Kazakhstan V England!
Coverage starts at 10:30 Eastern US, kick-off at 11:00, but not on telly. Fire up your browsers and meet me here.
Labels: England, south africa, world cup
posted by gooner71 @ 9:52 AM
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Coverage starts at 10:30 Eastern US, kick-off at 11:00, but not on telly. Fire up your browsers and meet me here.
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Contributors
Previous Posts
- LOB Book Club - Part Trois
- The Post-Mortem
- Costa Rica vs. U.S. Live!
- Late Schedule Change News
- US Squad for Costa Rica on Wednesday
- LOB Book Club - Part Deux
- Movies We're Embarrassed to Admit We Love
- THE CUP FINAL
- They ARE back.
- THE EUROPEAN CUP FINAL... enough said
200 Comments:
Some other tasty matches include the Skandie derby between Denmark and Sweden which takes on more bite than usual because Sweden is so far behind and looks in danger of missing the trip to Africa if they don't take maximum points.
Another good match-up is the Croatia Ukraine tie in our group. A draw would suit me and do neither team any good. I think I'd rather the Croats not win overall.
And I think RVP will be saying "Allah Akhbar" and can begin concentrating on which direction Mecca is from the Pretoria Sheraton if they win today. The Dutch are away to Iceland, and on maximum points in their group with an unassailable lead if they gather up 3 points today.
Looks like Japan have guaranteed their passage today with a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan. Shinzi Ozaki with the goal, in the ninth minute by a player wearing #9.
I found a pretty groovy match tracking widget on the FIFA.com site.
http://www.fifa.com/Live/Competitions/worldcup/preliminaries/matchday=3/index.html
That's how I know that today's ref calling the Kazakhstan vs England game is none other than Kristinn Jakobsson, from Iceland. Is that fair? Those Icelanders are still hopping mad about the Cod Wars of the 70s.
Morning, Gooner. I'm here with bells on, skipping out on a riveting discussion on the Gideon vs. Wainwright case in my conference. I figure I won't be missed for an hour or two.
The England team - Green, Johnson, Terry, Upson, A Cole, Walcott, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, Heskey. Subs: Robinson, Lescott, Bridge, Defoe, Wright-Phillips, Beckham, Crouch.
Happy with the squad? Are you able to get a feed?
I've got a great Setanta stream up through:
http://www.justin.tv/dragongator
Not sure about El Tel's new goatee.
I'm never happy with the England side that Capello picks. I don't think Lamps and Gerrard can play together and the midfield is particularly tight with the added presence of Barry. I'd go Barry and Gerrard at either ends of a diamond. Not keen on Heskey up front. That said, we've got a 100% record in this qualifying campaign, so more of the same please.
He looks a complete chav. I was just thinking of how uncomfortable Fabio looks in his cheap-tat Umbro polo. They can't knock up some decent clobber for the fashionable Don F?
Looks like a decent presence of England fans in Borat-land today.
That's the feed I found too. Hope it sticks.
Yeah, Capello's definitely an Armani guy. He should have a nice sharp Italian suit with perhaps a discreet England emblem on the pocket.
El Tel really is a chav.
Where's Davey - in the pool?
We're desperately short on strikers. I'm sure that if he could get away with it, Fabio would tear a page out of SAF's book and go with 6 midfielders like he did the first season after Ruud.
Wii Darts? What is the world coming to? You can't even work up a sweat doing that.
The problem that I have about Capello is that he essentially runs out the same side (with exceptions for injuries and suspensions) for every match, regardless of the occasion or opponent. So we're likely to have the same side on Wednesday. For someone with a reputation for strategy, that seems a sad comment. Away to Kazakhstan, I'd like to see at least a speedy wide man testing out their fullbacks.
Macca predicts 3-0; El Tel goes 4-0. I reckon given the line-up that it might be tighter, but I expect a win. I'll plump for a 2-1 England result.
The commentator describes the playing surface as "challenging." Not a good sign.
It looks dark in Kazakhstan. What's the bloody time there? I know it's pretty far east, but can it be nightfall already.
Hey, I am here. I have a great link through p2p for Setant
National anthems are being played
Chicago is closer to England than Kaza!!
