Netherlands thumping Spain 5-1 seems like a season ago. We’ve had 24 different World Cup-match days since then, during which time most of us have watched close to a season’s worth of football. The dethroning of Spain, in such dramatic fashion, was an early portent of what we were in store for. Brazil’s humiliation at the hands of Germany provided one of the most memorable football events of our times.
While everyone seems to have nominated the competition as the best ever, the football has been of variable quality. Lots of strong football countries failed to show, including Spain, Italy and England. Africa promised early on, then fell. Russia gave no indication they were on-schedule to give the performance of a lifetime when they host the tournament in four years.
Brazil reached the semi-finals but this will surely be known as one of the worst Brazilian teams ever. Argentina have reached their first final in 24 years ago, but I can’t figure out how they made it. Performances against Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium and then Netherlands never convinced we were watching eventual winners. The best they have achieved, so far, is a single goal victory.
Belgium’s golden generation were a mere shadow of their less-fancied Dutch neighbours, who under-promised and over-delivered, again. Germany are the team who deserve to take the trophy, and although Lionel Messi finds himself in a World Cup Final this evening, on the basis of what we’ve seen over the last four weeks, he’s no Diego Maradona.
Enjoy the final, the real stuff starts in two days.
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Jack Regan, it’s on BBC1 Scotland.
WC, you were right, I checked my passport.
Another reason for Yes then.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS 12:08 on 14 July, 2014
I have no idea. So it is hard to make a judgement without knowing the facts.
Logged on for the first time in a few days as it’s “Peter Lawwell this, Peter Lawwell that, ect, ect…”
Just trying to have a laugh about it.
TD67
If your about…how the holiday going?
That place was like a ghost town yesterday but at least we could hear the jukey for a change.
hh
Two points,
Maradona was the football version of Lance Armstrong
And
Soldiers refusing to carry out the orders to commit autrocities for the british empire would be shot for mutiny no questions asked.
lionroars67
11:59 on
14 July, 2014
That’s a slightly different point to the one you are making, and I actually agree that the club should be taking note of how many arrests in the ground lead to convictions and commenting if it’s a particularly low ratio.
However I was commenting on your point that PL was sitting back and watching those arrests take place. There’s nothing he (or the club) can do to stop that. He might hope that a comment along the lines mentioned above (if merited) might reduce the number but I doubt it.
It cannot be forgotten that the police play a very active part in stadium licensing and it’s a very fine line the club need to tread.
On a different note, it’s also worth remembering that potentially some of the data requests/arrests may have nothing to do with football.
BMCUW,
I was told by Bankier that if the police asked for details to help with their enquiries then the details were issued, there was no mention of even requesting information from the police if those enquiries related to criminal offences, it was taken as red if the police ask then there was a crime commited.
new article posted.
STEINREIGNEDSUPREME
Aye,fair point.
As you know,my main bugbear with PL has been his relationship with the fans,and that springs from how he handled the UEFA charge from the Rennes match.
He thought it an ideal opportunity to give the GB a bloody nose,refused to even appeal it,and it backfired on him.
And,more importantly,the club.
I’ll give him 10/10 for his financial prudence though I disagree with how he has achieved that,but for a million a year I would expect a fella who can at least stand up for our club.
Crap jokes notwithstanding.
weeminger,
“On a different note, it’s also worth remembering that potentially some of the data requests/arrests may have nothing to do with football.”
If thats the case the the club have a duty of care to ensure the information the are being asked for is not being misused, more so if its not football related.
weeminger
12:17 on
14 July, 2014
IMO Celtic and PL should have opposed this iniquitous piece of bad legislation from the start, why we agreed to join any forum after the so called shame game was beyond me, Celtic park and its fans have a fantastic reputation around the world, now i wonder where i get that from? today on Celtic FC site… Celtic Chief Executive, Peter Lawwell said: “Celtic Park is renowned as one of the world’s finest and most atmospheric football stadiums. Whats wrong with adopting this as a public stance ? whats wrong with facing police scotland across a table telling PS you are policing games at Celtic park out of all proportion from the reality of what happens in Celtic park, Rapid Vienna game last week ! Austrian police certainly allow for atmosphere in that ground, problem for far to many is they don’t want to acknowledge the part played by Police Scotland in the birth of the OB act, this is where the evening up process was born
I am not asking the club to be obstructing Police Scotland from carrying out their duties or any club official putting themselves at risk of being charged with obstructing the police, what i am asking for is the the club to have a stance of opposing the OB act by all legal means at their disposal, being side by side with the supporters who are opposing it wouldn’t go amiss either, the club could and should do a lot more