Do we need replays in football? (Part One)

Will a replay get Shay Given back on his feet?

In light of the massive controversy over the goal dubbed variously as the ‘Hand of God II’, ‘Hand of Henry and, most brilliantly and in a rare and surprising moment of genius in The Sun, the ‘Hand of Frog’, the football world is engaged in various discussions regarding replays. Firstly, after an Irish FA appeal should the match itself be replayed in light of the referee’s error? And second, does this incident provide us with a watershed moment that demands the introduction of video replays in football matches?

Today’s post forms the first of a two parter (the second will follow either tomorrow or on Sunday) and looks at the first question; whether or not Ireland have a chance of getting the game replayed and whether or not it would be good for football if it were. I must admit, when sitting down to write this post I thought they had no chance and were being wildly optimistic, but the precedent that they’ve cited makes a reasonably compelling case for them. Any rematch between the sides would be a brutal and viscious affair, but could it and should it happen?

France 2-1 Ireland (AET): A Crying Shame.

The Irish players distraught at the final whistle.

Who else is bitterly disappointed by this morning’s World Cup qualifiers? I know I certainly am, there were no real upsets, indeed the only team who suffered a shock defeat were Russia, a team who I was looking forward to watching at the World Cup because they play a nice brand of hard-working football, and hell, it’s always a pleasure to watch Andrey Arshavin play football. It has to be said though, the biggest disappointment of all occurred, unsurprisingly, in Paris.

Few gave the Irish a chance when they conceded an away goal in the first leg, but I thought they’d go there and cause the French problems and so they did, probably doing more than enough to win the game. Yet despite being outplayed, despite being over-confident, despite having a ludicrously poor manager and despite scoring a goal that featured two offside players and two separate hand-balls, the French will be at the World Cup.

World Cup Playoff Predictions

I had initially planned to make some predictions before the first legs of these playoff matches at the weekend, but what with my busy schedule I didn’t have chance to. Intriguingly though, each and every tie is delicately poised and could easily go either way when all is said and done later on tonight. Playoffs are always hard to call, they’re essentially like Cup Finals and form goes out the window but I had NZ down to beat Bahrain by one goal (though I’ll admit, I’d picked 2-1) so let’s see what I can do…

European Qualifying Playoffs
Bosnia-Hercegovina vs. Portugal (agg. 0-1)
Portugal were certainly the favourites going into this playoff tie despite a stuttering qualification campaign that saw them limp into second place, they have enough quality in their side to be a real force if they make it to the World Cup. Bosnia are looking to make it to their first World Cup and as is so often the case with nations recently affected by civil war, the national side carries the hopes of the nation with them. They’re also quite technically gifted though and if the home fans can provide a threatening atmosphere they’ll trouble a fragile Portuguese outfit. I think Portugal will probably get a crucial away goal though and make it to South Africa.
Prediction: 1-1 (agg. 1-2).

Kiwis: Don’t fly too high too soon.

Rory Fallon's goal sees the Kiwis take flight...

Saturday night saw over 35000 people pile in to Westpac Stadium in Wellington to see New Zealand overcome Bahrain by one goal to nil and in doing so qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This is a feat that the All Whites have only achieved once before – back in ‘82 – and so naturally, the football fans of New Zealand (myself included) are on a massive high right about now, it was a fantastic night for all involved.

However, sights will now inevitably turn to the World Cup itself and while of course not even the most optimistic fans will expect a New Zealand victory or even qualification from the group stages, there’s still a danger that sights could be set too high. Ricki Herbert acknowledged that he has no designs on winning the competition but did suggest in one of his many post-match interviews (I can’t find a source I’m afraid) that they would cause a few upsets along the way. It’s great to see him in such confident spirits, but a reality check could be prudent.

One Shot For Profit

There is little more discouraging than those terrible, awful people who seek to make money from football. There are many examples of these villains in the modern game; not least those foreign investors who buy clubs and run them into the ground for personal profit, or the agents who act as malicious middle men providing minimal service at maximal profit, or even those who run the game these days, treating it less as a sport and more as a business, sacrificing the games’ integrity to further fill their pockets.

Of course such acts of greed are commonplace in today’s materialistic society. But these footballing crimes are worst because they take advantage of the sheer obsession of football fans. We are the life and blood of the game, and without us it could not function, nevermind make them money. And they rely on that, safe in the knowledge that we cannot pull away, that we are an easy source of income, that they can rip us off again and again and we cannot, no matter how hard we try, sever our ties with out club, our game.

