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World Cup 2022
 

World Cup 2022

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Good Afternoon (in the UK), chaps.

It might sound like I am becoming obsessed with this World Cup in Qatar thing (I don't think I am, but I accept the possibility exists), but I just nipped out in the car and on Radio 4 was a play called "Dear Harry Kane" at 2.15pm. I finished listening to it on the radio when I got home.

It was about an Indian man who leaves home and family to work constructing the stadium(s) in Qatar in the hope of sending money back home and perhaps starting his own construction company back in India with money saved up from his period in the Persian Gulf.  He is a Spurs supporter, watching (with his son) on TV at the local taxi firm where the TV is set up for drivers as they wait for their next fare. Along the way problems occur with being paid late or not at all. It will be paid next week, then next month, then the following month with interest etc.  He wants to return home but can't do that without the passport his employer has "lost". He has to continue working in any event in order to pay off the "agent" to whom he owes lots of money for arranging his job and transport and, if he just left for home after his passport is found/renewed, he'd lose any claim for accrued wages. He is asked to sign a disclaimer for any money due to him if he leaves before the construction is completed and signed off.  Earlier in the play he wrote a letter to Harry Kane (he might have written a series of letters) explaining he is working to build the stadium(s) in Qatar where he hopes Harry will score for England at the World Cup and asks for a signed shirt for his son back in India, who is Kane's No 1 fan.

Needless to say, at the end of the play he dies in his workhut accommodation -  having toiled in the sun over 50C, effectively of dyhydration and heatstroke, just as the building work is approaching its completion.

The last scene is where his wife is writing to Harry Kane to say that on the day she was writing two packages had arrived in the post for her.  One contained, eventually the death certificate from Qatar which showed her 32 year old husband had died of "natural causes" (so I guess no money paid out as a result).  The second package contained a Spurs shirt signed by Kane as requested by her dead husband but which her son was now wearing (and would probably never take off again) as he played football with his friends outside. Thanking Kane for the shirt she said her son had just scored a goal and his smile was so wide that it showed football was, indeed, the "beautiful game".

It seemed so apt to mention it the play here, in light of our discussions above.


   
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@original-fat-bob  and  @Jarkko - Lev Yashin (always dressed in black) was a GREAT goalkeeper and, some would say, (especially if not English* or Danish** supporters) the best of all time.

    *Gordon Banks

   **Kaspar Schmeichel


   
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Ken Smith
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The best World Cup was probably in 1958 when all four British countries made the finals based on the Home Championship although unfortunately I was in Singapore where there was no television at the time.

In Group One Northen Ireland were the only British side to start with a win beating Czechoslovakia 1-0 before losing 1-3 to Argentina, then drawing 2-2 with West Germany 2-2 to qualify for the quarterfinals n Second place. 

In Group Two Scotland finished bottom drawing 1-1 against Yugoslavia before losing 2-3 to Paraguay 2-3 and France 1-2.

In Group Three Wales drew all three of their matches 1-1 against  Hungary, 1-1 against Mexico and 0-0 against the host county Sweden to automatically qualify in second place for for the quarterfinals.

In Group Four England also drew all of their matches 2-2 against the Soviet Union, 0-0 against Brazil, and 2-2 against bottom placed Austria 2-2 but had to rely on a late goal from Derek Kevan to even force a playoff against the Soviet Union which they lost 0-1 and so like Scotland were eliminated in the group stages. In those days of course only 2 points were awarded for a win so although England had gained 3 points from their 3 matches so had the Soviet Union with one win and two defeats in this group with identical goal averages of 4 goals scored and 4 conceded. Today England would have been eliminated any way one point below the Soviets. The biggest contention amongst Boro fans was the fact that Kevan had been preferred to Brian Clough in the World Cup squad anyway. 

So there we had it, the two British giants eliminated in the group stages whilst Northern Ireland and Wales both progressed to the quarterfinals yet only the Irish had won a match. In the quarterfinals Northern Ireland lost 0-4 to France whilst Wales pluckingly only lost 0-1 to the eventual World Cup winners Brazil.  The highest scorer in the tournament was the French striker Just Fontaine with 13 goals, but Pele making his World Cup debut scored a creditable 6 goals.

