCulloch sent off, but a David Unsworth penalty gave Wigan a 2-1 lead which was enough to earn them another season in the Premiership. It was all the more ironic given that Sheffield United had sold Unsworth to Wigan back in January.

And that was that. Chelsea gave way to Man United as champions, Wigan and West Ham grimly held onto their Premiership status and Liverpool reached the Champions League final. It was quite a season, and quite a finalé.

Seconds out, round three...

The FA Cup bandwagon rolled into Round Three this weekend, and as ever, we had one or two upsets to get the eyebrows raising.

In years gone by, the third round of the FA Cup has seen many a big name fall by the wayside. We all know about Ronnie Radford and his goal that saw Hereford usurp Newcastle United in 1972. Harry Redknapp's Bournemouth disposed of Manchester United back in 1984 and Mickey Thomas made himself a household name when his free-kick flew past David Seaman to ensure Wrexham reached the fourth round in 1992 instead of Arsenal.

The list goes on, and this season's competition added another two results to it. Newcomers to the Premiership, Sheffield United, found themselves playing host to Swansea City, currently sixth in League One. No danger there, or so you'd think, but three second-half goals from the Welshmen meant Neil Warnock's side would be concentrating on the league from now on.

Perhaps a bigger shock than that was the win by Nottingham Forest over Charlton Athletic. Forest are currently three places above Swansea in League One, but they faced a Charlton side who are now something akin to Premiership veterans. Sadly for them, their form all season has seen them plummet to 19th in the top flight and new manager Alan Pardew had a host of injuries to key players like Darren Bent to deal with.

Forest, however, are enjoying a good run of form under the leadership of former Spurs defender Colin Calderwood and it was two first-half goals from Junior Agogo and Grant Holt that gave them a ticket for the next round at the expense of The Addicks.

Elsewhere, last year's winners, Liverpool, were soundly beaten 3-1 at home by Arsenal thanks to two goals by Tomas Rosicky and one by Thierry Henry who was making his comeback from a recent injury. Liverpool have the chance to get their revenge on the Gunners when they play them again this week in the Carling Cup semi-finals.

Manchester United eased past Aston Villa 2-1 with a first goal for loan signing Henrik Larsson and a last-minute winner by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Martin O'Neill's side still haven't won a match since November 11th 2006 and will now be looking to change their current run of form that's seen them slip to 13th position in the Premiership.

Finally, spare a thought for lowly Macclesfield. Having gone 1-0 down to Chelsea yesterday, they showed an intent not to be overawed by equalising through John Murphy on 40 minutes. Sadly for them, Chelsea were 2-1 up a minute later and a further four minutes later, their goalkeeper was sent off.

A deluge was on the cards and it duly came. Lampard scored a hat-trick, Macclesfield went down to nine men after an injury to Murphy once manager Paul Ince had already made three substitutions, and the home side finished the game 6-1 winners.

It just goes to show that the FA Cup can be a cruel competition as well as one that brings romance and glory, but at least it allows another chance for teams to make wrongs right next season. Hopefully Macclesfield will have their day then.

Moving forward, looking back

Now where were we...? Ah yes - we were in 2006.

How did it all end, one has to wonder? Well let's remind ourselves of how things stand as we march ever onwards into 2007.

In the Premiership, Chelsea ended the 2005/06 season having won the title at a canter, but by the end of the year they were six points behind the leaders for 2006/07, Manchester United. Arsenal found themselves struggling to keep up with the pace, lagging behind Liverpool and Bolton in fifth whereas Portsmouth were exceeding expectations in sixth place on the same number of points as the Merseysiders.

Newly-promoted Reading also outpunched their weight by holding a top-half-of-the-table position, while at the other end, Sheffield United and Watford quickly became stuck in the early stages of a likely relegation dogfight to come in 2007. Joining them in the Premiership quicksand were West Ham and Charlton who exchanged managers but after the first couple of weeks the amount of positive effect its had on both teams has been minimal.

Falling rapidly in their direction are Wigan who, like West Ham, achieved great things in the league last season including an appearance in the Carling Cup Final, but that crucial second season after promotion could yet be their undoing.

In the Championship, Birmingham took their place having dropped out of the top flight but quickly became favourites to return as Steve Bruce steered his team into first place. Sunderland haven't been quite so convincing in plotting their return but the appointment of Roy Keane as coach has helped them slowly improve their plight. West Brom were the other relegated team and they, too, look to be in with a chance of making an immediate trip back to the Premiership in the summer of 2007.