Below even these executive types of modern football though, are the touts. The ticket scalpers. They buy up tickets for the big games and flog them at an enormous profit, depriving real fans the chance of seeing the game that means so much to them, or at least making them pay far over the odds to do so. It sickens me because these are people like us, fellow fans who are content to take advantage of their peers for their own personal profit. And at present, there are hundreds of them in New Zealand, denying me the chance to see New Zealand’s World Cup Qualifier against Bahrain.

WDKF Wednesday: Playing Away – A FIFA Conspiracy?

I woke up early this morning to attempt to buy a couple of tickets for the All White’s playoff match against Bahrain in November, but the 500 temporary seating tickets that went on sale today somehow disappeared in the 3 seconds after clicking “Buy Now” at precisely 9am that it took the next page to load. That seems implausible to me, but I know next to nothing about the workings of Ticketek, and so I move on.

The distinctive smell of conspiracy and controversy is far more pungent around FIFA’s strange decision to alter the usual enforcement of the away goals rule for the same fixture, which means that away goals will continue to decide the tie after extra time – giving the away side Bahrain an extra 30 minutes to score a crucial away goal. What could have driven such a strange and apparently obviously unfair rule change? Why, FIFA’s never-ending greed of course!

Click through for the full conspiracy theory at WDKF.co.uk…

Beckham’s on his way to Milan… and the World Cup.

Beckham flourished during his last stint in Milan, will he do so again?

So AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has assured the world that the loan deal to take David Beckham back to the red half of the San Siro in January is “100% done” and “The only thing missing is the signatures” which simultaneously confirms that he’s lying (let’s face it, unless it’s signed and sealed, it isn’t 100% done) and that David Beckham will almost certainly be part of England’s World Cup squad in South Africa next year.

He’s proven popular as a squad member during Fabio Capello’s time in charge of the three lions but because of the Italian’s reluctance to take a player plying his trade in the sub-European standard MLS to a World Cup there was still a chance that Beckham could miss out. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that a move to Milan was the only way that Beckham could give himself a really good chance of being included – a much talked about Premier League return could actually have harmed his chances.

WDKF Wednesday: Who’s on your proverbial plane?

Today we briefly divulge ourselves of the dramas of domestic and European club football and return to the international arena as I complete selections as to who I would be taking to South Africa if I were in Fabio Capello’s shoes at this point in time. Last week I selected the goalkeepers and defenders who I think would best serve England come next summer, and today I complete the squad.

Major questions that plague Capello with the selection of his midfielders and forwards are who to deploy on the right wing, whether or not old heads like David Beckham and Michael Owen should be included in the squad and how best to partner Wayne Rooney, especially with his favoured option spending plenty of time warming the bench. I’ve picked a squad of thirty-two that I think can win the World Cup for England so to find out whether or not you agree with me…

…click through and have a read of my WDKF Wednesday article!

WDKF Thursday: Who’s on your proverbial plane?

Having lost track of the days of the week due to my days being filled with a continual headachey and groggy illness recently, I missed my WDKF Wednesday article this week and so recompense for it with a Thursday post at We Don’t Know Football instead.

It’s the first of a two-parter (the second will be next Wednesday) which, in light of the conclusion of the European World Cup qualifying phases, looks at the decisions that face Fabio Capello in his selection of his World Cup squad between now and next June. Goalkeepers and defenders today, midfielders and strikers next week.

Click on through to have a read…

Ronaldo & Messi: Are you coming?

Will they be in South Africa next year? Are we bothered?

With Portugal and Argentina both faltering in their attempts to qualify for next year’s World Cup, there has been much discussion about whether or not it would be somehow improper or unworthy to have a World Cup in which the world’s best two players do not take part. This of course assumes that Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the world’s best players which is an argument for another day, but either way, they’re in almost everyone’s top five, and their absence would raise some eyebrows.

However, I take exception to concerns that the World Cup would not really be the World Cup without the likes of Messi and Ronaldo there. While both are great, great players who would undoubtedly bring much to the tournament in terms of excitement and glamour, I don’t see that the World Cup is concerned with individuals. It is a tournament which sets out to determine the best football team in the world after all and so if Messi and Ronaldo aren’t there, I won’t be losing any sleep.