This post was modified 1 year ago by Ken Smith

   
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@ken - The great John Charles played in that 1958 Welsh team but I think was injured for their last game, and the young Pele scored the goal that beat Wales in the QF.  I spoke to Gordon McQueen about John Charles a few years ago, and he said Charles would have been regarded as a Great in any era of the game. Loved in Italy where he played for Juventus after moving there from Leeds United, he was referred to as the Gentle Giant, and was dominant whether he played as a centre-half or centre-forward. In his later years and in ill health in the UK having long-retired, Juventus paid for medical treatment for Charles.  He would be priceless as a 20 year old player these days.

When the Welsh team returned home and were asked by the border officials where they had been, they said they been playing at the World Cup.  "What's that?" they were asked in response but TV and the World Cup were in their respective infancies back then and, in Wales, Rugby Union far outstripped football in popularity.


   
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@forever-dormo 

I seem to recall that I've heard that 'Dear Harry Kane' play on Radio 4 previously - hard to imagine being driven to become a migrant worker and travelling to a foreign country in order to send a little money home to help feed your family knowing you are going to be more than likely exploited.

A recent study showed that half of the world's population are either living in poverty or are at risk of falling into poverty - which is in stark contrast to half of the world's population who now regard themselves as middle class with a disposable income.

Those with power and wealth will often try to exploit those with few choices and that's why it is important for organisation to hold countries to account and try to encourage legislation and regulation to clamp down on bad working practices.

There are some indications that Qatar has been forced to introduce labour reforms with the eyes of the world watching but many are sceptical that these have gone far enough or are being enforced. Qatar did extend its law 18 months ago that bans outdoor work in summer from June 1 to 15 September, plus introduced a minimum wage and the right to change jobs. While investigations seem to suggest migrant workers are still having trouble changing jobs with employers who can make the process very difficult in practice.

It's probably fair to say that hosting the World Cup has probably been a PR disaster for Qatar and it has merely highlighted many thing it may have perhaps hoped would have remained opaque. The reluctance by many football supporters and general public to embrace them as hosts shows that there is a risk big business will have doubts of being seen to be associated with Qatar in the future.

On top of that, as football supporters get ready to arrive at the World Cup we now hear that Qatar is poised to further dampen the party by banning the promised sale of beer at stadiums - though at the reported prices of between £12-15 a pint it's probably a mercy for fans exploited wallets. I suspect it will be a long time before we see FIFA award the tournament to another Middle-East country and they will be under close scrutiny when assessing future bids.

In the end, the World Cup is supposed to be about the football, the teams and a celebration of the best players in the world - the host should only be in the background adding a bit of flavour and atmosphere - like the Mexican wave and the Vuvuzelas of South Africa . It almost feels like this World Cup has been the other way round with the football being the sideshow and all the attention being on the host. Whatever your view, Qatar has clearly failed in the dark art of sports-washing before a ball has been kicked!


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Sadly true, Werder.  I think in the radio play, the protagonist set out dewy-eyed and optimistic about the pay, conditions and working overseas part but only after getting there did his hopes dim as he saw the conditions, saw a colleague die on site, when he was told the company had temporary cash-flow issues which meant they'd all be paid late etc and then had "issues" trying to get his passport back and realised the extent of his debt to the "agents".

I suspect if you go to work in the Gulf as an IT expert, an engineering Consultant well-qualified medic or teacher or some other highly paid role, life there might be good as you're not going to be in that horde of exploited expats who make up the majority of the population.  And after all that, the World Cup starts on Sunday.  I can scacely hold my breath as I wait for the Qatar v Equador "opener"


   
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Ken Smith
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To start at the very beginning only 13 countries qualified for the first World Cup in 1930 where every match was played in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo. From what I recall England weren’t even a member of FIFA and so didn’t participate. The 13 participants were Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, the USA, Yugoslavia and Uruguay who as hosts went straight into the semifinals final where they defeated the USA and then their neighbours across the River Plate Argentina 4-2 after being 1-2 behind at halftime. The USA finished with the bronze medal after beating Yugoslavia in a low key competition.