They'll have to fight off the challenge of Preston and Derby, though, and with a surging run by Stoke and Colchester - yes, that's COLCHESTER - the Championship title run-in this season should be interesting and rather exciting.

Sadly the ony chance Southend had to achieve glory was in this season's Carling Cup, but with Tottenham showing them the door in the quarter finals, they now sit bottom of the table. But who's this just above them in 23rd place? It's Leeds United! Yes, the team who not so long ago were playing their football in Europe now appear to be staring League 1 full in the face, despite the arrival of Ken Bates as chairman and Dennis Wise as manager.

In the FA Cup, Burton Albion briefly stopped Man United's charge with a third round 0-0 draw before a 5-0 defeat ensued in the replay. Bolton knocked out Arsenal in the fourth round and in the quarter finals, Liverpool beat Birmingham 7-0. Liverpool were obviously keen to get their hands on the trophy and showed intent from as early as Round 3 when Xabi Alonso was scoring goals from his own half of the pitch against Luton. Manchester United were pushed aside in Round 5 and it seemed only Chelsea could stop them when they met in the semi finals.

In the end, Jose Mourinho's men were beaten 2-1 while in the other tie of the round, West Ham booked their place in the Final by beating Middlesbrough 1-0. As is now widely felt, the 2006 FA Cup Final was one of the best in recent history with both teams playing exciting, attacking football. In the end, the difference between the two sides could be summed up in two words - Steven Gerrard. His goals, including the emphatic long-range drive to win the match late on, lit up the Final, thus injecting some life into a competition that seemed to be lacking some spark in recent years.

Now before we draw a line under 2006, let's take a moment to remind ourselves of those Premiership predictions we made at the start of the season. Kedge, Smart and myself all laid our reputations on the line by trying to guess where each of the twenty teams would finish at the end of the 2006/07 season, as did FourFourTwo magazine.

Well, we punched all the predictions into the big SPAOTP computer - you know the sort: the ones with the spinning reels of tape and flashing lights like Benny Hill had in The Italian Job - and the results so far are quite literally 'interesting'.

Download the data in spreadsheet form here

At the end of August, Smart found himself lagging behind in fourth place but one month later, he was out in front leaving yours truly trailing behind in last. Kedge regained second spot by the end of October as Smart extended his lead, but it was all still pretty close between the four predictees.

When November drew to a close, there was a three-way tie for first place with Smart, Kedge and FourFourTwo magazine all 96 positions away from a faultless prediction. One month on and everyone had split up again with Martin regaining the outright lead and me goodself finally moving up from last place to third as 2007 was about to start.

All of which proves that it's a tricky business trying to predict the future (as 'You Bet' has been proving) but there's a long way to go yet before the season ends. That being the case, we'll return with another update to see how true-to-life our predictions are in a few months time, so watch this space...

At least Watford lost quietly...

So the first weekend of the Premiership passes us by fairly quietly - unlike the cricket.

The return of the Premiership sees the return of the routines. Sky Sports for results, Match of the Day for goals, Sunday's papers to weep at, league tables to ignore.

So what did I find of interest this weekend? Well, as always the opening day of the season's focus was on the Premiership new boys - Reading, Watford and Sheffield United. That’s when it hit me - we have a season of listening to the inane drivel of Neil Warnock. My god what a plank that man is. Luckily, my remote has a ‘mute’ button, and I am sure that it’s going to get a lot of use this season. I advise you to get familiar with your mute button too…

Maybe there is something about former championship sides, because next it was Reading's turn to irritate. Not only is their chairman magnanimous enough to name the stadium after himself, John Madjeski is now also doing post match interviews.

Ok, sure, it was a great comeback in your first Premiership game. I’ll give you that. Now stay off my screen. You’re a chairman. Go… ‘chair’. And wake Steve Coppell up, please. Thanks.

I don’t know if the above behaviour is normal in the Championship as I don’t like to watch inferior football - but if it is, they are welcome to it.

Which just leaves little old Watford, who weren’t very good and were defeated by a shot from Andy Johnson. His shot was in danger of hitting the corner flag before a deflection from a Watford defender sent it goalwards.

Still, only 37 more games to go.

Talking of which, Tuesday night I am at the Lane to see Spurs versus Sheffield United. I’ll be taking my remote control, hoping it will shut Warnock up. Oh and some eggs. I hope he likes eggs.

Wish me luck.

The End of the World (Cup)

"And so the end is near, and I must face the final" etc, etc. Yes, the World Cup is about to disappear from sight for another four years once again. One minute we're counting down the days with great expectation, waiting for the tournament to start, the next, we think it's all over. After Sunday night's Final, it will be.

