Conference trucks::football;1

Doubtless Venables, Kelly and Co have been studying the rules for what 
happens to the runners-up, as England must be hot favourites for 2nd place. 
Although they do have the tendency to occasionally play well against the 
better teams, it's hard to imagine us beating Italy.

It's also hard to see a shock-outsider coming from this group - though 
maybe Poland think they've done us too many favours over the past few 
years.

grahame

    I tend to agree with commentaries that I heard last night.  This is the
    toughest group due to the fact that Poland will have an effect on the
    outcome for Italy and England.  Early prediction is that whoever comes
    in 2nd is going to end up playing in the 2nd elimination process.
    
    Italians are not too thrilled playing in this group.
    
    Carlos

(It is Moldova is it? My paper says Moldawien - how many places are there?!!)

1996

 1 Sep	Moldova - ENGLAND

 5 Oct	Moldova - Italy

 9 Oct	Italy - Georgia
	ENGLAND - Poland

 9 Nov	Georgia - ENGLAND

10 Nov	Poland - Moldova

12 Feb	ENGLAND - Italy

29 Mar	Italy - Moldova

 2 Apr	Poland - Italy

30 Apr	ENGLAND - Georgia
	Italy - Poland

31 May	Poland - ENGLAND

 7 Jun	Georgia - Moldova

14 Jun	Poland - Georgia

10 Sep	ENGLAND - Moldova
	Georgia - Italy

24 Sep	Moldova - Georgia

 7 Oct	Moldova - Poland

 7 Nov	Italy - ENGLAND
	Georgia - Poland

	Moldova 0 England 3 (Barmby, Gascoigne, Shearer)

I've just seen the result and the team - couple of changes from El Tel's 
finest (Barmby, Hinchcliffe - who?). Anyone see the game?

grahame

    
    re: Hinchcliffe
    
    Good crosser of the ball, very good at free kicks, but plays for
    Everton.
    
    Saw the 1st half it was pretty feeble. Every time England attacked they
    looked like scoring. Looked like they didn't have to try too hard.
    
    Neil

    The Italian teletext service seemed reasonably impressed by England's
    performance, Grahame. However, I'm (unreliably!) informed by one of my
    colleagues that Moldova had two stone-wall penalties turned down ;-)
    
    Dom

    England team :
    
    			Seaman
    		Southgate Pallister Pearce
    G.Neville				     Hinchcliffe
    		Beckham   Ince      FatBoy
    		      Barmby Shearer
    
    Crap game, good result.   

Maldova where awarded a penalty near the end of the game for a handball in 
the box which looked totally accidental to me. The defender (who?) stuck his 
foot out got the ball which flew up and hit the hand. 

The penalty was then struck against the cross bar near the right hand upright 
and was cleared by England. 

I liked te comment on radio 5 this morning; "They think it's Maldova, it is 
now!"

Rgds, Steve.

The England squad has been announced for the Italy game.  There are recalls 
for Flowers, LeSaux and Lee.

The squad is:

Seaman (Arsenal), Walker (Tottenham), James (Liverpool), Flowers 
(Blackburn), Southgate (Aston Villa), Matteo (Liverpool), Pearce (Nottm 
Forest), Le Saux (Blackburn), G Neville (Man Utd), Adams (Arsenal), 
Campbell (Tottenham), Ince (Inter Milan), Gascoigne (Rangers), Beckham (Man 
Utd), McManaman (Liverpool), Batty (Newcastle), Lee (Newcastle), Merson 
(Arsenal), Barmby (Everton), Wright (Arsenal), Ferdinand (Newcastle), Le 
Tissier (Southampton), Shearer (Newcastle), Fowler (Liverpool).

Do we really need 4 keepers ?

Other than in the goal.



8-|

Mad

>Do we really need 4 keepers ?

    That's what struck me...I should have thought that 3 were ample, and he
    could probably get away with 2. 
    
    A few uninformed ex-pat questions:
    
    - Is David Platt injured or simply out-of-favour at the moment?
    - Ditto Rob Jones.
    - Is Matteo of Liverpool really international quality? Whenever I get
      to see highlights of Liverpool matches on the box, he never even 
      seems to be in the starting lineup, and Liverpool's defence certainly
      seems to be their weakest department anyway.
    
    	Dom

    Hoddle is confused - someone crossed out the Di-
    
    Four goalies is so that the junior selections get plenty of "big match
    atmosphere" (i.e. buying the drinks for Gazza & Co.) by being in on the
    squad sessions.
    
    Cheers,
    Colin

    >Is David Platt injured or simply out-of-favour at the moment?

    Both.... He's not playing particularly well for Arsenal and he's out
    injured with a thigh strain. 
    
    Cheers,
    
    	Rick.

    DEC are having a `Valentines' do at RG1's on Wednesday 12th Feb. Now
    I'm a man who likes to catch the females when they're drunk given the
    opportunity and this is one such occasion.
    
    However, with the game not finishing until 9:50pm and the last entrance
    being 10pm, I'm in a quandry. Especially if England win, which will
    mean an obligatory hour of `Footballs coming home' on top of tables.
    
    So a tip for all you desperate men out there. Get to the party between
    8pm and 9:50pm and enjoy a women-to-men ratio of 8to1.
    
    And the one will odds-on be a shirt-lifter.
    
    Tony
    
    

    
    Re-1
    
    After spending two months here at Dec Park I have come to this
    conclusion...
    
    5 out of the 8 are going to be pig ugly
    1 out of the 8 will only look ok after 10 pints
    1 out of the 8 will only look good from a distance.... 5 miles
    1 out of eight will be a absolute stunner and is proberbly gay..
    
    Stick to the footy on the 12th...They'll be plenty of action in the
    box..it'll last longer than 2 minutes plus if you do fall asleep
    afterwards they'll be know one moaning at you....
    
    Pj 

    I'll come back to this when I've woke up a bit..
    
    Tony

Last entry to Rg1's is going to be put back to 10:30.  A mail will be sent 
shortly.

    Was that on your demand then Loz?
    
    
    
    			Stretch.

    This match is getting the most *incredible* publicity in Italy. I don't
    recall anything remotely like it, not even before the '94 World Cup
    final against Brazil. 
    
    TMC1 and TMC2 will both be showing the match live, but the link up will
    start at 6pm so that they can show the U21 match live as well. Every
    channel seems to be choc-a-bloc full of England-Italy specials, with
    panels of experts (and not-so-experts) discussing the match. Regular
    interviews with the likes of Platt, Brian Glanville, Giancarlo
    Galavotti of the Gazzetta dello Sport (spit!), Zola, Ravanelli, et al. 
    
    General impressions: it's a pity the Italian media aren't managing the
    team because the comments are the same ones we've been hearing for
    years..."England play long high balls up to Shearer and Ferninand and
    hope they get the breaks...the midfield are all hard runners but
    there's no one who can put his foot on the ball", etc. Obviously, the
    only videos available of England performances date back to the likes of
    Mariner, Withe and Hateley ;-)
    
    Unfortunately, Cesare Maldini is somehat better informed than the
    press/general public and was waxing lyrical yesterday about a team that
    can afford to keep Beckham, Le Tissier, Wright and Fowler on the bench
    (especially when Anderton and Redknapp are still getting back to form
    after injury). Zola and co. are also advocating caution.
    