First time that Capello hasn't picked David James. Good thing he's learned his lesson.
I do think these Cossacks have the ability to frustrate us, so I think your prediction of a tighter scoreline is closer to the mark.
I just called Dad. He's surfing between the Derby and this. I asked him if he'd taken a punt on a horse. No, no, but then he proceeds to tell me all these stats on various nags that are running. If I knew that much, I'd have a pound on a horse and maybe a few more to place, show, etc.
Heh, Neville that nag has a foot problem. Bring out the tent and shoot him.
Welcome, Dave! Great to be able to see this one live, eh?
Here we go with the kickoff....
Come on, England!
It's central Asia mate. Same time zone as Islamabad. Very far away.
Hello ladies... spotters badge for the cameraman.
Jesus, what is Glenn Johnson playing at? Idiot.
Bloody hell - an early scare with John Terry scrambling one off the line after a terrible howler by Johnson.
GORDON BENNETT!!
THEY ALMOST GIVE A GOAL AWAY.
Just like they did against San Marino in a 7-1 win
Man, it really looks worse from that angle. That would look bad in the MLS. Shameful defending from Johnson.
I'm up for putting the Neviller out of his misery.
Better there from Johnson but they've clearly singled him out as a weakness in the side.
What's that German using in his hair--Yak ghee? Honestly, that's disgusting.
Capello's not happy with proceedings so far.
The Kazakhs are full of energy. We need to gather a bit more composure. I agree. They've smelled blood in the water with Johnson.
Just got back from inspecting the new house.
We are very excited
England are making heavy weather of this so far. Bad flight in?
Congrats on that, Davey!
Congratulations Davey. We're very happy for your crew. But keeping with Steve tradition, we'll continue sending mail to your old address!
I've just switched streams in time to see the first yellow card of the evening. Useless free kick after that.
That was not a good header. That was a real chance for Upson. Whatever happened to English defenders who could be counted on at a set-piece?
So the new buyers should be expecting a shipment of Enzyte before long then?
The only central defender who's any good at set pieces is Terry. Rio's never scored many from them.
You may be right about the Lampard Barry Gerrard axis tonight. It's meant that we've hit it long to no-one in particular and lost possession.
The Kazakh fans seem to be howling at England for their possession and slow build up.
That, and a slap-chopper for a housewarming present.
That midfield triad tends to mean that we lose the presence of at least one of them.
The commentators keep complaining about this pitch; they'd have been apoplectic about the Costa Rican pitch the other night!
Thanks for the best wishes gentlemen. Nice of you sending it to the old address... good job!
England hopeless so far!
Barry picks up a silly yellow card that keeps him out of Wednesday's match against Andorra. Shouldn't matter much.
Take that you Cod-hoarding English Bastid!
GORDON BENNETT!!
The guy doesn't know it didn't count!!
Free kick now for Kazakhstan....
The header goes in....! But it's chalked off for offside. And then Cashley goes streaking down the pitch as if he's going to be able to play on. Fairly comical goings-on.
phew
OOOOH, I don't know about that. I think that was good. Alright, in the replay he was offside, but that's too bloody close.
Europe's finest defenders? Have we nationalized Pique and Puyol?
Did you really have to bring up Rome????
Nusarbayev is giving Johnson fits.
If we know the pitch is substandard, why all the back passes for Green to deal with. That's dangerously idiotic.
What on earth is going on here?! England are playing like a pub team.
Ostapenko looks like some of those farmers that would show up at the Speedway on weekends. Terrifying.
Ostapenko looks in trouble. He's gone off for treatment.
First real look for Roon. Always going over though.
No rhythm whatsoever from the England boys as yet. I'd like to see a sustained period of possession to allow them to get started.
That was a bit better. Some decent movement from Theo and Cashley on the flanks, but it came to nothing.
Kazakhstan make the change.
Don't mind seeing the back of that Ostapenko guy. Our back four were playing as if he was invisible.
Well, I'm already thinking of how to fix this. I don't think this line-up can support Theo so that he can do what he needs to, and Heskey's not even getting a chance to hold the ball up front. Keep Lampard, get rid of Gerrard? Other way around? Move Roon further up to support Heskey?