So what have we learnt from this year's competition? Let's reflect for a moment...

1. Never write off the Africans
Before proceedings got underway, I was asked to predict the finishing positions for each first round group and yes, I admit it, I put all the African teams bar one at the bottom of their respective groups. How wrong I was. In the end, only one African team out of the five (Togo) finished bottom of their group, and I felt suitably ashamed.

It should be said that in recent times, African nations have achieved more and more at the Finals but this year saw arguably their best tournament yet. Angola and Ivory Coast finished third in their groups on their World Cup debuts while Ghana went one better by finishing second in theirs to qualify for the second round. Had they met Switzerland rather than Brazil directly after, they might have reached the Quarter Finals.

All in all, the African teams performed remarkably well and looked not one bit overawed. The Angolans, we were told, were in organisational disarray, the Ghanaians lacked fire power, Ivory Coast only played 'route 1' football and Tunisia were likely to under-perform. How wrong we were. Well, I was in any case.

2. Sexy Football gets you nowhere
Back in the heady days of Round 1, we were treated to the occasional glimpse of what World Cup football should be like. Teams like Holland, Mexico, Spain and Argentina followed the lead of Germany in the opening game by playing the ball around just like you’d expect Brazil to. Actually, they played the ball better than Brazil really did, but that’s beside the point.

While we were swooning at the performances that were laid before us, the likes of France, England and Brazil seemed to be struggling to even get a result, let alone play well, and yet when it came to the crunch, most of those teams that played sexy football were soon on their way home. All of which goes to prove that grinding out narrow victories in a workmanlike fashion with no frills can reap the ultimate rewards. Any Arsenal fan can tell you that.

3. There’s no place for sportsmanship in the modern game
For some reason, the vast majority of games at this World Cup have been littered with the gentlemanly act of kicking the ball out of play when a player is lying on the ground injured. Sadly a lot of the time, they’re just lying.

Whereas once upon a time a player would roll around on the ground for a while after being fouled (thus prompting a free kick to be awarded), nowadays the referee turns a blind eye until such a point when the injured player’s audition for RADA can no longer be ignored. The ball is kicked out of play, the stretcher bearers come on, the injured played is taken off, the ball is thrown back to the opposing team’s goalkeeper – sometimes back off the field again - and the ‘injured’ player returns to the field of play. All this causes the ball to be off the field more often than it should and everyone gets bored waiting for something to happen.

It seems the days of football becoming a non-contact sport like Basketball are now not far off.

4. Ignore the FIFA Rankings - they’re worthless
According to FIFA just before the World Cup, the Czech Republic were the second best team in the world. The USA were the fifth best. Neither made it past Round 1. Nigeria and Denmark were ranked joint 11th in the world, and they never even made it TO the World Cup Finals.

Something’s obviously wrong, and FIFA have finally realised it. Starting next month, their World Rankings will be calculated using a different system which they hope will give a fairer reflection of who’s best and who’s not. And not before time…

5. If you think you’ve got enough strikers in your squad, take one more
You never know when they might come in handy, eh Sven?

My team of the Quarter-Finals

Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng]

Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng]

Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng] Hargreaves [Eng]

Hargreaves [Eng].

End of Week 2 Bulletin

Another week goes by in the World Cup, but at Some People Are On The Pitch, we won't let the grass grow under our feet. We scour all four corners of the globe to bring you the latest tittle-tattle that's of no consequence to anyone.

Disciplinary Procedures Changed
Last night's encounter between Australia and Croatia began a new era in the world game as England's Graham Poll became the first referee to award a single player three yellow cards in one match. FIFA gave the go-ahead for the new 'three yellows and you're off' system to begin last night amid recent speculation that players are being sent off too quickly in the modern game. The world's governing body announced in March that after a player receives his third yellow card, he should immediately be shown a turquoise one as an indication that a red card will be awarded in the next three-and-a-half minutes, but Poll last night controversially failed to award the turquoise card in a move which could see him relieved of his duties as a World Cup official.

Ad a laugh at this one...
Did anyone spot the Honda advert shown on ITV1 during the England v Sweden match this week? It was a modified version of the ad previously broadcast that features the song "The Impossible Dream". In the original version, a man is seen getting out of his caravan before jumping on his mini-motorbike to ride off down the road. The scene cuts to the same man now riding a moped and in the next he's on an all-terrain vehicle. By the end of the ad, he's still singing 'The Impossible Dream' and has upgraded to a speedboat which flies off the edge of a waterfall, seemingly to his bleak demise, before rising up from the mists in a hot air balloon.