    Italy will probably play with five defenders, though it remains to be
    seen whether the sweeper will be Panucci, Costacurta or Maldini Jnr.
    Most likely lineup:
    
    Peruzzi: Benarrivo, Panucci, Ferrara, Costacurta, Maldini; Di Matteo,
    Baggio (D), Albertini; Casiraghi, Zola.
    
    Dom

    Text states that Panucci will be man-marking Shearer. Poor bloke.
    
    Tony
    

Who ?

Shearer or Panucci

Mad

    My sympathies are extended to Panucci who will be shown up to be the
    poncy little tart that he most surely is.
    
    Tony
    

Dom,

I won't be able to see this live - do you know if RAI-1 or 5 will show any 
highlights? 

grahame

>I won't be able to see this live - do you know if RAI-1 or 5 will show any 
>highlights? 
    
    You'll probably get fairly brief highlights on their news buletins,
    Grahame. But bear in mind that TMC is not state (RAI) TV, nor is it
    part of Berlusconi's Mediaset group. So don't expect them to do either
    RAI or Berlusconi any favours.
    
    Actually, I was a bit surprise that the fact that TMC got exclusive
    rights to screen the game didn't cause more of an uproar. As far as I'm
    aware, TMC (TeleMonteCarlo) simply does not reach the whole of Italy,
    so large chunks of the population won't be able to see the game. I
    recall 2/3 years back when Berlusconi wanted to screen a crypted version
    of an international match (ironically, it was Italy v Scotland), he was
    "persuaded" at the last moment to show the match in non-crypted format.
    
    On a totally different note, what can you guys tell me about Lanfranco
    Dettari, the Italian jockey? He was interviewed about the game on
    Italian TV last night, and had a witty exchange with David Platt
    (apparently Platt owns a couple of horses in Dettari's stable). Anyway,
    what struck me about Dettari (apart from the fact that he seems a nice
    sort of bloke) was the fact that he appeared to speak Italian with a
    distinctly English accent (rather like my good self, so I'm told). But
    his English when speaking to Platt was rather iffy; in fact, Platt's
    Italian is definitely superior. How long has he been in the UK?
    
    Dom

    Dettori is the worlds numero uno Flat jockey at present. He has swept
    the board in the all the major races over the last few years and
    created history when winning all seven races at Ascot earlier this
    week.
    
    He is very flambouyant and leaps off winning horses etc when
    celebrating. He came third in the `Sports Personality' award this year,
    the first time a jockey has made the frame. He can actually feel a bit
    agreived by this placing as above him were Damon Hill & Steve Redgrave.
    Using the word `personality' in the same sentence as those guys should
    be a criminal offence.
    
    Oh yeh, and he's a coke-head. Sorry, a reformed coke-head.
    
    Tony
    

    
    Ok then ...lets get ready to Rummmbbbblllleeeeeeee.
    
    The biggest came for England since Euro 96 plus the fact that we hav'nt
    beaten the Italians in some 20 years... what are your hopes, dreams,
    Will it be a Winsday for Glenn ??? 
    
    We've started on the right footing by making the Italians circle
    Hounslow,Hayes etc for an hour before letting them in the country ;-)
    
    Lets hope that Zola and Co are beaten in a good exciting game with
    plenty of goalmouth action.
    
    Pj  

    
    Despite all the chat from Maldini (snr) and Hoddle I expect this to
    be a defensive game. I hope it's not, but 0-0 looks favourite to me.
    
    Richard.

     
    
    
    
    
                  C'mon the Tallies.

    As I shall be stuck in Munich can anyone tell me if the game will be
    televised in Germany ?
    
    Cheers,
    Colin

    Bladdy 'ell George, you woz only sposed to blow the bladdy doors off!
    
    There are a quarter of a million Italians in this country, and they'll
    be made to suffer.
    
    Tony (I'll be there in my old-shape mini)

�                      <<< Note 525.71 by CHEFS::WRAITHC >>>
�                             -< A German View ?? >-
�
�    As I shall be stuck in Munich can anyone tell me if the game will be
�    televised in Germany ?
�    
�    Cheers,
�    Colin

    The game will be shown on WDR (in Munich this TV station is only
    available if you have cable TV) at 9 pm. 
    
    markusFCB_

    I've just read a report that Le Tissier will be starting the game
    instead of Ferdinand. Is this the same man who has been dropped by the
    mighty Southampton recently?
    
    Tch, tch
    
    Tony
    

    Well, Glenn Hoddle's probably doing the right thing by keeping them
    guessing. The Italians usually do their homework before a game, and you
    play into their hands if you name the team long before the kickoff. In
    fact, the press here are absolutely flummoxed; every newspaper (and the
    teletext service) has a different take on what will be England's
    starting lineup! 
    
    The only thing they seem to have in common is that they're all sh*tting 
    themselves about Shearer. What's the betting that Les Ferdinand (or 
    A.N. Other) scores a hat-trick in total solitude while the entire 
    defence is bumping in to each other while trying to mark Shearer? ;-)
    The last time I lookeed at Televideo, they'd only included 10 players
    on England's teamsheet (a bit optimistic!), but they had a front two of
    Shearer and Merson.
    
    I can't believe that Le Tiss will play up front; I think it's more 
    likely that (if anything) he'll play instead of Gascoigne, given the 
    fitness doubts about Fat Boy. Pity - I'm sure Gazza would love to put one 
    over on Italy, and he rarely screws up in big matches.
    
    Dom                                       

according to the lunchtime news:

it seems that Le Tissier was told he would play and his brother leaked it to the
press. Now, the FA dont like the fact that their plans have been leaked and
might not put him out there after all.

Ian.

    From the Press Association London...
    
    HODDLE PONDERS LE TISSIER OPTION
    
    Glenn Hoddle kept an air of mystery over his World Cup plans today as
    speculation increased that he was poised to gamble on Matt Le Tissier.
    
    Hoddle was putting his men through their final paces at a behind closed
    doors session at England's Bisham Abbey training headquarters.
    
    He now knows exactly how fit the injured trio of Paul Gascoigne, Paul
    Ince and Tony Adams are, and while the Gascoigne situation is not being
    discussed at all, the hints are that only Ince will play.

    Couldn't find the relevant note so...
    
    Does any know the line-up for the U21 game prior to the biggy?
    
    Tony
    

    According to my Italian newspaper (reliability rating: 4/10), the
    England U21 lineup should be:
    
    Marshall ?
    Rose ?
    Hall ?
    Scimeca ?
    Rufus 
    Carbon ?
    Murray ?
    Hughes ?
    Heskey
    Eadie
    Bowyer
    
    The subs include Carragher and Huckerby.
    
    Anyone like to fill me in on the names marked "?" - I think I know the
    rest.
    
    Dom

    >Bowyer
    
    Well he's out injured according to the Leeds web page...
    
    Cheers,
    
    	Rick.

    Riccardo Scimeca is a centre back who plays for Villa. He has played
    quite a few U21 games now.
    
    Matt Carbon used to be a sort of dreadlocked attacking midfielder
    who played for Lincoln City. I think he played for England schoolboys.
    I think Lincoln sold him to either Derby, or Leicester, or someone like
    that.
                              
