And The Winner Is...

RUSSIA! After a short delay the 22 executives finally reached a decision and the announcement made by Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA.

England's presentation , this morning, was a good one. Built around Eddie Afekafe's story (on the dole, no future, volunteers for Manchester City Youth Project, football changes his life) it featured David Beckham, David Cameron and Prince William.  With a film that showed nations around the world watching English Football the presentation was slick and well presented. It seemed to be well received by all and Sepp Blatter called it remarkable.

Outdoor screens were erected around the country including Birmingham, London and Manchester and crowds gathered to hear the result.  I don't know how it came about but this announcement became "an event".  Was it the hope of a nation or was it the media building it up?

As the announcements began, rumours started circulating that England had been knocked out in the first round of voting. This proved to be true and it means that England will not host the World Cup until at least 2030. 

FIFA have, once again, ruined my football dreams.

Today's The Day!

Today's the day England find out whether their bid to host the 2018 World Cup has been successful.  With the Prime Minister, Prince William and David Beckham amongst the delegation in Zurich trying to sway the votes. A presentation at 10.00 and the winning bid been announced at 15.00 has given the media the chance to report something other than the weather.  From what I can gather it's very close and it's proving to be quite exciting.

The bid seems to have been strong but a Panaroma investigation alleging corruption of certain FIFA Officials and other allegations in the press probably haven't helped the cause.  Something else that wouldn't have helped would have been the scenes of violence during the Carling Cup Quarter Final Match between Birmingham City and Aston Villa last night.  Birmingham won the game 2-1 and face West Ham away in the Semi Final.  After the match a pitch invasion by Blues fans led to flares being fired and seats ripped up as they tried to get to the Villa fans.

I'm not going to talk about the rights and wrongs of football hooliganism but I will say that a lot of these so called hooligans are the same fans that will travel the country week in week out, whatever the weather and whoever their opponent may be. 

The West Midlands derby has always been a passionate affair, on and off the pitch and is often overlooked by the media. The game is usually played on a Sunday lunchtime at the insistence at of the police.  Last night however it was decided that the game would not be moved and the trouble followed. 

The game itself was scrappy albeit played at a fast pace. Blues took the lead thanks to a Seb Larson penalty after Lee Bowyer had been bought down.  Blues scored again  but this was disallowed.  Villa then went up the pitch and scored, although this should also have been disallowed for offside.  With extra time and penalties looming Zigic managed to put the ball in the back of the net and send Blues through to the next round.

On an evening when the temperature never made it above -2C I thought I was being clever staying at home and watching it on TV. Having seen the match and what followed afterwards I think I made the wrong decision!

The Full Time Result

So, Spain lived up to expectation and lifted The World Cup, beating the Netherlands in the World Cup Final. In a match that couldn't be settled in normal time, an Iniesta goal put Spain ahead with only a couple of minutes left to play in extra time. 

It was the right result in a game that saw 14 yellow cards and the Dutch reduced to 10 men.  It wasn't a pretty affair but as the second half drew to a close and extra time came in to play, you can't say it wasn't exciting!

The World Cup 2010 has been a mixed bag.  There have been some good games and plenty of drama on and off the pitch. There has been some terrible decisions by the officials and England's disallowed goal prompted me to email Fifa demanding a review of goal line technology.  They never replied but at least they have now said they will look at it again.

There has been controversy with the ball, goalkeepers saying it was unpredictable, ground staff not being paid resulting in a walk out and demonstrations and team hotels and journalists being robbed.  There were even court cases.  The England fan who managed to evade security and get into the England Dressing Room and some Dutch girls who were taken to court because they were promoting a beer that was not officially approved by Fifa.

Then there were the Vuvuzelas.  A plastic trumpet that the South Africans blew throughout most of the games.  At first I didn't mind them as I thought they sounded good in South Africa's opening match but as the tournament went on they became annoying as it killed the atmosphere of the other matches.  Fan's chants were drowned out by the sound. I suppose one saving grace was that a lot of the matches were not sold out and so it cut down on the amount of Vuvuzelas.

On the pitch, the French camp were in disarray and the team never made it past the group stages. Nor did the Italians.  England scraped through finishing second in the group behind the USA, only to be humiliated by Germany, losing 4-1 in the first game of the knock out stages. 

So, a mixed tournament in all.  Spain can now join the other 7 nations who have won the World Cup since 1930 and the TV schedules can return to normal.