It's yet another fantastic commercial from Honda, but this week's special edition was even better because of the patriotic additions that had been made to it. Click on the link above to have a look and spot them for yourself (if you haven't already!)

Your Letters
This week our postbag was anything but empty (although damn close to it) thanks to a letter we received from a Mr R. Savage from Blackburn. He writes:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I wish to complain about the misleading advice being given out on TV at the moment during the World Cup. I keep being told to 'press the red button' for interactive services, but when I did that, my television switched off and I lost all power. What kind of advice is that?

Yours frustratingly,
R. Savage.

Well Mr. Savage, perhaps you need to consult the manual that comes with your TV, or else just give up altogether.

Did You Know...?
The literal translation of Schweinsteiger, Germany's midfield number 7 is 'pig climber'.

The 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' Award for Bad Punctuation
Finally, we hand over a shiny trophy for the commentary faux pas uttered by Jonathan Pearce at the end of the Italy v USA match. It may have only been a tiny apostrophe that was out of place, but it made all the difference when Pearce said "Marcello's Lippi men struggled against the Americans..."

Join us for another Bulletin again very soon... until then 'Auf Wiedersehen'!

Chin up - it could be worse...

Oh well, another jinx carries on undiminished for another year. England just cannot seem to beat Sweden and that's all there is to it.

Not that it should linger on in our minds for too long. After last night's 2-2 draw in Cologne, England have finished top of their group and avoided hosts Germany in the second round. Unbeaten after the first three matches, England can quietly feel confident of reaching the quarter finals - that is if the core of the squad can hold together long enough.

With Michael Owen badly injuring his knee after one minute and Rio Ferdinand hobbling off in the second half with a groin strain, things don't look too good at the minute. In attack we're left with Wayne Rooney who is yet to find the spark to signal the end of his recovery period, Peter Crouch and Theo Walcott, who hasn't even played a full game for England yet.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Steven Gerrard moves further and further forward upfield as the competition progresses. We may be in need of a proven goalscorer by the end of this World Cup and if that means promoting him from midfield to attack, so be it, in my book.

That would mean his support in the centre of the field would be Frank Lampard (still a capable player but looking somewhat tired, understandably), Owen Hargreaves (don't ask), Joe Cole (trying hard at the moment but a little inconsistent) and the ubiquitous but reliable David Beckham.

In defence, things are looking transitional at the moment. Ferdinand's injury may not be as bad as first thought, but Sol Campbell should be good enough to take his place on experience and technical ability alone should the need arise again. Ashley Cole still lacks a little focus but is getting slightly better with every game, John Terry is as dependable as ever and Jamie Carragher is holding his own without ever expecting to play an entire 90 minutes.

But should we be that pessimistic about England's chances of winning the tournament? I have a few suggestions that might lift the mood a little...

Let's get some fresh legs out there. First of all, let Aaron Lennon take the right-wing position where he does most damage and give Stewart Downing a chance to do the same on the left - both of whom can link up well with Beckham and Lampard in the middle.

Up front, let Gerrard have a run around with Rooney or Crouch. At the back, leave things pretty much as they are with Robinson, Terry, Ferdinand (health permitting) Ashley Cole and Carragher doing their usual shtick.

OK granted - it's not the most radical overhaul of team affairs, but I certainly think Lennon needs to be used more and Downing's no bad option down the left either. And if Sven insists on using Owen Hargreaves again, surely Michael Carrick would be a more useful alternative? Did I mention Joe Cole? Well he could be used from time to time, but in those games where he isn't firing on all cylinders, give him a rest on the bench.

You see, it's not all doom and gloom. Perhaps we just need to see some fitter, faster players being brought in, one or two being played in different positions and other players being given the day off once in a while. There's still bags of talent in the squad - we just need to be using it better.

Half Time

So, here we are at the half-way stage of the 2006 World Cup, and what have we established so far? Our reconnaissance unit has put together this report containing all the facts you need to know:

Fact 1: The Germans like to pass the ball along the ground, avoiding the use of high crosses.
Why else have a TV screen hanging down as low as the one in Frankfurt's stadium?

Fact 2: Ghanaians like to model their hairstyles on household objects.
Step forward Sulley Muntari, owner of 'The Orange Squeezer'...



Fact 3:
91% of people prefer BBC's coverage of the World Cup rather than ITV's.
This can be explained in seven words: "WHERE DO THEY GET THEIR ENERGY FROM...?" Thanks EDF Energy - now piss off...

Fact 4:
Brand-new World Cup footballs that move around in the air needn't be a bad thing...
...as has finally been proved. The 2006 edition, Adidas' Teamgeist, still defies all the laws of aerodynamic science but this one has the added bonus of being filled to at least 45% with helium, hence why so many shots are flying into the top corner of the net.