    Mike

    Actually come to think of it, Hughes might be another Villa player.
    I think his name's David but I don't know much more about him
    because I am nowt but a fair weather fan. He's probably an
    attacking midfielder. everyone else is these days.
    
    Mike
    

    >Riccardo Scimeca is a centre back who plays for Villa. He has played
    >quite a few U21 games now.
    
    'ello 'ello...sounds dangerously like a double agent to me ;-)
    
    Dom

Andy Marshall is Norwich's reserve goalie.

    
    
        Off IRN. 
    
    
    Picked for the first start in two years and...........
    
         England have lost a vital psychological march on their World Cup 
         rivals Italy.
    
         Coach Glenn Hoddle had hoped to spring a major surprise by playing 
         both Matt Le Tissier and Steve McManaman behind Alan Shearer.
    
         But the Southampton man's let the cat out of the bag by ringing his 
         family with the news.  Brother Karl has now spilled the beans on 
         national radio, leaving Hoddle with a real selection headache.
    
         Does he stick by his original side, or does he now try and win
         back the element of surprise and shake up his side again? 
    
         Hoddle names his side, officially, an hour before the kick off.
    
         Either way, Le Tissier's due to for a real dressing down for his 
         part in the affair.
    

    
    19mins gone.....Zola scored for Italy.  Must be a lot of Italians in
    Ayr tonight...I heard the cheering from here !  Guess they came down
    from Largs !  (local joke).
    
    Trevorio Pounderini

    
    .....and 0-1 to Italy was the way it finished !
    
    I make it that you fell from somewhere around 65 storeys...or should I
    say "CRASHED".
    
    Ha bleedin ha.....cue the excuses...can just hear it now..."Bleedin
    Matthew LeTissier should never have called his bruvver and told him he
    was in the team.........."
    
    Hope you didn't choke on yer chips from Toni's caf on the way home !
    
    See y'all in the morning...
    
    Jock

    
    ...oh...and Tony, forgot to ask,,,how did the chorus of "Footballs
    coming home" go last night ?? ...... just curious chaps  %^))))
    
    'scuse me why I HOWL
    
    Trevor.......Pounder ?  I hardly know 'er !

    
    Not too disimilar to the Italian job Juventus did in Manchester last
    Autumn. This was a game England should really have won but their ideas
    up front were a little lacking. The Italian defence and especially
    sweeper Costacorta (who fills Baresi's boots quite nicely) and
    Carnovaro were outstanding...even if it did take them 15 minutes to get
    over the inital trepidation of a wet and greasy surface.
    
    	I wouldn't point my finger at any of the England players (with the
    possible exception of Cambell and Walker...Pearce wasted good ball) but
    they didn't take the early advantage that was given them before Italy
    scored. Italy were still finding their legs when they scored....and all
    teams know how difficult it is to come back once Italy goes out in front.  
	
    	England were beaten by footballers who take to the game like
    West Indians take to cricket...natural flair....and shouldn't be too
    disappointed by losing to a team that IMHO should have been Euro 96
    winners. The most surprising thing about the game was the cleaniness
    and few offside decisions. The one thing that I would have been
    aggrieved about was some appalling refereeing decisions...a few corners
    should have been awarded...
    
    Yours truthfully ( for Dom who thinks I always slag England ;-) )
    
    	Dezzz.  
                               

    
    		
    A typical international game at the top level - two chances, one for
    each side and the rest is so much tactical manoeuvring. Well taken goal
    from Zola but it was poor defending which allowed him the chance and
    Walker was a tad unlucky that the shot took a deflection. Le Tissier's
    header was an even better chance after the 'keeper made a ridiculous
    charge for the cross - luckily for him, Le Tissier headed it wide.
    
    This is a poor result for England but not a disaster - there is much
    football to be played in this group yet. Italy did not dominate the
    game so much as the game-plan - it was played at their pace and there
    was simply no space in the final third for England to exploit.
    
    
    Jeff
    

    
    
    The only thing that surprised me in this match was Ince not getting
    an early bath. Beaten by a technically superior outfit !!!
    
    well done the Tallies !!

ahem....
    
    BWA-HA-HA!!!!
    
================================================================================
Note 525.32               World Cup Qualifying Group 2                  32 of 91
IRNBRU::61549::Spike "Yes it does, dosen't it?"       8 lines  12-NOV-1996 12:07
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I thought I would put this in here just so that the Howard fellow can't back
out. You know what's he like. He was so full of how bad England where that he
bet me a fiver that Italy will beat England in both games.
                 
So maybe you lads could help me remind him to pay up when the time comes.

Rgds, Steve.


 Good game last night, very enjoyable. I don't think there was much
 between the two sides with each side having good spells. Very
 contrasting styles and the game could have gone either way. The goal I
 blame completely on Walker. He was in a good position when the ball up
 field came to Zola, but then after Zola bad first touch Walker
 retreated 4 of 5 steps back into his goal and gave Zola enough room to
 squeeze the ball in. The slight deflection would not have mattered if
 he stayed out. The only other Italian shot on goal he also looked very
 uncomfortable with and pushed for a corner what should have been an
 easy catch.

 At the other end Italy defended superbly but England did have 12 shoots
 on target and should have made more of them. Gazza was sorely missed.
 That extra bit of creativeness could have unlocked the Italian defence
 and the goals would have come. Oh well there always the return match. 

 Rgds, Steve.

 >>PS I just noticed that Danny is the only Scot to enter a note on last
 >>night game unless I'm mistaken. I guess we will have to wait for the
 >>England game to hear from Craig "Zola" Douglas, and Meat Pounder.

 I was right, Meat Pounder has already been making a mess all other his
 keyboard and Graig "Zola" Douglas was around at my desk as soon as he
 got in this morning, foaming at the mouth and ranting about how England
 where "humped of the park". As the Yanks would say "Get a life". 


    
    Top game it has to be said.  
    
    Thought Albertini was brilliant in midfield and also Ferrara and
    Canovarro as markers controlled the English forwards with ease.  What
    was Hod thinking of with that defence he put on.  I think it was
    obvious how much England really do need Gazza, he might have his
    critics but England really needed someone like him last night.
    
    Italy on the whole deserved a narrow win as England didn't do enough
    throughout the match to deserve any points.  Looks like the Group will
    be decided in Italy and I don't fancy England's chances too much.
    
    Craig.

    >England were beaten by footballers who take to the game like West
    >Indians take to cricket...natural flair....and shouldn't be too
    >disappointed by losing to a team that IMHO should have been Euro 96
    >winners.
    
    Dezzz...puhleeze! You don't really mean to tell me that you think
    there's some sort of link between this team and Sacchi's team at EC96?
    This was "catenaccio puro" from start to finish. Italy didn't "steal" 
    the result (I thought the ref was anything but a homer, but the bad
    decisions were all questionable fouls or corners not awarded....or the
    incredible handball decision against Gary Neville!), although they came
    for a draw and went away with three points. I didn't once see an
    Italian go past an opponent, and I only once saw a perceptive through
    ball (Albertini to Dino Baggio at the beginning of the second half).
    Shots on goal: 2 (both from Zola, including the goal which took a
    double deflection off Campbell). If memory serves, the only England
    player who *didn't* have a goal chance was Neville, although Campbell
    practically cleared off the Italian line at the end! The Italian
    newspapers thrive on awarding marks to the players for their
    performances; well, poor Walker got a unanimous "ingiudicabile", awarded
    to goalkeepers who barely have a save to make.   
    