Catching Up

Over the years I've lost count how many times I've climbed the Malvern Hills.  I'd also forgotten how steep some of the inclines are!  Although saying that, on Saturday,I found myself on a route I'd not taken before.  The first part of it must've been at least at a 45 degree angle!
Clare and I decided we were going to climb to the top of Worcestershire Beacon. At 425 metres it is the biggest of the hills.  It was a very warm day which made the climb that little bit more difficult.  It's always worth it though.  From the top you can look across seven counties and the breeze from the west went someway to cooling us down. 

After a rest, we descended via a more direct route. Back in town we headed straight for a cafe for a sandwich and a cold drink.  It was lovely.  Sitting outside watching the world go by.  We then browsed the antique and book shops.  Malvern isn't a big place so doesn't take too long to get round so, after a while, we headed for the train station.

Great Malvern is a lovely station and we sat and had another drink at a little cafe on the platform.  Our train home was waiting for us and with the driver sitting at the next table, having a couple of tea, there was no danger of missing it!

Once back I managed to catch some of the Spain versus Paraguay match.  Blimey, talk about an incident packed second half!  The biggest surprise though was when I saw the Germany 4  Argentina 0 scoreline.   Now I wouldn't have predicted that!

England's cricket team couldn't manage to finish the series on a high, losing to Australia in the final One Day International.  At least we still won the series 3-2.

England 1 Slovenia 0

So, England upped their game yesterday and managed to make it through to the next round.  They played well, especially in the first half and at times, looked like a World Class team.  It still worries me that we only managed the one goal (Defoe 23mins) and that we never topped what was a relatively easy group. 

What I did enjoy about yesterday was the vibe.  From lunchtime onwards, there were people on the street.  Walking to the pub or popping to the shops to stock up on supplies.  Others on their way home from work early.  You could feel the excitement in the air, or should that be tension?  The weather was great.  The sun was shining which added an extra element to things.  I think the time of day helped as well.  There were the lucky ones who were not at work, others leaving early or just skiving off. Some were stuck in their offices with it on the radio (Clare) or were watching it on their PC.  It all added to the sense of occasion.

So Germany in the next round.  Tough game.  If we manage to beat them then our next game would more than likely be Argentina.  We don't make it easy for ourselves!

With all the drama of the World Cup I have neglected other things.  Yesterday was National Cricket Day.  When the stars and coaches go into schools and organise competitions to help develop children's education through cricket. I'm not entirely sure how that works but it has been going since 2005 and so must have some benefits. 

Today, England take on Australia in the second One Day International. On Tuesday, a great display by Eoin Morgan helped England to victory, winning by 4 wickets.

Finally, there have been stories in the news lately about foxes attacking people. There has even been talk of a cull! Yesterday I was lucky to find one asleep in my garden.  He's welcome back any time!

Ups and Downs

A poor performance by England on Friday night. I was dubious as to whether we'd do well but thought we could have at least managed a 1-0 win. 0-0 against Algeria is not a good result and leaves us needing a win against Slovenia to qualify. Even if we do, I don't fancy our chances in the next round!

After the football it was time to turn over for Big Brother. The first eviction! 3 up for it, Rachel, Shabby and Sunshine. Despite the crowd chanting "Get Sunshine Out" it was Rachel who was evicted. I can't say I was expecting that!

Saturday meant a trip to Shropshire with friends. The day started well with a veggie breakfast at Morrison's. We picked up some food for the picnic and headed back to meet the others. Then it was off to Haughmond Woods just outside of Shrewsbury. I'd not been there before. There are some amazing views from the top of the hill. There is also a viewing platform overlooking a working quarry. Having walked around the woods for a few hours we drove to Monkmoor Fishery for a picnic beside the River Severn. Again some great views. We found a great spot on the curve of the river.  It was a lovely way to spend a few hours on a sunny Saturday afternoon and I am sure we will do it again before the summer is over.

Driving home we saw this. I'm sure I must have seen this before but I can't remember. I still found it very impressive! I looked it up when I got in. It is called The Lord Hills Column. It is the world's largest Doric column. It is 133ft and 6inches tall (13 feet higher and 2 feet wider than Nelson's Column). It was built between the years of 1814 and 1816.

We got home early evening and watched Sunshine Cleaning. An odd little film but I enjoyed it. Apparently it came out a couple of years ago but have to admit it passed me by. It's about two sisters who start up a crime scene clean up business. It stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin and is worth a look.

After the film I managed to catch the last 30 minutes of Cameroon vs Denmark. It was a shame to see Cameroon go out of the competition having lost 2-1. I hope I'm not writing something similar about England later in the week!