Fact 5:
If in doubt, throw the form book out
And there we were dismissing Spain and Ecuador as being hardly worth the £1 entry fee for the office sweepstake... and then to really rub it in, France and Brazil turn up and play like... well, me, to be quite frank.

More World Cup briefings coming up soon...

Day 8 Review

I'm guessing Pelé may have woken up this morning feeling as though his life isn't quite as perfect as it once was. My reasoning is squarely based on the fact that yesterday Argentina scored arguably the greatest team goal ever in the World Cup - better even than the fourth goal of the 1970 Final that Pelé helped Brazil to score.

It was Argentina's second goal in a 6-0 thrashing of Serbia & Montenegro and can only be described as 'poetry in motion'. Twenty-one passes were strung together leading to Cambiasso's 31st minute strike, and of the 50% possession Argentina had in the match, most of that must have come in this one move alone.

Argentina showed how well they can play football in their previous match against the Ivory Coast, but this performance went one better than that. They passed the ball around with the nonchalant skill that we've come to know from the greatest Brazilian sides of the past, and on this form it's irresistible to put some money on them winning the World Cup outright. They played in such a way that Serbia & Montenegro, normally a good defensive unit, didn't even figure in the match. The Europeans are now out of the tournament, but Argentina are through to round two where they'll be joined by a Holland side trying hard not to be outdone by the sort of display we saw in Gelsenkirchen yesterday.

Holland picked up another three points in the second of Friday's games against the Ivory Coast, but for the second time in this tournament, the Ivorians lost 2-1. Robin Van Persie's 23rd minute free kick set the Dutch on their way and three minutes later Ruud van Nistelrooy added a second. The Africans appeared to be reeling but they never gave up and 12 minutes later they got their reward when Bakari Kone struck a 25 yard shot after a powerful run.

The second half didn't quite live up to the first with the Dutch holding firm but play continued to switch from end to end as Ivory Coast tried repeatedly to penetrate Holland's back line. In the end it was not to be, and sadly the best of Africa's representatives at this tournament will now be preparing for one last game against Serbia & Montenegro next week.

The final game of the day saw another spirited performance from Angola, thought by many to be at the opposite end of the African football spectrum to the Ivory Coast. They gave Mexico a run for their money throughout last night's match and performed the seemingly impossible - a 0-0 draw against the team that convincingly beat Iran 3-1 last Sunday.

Mexico were the first to fly out of the traps with a first minute shot from Carlos Salcido that flew narrowly over the bar, but this was to be almost as close as Mexico would get to scoring. Captain Marquez hit the post soon after from a 30-yard free kick as Mexico tried time and again to find a way through Angola's steady, well-manned defence.

Angola created a few chances, none of which seriously threatened Mexican goalkeeper Sanchez, but when Andre Macanga was sent off 11 minutes from time for a hand-ball that earned him a second yellow card, Angola really did need to concentrate on keeping their defence strong. That they did to earn their first ever point in World Cup Finals history, a feat which made the Angolan fans very happy indeed when the full time whistle went.

Mexico now have four points from two games and should progress through to the second round with Portugal, but their weaknesses have now been exposed for all to see. Anyone favouring a strong run from Mexico in this competition may now be thinking twice on the strength of this ineffective performance.

Day 7 Review

I'm beginning to hate Ecuador. Oh don't get me wrong - I've got nothing against the country or its people 'per se'. It's just that their football team do insist on winning all the time, or at least they have since the start of this World Cup. That alone wouldn't normally cause me any emotional imbalance, but at this precise moment in time, they're standing between me and many hundreds of pounds in winnings from Ladbrokes.

Before the tournament began, my two colleagues and I wagered £1 each on eight teams finishing bottom of their repective groups, and guess who we had for Group A? That's right, our South American chums, Ecuador. And to add insult to injury, we also had a quid each on the teams we thought would finish first and second in each group. Did we have Ecuador down for Group A? No.

The fact is that Ecuador have now won both of their first two games and are assured of qualification through to Round Two along with Germany, who have done likewise. Contrary to popular belief, Ecuador have proved themselves capable of playing excellent football and can put the ball in the net with consumate ease too.

Costa Rica, reeling from their opening defeat to Germany, were outplayed throughout yesterday's first game and not even the on-form Paulo Wanchope could stop his team crashing out of the competition. For Ecuador then, their last match in Round 1 against Germany will decide who finishes top of the group, and that could be critical as England will no doubt await the runners-up in the next round.