    >I wouldn't point my finger at any of the England players (with the
    >possible exception of Cambell and Walker...Pearce wasted good ball) but
    >they didn't take the early advantage that was given them before Italy
    >scored...
    
    The only player I thought was not up to scratch was Le Tiss. It probably
    wasn't the right sort of match to play him (although I did enjoy seeing
    him make a monkey of Di Livio in the first minute). I don't quite see
    Hoddle's logic in not playing Ferdinand up front with Shearer; if he
    was hoping that people like Ferrara would be confused by not having
    anyone to mark, then he was wasting his time. Le Saux, Batty, Ince and 
    Beckham were extraordinary, and I wouldn't ever leave any of
    them out of the starting lineup. I thought the 3-man defence was very
    solid too - Italy's attempts at launching a break to relieve the siege
    were snuffed out like a light. No, I think Hoddle has got more good
    players at his disposal now than any previous England manager; if you
    cond�sider that Gazza, Anderton, Adams, Seaman, Fowler, SOuthgate,
    Redknapp, Stone et al were all missing last night for one reason or
    another, then it becomes clear that Hoddle's problem is one of
    abundance.
    
    The mood here is euphoric (beating England at Wembley ranks with
    winning the World Cup for them) BUT I heard an interesting comment from
    one of the top football experts last night: "Great result, but if we're
    going to have to put up with this sort of football for the next 5
    years, I say let's save time and start calling for Maldini's head
    immediately!". Don't get me wrong; Italy showed great organizaton,
    resilience, etc...and as I pointed out with Germany's EC96 win, they
    get these sort of results far too often for the word "luck" to be
    applied. In fact, last night's game was very similar to Italy's game
    against Germany during EC96, where the boot was on the other foot.
    
    Thoroughly pished (one day, one of our Scottish noters will explain
    to me what the hell that word means!)
    
    Dom (Dezzz, I don't think you slag England any more than
                 W.C. Fields used to slag Philadelphia...)
    
    
    P.S. My brother-in-law's gloating phone call at the end of the game broke
    all speed records...I swear that the referee hadn't finished blowing his
    whistle! Needless to say, I let the wife answer it... 
    		

    .95
    
    Dom,   I think Costacurta's ball to Zola for the goal could be classed
    as a `perceptive through-ball', not a `long ball' as the BBC called
    it....
    
    England looked toothless up front, I have to agree about Ferdinand, why
    not play him from the start?...Man of the Match, in my opinion, was
    Maldini by a country mile, pure class....
    
    Ray....

    >Dom,   I think Costacurta's ball to Zola for the goal could be classed
    >as a `perceptive through-ball', not a `long ball' as the BBC called
    >it....
    
    Possibly...but I think it was more Zola's excellent control that
    suddenly transformed it into a goal chance. And if it had been Tony
    Adams or Neil Ruddock, then you and Dezzz would be tripping over each
    other to call it a "honk upfield" ;-)
    
    As for England looking toothless up front, I guess it's fairly normal
    when the opposition get 11 men back behind the ball. England created
    more chances last night than Italy created against Northern Ireland in
    their last match...and the Irish spent 90% of the match camped in their
    own third of the field (and almost stole a goal through Quinn).
    
    MOTM? I thought Maldini had a good first half, but he had his problems
    with Beckham and McManaman in the second half. No, my man of the match
    was Le Saux (by a whisker over Ince). Great tackling, hardly a misplaced 
    pass, a couple of cracking shots, and he also showed the blander than 
    bland trio of Di Matteo, Albertini and Dino Baggio that there's still 
    a place for dribbling in modern football.
    
    Dom

    Enthralling game rather than thrilling. England generally matched Italy
    in the midfield scrap, but lacked the telling ball to the strikers. I
    think Hoddle made one key mistake in selection and that was Le Tiss.
    Skillful as he is, he was half a yard short of international pace last
    night. He was mostly in the right place but couldn't get the time to
    finish. I would have gone for Merson from the start.
    
    The only other possible change would have been a partner for Shearer
    who looked isolated too often.
    
    Maldini did a superb job in keeping Beckham occupied for long periods.
    I firmly believe he should have been in the centre rather than wide. My
    choice? - Given fit players:
    
    				Seaman
    			
    		Southgate	Adams	Wright (Mark)	
      MacMannaman	 Batty		Ince	Le Saux
    			        Beckham
    			Sheringham
    				Shearer
    
    No Gazza! - give Beckham the job! Allowing for last night's problems, I
    would personnaly have Martyn over Walker, James or Flowers, Campbell's
    ok for Adams and Merson for Sheri.
    
    Italy shaded it for me with their organisation and the class of Zola.
    Should be interesting in November if neither team slips up against the
    others.
    
    Paul 

Weeeellllll, here's my 3p worth.


 The game was played at Italy's pace, England should have quickened the pace 
to our speed, I think maybe the gaps may have appeared. From what I can 
remember of the match, England looked their most dangerous in the first 15 
minutes when they were playing at their comfortable speed.
 The Italian defence looked solid and the central defender looked real good. 
what we needed to do was give the ball to Macca more and stretch them wider, 
then rammed it home (!). I agree with prev noter, it was the wrong game to put 
Tiss in for, Ferdy should have been up there hassling the Italians defence.

 Hodd should have bought on Ruddock, kicked Zola into orbit, and then we may 
have stood a better chance.

 Still, that cider in the Firkin was good kit, can't remember a huge amount of 
the second half, and could have drank a swimming pool of water this morning.


 P.s, did anyone see the u-21 game, ridiculous challenges from the Italians, 
Heskey is a MONSTER. Good game though

    Having only just arrived after bopping the night away at the Valentines
    Do, I'm a little hazy.
    
    However, last night was just one of those games. If we'd have shot at
    an open goal a force-field would have probably stopped it.
    
    More later....
    
    Tony

    Not an overly surprising result, as soon as they scored it was obvious
    from our play that was it. England had more of the game, but that
    doesn't mean anything against Italy. They were more than happy to let
    us have the ball because we didn't exactly look threatening with it.
    The only thing I found really surprising was the team selection, having
    Le Big Nose and Mcmanananananananaman meant that we were going to play
    more at their pace than at our 'natural' pace. Hoddle seemed to realise
    this when he threw on Ferdinand, but of course it was too late by then.
    
    Keeper has to be blamed for the goal, that was another surprise, surely
    Flowers is playing better than him at the moment? Well taken though.
    
    Still, very nice goal line clearance by Campbell near the end!
    
    Can anyone honestly see us winning in Italy? I can't, unless we're much
    more attacking than we were last night. 2nd place playoffs here we
    come...
    
    Alen.

    
    Well from my angle (sitting on the sofa with empty cans of beer all
    around) it looked like we just lacked a little experience in unlocking
    a average Italian team.
    
