Maple Lions

On July 12 FIFA will unveil a revised ranking system:

The main change is that a national team’s ranking will be based on results from the last four years, not eight.

Goals scored and home advantage will no longer have any bearing on placings and other aspects, including importance and strength of matches, have been revised.

Could this be the end of America’s day as the big pufferfish in the little CONCACAF pond?  We’ll know next week.

Paul Canniff 

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Despite voluminous and painful evidence to the contrary, Michael Owen is convinced that practising penalty kicking will not help England:

“If you do practise, you’re not going to do yourself any harm. So if it does give you extra confidence, I suppose it’s worth doing, but I’m not sure it makes much difference. You can never remember what you did in training when you’re on the pitch.”

A little hint: you’re not supposed to remember training on the pitch, it should ingrained and become instinctive. 

Oy. 

Paul Canniff

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The Guardian reports that the UK Treasury will release a feasibility study this autumn on an England hosting bid.  The most likely competition would be from Australia.

Paul Canniff

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Homer J. Simpson said it best:

Hank Scorpio: By the way, Homer, what’s your least favorite country: Italy or France?

Homer: France.

Hank: [chuckles]  Nobody ever says Italy. [sets the coordinates of a giant laser gun]

Paul Canniff

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For some Italians their sky-high football dreams may soon be coming to a crashing thud in the wake of the match-fixing scandal.  Of the four teams singled out, Juventus face the prospect of relegation to Italy’s third division, where they will be in the company of such sporting giants as San Marino Calcio, population base:  8,700.

Fortunately, the Juve jersey comes conveniently in prison-friendly colours.  Just add FIFA regulation ball and chain.

Paul Canniff

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A while back I posted this report from Union Bank of Switzerland that predicted an Italian World Cup win.  Some of their other predictions were a bit off, but did their number-crunching account for what was to many of us the unforeseen offensive strength in Lippi’s side?

The Swiss economists fared better than Four Four Two magazine and the boffins behind Football Manager 2006.  In a series of three computer simulations of the World Cup, England and Germany reached the finals, with England winning twice.

Paul Canniff

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Yes, I told Sven so earlier and with at least as much hindsight as was available to him.

In this SLATE article, Financial Times columnist Tim Harford applies some principles of gaming theory to successful examples of penalty goal strategy. The science is obvious: it’s the sweat and determination which England have to supply by Euro 2008.

Paul Canniff

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Germany hasn’t even played its semifinal match as of this writing, but the Daily Telegraph and AFP are already linking manager Jurgen Klinsmann to the soon-to-be-vacant US job:

The United States are in talks with Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann to lead their national team to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Although Klinsmann has already dismissed speculation linking him with the job, the Daily Telegraph claimed preliminary contact has been made with the man who has defied the odds to take Germany to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Klinsmann lives in California, his wife is American, and he is viewed as the ideal man to replace Bruce Arena who is leaving the United States hotseat to return to club management.

The newspaper claimed that the Americans will put a deal on the table that exceeds the 1.5 million pounds a year Klinsmann earns with Germany. That would be three times what they have been paying Arena.

Would Germany ever forgive him?

Damian P.

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Like many of you, I needed some time for recovery and reflection after Saturday’s match. Many will say that we need not care so much about a game. But this game and our team, for all of their faults, bring together so intimately a disparate range of people to share joy, despair and consolation. It is our Distributed England and we will continue to stand by her.

Some of my initial observations:

1. Kudos to Becks for doing vastly more than his departing gaffer, taking some responsibility by resigning as team captain. While there is surely a consensus that this came about two years too late, it was an unexpected act of civility.
2. Sven: classless and unrepentant to the bitter end. Good riddance at last.
3. Sage advice to Cristian Ronaldo: make that rumour come true and decamp to the Bernabeu. The only good thing about earning a lifelong grudge from Wayne Rooney is that you likely won’t live long to fret about it.
4. Pity poor Theo Walcott. His first big trip to the Continent and he couldn’t even have a proper large lager lout evening. Oh yes, and marking the start of his professional footballing career by acting as the team’s boat anchor.

Where do we go from here?

1. Steve McClaren needs to take care in his choice of assistants. His experience in the UEFA Cup with Boro cannot compensate for a lack of understanding competitors’ footballing styles. The FA has its Englishman: let’s get some foreign counsel for real value for money.
2. The new captain? I say John Terry or possibly Stevie Gerrard. The lads need someone with the fortitude to stand up to the gaffer when necessary but as well to lay smack down on his colleagues when justified. And that means a hard man, not a clotheshorse.
3. It had to be shown in brutal terms why Wayne Rooney needs support up front. I would not even put down money that Michael Owen will be coming back soon. So Andy Johnson, step right up. He’s got the skill and the personality to complement Rooney, with Defoe as the prime backup choice. Time to release Lurch back into the wild, though.

Paul Canniff

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