Watching England v Kazakhstan in Scotland
October 7, 2008 at 9:34 pm | In Football | Leave a CommentTags: England, ITV, Kazakhstan
Ordinarily, this game would be on ITV, but for some reason in Scotland they are showing “Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy” at the time. Of course, this will not do at all. I appreciate that Scots may not be the most ardent supporters of England, but at the same time there are surely enough people interested enough to watch it, more so than in a Whodunnit film.
Anyway, there is a legal way round this, and for this we must thank the good people at Virgin Media. All you need to see it is a friend with Virgin Media where there is a channel called “ITV audio description” or something similar (it’s basically so that blind people can enjoy Corrie and Emmerdale), and it can be found at channel 853. It broadcasts ITV London, and hence the England game will be there. It should also be on Sky somewhere.
You’re welcome 
Free play
October 2, 2008 at 7:50 pm | In Football | Leave a CommentTags: Athletic Bilbao, Money
I was pleased to see that former Spain international and Athletic Bilbao stalwart Joseba Etxeberria has signed a years extension to his contract which means that he will play next season entirely for free.
Ok, so he’ll probably still get a reasonable amount of money from any sponsorship deals he may have, but it’s a start and it puts a lot of the greedy prima donnas in the Premier League to shame (I don’t care how good you are, nobody is worth £150, 000 a week).
Etxeberria is also that most rare of things- a one- club player and it’s sad that you don’t really see them any more unless they happen to be playing for a really succesful club (which Bilbao is not).
Edit: He actually played for Real Sociedad for a season before Athletic, but he’s been there fifteen years and was presumably the subject of many offers for his services, so his loyalty is still not to be sniffed at.
End of Days
September 9, 2008 at 9:54 pm | In Dreams, Football, John Walker, hope, random | 1 CommentAs the Large Hadron Collider gets switched on and the Earth gets destroyed by a black hole (albeit in a 50.000.000:1 chance), all in the name of SCIENCE!!!!, I will probably be in the shower or something, which might be a bad idea as going into oblivion naked doesn’t really appeal to me.
Anyway, I’m just going to put up the same poll as in on the radio at the minute, and that is:
What is your biggest regret in this life, since there’s a (very small) chance it will end tomorrow?
I’d love to know what yours are, but I will tell you a few of mine, some major, some not.
The first is that I spent too long believing that my parents’ belief in God would be enough to say I had some kind of relationship with God. It was not, and I didn’t realise this until relatively recently.
Another is that I was an idiot in my early school years. I am ashamed of how many times I antagonised people so I could tell on them for hitting me. This led to my becoming something of a social outcast in my school years and I didn’t really have anything resembling a social life til I came to uni.
Finally, my third regret is not being interested in football til I was eleven. Okay, it’s no big deal, but it would have been nice to have a bit more skill than being a poacher which is all I seem to have the nous for.
Also: What’s the thing in life that you are proudest (or most glad) that you did?
For me there are a few standout things:
Becoming a Christian was a momentous decision and everyday I’m glad I did. Linked to this is joining the Navigators as it was there that I understood the need for community, and that God is more powerful than I imagined
Coming to Edinburgh was probably the best geographical decision I ever made (though I often wonder what might have happened if I’d gone to Glasgow as originally hoped, but what-ifs are not really useful), as the friends I’ve made have kept me sane, and demonstrated that it’s important to have support and to be supportive. And to have fun too!
I never smashed atoms together at ridiculously high speeds and selfishly risked rupturing the fabric of the universe albeit with very small probability. This is a great achievement.
But yes, those are a small selection of my regrets and joys, please tell me any you might have that you might be wiling to share on the interblag, you don’t need to sign in to comment!
World Cup qualfying predictions 10/9/08
September 8, 2008 at 10:55 pm | In Football, World Cup | Leave a CommentI’m going to try and be more concise this time, so here goes:
Croatia v England: Croatia in good form, England struggled against Andorra, but should improve, but will it be enough? I think not.
Prediction:2-1
Fact: Croatia were the first team to win competitively at the new Wembley
Iceland v Scotland: Iceland get good draw in Norway, Scotland lose in Macedonian furnace. Scotland should cope better with the temperature, but will the pressure be too much for them? Boyle’s law says maybe.
Prediciton: 1-1
Fact: Iceland’s only Euro 2008 wins were against Northern Ireland
Montengro v Ireland: Montenegro get good draw against Bulgaria, Ireland hold on to beat Georgia “away”.