The announcer on the tannoy really does sound like Borat. I kept waiting for him to say, "High fiiive....!"
ooh, Heskey hits the post.
First chance
Yeah, I agree - Gerrard's been the anonymous one. As I type that, though, Stevie plays Heskey through and his shot is tipped onto the post. First real chance.
And from the resulting corner, England claim a foul against Upson.
That's much better. Heskey pouncing on the clearance and clever interplay leaves him clear to fire one off the post.
A bit of holding there from the corner but nothing you don't see go unpunished every flipping week
England are playing just as bad as their cricketers. They lost to HOLLAND in the Twenty20 World Cup
If they lose to Pakistan tomorrow their out of their own tourney
Half an hour in, I'm sticking with my prediction before the match of a 2-1. But we need to get better soon.
That's appalling. I didn't even know that the Dutch play any cricket.
Your prediction had Kaza scoring??
I guess you know your stuff
Sit down, Goldenballs. The last thing we need is another midfielder bottling things up even more.
Is this Peter Drury? He's horribly patronizing and a much deeper insult than Borat ever was to the Kazakh nation.
No crystal ball, I just always think that England defenders get a bit nervy when they travel distances and there's always potential for letting one in. I agree with you - that offside goal was mighty tight.
You don't know about the Dutch playing cricket? You must not have finished "Netherland"
I hope these guys are right about their play dropping in the second half. 1-0 up and lose 5-1. Hope it happens today as well.
I don't know why Drury keeps banging on about the Kazakhs fading. Does that mean we have to wait for the 75th minute mark for England to start playing?
I bagged out after the first hundred pages or so. I couldn't see the point.
It never ceases to amaze me when I see a footballer hopping away for treatment. These guys are pound for pound a more valuable commodity than a racehorse and you make them struggle off for treatment? Get him a stretcher, STAT!
Page 502. "The Dutch play very passable cricket."
Lamps lofts a decent corner to Terry who heads straight at the keeper.
Apparently, if they beat England at their own game.
We have to hope that the Kazakhs do fade. Looking at the way this 11 have played this half, you wouldn't bet against that being part of the strategy Don Fabio set out today.
Korea and Iran just drew 0-0
Great game FSC!!
YES!!!
Gareth Barry with the header
ABOUT TIME
That was very tidy. Great pass from Rooney.
Wahey! No one marking Barry and he heads it in.
0-1 to the Ing-ur-land!!!!
Decent move there through Roon earns England another corner. One of these needs to go in!
And there it is! Barry with a header in at the back post from a good delivery. Simple goal.
1-0 England!
Great time to score. That should see the three points safely in the bag. 18 out of 18 points. Can't argue with that record really.
Theo offside, but should have been released a fraction earlier than that. He's used to better service from Cesc!
Lost the stream - I've switched over to Atdhe and am looking around for another good one.
I'm getting nothing now - an ideas, chaps?
YESSS! I pulled up the third Atdhe link just in time to see Heskey slot home England's second goal! Fantastic!
What this performance is telling me is that without Rio, England is S-O-L at the back. He brings a composure and organization that the mental midget Terry can't afford to be without.
That was fantastic from Gerrard. What vision! Brilliant of him to see that so quickly and then Heskey had the easiest of touches to complete for England's second.
0-2 and things are looking peachy at the moment.
I'm ok on Justin. Try it again?
Missed the second goal
Bugger
A flattering score
Half-time: 0-2. Peachy indeed. Stevie G. with major roles in both goals. We didn't really start playing for forty minutes but had the quality to hit them hard in the last five or so minutes of the half. Points in the bag.
My link through p2p is still going strong
The interesting thing about this Atdhe link is that it has a ESPN tag on it and it's Adrian Healey doing the commentary. I've just tried to find it on my hotel room telly but of course it's not there. The ads are all American though. Could it be a PPV channel that ESPN does?
Back on the Dragonblades stream. Good stuff. Love the Carlton Palmer ad.
At the half, we're up by 2. That's good.
I would point out that the Kazakhs are 50% of the team they were when Ostapenko and Nusarbeyev were doubling up on Johnson who has not had a good match.
But we've played our way through those yips, Rooney and Gerrard coming alive in the 35th minute to set up the corner we scored from and in the 45th by seeing their keeper stray off his line and punish him so quickly.
