No Weak Teams Anymore

[ProfessorFart]

A well known manager (it could have been Keegan but I can't recall) once said that 'there are no easy games anymore in international football' a few years ago.

I was just downstairs having a smoke and chewing the fat with the university drivers who were full of praise for England. At first I was agog and couldn't believe that they had been watching the same game as me. One guy then said that nearly every team in the World Cup Finals has at least 4 players who play in the top European leagues and rolled off the Trinidad and Tobago players who paly or have played in the Premiership and he has a very good point!

There are no really weak sides in this World Cup. There have been sides who have played beneath expectations and have been battered for it eg USA, Japan and Ukraine but as for truly weak sides as we used to see in the past in Finals........?

Remeber some of the whipping boys in the past and compare them to the so called whipping boys in this World Cup.

The rest of the World are catching up. I think this WC has been a good indicator of that.

I must admit it made a nice change to talk football with the drivers as usually on a Friday I usually get grilled as to where I'm going this weekend and is there a woman involved etc. Why do Thai men have a one track mind!!?? but thats besides the point.

[OneeyedJohn]

Thats fair comment. My memory goes back to 66 when England, if they played anyone of a lesser status then say Portugal, then it was a foregone result.

Don't know who can claim that quote Prof, but this one from Brian Clough always comes to mind when present day commentators debate the offside and whether the player was 'active' or involved in the play. Well The Boss would say-----

-- What the <deleted> is he doing on the field if he's not involved in the play?

BTW his yardstick for measuring a players worth was always to see what their first touch was like..

Check it out next time u watch some footie

[Neeranam]

I remember a Scot saying that after Zaire and Iran did very well against us.