The 1934 final was held in Italy where the hosts defeated Czechoslovakia 2-1 after extra time in Rome whilst Germany took the bronze medal after beating near neighbours Austria in the semifinal. By then 29 countries participated 16 of which reached the playoffs.

In 1938 the finals were held in France but it was the Italians who retained the World Cup by beating Hungary 4-2 in the final whilst Brazil took the bronze medal after beating Sweden in the semifinals. The total number of entries dropped to 25 in Europe and it was 12 years before the competition was revived in 1950 as England decided rather reluctantly to join FIFA.

England felt they had nothing to prove in 1950 as they arrogantly assumed they were really the unofficial World Champions. It was the first and only time that the World Cup was to be decided on a final pool table in which the winners of the four qualifying groups met in a six match series. Therefore unlike previous and subsequent tournaments there was to be no official final as such. But England were to receive a bloody nose. Many countries were reluctant to participate in Brazil, and even the holders Italy decided to travel by sea rather than by air.

Remember Great Britain had just beaten a Rest of the World Xl 6-1 at Hampden Park where Boro were the only team to be represented by more than one player,   George Hardwick captaining the side which also included Wilf Mannion. In England’s World Cup group the England side started with a routine 2-0 defeat over Chile in Rio de Janeiro. The second qualifying match though was in Belo Horizonte against the USA which resulted in a 0-1 humiliating defeat against a team comprising of several English ex-pats, and then followed by our a 0-1 demoralising defeat in Rio against Spain as England made for home. The Scottish FA had decided not to participate unless they won the Home Championship.They had started with an 8-2 win at Windsor Park whilst England beat Wales 4-1 in Cardiff. Next England beat Ireland 9-2 at Wembley whilst Scotland beat Wales 2-0 at Hampden Park, but then lost 0-1 to England,  so true to their word decided to withdraw from the 1950 World Cup.

The 1950 World Cup ended with a crowd of 199,850 attending the newly built Maracana Stadium in Rio, but it was Uruguay who topped the group with a 2-1 win against Brazil in the final match for their second World Cup win. Brazil took the silver medal and Sweden the bronze with Spain finishing fourth following a 1-8 thrashing by Brazil in the group matches, which didn’t say much about England who had previously lost 0-1 to the Spaniards.

The next World Cup was held in Switzerland in 1954, but more about that later.

This post was modified 1 year ago by Ken Smith

   
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@forever-dormo 

I had the pleasure of seeing John Charles play against the Boro in the 1950s. It was a memorable experience for me as it was the first time I had seen the Boro play away from home.

I found it strangely dis-orientating. Having only ever having seen our home games I assumed that the Boro were always on the attack, and the better team in every game. To see us so much on the back foot and offering so little made me doubt that this was the same team, even though I recognised all of the players.

Anyway we lost 2-0 and the game was a great disappointment. Seeing Charles, however, was more than a consolation. He stood out, in terms of both his stature and ability. as a great player literally head and shoulders above everyone else on the field.  He played centre- half and strolled through the game, but I also recalled how courteous and gentlemanly he was to his opponents, jumping over a Boro player when he could easily have gone for a ball that might have caused a serious injury.

So a disappointing education in the facts of footballing life away from home, but a precious memory of one of the top five players I ever had the pleasure of seeing.


   
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jarkko
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Posted by: @ken

To start at the very beginning only 13 countries qualified for the first World Cup in 1930 where every match was played in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo.

Ken, dare you not forgot the Lipton Cup that was played before 1930! The two first winners were no other than Bishop Aukland FC. The miners from Durham won the first tournament in Italy. They beat Juventus and a German team in the first two finals of world football.

And some of the winners were Boro fans. I found the film about the miners' preparations and trip to Italy very facinating. I think the Lipton Cup should at least be mentioned in history. Of course it was not World Cup as such as it was teams competing, not national teams.

And a Boro link is there as one of the miners was in hospital in the beginning of the film. He was a Boro fan and talked about his trip to Italy to a young Arsenal supporting nurse.

Up the Boro!