I have to hand it to the Don. He set out an 11 to outlast the Kazakhs and punish them when we have had the opportunity to do so. It's worked so far.
Carlton Palmer in the bath is one of the more disturbing commercials ever.
Btw, the missus and I took in "The Hangover" last night. Flippin' hilarious. You'll laugh until your insides hurt.
The England games are real money makers and ones that those Irish gangsters have bought up the US rights to. I think ESPN does show the games eslewhere, but in the US, no way.
"Put some Chris DeBurgh on." Luv it!
But the weird thing about that coverage on ESPN was that it advertised the NBA Finals coverage and had American ads. Canadian feed?
Eric and I will see it tomorrow during the day. I'm off after this to get my new specs made. Can't wait. I had no idea my 'scrip had changed so much.
The NBA does very well all over the world. When I was still going on trips to Africa, India, etc, I'd see at least one urchin every day wearing some NBA branded stuff. Jordan, Olijuwan, Kareem in those days.
Teams back out. SWP is coming on for Theo. That's okay in my book. Theo wasn't get much joy today.
Looks like Wales is 1-0 up away in Baku. Won't matter, but nice for them.
SWP for Walcott. Too bad for Theo, he can't do it all by himself. And he was playing with that muppet Johnson behind him. He must have been thinking that he had to help out and that's just not what he does well.
Crouchie on at some point maybe? Anyone but Becks.
Good idea from Gerrard to pick out Rooney. But by the time that ball landed, there were two Kazakhs and Rooney had it all to do.
Excellent throw in from the Kazakh straight to Heskey who goes streaking down the wing and get a Kazakh to pick up a yellow card for chopping him down.
Free kick to come...
I'd be thinking Defoe more than Crouch. I have a feeling that the Don hasn't given up on him and he might as well give him more chances to fail before he makes the mistake of taking him to S. Africa.
Hello Guys .
CIA here . I've had a good read but haven't joined in yet . I can't get anything on my laptop . Had a text from Mike . He has Setanta so he's watching it .
That makes sense. But what if Jermaine picks up a tap in against these numpties?
Hmmm, not the option I'd have chosen if I were Rooney. Drop it off to a midfielder and reset and continue the pressure.
Afternoon, Tony. Sorry you aren't able to catch the match. Good to have you on board.
Another chance here. Lamps floats in but it comes straight back out.
Do three things at once.
Watching England, blogging with you guys and Skyping Debs!!!
Debs is waving to you as I type
Maybe we should skype during matches and talk to each other!!
Australia are in danger of losing their opening Twenty20 match against the Windies .
They are some tall Cypress's back there. I don't see Jermaine beating their physical approach.
That's a wee bit too much media for me to handle. I prefer the blogging.
Lovely jubbley
Tony, Debs is waiving at you too
I watch England games in the nuddie for luck! I'll turn my camera on for you sweetie!
Gerrard blasts one over the bar there after Lamps had done well to get the ball back.
Why isn't Debs on the LOB then?
I'll take a draw between Croatia and Ukraine, ta very much.
Good question Bob !
Bosh - Heskey throws the elbow into a Kazakh player. That must've smarted.
Hiya Tony. Did Davey ever pass on that message about the boombox that you sold me back in L'heath?
It lasted and lasted and lasted, and finally got boosted out of this ratty apartment that I lived in because my Dad visited and left the back door unlocked. I'll stand you a drink for your service the next time I see you.
Cheers.
Tell Debs she gets a free bag of Cheetos if she signs up.
Easy there, Peter Drury. Your PM is Gordon Brown.
Theo's got his suit back on and looks none too pleased.
Agreed - the Brits are on shaky ground when complaining about democracy, these days.
15 minutes of nuthin' since the restart. More changes, please.
Yeah, we could use some fresh legs. This is the moment when I wouldn't be surprised by a lapse of concentration at the back.
Twenty five minutes to play. And the Kazakh keeper was flapping at the free kick there.
Yup, I'd have either Defoe or Crouch on, and maybe Lescott on for Upson to get him some more minutes. He's promising and I'd want to be sure that he could come in were something to happen to Terry or Rio.