    Ok we lost the spine of our team ie Seaman/Adams/Gazza but there was
    little thought on how we were going to attack them.  If were going to
    play with wing backs then we must use them effectivly. To many times we
    were crossing balls from outside the 18 yrd box and at any level of
    football this is easy to defend against. Another thing that frustrated
    me was that macca kept cutting inside rather than getting to the by line
    and getting in a decent ball. Maldini was forcing Beckham further into
    his own half but noone had the insight to get into the space that was
    left behind him.
    
    I was dissapointed that Shearer was seen to working his butt of on the
    wing when he should be operating in and around the 18 yrd box..we have
    better players than him to be riding tackles in front of the linesman.
    
    Ince I thought was up for the game although I would like to see him
    stay on his feet a tad more, all this diving in has and will get him
    into trouble.
    
    As for the Italian goal.. well we were ball watching we did'nt have the 
    sense to hold a line and step up as the Italian plyed the ball..OK
    Adams gets it wrong and looks a prat standing with his arm in the air
    but he's proberbly the best talking defender we have and ensures that
    the defence operates as a total unit.
    
    I don't feel Walker has the talant for international football he
    does'nt have the presence demanded to control the 18 yrd box and was at
    fault at the goal. He was also very lucky not to be caught out from a late
    Italian corner. 
    
    I do feel however that we are still in the running, the Italians do not
    travel well and I believe we can get at least a point in the return
    leg.
    
    Frank Carson News at Ten.
                           

    
    re - a zillion,
    
    	Steve....Mr Meat Pounder has many contacts still in Ayr...so be
    carefull of you comments...it may be YOUR desk that has a mess on it
    later !!  Having said that, they would first need to clean off the
    tears, snot and bullshit stains that you have already dripped all the
    surface.
    
    Luv & kisses (Glasgow variety of course)
    Meat

Good Morning Meat ;-)

How's the hangover?

Rgds, Steve.

    The thing is with the sweaties is that they get more enjoyment out of
    England losing against Tanzania at tiddly-winks than they would if
    Scotland won the World Cup 8-0 against Brazil.
    
    It's like, if your next door neighbour had a soft-top �50k
    fanny-magnet. He would rejoice if he wrapped it round an oak tree. Same
    kind of mentality
    
    Tony
    

Ref Prev +

 This brings back a moment in Euro'96 during the Engerlund (It's coming home)V Holland game, me 
sat smirking with my Scottish Father in law, watching the result unfold with Soctland's game on 
Teletext. At 4-0 to EEEEENNNNNNGGGGUUUURRRRRRLLLLAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDDD, I 
mentioned that Scotland were in with a chance.

 When the Dutch scored and put out the scots, My F-I-L screamed the loudest, 'whey-hey, they've 
got you on the run now............' he screamed


Strange Race...........................




Mad

    
    Maybe the drunken Liverpool supporting tosser who sat next to me
    clouded my judgement but I thought this was a poor game. Italy
    won without playing well and and England were worse. 
    
    I think Hoddle made a mistake in picking Le Tissier. Why pick a
    mostly untried and unsuccessful player for your most important match
    in the whole world cup qualifying campaign? I believe he should
    have started with Ferdinand but as others have already remarked 
    England's delivery of balls into the box was poor. Playing Ferdinand
    wouldn't have improved the service. I also don't rate Campbell.
    In fact picking the backbone (Walker and Campbell) of what is a 
    fairly poor Spurs defence makes no sense.
    
    Someone earlier picked out Batty, Ince, Beckham and Le Saux as
    having played well for England. Apart from Le Saux I can't agree.
    As a wing back, Beckham should be skipping down the wing and getting 
    some telling crosses in. Did he do this once? And why does Hoddle
    keep playing him out of position?  Batty and Ince have something to
    offer but do we really  need both of them marking the same bit
    of grass?
    
    For me the biggest problem though was England's lack of creativity and
    inventiveness. We seemed to spend the whole match passing without
    purpose and running with our heads down. Are we really going to have
    to rely on Gazza to get us to France in 1998?
    
    Richard.
    
     
    
    

    re: 105
    
    Tony, yer missing the point. IF the guy with the nice car just drove
    the f***n thing and didn't "come round" every night telling you how
    great the damn things was....then you'd probably NOT be happy if he
    pranged it.
    
    Trouble is.....try keeping him quiet about it  %-)
    
    hth
    Trevor....sweaty in amongst the ham-shanks

    OK, I think I've got it. I admit I `expected' England to beat Italy
    last night. In fact, I expect England to win at Wembley against anyone.
    Or at least not to lose.
    
    But it isn't an English trait, Italy are the same, as are Holland. Now
    I admit it's a long time since the Scottish had the same mentality but
    there was a time (1978) when you boys were going to give the world a
    football lesson. Success breeds expectation.
    
    If you'd have beat Holland 4-1 and had sung along with Skinner &
    Baddiel, you'd have been having �50 bets and offering the bloke you
    were betting with a 2-0 headstart.
    
    It's like any sport. Look at Bruno, he beats a dulally crackhead (just)
    and 50% of the population thought he was gonna beat Tyson.
    
    Tony
    

    
    Chaps....one fact that no-one has commented on so far. BTW, when I say
    "fact" I am referring to a news report....but apparently this is
    the first time ever that Engerlund has been beaten at home in a WC
    qualifier. Quite a blow on top of the normal pain of defeat.
    
    Trevor...dept of useless facts 

    .... or if you switch on the telly and find that the main news headline 
    was that matey next door had just bought a great new car.
    
    ... a bit like the main news on Sky on Tuesday. Main story was 
    
    Engerlunnd's great bid for the 2006 World Cup proudly supported by
    that nice man Mr. Major ( several minutes ) and the class of '66
    
    followed by :
    
    the discovery of a prison officer found dead in his car in a pond ( 1
    minute? ) 
    
    followed by  :
    
    some memorable piece of hype about the Wednesday evening's battle of 
    the century i.e. Guissepi (sp? ) and his mates versus Rodeney and pals.
    ( many minutes )
    
    
    I know, I know ... what do you expect from SKY ... but for f***s sake 
    give us a break... world news??? Parochial, arrogant or what?
    
    Anyway back to fitba' .....
    
    it seems that some of the bids now being prepared for future world cups
    are proposing the event being spread over more than one country. 
    
    We have Japan and Korea and possibly Brazil / Argentina. What does the
    panel think about a "British" bid or ( even a Great Britain and Eire
    bid ? )
    
    D.
      
    
    

    Well for starters I don't think a joint competition by England &
    Germany would work, the Daily Mirror put paid to that last year.
    
    Maybe a joint tournament between England and Scotland. Five grounds
    each maybe. Let's face it Croatia vs Romania wouldn't need anyway
    bigger than the CS Strollers ground.
    
    Tony
    

    That's anywhere not anyway.
    

    
    Personally I'd love to see a joint bid that included Scotland. Lets be
    honest, England could get the decision on their own, Scotland couldn't
    possibly do that now, or ever probably. Granted the games would be
    biased to Glasgow since there are no other big, new stadii elsewhere
    (actually thats bollocks....I'm forgetting Murrayfield !).
    
    Do we really want that though ? For us Jocks isn't the world cup all
    about the qualifying stages since we won't win sh*t at the big party.
    Nail-biting games in Outer-East Bumphuck....a goal scored in 98 mins,
    Arthur sportsjacket having an orgasm at the mike..ah yes, the memories!
    