 

This post was modified 1 year ago by jarkko

   
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Ken Smith
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Jarrko 

I need to correct you mate, but it was West Auckland Town not the Bishops who won the mythical World Cup in 1909 against the Swiss side Winterthur in Turin. The citizens of Turin had wrongly assumed that they had invited Woolwich Arsenal to compete. However they got a bigger shock two years later as the Durham miners retained the Cup by beating the local Italian club of Turin 6-1 in the Final.

Of course this was well before the famous Jules Rimet Trophy became the official World Cup Trophy, named after the first FIFA president. The trophy was stolen allegedly from a shop window prior to the commencement of the 1966 World Cup in England. It was recovered by a dog named Pickles and presented permanently to Brazil after their third World Cup win in Mexico in 1970. However it was stolen once more but never recovered, presumably melted down by the thieves.

This post was modified 1 year ago 3 times by Ken Smith

   
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Ken Smith
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Posted by: @ken

Jarrko 

Sorry Jarrko, but I need to correct you mate, because it was West Auckland Town not the Bishops who won the mythical World Cup in 1909. Having beaten the Swiss side Winterthur in the semifinal they then beat Turn in the final. Two years later they beat Turin again. One of those matches against Turin ended 6–1, although the board of directors had assumed that they had originally  invited Woolwich Arsenal to compete not a raga muffin club from County Durham who wore their football boots around their shoulders between matches,according to the film. Although that may have been poetic licence by the producer of the film, but a good story nonetheless.

Of course this was well before the famous Jules Rimet Trophy became the official World Cup Trophy, named after the first FIFA president. The trophy was stolen allegedly from a shop window display prior to the commencement of the 1966 World Cup in England. It was recovered by a dog named Pickles and presented permanently to Brazil after their third World Cup win in Mexico in 1970. However it was stolen once more but never recovered, presumably melted down by the thieves.

This post was modified 1 year ago 4 times by Ken Smith

   
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Happy to report that after 12 intense weeks my jury service has now ended. We can now concentrate on all matters Boro… oh


   
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@andy-r 

can you give us a few sentences now? 

OFB


   
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@original-fat-bob 

I’m just glad not to be sending us down!


   
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@andy-r 

And I thought writing about Boro was your guilty pleasure 😉 


   
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Ken Smith
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The First World Cup I ever saw on television was held in Switzerland in 1954 and it was goals, goals all the way. In fact 140 of them in just 26 matches.

Group One consisted of Brazil, France, Mexico and Yugoslavia. In the opening match Yugoslavia beat France 1-0 whilst Brazil beat Mexico 5-0, France then accounted for the elimination of Mexico 3-2 whilst Brazil and Yugoslavia played out a 1-1 draw to both qualify for the quarterfinals.

Group Two consisted of Hungary, South Korea, West Germany and Turkey. Hungary then annihilated South Korea 9-0 whilst West Germany beat the Turks 4-1. Then Hungary opened up the group by defeating West Germany 8-3 as Turkey eliminated South Korea 7-0 thus requiring a playoff tie between West Germany and Turkey which the former won 7-2.

Group Three consisted of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Scotland and Uruguay. Austria beat Scotland 1-0 whilst Uruguay beat Czechoslovakia 2-0, then Austria eliminated the Czechs 5-0 as Uruguay slammed the Scots 7-0.

Group Four included Belgium, England, Italy and Switzerland. The first two then played out a thrilling 4-4 drawn match in Basel. Leopold Anoul gave the Belgians a very early lead in the 6th minute but goals from Ivor Broadis and Nat Lofthouse ensured that England led 2-1 at halftime. Broadis extended England’s lead to 3-1 before Henri Coppens and Anoul scored twice to take the match into extra time. Lofthouse again scored for England just after the first period of extra  time, only for Portsmouth’s Jimmy Dickinson to put through his own goal soon afterwards to end the scoring as it became too dark to continue, there being no floodlights in those days to conclude proceedings.

Switzerland then beat Italy 2-1 but goals from the Wolves pair of Jimmy Mullen and Dennis Wilshaw in the 2-0 win over Switzerland in Bern ensured that England reached the Quarterfinals as did Switzerland with their second win over Italy this time 4-1 in Basel. 