That much is almost certain after England virtually secured top spot in Group B following another decidedly ordinary display against Trinidad & Tobago. Just as against Paraguay, England struggled to break down the opposition, only this time they didn't have the luxury of an early goal to act as a safety net.

While Trinidad & Tobago didn't offer much of a threat in attack, they did manage to hold strong in midfield and defence, stifling the English of all their purposeful forward movement - what little there was of it in the first half. Yet come the second half, England shifted up a gear and threw even more into attack, including Wayne Rooney who replaced the off-form Michael Owen.

Coming on with Rooney was Aaron Lennon, as replacement for Jamie Carragher - a change that instantly brought hope for the thousands of England fans thanks to his many speedy runs down the right wing. Shots began to rain in from all quarters with Lampard and Crouch going close on numerous occasions, but in the end it was Beckham who crossed the ball into the area for Crouch to head home with just seven minutes left on the clock.

With Trinidad's defence finally breached, England added a second in injury time thanks to a scorching left-foot drive from Steven Gerrard. So England picked up another three points, which will no doubt please them more than the standard of their performance, but can they get Owen and Rooney producing football of a decent standard before it's too late?

Such issues are now redundant for Paraguay who look to be heading home after a second successive defeat, this time to Sweden. Last night's match was, in all fairness, a lacklustre affair with both sides defending competently but not offering much in goalscoring terms. The tedium was ended with two minutes of normal time to go as Freddie Ljungberg headed in to almost certainly set up a second round clash with Germany or Ecuador.

Having scored one and conceded none over two games, Sweden may well fancy their chances of stopping the opposition scoring in the next round, but they'll need to score plenty more if they're to get anywhere near the Final at the end of the month. The same could well be said for England, but you never know - perhaps they'll start practicing in earnest when they meet each other in the final round of Group B matches next Tuesday night.

Day 6 Review

A Basque friend of mine gleefully said to me on Tuesday "Have you noticed how all the big teams in this World Cup are playing their matches in the evening when most people can watch them? Italy, France, Argentina, Portugal, Brazil... that's why Spain are playing at 2pm tomorrow..." and with that he laughed with the cynical air of someone who had obviously lived under the brutal regime of General Franco for many years.

For the rest of us, the only cynicism came in the form of a general whinge about how Spain never live up to expectations in the world's greatest football competition. But that was soon forgotten as the Ukraine were forcefully swept to one side in Leipzig yesterday. Two goals in the first half and two in the second came either side of Vladislav Vashchuk being sent off for pulling back David Villa when clean through on goal.

Ukraine barely figured in the match to any serious extent. Andriy Shevchenko was passed fit to play and promptly went unnoticed for the next 90 minutes, and their first shot from Andriy Gusin finally came in the 32nd minute - easily saved by Iker Casillas.

Alonso, Villa and Torres got the goals that led Spain to an impressive 4-0 win which did much to restore their reputation in the World Cup. Their running, passing and shooting arguably brought about the best performance of the tournament so far, and must be sending shivers down the spine of the other two teams in Group H, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

They played each other in the 5pm kick-off and, well, how can I put this... I didn't think it'd be worth watching, so I went off to get some shopping at Sainsbury's instead. I'll therefore give you a resumé of what that was like rather than the match, so here goes...

The first thing I noticed was that they had some Cos lettuces in stock which was nice as they never have them when I want them. Very important if you want to make a decent Caesar Salad. Then they had some '2 for £2' offers on tubs of pasta salad which was tempting, but I've already got some at home in the fridge so I gave them a miss, ultimately. Then it was off to buy a roasted chicken, straight off the rotisserie. Marvellous. Just the thing to go with some roast potatoes, baked lovingly in a rosemary and parmesan coating and frozen for later use on those nights when only comfort food will do.

I won't bore you with the rest, so I'll just sum up by saying that Tunisia and Saudi Arabia drew 2-2. Moving on, the final game of the day saw the competition come full circle with Germany and Poland playing their second games since the tournament began last week. The hosts, despite showing a weak defence, impressed a lot of people in their first game against Costa Rica while Poland had it all to prove after a poor performance against Ecuador.

It came as no surprise, therefore, when a close match transpired with Germany carrying on where they left off last Friday. Launching wave after wave of attacks on the Polish goal, Germany threatened time and time again while Poland held strong - a vast improvement on their defensive play against the Ecuadorians.

Sadly, it was all to be in vain as right at the end the pressure finally paid off for the Germans thanks to an Oliver Neuville goal, set up by fellow substitute David Odonkor. It means the Germans are now all but through to Round 2 where they could face England, and if they do, they'll certainly provide a serious challenge for the likes of Terry, Ferdinand and Ashley Cole. 5-1 to England it won't be...

