foxile5

Like I say - right on the cusp of ridiculous.

Sped up version of Greensleeves with a jazzy drum track.

It's right on the verge of ridiculous, isn't it? Right on the cusp of cultural, too. I hope that each team has their own barely acceptable goal music.

Yeah - there's something cool about a green kit, isn't there? I yearn for the days before neon pink and purple style keeper kits, though.

He has 2 first names instead of a first name/surname set up. That's always thrilling.

Whilst the football is pretty missable the shirt colours on display are pure World Cup. The fever is setting in, boys.

Well played by Guitierrez (sp). Great move across the man to draw the foul and get him off. He was getting closed down and the chance wasn't a definite goal. Easy to beat ten men with a goal advantage.

Rumour has it they're drawing a raffle to see who gets to go to America and who is banished to the gulag.

It's sort've a shame that the spider shadow from '86 isn't on the pitch. Strange how the shadow of a camera array can be iconic.

Five minutes is generous. For balance - I wouldn't want to host a tournament of another sport and Anglify it in any way. Let's say, for arguments sake, we had the Superbowl at Wembley. I'd be ashamed if they were putting on afternoon tea as a spectacle or something weirdly English. I'm just one for certain traditions and that flies in the face of American exceptionalism and consumerist methods.

To quote Dylan - it doesn't talk, it swears.

The water break needs to be addressed. It's 22 degrees. We play in England hotter than that. Silly music and adverts have been shoehorned in to appease the Americans and it will disrupt the flow of the game, largely. It's easy to get all foamy mouthed about developments in football but this one is particularly galling. There really isn't a need for it and it's a little crack at the soul of the game, in my opinion. Crass, unnecessary, and done to appease a traditionally uninterested audience. Oh, and to line pockets, of course.

You've hit the nail on the head here. They'll be looking at 34 and beyond to really embed football in the monied states. The Americas have had their turn. It's the same reason we've had the weird every country Euros that we had a final for. Stops us demanding a tournament and lets UEFA plot a highest bidder package again.

The bit that I find so painfully hilarious is that they selected him to follow Sepp Blatter. I thought it impossible to get someone quite so embarrassingly transparent in their greed and infatuation with fame but they did! Honestly, what a ****ing shout.

The drinks delay is purely because that's what Americans want. A game of four quarters. Be interested to know if that tallies up with planned advertisements in American coverage. I bet it does.

From a standing start I wasn't slow at all. Put a ball at my feet or in front of me and I'm terrible at moving. Being quick and being quick with the ball are two very different things. I bet Daka would be great in a sprint.

He's an elite athlete. If you think he can't skull six tins of half premium lager over a two hour period then, brother, you're probably right.

Chat pod, get cast.

I like to gamble. I enjoy it. I lose money but not more than I can afford. With that in mind I say this - the football community should be ashamed over how it promotes gambling. It drives poverty and ruins lives. Once is too many. It's an horrific vice to those that get it bad and I feel a personal shame about the way we've crawled into bed with seedy bookies. I've not bought a shirt since we started that practice and won't until we stop. It's enough that it's available and so be it. But to promote it like it's a lifestyle choice. Horrid. Some people can't help themselves.

Why is there a shroud of uncertainty over the reporting of this? Can we get a link to the interview?

I'd be tempted to make this a little bit more difficult and opt for country of birth rather than international caps. Elliot, Morgan, Izzet, and Vardy all in the same team on the basis of lineage is great but being forced to pick between them would make it a bit spicier.

Ugh. I mean, a manager's efficiency is easily judged isn't it? Look at his last two tenures.

Yep. We've gatekept tickets from a while generation who will be getting them whilst they can.

Not really news but I thought one or two might like to revel in the fact that both Daka and Ayew are now firmly in the ex-players category. And Soumare.

And let the 5g turn me insane? Yeah, fat chance.