I am still skyping Debs
Where is the Kaza collapse of the second half?
Hello Gooner .
That would have been at the Audio Club . I can't remember whether I was still working for the club or for Panasonic . Glad it worked so well for you . And yes I would love a pint
Johnson hasn't done himself any good at all tonight. He gets punked by the left winger once again.
What's Drury's problem? Now he's having a go at the Kazakh Army.
Johnson with another nervy moment setting Nusarbayev off. Nothing came of it.
Give Ostapenko a crutch! Madness.
Why exactly are we inviting these mugs onto us at this point?
The Windies beat Australia . I wouldn't have put anything on that .
Exactly Tony. It meant a lot to me because I worked at the gas station and saved up for it. A Sharp double cassette desk. Made it 4 years in college, and was going strong when that discerning burglar took off with it.
A pint it is. Promise. Steve
Indeed. If Drury doesn't cut it out he's going to incur the same kind of wrath that Sasha Baron Cohen did. I seem to remember that the Kazakh government took out a full-page ad in the NYTimes in order to dispel the Borat claim that prostitution is the country's primary industry.
Rooooooooooooooon! The Scouse one makes it three after a couple bites at the cherry. Glen Johnson did well there to get to the bye-line and Rooney was persistent enough to bundle it over.
0-3 England!
Yes, three nil
Roon misses the easy one....
All the zip of those 15 minutes before the break has gone.
Damn, Rooney was never going to give that chance up. An admirably determined effort nabs England's third.
0-3 and a much better margin than I thought we'd have at any point in this one.
Thanks Steve .
I guess it was back in the days when I sort of knew what I was talking about . Unlike nowadays ! Must be an age thing .
Bollocks - it's another meaningless cap for Goldenballs.
Yes, Johnson went some distance towards redeeming a poor performance today by treading the line and getting that cross into Rooney. That's a check in the plus column for him for sure.
Becks. Really? Don't see the point in this. Johnson gets a welcome rest. Welcome for England that is.
Drury's good to his word - the Kazakhs do seem to be fading now. We could rack up a decent score here.
Is it a pen?
Penalty to England after Heskey is bundled over not once but twice.
Lampard to take and....0-4!
Lovely jubbly!
Yes, up comes Lamps.. FOUR NIL
Penalty. Heskey brought down.
And Lampard with his signature deadly penalty. 0-4 and this has officially gotten away from the Kazakhs.
And here comes Defoe, just as you ordered, Gooner.
Wish Lamps could take all five pens in a shoot-out next summer. He is good.
Gerrard bursts forward and strikes one well over the bar.
Good night for Ivanhoe. I don't really rate him as a footballer, but I do have to admit that he's a useful striker for England.
Look at how England are playing around the Kazakhs now.
I bet those German training methods that Drury says that the Kazakh FA have rejected and impuined are looking a little better now. They look pretty spent.
Inside the last ten minutes now. Only time for a consolation goal for the Kazakhs now.
I agree with that Bob. He's not a top 20 in the world guy and might not make the 10 ten in the Prem. But he's useful against a big physical defense like these guys.
Tactically, Ivanhoe was the right choice tonight. Don't want to see him line up against the Spanish, or Argies however.
Ole football from England now.
Very niiiiiiice!
Agreed - the problem is that we don't have the options. For a long run there England always had a deadly finisher up front (Greaves, Keegan, Lineker, Shearer, Owen). Not so, now. It'll have to be Roon and a foil.
Sorry I have been in and out!
Some looney on the field. Hope he isn't English
As a supporter lopes onto the pitch, Drury's has another go at the law and order regime in Kazakhstan. The cops bundle him off and Drury may need an escort to get on the plane back home safely.
Spain , Holland and England only
Teams with 100% so far .
Poor showing from you today, Davey. I'll expect better on Wednesday.
Nope, he's a Kazakh and Drury's gloating about the beating he'll likely take off the soldiers that subdued him.
Nice job with the stats, Tony.
Sorry Robert, blame Debs and the new house!!
Isn't Kazakhstan one of the CIA "black sights" where they rendition guys who have the misfortune to have the same name as Osama's gardener?
Excuses, excuses, excuses...