In the quarterfinals West Germany beat Yugoslavia 2-0, Austria beat the Swiss 7-5 in a humdinger of a match before England did battle against twice World Cup winners Uruguay. Carlos Borges gave Uruguay an early lead, but Nat Lofthouse soon equalised although Obdulio Varela restored Uruguay’s lead before halftime, and one minute into the second half the world famous Juan Alberto Schiaffino increased the lead. Tom Finney gave England hope with a goal  halfway into the second half, but Javier Ambrois settled England’s fate with a 4th goal 12 minutes from time.

West Germany then won their Semifinal tie 6-1 against Austria as strong favourites Hungary defeated Uruguay 4-2 after extra time. Austria surprisingly then beat Uruguay 3-1 for the bronze medal position as we awaited the final. Remember that Hungary had beaten West Germany 8-3 in the group stages, and were soon 2-0 up with goals from Ferenc Puskas and Zoltan Czibor in the first 10 minutes of the final.However goals from Max Morloch and Helmut Rahn in the next 10 minutes really unnerved the Magyars, and Rahn then won it for the underdogs 6 minutes from time.

A stunning 140 goals had been scored in the 26 matches, but not only had Hungary lost its long unbeaten record, but,Germany had won its first World Cup.

 


   
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Powmill-Naemore
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Posted by: @werdermouth

@andy-r 

And I thought writing about Boro was your guilty pleasure 😉 

No need to be so judgemental,  the boy might have been carrying an injury.


   
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Posted by: @werdermouth

I suspect it will be a long time before we see FIFA award the tournament to another Middle-East country and they will be under close scrutiny when assessing future bids.

I was perhaps a little hasty in making this earlier statement as I've just read this morning that the man who is regarded as a personal friend of both Trump and Putin and who just also happens to be the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, is believed to favour a joint-bid from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece for the 2030 World Cup.

You may be wondering how Greece slipped into that trio but they were included in order to add a European country in order to bypass the FIFA rules on a World Cup being awarded to another bid from the same federation (Asian) as another recent host. So if people thought Qatar was problematic then I can only imagine how Saudia Arabia will be received!

The other bids include a joint one from Spain and Portugal, who have now perhaps rather cynically added Ukraine to their bid last month in an attempt to gain extra votes. It is planned that Ukraine will host one of the eight groups with three teams.

The other main bid is a South American one that includes Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay that is hoping that their angle of marking the centenary of the first World Cup in 1930 held in Uruguay will sway the vote - though not sure how much money they plan to persuade FIFA with. 

Other potential bidders include Morocco, who also had previously made a $16bn bid for 2026 with potentially Egypt joining them if their bid with Saudi Arabia falls through and also they may be joined by Algeria and Tunisia in the bid.

There is also another potential European joint bid with Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and our friends Greece again - but that is in doubt as UEFA is backing the Spain-Portugal-Ukraine bid.

So looks like we should be able to rely on FIFA to create another controversial mess in the not too distant future!


   
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jarkko
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Posted by: @ken

Jarrko 

I need to correct you mate, but it was West Auckland Town not the Bishops who won the mythical World Cup in 1909 against the Swiss side Winterthur in Turin. The citizens of Turin had wrongly assumed that they had invited Woolwich Arsenal to compete. However they got a bigger shock two years later as the Durham miners retained the Cup by beating the local Italian club of Turin 6-1 in the Final.

Absolute correct, Ken. As always you know the details.

I was writing from my memory but I should have noticed my mistake as you said the team must be "WA" - like Woolwich Arsenal or West Auckland.

The club was founded as "West Auckland F.C." in 1893. 

Debts forced the club to leave the Northern League in 1912 and fold, although in 1914 it was reconstituted as "West Auckland Town F.C.", which remains to this day.

The club is most famous for being the winners of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, one of the world's first international footballing competitions, twice, in 1909 and 1911.

So they were stll called West Auckland F.C. when the won Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy. 😇

up the Boro! 

This post was modified 1 year ago by jarkko

   
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@lenmasterman - Thanks for those memories, Len.