Could be close, but Ireland might be more experienced at this level.
Prediciton:1-2
Fact: Montenegro are unbeaten in competitive football. Not hard, since they only played one match.
Northern Ireland v Czech: Northern Ireland lose limply, if still unluckily to Slovakia, Czechs yet to play. Can Windsor Park inspire the boys to a much needed win? Possibly…
Prediction: I refuse to predict this. Sorry…
Fact: Czechoslovakia reached the 1962 and 1934 World Cup finals, losing both.
Russia v Wales: Russia’s first game, Wales unconvincing against Azerbaijan, has to be a home win all the way.
Prediciton:2-0
Fact: This is the first time the two have met competitively since Russia beat Wales 1-0 in a Euro 2004 playoff in Cardiff.
Selected others:
North Korea v South Korea: So politically charged it’s being played in Shanghai. Both matches in the previous round finished 0-0 and the same could happen here, in the name of diplomacy.
Prediction: 0-0
Fact: These two teams are the only asian sides to have made the quarter finals, in 1966 and 2002 respectively.
Mexico v Canada: Mexico= good, Canada = emerging, but still rubbish.
Prediction: 3-0.
Uzbekistan v Australia: Yes, Australia is in asia now and is much better than Uzbekistan, who might have made it to 2006 if not for some curious administrative decisions by FIFA.
Predicition: 1-3
Enjoy the football!
World Cup Qualifying Predictions
September 4, 2008 at 10:28 pm | In Football, Northern Ireland, World Cup, soccer | Leave a CommentSo this weekend there’s the first round of World Cup qualifiers, in Europe anyway, so I thought I’d give my predictions for the home nations, Ireland and selected other matches. Here goes:
Andorra v England: It’s easy to predict an away win here, but that’s exactly what I am going to do. Andorra have actually won a World Cup qualifier in the past (beating Macedonia in the 2006 edition) but England, despite their current woes, have too much quality and are likely to get a very physical game from one of the dirtiest sides in Europe. England will win comfortably, but games against these sort of teams don’t tell you much about how good your team is. Steve McLaren’s England were booed at half time as it was 0-0 last year, but that shouldn’t happen again.
Prediction: 0-4, with Andorra to be reduced to ten men. Or less.
Fact: Andorra’s stadium only holds 1500 people, which is why this game is being played in Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium
Macedonia v Scotland: Macedonia are the sort of team that can ruin your campaign, without being in any actual danger of qualifying themselves. They stopped Ireland qualifying for Euro 2000 with a last minute equaliser and England have failed to beat them at home twice in recent years. Coupled with Scotland’s knack of dropping points to lower ranked Eastern European sides (Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova etc), this is a tricky start for Burley’s men, particularly since there a less games and less room for error. Macedonia didn’t have a great Euro 2008 (they finished above rubbish Estonia and worse Andorra) and will be looking to get their campaign off to a good start. That said, Scotland won’t have the pressure they had against Georgia so should hopefully be a bit less retentive. But I think a draw is most likely.
Prediciton: 1-1
Fact: Macedonia’s biggest ever win was 11-1 away to Liechtenstein in the 98 World Cup.
Georgia v Ireland: Ireland will face Georgia in Germany thanks to the unfortunate political situation there. Georgia played well against Wales in a friendly, but that was Wales and it was a friendly. Not having to go to Tbilisi will be a great relief and it is likely to be a “home” atmosphere for Ireland. Georgia are something of a Jekyll and Hyde team, in that they are capable of very good results (eg beating Russia in Euro 2004 qualifying and Scotland in Euro 2008) but also some very poor ones (2-5 at home to Turkey and 6-1 in Denmark) and it all seems to depend on whether they feel like turning up or not. GIven the situation, I think they will play well out of patriotism, but Trappatoni’s Ireland should be too much. Away win, but only just.
Prediction: 1-2
Fact: Georgia’s first ever match was a 0-1 defeat to Moldova.