    Hey..if we did joint host it....we would have our best chance ever of
    reaching the knock-out stages. We could do that....right ?
    
    And hey...why not with England...Jesus if Korea and Japan can do it
    with THEIR history of wars, occupations and the hatred that still
    exists, then why not us too ?  Go for it.
    
    Hate to say it....but Ireland wouldn't be part of it unless a stadium
    is forthcoming that would match the occasion. Love to see it though.
    
    Trevor  

    Nah, the Irish would start picking the ball up with sticks and whacking
    it fifty yards.
    
    Hang on, they do that anyway.
    
    Tony
    

    As regards England/Scotland staging the World Cup, t'would be a great
    thing...but am I the only one who feels a little discomfort that the
    privilege of staging the World Cup/Olympics seems to be restricted to
    an ever-decreasing group of nations? OK, I fully realise that cash comes 
    into it (well, whaddya know?), but I wouldn't mind seeing a joint bid
    by 2 or 3 Eastern block countries. 
    
    Mexico is in no great financial state and they've managed to stage an
    Olympics and 2 (?) World Cups in the last 30 years.
    
    Dom 

    
    Just as a sideline to the England v Italy game - did anyone notice
    what a bunch of managerial failures Sky Tv employed for their expert 
    opinions?
    
    Bryan Robson - bottom of the Premiership with 'Boro
    Ray Wilkins  - relegated from the Premiership with QPR
    Joe Royle    - not exactly setting the Premiership alight
    
    and match analysis by
    
    Trevor Francis - failed manager of Premiership side Sheff Wed and 
                     failing manager of Division 1 side Birmingham
    
    Richard.
    

    
    
    Anyone notice that Bryan Robson was beginning to take on Nigel Mansells
    persona the greater amount of time he spent on air....?/
    
    As for Trevor Francis right expert or what..... NOT...remember this
    bloke bought Paul furlong for �1.5m..tee hheeeee ;-)
    
    Mind you saying that Hoddle payed �2.3m.. 
    
    Pj 

and if Hoddle fails to make it to France, they'll all be touted as "in the 
frame" as a replacement.

g

    
    Re .118
    
    >As for Trevor Francis right expert or what..... NOT...remember this
    >bloke bought Paul furlong for �1.5m..tee hheeeee ;-)
    
    >Mind you saying that Hoddle payed �2.3m.. 
    
    Yeah. And the biggest irony is that he (Hod) is now managing England.
    
    Richard.
    

    A late comment:
    
    I was forced to watch this match on TV in Munich, so the commentary was
    lost to me, and I think this helped me take a more focused look at the
    pattern of the game.
    
    The one clear difference between the teams to me was the attitude of
    the players when the opposition had the ball.
    
    The Italian forward players harried the English defence and midfield
    all night - pushing them into square passes, back passes, and,
    eventually, hopeful balls up the middle from Campbell and Pearce.
    Compare this with the English front players, who seemed happy to
    concede space to the Italian defence (just as they are used to doing
    every week in the Premier League).
    
    The upshot of this pressure was that the English attacks did not build
    smoothly as Hoddle clearly expected, hence the poor ball supply to
    Shearer and Le T - too often they were com,peting for hopeful high
    balls or hoping for defensive slips (when they came, they fell to the
    wrong English players)
    
    Did we see a single clear attacking ball on the floor in or around the
    box from England ? - I can't think of one. The Italian goal, whatever
    you think of Costacurta's intentions, was created by Zola's clear run
    into the box - he was off like a flash the moment the ball was on -
    clearly he expected this sort of "counter punch".
    
    The remedy for England is not who to drop/pick in attacking midfield,
    it's who to get at the back who can PLAY the ball forward on the ground
    with speed and confidence - and we need at least three of them, as
    Le Saux is already capable. The days of the donkeys should be quickly
    and quietly forgotten.
    
    One final comment - does it make any sort of sense to pick a goalkeeper
    who has had so much practice picking the ball out of his net this
    season, and isn't it time the Le Tissier myth was put to rest - he's
    lazy, unfit, and plays in (unpredictable) flashes - hardly the profile
    for the job.
    
    Cheers,
    Colin

    >The Italian forward players harried the English defence and midfield
    >all night - pushing them into square passes, back passes, and,
    <eventually, hopeful balls up the middle from Campbell and Pearce.
    >Compare this with the English front players, who seemed happy to
    >concede space to the Italian defence (just as they are used to doing
    >every week in the Premier League).
    
    I think this was more a question of circumstances than anything else,
    Colin. Italy were on the defensive for an hour, so the only real 
    contribution of Casiraghi and Zola in the second half was to run and 
    harry. In any case, I recall Costacurta and co humping the ball into
    touch on numerous occasions so I don't think it's fair to say that
    Shearer was standing around watching. I don't get to see too much
    Premier League football these days, but forwards conceding space to
    defenders doesn't strike me as a feature of English football...just
    take Peter Beardsley or Mark Hughes, for example;-)
    
    >Did we see a single clear attacking ball on the floor in or around the
    >box from England ? - I can't think of one. The Italian goal, whatever
    
    Not too many, admittedly...but if Italy were playing against Brazil in
    similar circumstances, I'm sure it would have been the same story
    (witness the '94 World CUp Final). There's not really a lot of space
    for wall passes, through balls, clever flicks and the like with 20
    bodies in the penalty area ;-)
    
    >and isn't it time the Le Tissier myth was put to rest - he's
    >lazy, unfit, and plays in (unpredictable) flashes - hardly the profile
    >for the job.
     
    Possibly. By coincidence, Italy have a similar problem with Mancini of
    Sampdoria. He's always played for the same club and his teammates know
    him inside out. Consequentially, he receives the ball when and how he
    wants...and he often looks the business in Serie A, so much so that a
    lot of people are crying out for him to be picked. The downside is that
    every time he plays for the national team, he looks absolutely
    trousers! He's had about 30 caps (the first of which was more than ten
    years ago!) and I only recall him scoring one goal, and he seems to
    have problems shining against the likes of Malta. Each manager of the
    national team experiments with him for 2 or 3 games and then decides
    that he's too difficult to accomodate. I hope this isn't the story with
    Le Tiss, although I can't see him reaching 30-odd caps. Maybe these
    unpredictable players are fine in club football when their teammates can 
    get used to their flashes of brilliance week in week out.
    
    Dom

    Just a quick note re: previous note.
    
    Saying Mancini is unpredictable only at Intl. is bollocks, he 
    is very unpredictable at club level as well.  He is the most
    selfish and childish player (especially when you consider his
    talent, age and experience) that I have ever seen. That is the
    reason why he never gets picked for Italy.  When he is good he 
    is very good but also when he bad he's very bad.  IMO he has only
    ever had say 3 good seasons with Samp, the Championship year, the year
    when he played alongside Gullit and this season when it looks like
    he will be leaving at the summer.  All the rest apart from early samp
    years he has been very erratic, I think it was last season he was
    banned after a temper tantrum on the pitch, leaving a very young side
    to loose that game and the next three he was banned for.
    