   
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Ken Smith
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Didn’t finish my recollections of the 1950 World Cup until after 2am. but enjoyed  reminiscing about it again. That Uruguayan striker Schiaffino was some player, as were the two Hungarian forwards Ferenc Puskas and Nandor Hidekguti. I well remember them playing for Honved against Wolves in 1954 as well. Everyone was a Wolves fan in those days. I can’t believe it was almost 70 years ago. Just another club fading into oblivion now.

 Taking a rest for now as I’m watching the golf from Dubai, horrible city, but a fabulous golf course. I was there in 2012 and can still see that amazing eagle puttt by Justin Rose on the 18th Green. Great  sporting memories I’ve been so lucky to witness. Same as Len seeing the fabulous John Charles I suppose.

This post was modified 1 year ago by Ken Smith

   
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Ken Smith
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What I have to finally write today is that I never expected that the Rugby League World Cup would potentially outshine the Football World Cup. I’ve always known that Rugby can be such an aggressive sport on the field of play but to witness the camaraderie of the Australian players towards the Samoan players but especially to the English Wheelchair World Champions brought tears to my eyes. How amputees can score tries especially in upturned wheelchairs was absolutely amazing and to watch the ladies form a guard of honour for the male English wheelchair champions was so amazing. 

In the end I’m not as sad as I thought I might be that our men’s team didn’t at least reach the final, because the stars of the Rugby World Cup were undoubtedly the Wheelchair champions whose dexterity I shall carry to the grave.


   
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Ken Smith
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Countdown to the World Cup? Won’t watch the latter, and haven’t watched the former since Carol Vorderman was replaced. But did once appear on Fifteen to One on 5th May 1997 recorded at Wandsworth TV studios.

This post was modified 1 year ago by Ken Smith

   
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jarkko
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It is snowing in here and in Norway now. But Marcus Forss is starting for Finland in Norway now.

So Norway vs. Finland Friendly International starting now at 13:00 GMT.

Up the Boro!


   
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@ken 

Yes I watched Rugby League wheelchair final on Friday and it was a fantastic game to watch, really exciting with great skill and bravery on show - one of the sporting highlights of the year without a doubt.

Also watched the men's final yesterday and while it didn't have the excitement of the wheelchair game as the result was never really in doubt from early in the game, though Australia were impressive once again and worthy winners.


   
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As for the football World Cup... well it's a tough one for many - even my 12-year old son who has never shown any interest in football asked me yesterday if I was going to watch it as he saw on the news that most football supporters weren't going to watch it because of it being in Qatar and the treatment of migrant workers and that women weren't allowed to live a normal life there. He basically implied that I shouldn't watch it.

Having read countless excellent articles that have highlighted the issues and problems, including many in the Guardian, which as an investigating newspaper has certainly built a strong case to justify avoiding the tournament altogether.

Although, the Guardian itself is planning comprehensive coverage of the football itself and I was presented with this link today as I browsed it online...

Throughout the tournament, we’ll have a World Cup briefing every morning. The first has been lovingly penned by Gregg Bakowski - 10 things to look out for on day one

Well given what it knows and has reported, if the Guardian can separate all the issues and problems with the host nation Qatar from the actual football then perhaps I and others are also capable of doing the same?

Having said that it does feel like watching the football at this World Cup is something that should be done with the curtains closed in the privacy of your own home when the kids are in bed - not easy given some of the kick-off times! I suspect you'd receive fewer raised eyebrows if you admitted to watching porn rather than football in the next few weeks...

May everyone at FIFA be damned for eternity for ruining the innocent pleasure of the beautiful game!


jarkko
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Norway 1 Finland 1 (0-1). Marcus Forss played 83 min. He "scored" once in an off-side position on 8 min. Was very good in the first half but Finlnd was under pressure most of the 2nd half Forss did not see much of the ball in the 2nd half.

Up the Boro! 

This post was modified 1 year ago by jarkko

   
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Ken Smith
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Well said Werdermouth! Not only football has been tainted, but so many other of my favourite sports as well by the filthy lucre.

This post was modified 1 year ago by Ken Smith

   
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Powmill-Naemore
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Never mind the world cup. 633 Squadron is on ITV4...

I could watch that film and listen to the soundtrack any time... I even have it as the ring tone on my mobile phone !

 


   
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Martin Bellamy
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