Slovakia v Northern Ireland: Ah Northern Ireland. The optimism that comes at the start of a new campaign is usually crushed by an awful performance and 0-3 defeat, and I remain optimistic that this will not happen again. However, our away record is dire. We’ve had two wins in our last 21 away games, and those were against minnows Malta and Liechtenstein. That said, we had good draws in Denmark and Sweden last time around (Sweden being a game we could have won, Denmark not so much), so it’s not as if the spirit is lacking away from Windsor Park. Slovakia are not to be underestimated, as Wales found out to their cost last time (they lost 1-5 in Cardiff although they won 5-2 in Bratislava), but their home form isn’t great (they only beat San Marino and Cyprus last time round). NI will play one up front (Lafferty’s injured) and that only means one thing…
Prediction: 0-0
Fact: Slovakia scored 33 goals in Euro 2008 qualifying, but that wasn’t enough. Because most of those goals were against Wales, Cyprus and San Marino, I would wager.
Wales v Azerbaijan: Wales are okay, Azerbaijan are rubbish, home win, all the way.
Prediction: 2-0
Fact: Azerbaijan’s stadium is named after the linesman that wrongly gave England their third goal in 1966.
Guest games:
Chile v Brazil: Chile are doing okay for themselves since finishing bottom of the South American pile in 2002. They were four points off a playoff place in 2006 and currently lie a point above Brazil in fourth place. Brazil haven’t really clicked thus fair and had some poor results, notably 1-1 in bottom Peru. Dunga is under fierce pressure to get a result here and against Bolivia in four days, and I think that Brazil’s players will be more up for this than they have been, for this reason. And that is why I think they’ll win.
Prediction: 1-3
Fact: Chile were banned from the ‘94 World Cup because their goalie pretended to have been hit by a firework in a 1990 World Cup qualifier by smearing fake blood all over his face. The firework never went anywhere near him.
Cuba v USA: Politically charged encounter that should see the Americans win, and bring back some nice cigars.
Prediction: 0-2
Fact: Americans are not normally allowed to go to Cuba, but the Soccer team has special dispensation to go there in the name of sport
New Caledonia v New Zealand: The Kiwis will progress to the next round, and win the OFC Nations cup if they win this. Which they will.
Prediction: 0-2
Fact: New Zealand played in the 1982 World Cup and lost all three games
Hope you enjoyed that! I’d like to hear any predictions you have for this weekend’s games. I will hopefully get some up for midweek as well.
Fantasy football goals
August 19, 2008 at 10:33 pm | In Football | 1 CommentI had a decent first week in fantasy football. My team had scored three goals, but defensively the team was very poor and sticking Berbatov as captain wasn’t the best idea I ever had, so changes must be made in addition to the free transfer you get. However, it was not a bad week in “manager’s select” terms as I managed to finish above many of the big hitters and am currently 11th out of 28 (soon to be 30).
But like every good manager (and many bad ones), I have realistic goals for the season and here they are:
In the GAWA league (29 members currently): to be the best placed of all the OCs and perhaps get a top six finish.
In “Edinburgh and friends” (16 members): Finish in the top four, above Will (flatmate) if at all possible
In “Managers select” (30 members): This is the biggie, literally, and amidst all the banchory and ex-navs folk, it looks difficult to even contemplate a top-ten finish. However, I would be happy with that, provided I finish above my friendly rivals O’Neill O’Yeah, which is too early to tell at this point if it is a realistic prospect. What would be great though is another end-of-season battle between two people who haven’t actually met eachother like we had last time. That, or a repeat of my top-four finish from two seasons ago (despite missing the first week!).
Some lessons from last season include:
Don’t drop Ronaldo, for pity’s sake (admittedly, I dropped him because he got sent off against Pompey)
Liverpool players aren’t that bad, they actually get points on occasion
Don’t pick Tim Cahill the day it’s announced he’s out for the season
Don’t forget to make your transfers AFTER midweek internationals/cup games
Keep track of players leaving the prem during transfer windows- I was missing a sub for 2 games because Garry Speed had gone elsewhere
Two words: Titus Bramble (why Jimmy, just why?)
Make sure you know it’s a cup weekend before making loads of transfers and them all getting injured for no points
Pick players who are playing in rearranged matches in midweek
Don’t make a sulky striker your captain (or your goalkeeper, as clean sheets are relatively rare)
Making more than one transfer can be beneficial in the long-term (as well as the short)
Roll on round two!
The Stothman Prophecies
August 11, 2008 at 11:14 am | In Football | 5 CommentsAt the start of every football season, I predict [guess] who will win stuff, and this year may be no different! You can read my prophecies from last year and laugh at how wrong they are (although I predicted that Scotland would get KO’d by Italy in Euro 2008 by a last minute goal at Hampden..).