Sunday, and a meal with the family. We drove out to The Falcon in Hatton. The food wasn't cheap and even though I enjoyed mine, a couple of people were not impressed with the standard. It has, however, got the poshest smoking shelter I have been in. Made of perspex and canvas. It has a wide screen TV. Tables and chairs and corner sofas for lounging on. In the corner was a jazz musician playing a saxophone and clarinet. This is where we ate our meal. It's a great idea.

In the evening watched the football, Brazil versus Ivory Coast. Brazil won 3-1. A good game but the referee has some questions to answer. Firstly, Brazil's second goal shouldn't have been allowed due 2 hand ball. Fabiano, the goal scorer, handled it twice. The ref missed it and the goal stood but minutes later the camera focused on the ref asking Fabiano if he had used his hand. Obviously he said no. The second thing was Kaka's sending off. It was an off the ball incident that the ref did not see. Kaka raised an arm to stop Lannoy running into him. Lannoy then hit the ground clutching his face even though Kaka had not made contact with his head. Kaka was shown a second yellow card and was therefore dismissed. It's a shame as ruined a perfectly good game and Kaka will now be suspended despite his innocence

Big Brother, Football and the Grand Union Canal

It's been quiet of late. As the weather was fairly nice, at the weekend we decided to walk the tow path again.  Each time we do, we go a little further. We made it to Knowle. Roughly 7 miles. No kingfishers this time but plenty of herons and some lovely scenery. 

If I'm not walking then I am watching the World Cup.  Slow starter this one.  There haven't been many stand out performances.           Germany's 4-0 win over Australia is the best result so far.  North Korea played well against Brazil, despite them losing 2-1, they can hold their heads up high.  The Dutch also look good but didn't really set the world on fire against Denmark.  I'm hoping that, after today, when everyone has at least one game under their belts, that things will kick into life.

Something else I have been watching is Big Brother.  This is something that, over the years, I have dipped in and out of.  In the ten years it has been going I have watched some series and some have past me by completely.  As this is the last one I thought I'd give it a go. It's been about a week now and it has been quite good so far. Already, the housemates seemed to have ganged up against one particular person (Sunshine) and, there are allegations of bullying! I haven't got a favourite yet but as there is another 3 months to go I'm sure someone will stand out eventually.

England vs USA

Another uninspiring performance from England then.  I had hoped, that despite the last couple of matches, we would have stepped it up a gear when the tournament started.  Sadly, it was not to be. 

Green's mistake will appear on countless footballing gaffe DVDs in the future and I haven't really got much to say about it, except I hope Joe Hart gets a chance against Algeria. 

Heskey's work rate was very good but how he has the nerve to call himself a striker is beyond me. 

Why is Ledley King even in South Africa?  He is already ruled out for the next match! 

Why wasn't Joe Cole playing?

Rooney was very quiet as was Lampard.  A couple of long range efforts between them but nothing to write home about.

On the plus side Gerrard led by example.  Good goal and some great tackles when tracking back. 

Here's hoping for a much improved performance on Friday!

South Africa 2010

It's here!  The World Cup 2010 starts today.  I can't believe how quickly it has come round. 

The opening ceremony starts at 1pm BST and is followed by South Africa vs Mexico and later, Uruguay vs France.  England face USA tomorrow and despite England's unconvincing performances of late I can't wait.

I'm hoping for a good tournament. My social life for the next month or so will revolve around this and any plans I make will only be after I have consulted the fixtures.

I didn't watch The World Cup Concert last night, it just wasn't for me. Alicia Keys, Shakira, Black Eyed Peas are not really my sort of thing but from 1pm today I will be in front of the TV. 

I'm not going to make any predictions as to who will win the tournament.  In all honesty, if it's not England, I don't care but I am looking forward to some great matches and some great football. 

England v Mexico

I'm not going to talk too much about this as there will be plenty of football talk next month when the World Cup starts.  England won 3-1 last night, a good result but for some reason I just wasn't convinced. We didn't dominate and could have gone behind  couple of times in the first 30 minutes. There were some good points, Ledley King's and Glen Johnson's goals. Although King scored with a well placed header, defensively he made some mistakes.

As a Birmingham fan it was good to see Joe Hart get 45 minutes.  He deserved it after the season he had with Blues but I thought Robert Green played very well in the first half and deserves a place in the squad.  I would have liked to have seen Adam Johnson get more of game as I think he could bring something different to the team.

On the strength of the performance last night, I think we will be in for a roller coaster ride come June 12th.