    Mat Le Tiss is a very  special player who season after season turns in
    quality performances for a very average side keeping them in the
    Premiership.  His attitude is unquestionable as is his ability.  IMO he
    has not really had to many bad performances for England its just that
    when he's picked he is expected to perform miracles and when he doesn't
    the media crucify him as the scape goat.  For example after the defeat
    against Italy all the papers got stuck into him.  The Italian press
    however who are not biased in any way towards any English player gave 
    him a better score than Shearer for that game.  
    
    Basically England as a team played crap and the next morning it 
    seemed that Le Tiss was singled out.
    
    Anyway back to work, I think I've ranted and raved enough bollocks
    today.
    
    C.
    
    

    >The Italian press however who are not biased in any way towards any 
    >English player gave him a better score than Shearer for that game.    
    
    Moot point, but it was not the case in either of the two newspapers I saw, 
    or in the Televideo ratings if I remember rightly. And I don't think Le
    Tissier was expected to perform miracles, although I personally
    wouldn't have picked him for this match.
    
    Dom
    

Ah but Dom,

You bought your papers in Italy not from the little corner shop in 
a backstreet of Ayr in Scotland like Criag did, so you're view doesn't count!

Rgds, Steve.

PS> Dom, about this rugby sweep you in. This weekend England humped Ireland 
46-6. Ray will give you further details if you need them. Scotland also had 
their best weekend of the championship as well. ;-) 

>PS> Dom, about this rugby sweep you in. This weekend England humped Ireland 
>46-6. Ray will give you further details if you need them. Scotland also had 
>their best weekend of the championship as well. ;-) 
    
    Thanks, Steve. So when did they introduce this new "first team to reach
    forty points  wins" rule? If I'd been informed in advance, I'd have
    refused Scotland in the sweepstake ;-)
                   
    Dom
    
     

good points all round here about LeTiss.

 IMO he is one of the best players in the country; as it has been said, he's kept S'oton up for the 
last couple of seasons ,But I don't think it's been the same this year, GS has bought at least a 
couple of other "quality" players to take the pressure off LeTiss.(Berko & Ostenstad), and he is now 
playing better and better footy.
 The problem is as prev noter said, he gets maybe 2 run-outs for ENGERLUND every 2-3 years, and 
if he doesn't score a goal, he's slated by the press, who have pressured the Manager to pick him 
anyway.If anything, maybe GH will give him 3 or 4 games to prove himself, then make him a reg or 
drop him completely. Let's be serious, the engerlund team carried Barnsey for a few games.

 It's a shame he looks like porky pig when he runs and a horse when he laughs but, hell, you can't 
have everything 8-)

 Is this situation similar to Peter Barnes, who, if I remember correctly, was a good club player, but 
only got a couple of run-outs and didn't do too well.( I may be wrong as I was only ~10 when he 
was playing)

Anyway, I think he's great.

Mad (Le Tissieur)(?)

    Re -1.
    
    Well I think he's a big nosed lazy git! But I'm biased against him!
    
    Alen.

    
    
    Re -1
    
    Only because he's in your fantasy team at work.....
     
    ;-)
    
    Pj

    RE: .125
    
    Miaow Steve. You can't help getting the claws stuck whenever
    you catch a glimpse of one of my notes.
    
    By the way Steve I got my information from the Web where you can get
    extracts of the daily football papers from Italy. Not my local
    packi shop.
    
    C.
    
    

    
    Ooopss someone got in quick I was replying  to note .. 127
    
    Re ..128 slight bias I think due to your liking for Portsmouth..
    
    Pj

    re -1
    
    Correctamondo, it's because he's a big nosed lazy scummer, and because
    he's saved them from going down too often!
    
    Alen.

    
    
                 Geometrical Proof that England will win the next World Cup
    
    1966 England
    
    ..............................1970 Brazil
    
    .................................................................
                 Geometrical Proof that England will win the next World Cup
    
    1966 England
    
    ..................1970 Brazil
    
    .................................1974 Germany
    
    .................................................1978 Argentina
    
    ................................................................1982 Italy
    
    .................................................1986 Argentina.
    
    .................................1990 Germany
    
    ..................1994 Brazil
    
    1998 England?
    
    

    
    re .127
    
    Didn't Peter Barnes once score the winning goal against Scotland? That
    makes him some sort of hero in my book.
    
    j.
    

    >Didn't Peter Barnes once score the winning goal against Scotland? That
    >makes him some sort of hero in my book.
    
    I believe you're right, Jeff. Not that scoring the winner against
    Scotland is worthy of hero status...any more than getting your 11-plus
    or passing your driving test ;-)
    
    Dom

    
    OK...so I'm biting the bait but......what the fuck have the 60 million
    English got to be proud of in terms of their footie record against
    Scotland (population 5 million) ??????
    
    Check the books chaps....the record is nearly even !
    
    Oh....and since another you, yet again, managed to include a note
    reminding us all about the 66 winning team (you'd NEVER have won
    anywhere except Wembley by the way)....just remember the Jocks gave
    that team the biggest footballing lesson EVER in the 67 wembley game.
    So shut the fuck up about yer national team...jesus christ it's only
    a week since the tallies shoved it up yer arse at wemballeeee and you
    are back again telling the world how good you are....you aint gonna win
    the cup, dickhead...coz you need to qualify first...and you won't...
    ....just like the othere barren years in the 70's...or have you also
    forgotten that !
    
    Trevor

    
    rep.133
    
    You've a bigger imagination than Walt Disney mate!!!
    
    Except he spoke from his mouth instead of his arse.
    
    Well said Trevor!
    
    Iain
    
    
    

    >So shut the fuck up about yer national team...jesus christ it's only
    >a week since the tallies shoved it up yer arse at wemballeeee and you
    >are back again telling the world how good you are....you aint gonna win
    
    Touched a nerve, did we Trevor? Thought so!
    
    Far from "telling the world how good we are", what I actually implied in 
    .135 (if it was my note that caused you to lose your rag) was that
    merely beating Scotland is never going to set the world alight. Almost
    the opposite message to the one you seem to have received, but there we
    go...
    
    Oh, and it was all tongue-in-cheek (as I believe was Jeff's note in
    .134), but maybe we'd better leave such delicate subjects alone in
    future and stick to discussing the merits of the 4-4-2 formation or 
    the candidates for the new FIFA presidency ;-)
    
    Dom
    
    P.S. Incidentally, I'd be interested to hear which note(s) in this
    string have caused the offence. Or is "Thou shalt not support England"
    one of the unwritten rules of the FOOTBALL notesfile (shades of EC96)?

Watch the language will you, please. 

And delete the notes with naughty words in.

Do you want this conference closed down ?

    
    re 138
    
    	Wasn't aimed at you Dom....I can take your humour, it's usually
    funny ! 
    
    Language used ?  Your right, it was bad. Apologies....
    
    Trevor

    >Wasn't aimed at you Dom....I can take your humour, it's usually
    >funny ! 
    
    No offence taken...hey, what's with that "usually"? ;-)
    
    I bet you'd take a different line if you knew I had an aunt from
    Estonia...oops!
    
    Dom

Taken from the net...

    BRAZILIAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                               Pinnochio

                                Libero

                    Vimto  Memento  Borneo   Tango

                          Cheerio   Subbuteo

                    Scenario   Fellatio  Portfolio

       SUBS:  Placebo
              Porno
              Polio
              Banjo
              Brasso
              Stereo (L)
              Stereo (R)
              Hydrochlorofluoro (GK)
              Aristotle

     SERBIAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                                 Itch

             Annoyingitch            Hardtoreachitch
                             Scratchtheitch

                     Hic (k)         Sic             Spic
     Pric

                     Digaditch                       Fallinaditch
     Sewastitch

     Subs:
     Mowapitch
     Letsgetrich
     Sh*gabitch

     RUSSIAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                          Whodyanicabolicov

                  Ticlycov    Chesticov     Nasticov

        Slalomsky                                Downhillsky

                 Risky       Swedishshev     Mastershev

                        F**kov         Taykitov

      SUBS:

      Rubitov
      Whisky
      Pastyshev
      Najinsky
      Desert Orchid

     RUMANIAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                        Chatanoogaciouciou

             Atishiou        Blessiou        Thankyiou

     Busqueue                                        Snookercu

              Pennyciou Twoapennyciou Fourapennyciou

                   I'llgetciou Youandwhosarmi

     Subs:

     U
     NonU
     ManU
     Stuffyiou
     Lee Kwan Yu

     DANISH SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                                     Toomanigoalssen

              Tryandstopussen     Crapdefenssen     Haveagossen

           Firstsson                    Seccondsson
     Thirdsson

                   Legshurtssen
     Notroubleseeingussen

                               Wherestheballssen    Getthebeerssen

     SUBS

     Howmanygoalsisthatssen
     Finallygaveupcountinssen
     Hurryupandblowthewhistlessen
     Yourelatedtoalexfergusonssen

     ITALIAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                     Baloni

     potbelli        beerbelli       giveitsumwelli

     wotsontelli     toonsgotkenni   onetoomani

             legslikejelli                havabenni

             wobblijelli     spendapenni

     SUBS

     cantthinkofani!!
     Buggermi

     MEXICAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP '98

                     San Francisco

     Costa Brava     Hopelez         Juan Andonly    Manuel Gearbox

     Don Cryformeargentina   Bodegas         Luis Canon      Sombrero

             Chihuahua       Jose Canyouseebythedawnsearlylight

     Subs:

     Jesus Maria Don Key
     Burrito
     Speedy Gonzalez
     Tequila
     Caramba
     

Excellent.....No english one though




Mad

    just in case anyone missed it....
    
    Italy 3-0 Moldova
    
    Italy go top of the group....

    
    
    Team for tonight looks a tad workman like rather than creative,
    although this info is taken from the paper
    
    Team 
                             Seaman
             G Neville        Adams            Campbell
    
    Beckham       Lee         Ince      Batty        Le Saux
    
                       Sheringham   Shearer
    
    As I said paper talk but Le Tiss might have told his brother again...
    
    Pj 

    
    I;d have thought playing Georgia would drive a workman team, hardly the
    type of team where creativity and nice touches are much good.
    
    Look at that midfield though...Batty, Le Saux and Ince...all
    temperamental dirty hacking "small" gits....this would put fear into
    the bravest hearts....
    
    I'm very surprised Shearer is in from the start given hos recent
    injury. Can he really be match fit ?
    
    Trevor

Ingerlund 2:0 Georgia

Sherringham
SHEARER

 
Ummm, Interesting game, England always looked like they would win eventually, 
but I was worried from the start about Sol Campbell, he looked confused and weak 
with the high ball. I admit he can kick people off the park the same as the next 
guy but, I'm just not sure. Adams and Neville both look solid.

The midfield was packed with Ince,Batty,Lee,Beckham,Le Saux and the georgian 5 
in the middle of the park. Ince,Batty and Lee thunered about harrying and 
chasing, but Beckham didn't produce the goods. If he's in there to replace 
Gascoigne, then he doesn't cut the mustard yet.

Shearer and Sherringham, well 1 a-piece, nuff said.

I think we'll need more invention for the Poland Game......

    
    
    Well judging on what I saw I was right .. workman like but naff all
    creativety...I knew it was going to be a crap match when Alan Green on
    Radio 5 mentioned Batty was the playmaker ???
    
    I can't understand Hoddles reasoning in this game Georgia played only
    with one Striker with another joining on occasions, they pushed their
    midfield into forward positions when the occasion warrented it. However
    England at home played with five at the back, bit of an overkill me
    thinks.
    
    If you considor that we proberbly will finish second and to qualify for
    the next round its your first four results that are taken into
    considoration we needed to hammer this lot.
    
    Me personally I would play 3 at the back with someone like Ince
    protecting them plus he has the capability to move forward into
    attacking positions. 
     
    On the plus side SAS were back in action and have now scored 10 goals
    in 13 games together and we also welcomed back Dave Seaman in goal.
    
    Poland next and with Italy winning 3-0 we need at least a win nothing
    less will do.
    
    Pj  
                                                                       

    
    re. last
    
    >I can't understand Hoddles reasoning in this game Georgia played only
    >with one Striker with another joining on occasions, they pushed their
    >midfield into forward positions when the occasion warrented it. However
    >England at home played with five at the back, bit of an overkill me
    >thinks.
    
    Who were the five at the back then? The "wing-backs" were more "wing"
    than "back", particularly in the first half; Beckham basically played
    in an orthodox right-midfield position.
    
    England certainly lacked creativity; the centre of the pitch was far
    too crowded and no-one looked capable of playing the killer pass. In
    the end, Sheringham dropped deeper to try and provide the service for
    the wide men. Against a better organised defence, we'll struggle to
    score.
    
    Problem is, where are the creative players? Can a combination of
    Beckham, Mcmanaman and Sheringham do the job? How about the following:
    
    
    
    			SEAMAN
    
    
    	SOUTHGATE	ADAMS		CAMPBELL
    
    NEVILLE					LE SAUX
    
    		BECKHAM		INCE
      
    		
    			MCMANAMAN
    
    
    		SHERINGHAM	SHEARER
    
    
    j.
    

ref prev....
a goalscoring combination ?
How about;

			Martyn&Seaman

		Adams		Campbell
		
		Beckham		Ince
			Redknapp

	Wright	Shearer	Sheringham Ferdinand

A great formation, 2 goalies should sort out the shortcomings of the 2 man 
defence.
 Beckham and Ince will play the lobbing the ball forward, then let the people up 
front score all the goals.

Easy ........


Mad

    
    Jeff,
    
    I understand what your saying about the wing backs but the point I was
    trying to make is that Hoddle set his stall out with a five man
    defense. This limits your attacking options coz at top international
    level the oppositions midfield will close down the flanks restricting
    the wing back opportunity to get down the wings. With most
    International teams playing a lone striker and someone coming in from
    deep this means you have 3 defenders picking up one player.
    
    I would like to see Hoddle develope Ince as a type of sweeper who can
    protect the back 3 but as with European clubs can bring the ball out
    of defense and pick out the attacking options. I know SAS scored on
    Wednesday night but for too long Shearer looked to isolated and
    Sheringham was dropping to deep because the right service was not
    forthcoming.
    
    Anyway just my thoughts but my track record in football management
    is'nt too good.... 2 seasons got relegated twice and folded the club...
    
    Sort of Alan Ball type manager me thinks......
    
    Pj