Day 5 Review

Another day, another set of disappointments from those teams we'd been holding in such high esteem. France stepped up to the plate to face Switzerland in the 5 o'clock kick-off, loaded (as they are) with talent as far as the eye can see. Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Gallas, Makelele, Barthez... I could go on, but I won't. That's because with all those star players (and more besides), they looked decidedly average as they laboured their way to a 0-0 draw.

So much for reputation then, but what of the mighty Brazil, loaded (as they are) with talent as far as the eye can see? Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Edinho... I could go on, but I won't, except to say that the Brazilians at least managed a 1-0 win in their unimpressive performace against a tricky Croatian side. Very little of their equisitely unique flair was on show as the Europeans made life decidedly difficult for them all over the pitch. Kaka, fortunately, sent Brazil on their way to a win in their opening game, but it wasn't enough to put them on top of Group F. That belonged to Australia who, it has to be said, now stand a reasonable chance of making teams re-evaluate them.

How strange then that in the other game of the day, Togo, who we were lead to believe were a team in complete disarray on all levels, came straight out in their first ever World Cup game and took the lead against South Korea. Mohamed Kader gave the Africans the lead on half an hour, and they enjoyed a numerical superiority for almost 25 minutes before South Korea finally equalised through Chun-Soo Lee.

Togo still engaged in the end to end football with their counterparts and seemed to have an equal chance of winning until Ahn struck the winner for South Korea with 18 minutes remaining. For all their determination and attacking play, Togo's undoing was their lack of decent fire power up front. Korea weren't much better in that respect, but their experience at previous World Cups must have counted for something as they continued to make chance after chance in the hope that luck would finally swing their way. In the end it did, and who's to say that South Korea didn't deserve their victory any less than Brazil did, let alone England or Holland or Portugal?

Day 4 Review

Yesterday belonged to Australia. Having played only once before at the World Cup (an experience that prompted no goals to be scored in three games), the Socceroos finally made the breakthrough with a tough 3-1 victory over Japan.

Japan took the lead on 26 minutes thanks to a controversial goal from Nakamura, but the Aussies battled on and enjoyed most of the possession as Japan's efforts dried up. Then late on, Guus Hiddink sent Tim Cahill into battle and 6 minutes from the end he finally got the equaliser they worked so hard for, thus earning his place in World Cup history as Australia's first scorer in the Finals.

But that was just the beginning. Five minutes later, Cahill added a second before John Aloisi scored a third right at the end to give Australia a somewhat flattering but comprehensive win. They will now watch the other game in the group - Brazil v Croatia (today) with much interest.

Elsewhere, the Czech Republic cruised to an easy 3-0 win over the United States. Unable to find a way behind the Czech back line, the USA struggled to find their way through a strong defence while the Czechs with their slick, accurate passing made many in-roads at the other end.

Jan Koller headed home for his side's opener on five minutes but before Rosicky added a second on 36 minutes, USA's Claudio Reyna managed to hit the post from just outside the penalty area. Six minutes later, Koller was stretchered off with a muscle strain and the Czech's range of attacking options seemed all the more limited.

Those fears were allayed in the second half when Rosicky, Ujfalusi and Poborsky fired numerous efforts at the American goal, one from Rosicky hitting the bar. Finally in the 76th minute, the Czech Republic made certain of the three points when Rosicky got his second of the game to go top of Group E.

The 8 o'clock kick-off saw another African debutant take to the stage as Ghana faced up to many people's favourites to win, Italy. As expected, Italy looked the better of the two teams and were all the more threatening with their attack play. Ghana lacked a decent striker and were forced to rely upon midfielder Michael Essien for inspiration which was very few and far between.

That said, Ghana performed well and showed no sign of nerves or inferiority. Their physical strength and speed on the attack gave the Italians something to think about, but when Pirlo finally struck home with his 40th minute shot, it was always going to be difficult for the Africans to get back into the game.

Francesco Totti made his return from a broken leg and eventually found his form later on in the game while his team-mates Perrotta and Toni fired shots at Ghana keeper Kingston too, particularly in the second half.

Ghana battled on and tested Buffon with one or two shots but their undoing came in the 83rd minute when Kuffour under-played his back pass to Kingston, allowing Iaquinta to intercept and round the keeper to make it 2-0.

So another spirited performance from an African side at this World Cup and once again a need to re-evaluate their status as whipping boys. That said, it's looking like an uphill struggle for them at this tournament and they'll be looking for more promising results against weaker opposition when the opportunities arise.