Debbie accepts the blame
I hung up on her
A bit of a tired effort from Rooney. Too straight and didn't make the keeper work at all. Not long to go now.
Into stoppage time now. I'm off to rejoin my conferees. I'll be around for tonight's festivities vs. Honduras. I'll take a 4-0 for the Yanks tonight, no doubt. See you later!
I'll be off in a moment . Nice sharing the afternoon with you guys . Take care everybody . Anyone want to join me at the pub later ? I'll be going in about an hour .
I've got so much footy this weekend.
This match then Tom has a tourney in an hour
Tomorrow, Kathy and I, followed by Matt, then Tom and then Jon
I wouldn't be surprised if that was true. I think it's generally known that Ukraine and Egypt are, but that's news to me.
Take care Tony, hope you enjoyed the pics
Beam me up Tony. A celebratory pint sounds just the thing.
Ta-rah!
I will have to read all the comments that I missed. I was real League 1 and 2 caliber
It's all over
4-0 win
18 out of18
3 out of 4 games left at Wemberlee
My stats only related to Europe .
Bye for now .
Yeah, comfortable. Drury and the boys in the studio weren't thinking that after 15 minutes.
But Ostapenko got nobbled, and from then the steam that the Kazakhs showed burnt off. England then took over and stuck 4 by them pretty easily. I wouldn't say that this result flattered us because Kazakhstan aren't very good tbf. But we'll face a sterner test and I hope the Don has as good a tactical grip on things as he turned out to have had today.
Ta-rah for now lads. Anyone going to be watching the US vs. Honduras tonight. For my sins, I am.
365 comments: "It wasn't entirely convincing, but England beat Kazakhstan 4-0 with a fair degree of ease to record their sixth win in six World Cup qualifying games."
I think that about accurately sums it up. I'll be around at 8:30 tonight to see if the U.S. can match the efforts. We'll need a convincing win to ease the bad taste left over from Wednesday night's debacle.
Some highlights from the other qualifiers today.
We got the result that we wanted between Croatia and Ukraine - 2-2 draw. We're just about there by my reckoning. Surely a win against Andorra on Wednesday, which puts us on 21 points will secure qualification, no?
The Republic have secured a 1-1 draw away to Bulgaria. That doesn't do them much good. Italy are currently 2-0 up over Norn Ireland. Wales have picked up an away win, which doesn't do much.
The most pleasing scoreline is Portugal still struggling to defeat Albania away. It's 1-1 now. I'm going to dip in on that one if I can.
It's into the last ten minutes in Tirana and Portugal are actually on the back foot. Extraordinary! We could easily see a World Cup next summer without the likes of Nani, Deco and of course Cristinao Ronaldo, who does not look best pleased about proceedings right now.
Portugal pushing for a late winner here. The Albanians are trying to waste as much time as possible. About five minutes plus stoppage left. Carlos Quieroz is in a right pickle.
Italy are now 3-0 up and romping it against Norn Ireland. The Dutch are 0-2 up. They're almost there with qualification.
The Albanian keeper is making a valiant effort here. Still 1-1 and nearly into stoppage time now.
The Albanian keeper's down prone now after a minor collision from a corner. It's almost over here in Tirana and the home side will be celebrating a famous 1-1 draw against the flash bastids from Portugal. It means more for the Iberians than for the Albanians tbf.
Well into the fifth minute of stoppage time now. Blow up, ref!
That's it! As I say, it's mostly bragging rights for the woeful Albanians who are on 7 points from 8 matches. But it means that Portugal are under tremendous pressure, on 7 points from 6 matches, a full nine points behind the leaders Denmark and even 6 points behind second place Hungary. I can't see it, really.
The bloke running the Atdhe site I'm on has switched over to Uruguay vs. Brazil. The bossa boys are 0-4 up in the 80the minute. Marvelous coverage we get these days. Marvelous!
Did I miss something?
I see that Portugal scored in the last minute to win
I must have missed that. I thought that the match was over. It looked like the crowd was celebrating and then the feed went over to Brazil vs. Uruguay. Bugger, that's not good. I want a Ronaldo-free World Cup. Even with a win, though, they're on 9 points and will need Hungary and Denmark to drop a lot of points.
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