In the same vein, here is what will not happen this year:
Premiership: Chelsea to win ahead of Man U, Liverpool to beat Arsenal to third. Spurs to finish fifth despite a strong challenge from Villa. Hull, Stoke and Wigan to get relegated.
SPL: Celtic to win by a street ahead of Rangers, Dundee United to finish third and Hamilton to go straight back down.
Irish League: Linfield to win ahead of Glentoran, Bangor to get relegated.
FA Cup: A top four team will win it.
League Cup: Chelsea
Scottish Cup: Rangers
Champions League: We’ve had our all-English final now and while it was great, it’s not ideal. Inter to be in the final against an English side, probably Chelsea.
UEFA Cup: Because you don’t know who’s in it until December, the only thing I can safely say is that Queen of the South’s challenge will not last too long.
Other things: Alan Green will finally admit to being a Liverpool fan; Arsene Wenger will not see various controversial incidents; there might be a penalty to the visiting team at Old Trafford; England beat Andorra 5-0 and Capello is declared a genius by over-zealous reporters; someone in the Irish League gets docked points for fielding an ineligible player; Hearts go through 3 managers; there will be talk of an all-english Champions League final before the group stage is out; some manager blames the Olympics for the poor start to the season; someone is sacked by October; Game 39 might rear its ugly head again..
So you can probably disregard all of this, but do let me know what you think!
I’ve started so I’ll finish
July 8, 2008 at 9:09 pm | In Experimentation, Football, Formula 1, Philosophy, TV | Leave a CommentMastermind Sport was on tonight and I thought it would be cool if you could tell me:
A) what your three specialist subjects for sport would be and
B) what your three specialist subjects for non-sport Mastermind would be
(the reason I ask for three is that you need to win in three rounds to win the Mastermind title)
For the record, here are my choices:
Sport: Northern Ireland in the FIFA World Cup
The Formula One World Championship since 1996
The RBS Six Nations
Normal: The works of Albert Camus
Futurama (yes I know but David Blunkett did Harry Potter)
World Capitals
Considering I have seen “Professional tennis in Israel 1985 to the present day” “Liechtenstein in the 20th century” and “Harry Potter” as even more bizarre subjects than these. But what are yours?
I was wrong
June 9, 2008 at 10:29 pm | In Football | 1 CommentThat’s right folks. I predicted Holland would bomb at Euro 2008 and it seems I was mistaken. All apologies to those of you who cared enough to read my previous post on this issue. But when it looks this good, I should be wrong more often.
Anyway, funnily enough, I started thinking differently when I drew them in a money-free sweepstake (pride is the best prize), but since they’ve given the tournament’s best performance by miles, I think I might have to start supporting them when Romania bow out. Mind you, watching today’s snooze-fest made me question why I decided to support them in the first place (basically down to me thinking that country is really cool). Full review of the first 8 games on Wednesday. Peace.
Sticking my neck out..
June 3, 2008 at 4:11 pm | In Football | Leave a CommentEvery two years I make predictions for the World Cup and European Championship and invariably get them wrong. So, in true style, here are the results that will not happen this month:
Group A Switzerland 2:2 Czech; Portugal 3:1 Turkey; Czech 0: 2 Portugal; Switzerland 2:0 Turkey; Switzerland 1:1 Portugal; Turkey 0:3 Czech (Portugal and Switzerland qualify)
Group B Austria 0:2 Croatia; Germany 2:1 Poland; Croatia 0:1 Germany; Austria 1:3 Poland; Poland 1:2 Croatia; Austria 0:3 Germany (Germany and Croatia qualify)
Group C Romania 1:2 France; Holland 1:1 Italy; Italy 2:0 Romania; Holland 1:3 France; Holland 1:2 Romania; France 2:2 Italy (France and Italy qualify)
Group D Spain 3:0 Russia; Greece 1:2 Sweden; Sweden 2:2 Spain; Greece 3:1 Russia; Greece 1:2 Spain; Russia 1:3 Sweden (Spain and Sweden qualify)
Quarter Finals
Portugal 2:0 Croatia
Germany 3:0 Switzerland
France 3:1 Sweden
Spain 1:2 Italy
Semi Finals
Portugal 1:2 Germany
France 2:1 Italy
Final
Germany 1:3 France
and for the record, I shall be supporting Romania this time round, though probably not for long. A fun game you can play is “guess how long in the first game someone says ‘If only England were here’”. My guess is five minutes.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