Day 3 Review

Holland had to work hard to get their campaign off to a good start yesterday with a narrow 1-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro. Arjen Robben took advantage of a defence splitting pass to slot the ball past the keeper early in the first half, but the team in orange were unable to repeat the feat. Serbia had few chances of their own to offer by way of an attack and only looked at their best when trying to prevent further Dutch goals going in.

The win puts Holland in second place in Group C behind Argentina and they next face a tricky Ivory Coast team on June 16th. I wonder if they’ll both wear orange?

Group D began with an exciting match between Mexico and Iran. The Middle Eastern side dominated the early play with some fluid forward movement, but it was Mexico who showed the way with their first decent attack of the game. Iran equalised eight minutes later and everything remained finely balanced until a quarter of an hour from time when Mexico added two goals in four minutes to end Iran’s chances of winning.

Later in the day, Portugal took to the field to face the country they’d colonised until 1975, Angola. It was the first time the African team had played in a World Cup match and it showed when after four minutes, Pauleta gave Portugal the lead.

Angola weren’t to be outclassed, however, as they dealt admirably with Portugal’s attempts at trying to find a second. While lacking a potent striker up front, Angola fought well in defence and midfield as Portugal seemed unable to find any variation up front.

Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted after an hour, and understandably looked disappointed, having contributed much to the game including a header that hit the bar. Figo, predictably, engineered much of the Portuguese moves from the wings, but his goalkeeper Ricardo had to make a few saves as the game went on.

The match finished with Angola claiming a creditable 1-0 defeat against one of the world’s top sides and if they do the same against Mexico in their next match, they won’t be at all disappointed. As for Portugal, they became the latest members of the ‘What went wrong? Club’ along with England and Holland - teams that have started well and faded fast.

Maybe they’re satisfying themselves with an early goal that can be defended for the rest of the game, but from where I’m standing, it looks like a dwindling supply of ideas and ingenuity that’s stopping them scoring more. Their remaining matches should be interesting to watch from that point of view…

Day 2 Review

Hurrah! England have won their first match! Rejoice!

With 15 minutes played I was beginning to think my prediction of a 2-0 win to England was going to be a little inadequate. Beckham's free kick was flicked into the net by Paraguayan defender Carlos Gamarra and the entire defence for the South American's was looking completely inept and ill at ease.

Sadly for England, despite dominating the first half with lots of possession, they weren't actually able to fully take advantage of the momentum. No further goals came and Paraguay gradually found their feat with plenty of their own possession in the second half.

England defended well, but offered somewhat less than we'd hoped for in attack. Gerrard and Lampard were confined to long range shots and Crouch and Owen were rather isolated up front, unable to use each other for support when the rare opportunities arose.

Paraguay had their moments, but they were largely kept well at bay by the conscientious defending of Terry and Ferdinand. For my money, though, Ashley Cole still doesn't look match-fit and Gary Neville was... well... Gary Neville.

Still, three points in the bag and England can now look forward to Wednesday's encounter with Trinidad & Tobago who stubbornly refused to be beaten by a lacklustre Sweden side yesterday. While still having many players of undoubted quality, Sweden, it's fair to say, are now a shadow of their former selves.

Trinidad & Tobago looked a little ragged round the edges, but they were content to try and play a quick attacking game which, had it not been for some better shooting, could have resulted in a couple of goals. The Swedish defence held on, however, but one can't help thinking they must have had an easier time of things than their opposite number at the other end.

Shaka Hislop's display in goal for the Caribbeans undoubtedly earned them the point they deserved. I personally thought he was the man of the match, but FIFA thought better of it and gave the award to Hislop's team-mate Dwight Yorke. To be fair, the ex-Man United striker did orchestrate his team well on the day and should perform similarly well in the England match next week. I've got a feeling Trinidad & Tobago will prove they're a different proposition from Jamaica altogether, and Sven Goran Eriksson will do well to realise that...

The last game of Day 2 saw Argentina face Ivory Coast in 'The Group of Death'. Through most of the match, Argentina looked slick, competent and skilful, scoring two goals before Half Time thanks to Crespo and Saviola. The Africans weren't to be outshone, however, and often showed a dogged determination to attack when the chance arose. Sadly they too suffered from a lack of sufficient fire power up front, although a late goal from Didier Drogba did provide some late hope of an upset.

As expected, Argentina took all three points, but Holland won't be expecting a walk-over when they meet Ivory Coast next week. As for Argentina, they've begun their campaign in a confident mood and look good enough to reach the latter stages of the competition, in my book.