Blogging and All that Malarkey Stuff & Nonsense

Malarkey is Andy Clarke, a creative designer with a passion for accessibility and web standards. This is his personal website.

Forty years of hope

They think it's all over, it is now!

40 years of hope, 120 minutes and 2 geeks biting their nails in Brown's in Hockley, Nottingham

Malarkey and Colly bite their nailsMalarkey and Colly

Replies

  1. #1 On July 1, 2006 09:02 PM Yannick said:

    LOL Andy, I looked exactly the same way you two did. I really wanted England to win but congrats to Portugal. I guess England will have to wait another 4 years, just like all the others that have been knocked out.

  2. #2 On July 1, 2006 09:17 PM Duarte said:

    England did great with 10 players, but Ricardo is a penalty machine... Maybe we'll meet again in the euro 2008!!

  3. #3 On July 1, 2006 09:23 PM Duarte said:

    I also think we really missed not only Costinha but especially Deco!

  4. #4 On July 1, 2006 10:01 PM Nick Toye said:

    I don't want to sound like sour grapes, but it does seem that cheats always prosper!

    If I meet Ronaldo, I will certainly tell him. Would he be welcome back on Manchester? Not by Rooney certainly!

  5. #5 On July 1, 2006 10:15 PM Duarte said:

    So do tabloids in the UK reach a significative part of the population? Do people read them as an actual source of good information, or are they more like a joke? What kind of sales do they have compared to normal newspapers?

  6. #6 On July 1, 2006 10:39 PM paul haine said:

    "So do tabloids in the UK reach a significative part of the population?"

    Sadly, yes.

  7. #7 On July 1, 2006 11:13 PM Jo’o Craveiro said:

    Well, maybe you can pay back on Euro 2008. But now, it's Portugal show time. ;)

    P.S. (for the tabloids and who follows their [un-]information): 21 fouls vs. 10 fouls. Free interpetation.

  8. #8 On July 2, 2006 12:03 AM Henrique Costa Pereira said:

    Your England and my Brazil is backing to home today! I was hopping to see Brazil x England in finals, but the dream is over! Maybe in the next woulrd cup... :(

  9. #9 On July 2, 2006 12:10 AM Robert O'Rourke said:

    gutted.

  10. #10 On July 2, 2006 12:13 AM Andrew K. said:

    Australia: Robbed
    England: Robbed

    Lets get 'em boys! :)

  11. #11 On July 2, 2006 12:25 AM Small Paul said:

    Duarte: The Sun (premier English tabloid) has a circulation of about 4 million, I think. I believe that easily outstrips The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent. Possibly put together.

    So, anyone really surprised about the Portugal result? A sending off, extra time, and missed penalties. It's every major tournament since and including 1990, except for Euro 2000 when we went out at the group stage.

    Except this time we were put out by a team who've never even won the World Cup. I believe this is a first. Ho hum.

  12. #12 On July 2, 2006 12:26 AM xml said:

    hey it wasnt all bad... this time ricardo kept his gloves :>

  13. #13 On July 2, 2006 01:38 AM Rich S said:

    Bum,

    That was the worst game of football i've watched in days. If Portugal get any further i'd be amazed. And if Ronaldo comes back to Manchester he's got big cahunahs.

  14. #14 On July 2, 2006 03:30 AM Paulo B said:

    Hello from Portugal to you all, specially for Andy and Molly which work I admire.

    Well about the big cahunahs or cojones as Molly said (but that's spanish anyway, we call it "tomates") that would not be original.

    Some years ago SL Benfica (team from Portugal) was trained by Graeme Souness (british) and also a football "superstar" :| called Michael Thomas (english).

    The thing is that is was such a lousy and static player (he was at the end of his carrer) that Benfica fans just didn't like him.

    What did Benfica's manager Mr. Souness say to the press? "Michael Thomas is a player with Big Balls so he'll always play on my team!"

    Seems skill and pace don't count, the thing is to have a nice pair of balls.

    I guess taht now Cristiano Ronaldo cannot let us portuguese "machos" down...

    I think that sometimes portuguese players exaggerate a bit in the drama fx (I think they like to go prone on the grass! what can we do?) and that's a shame... but hey, you can try again if four years!! :D

    Regards from Portugal...

  15. #15 On July 2, 2006 10:18 AM Gerard Blake said:

    Got to watch what i'm saying, especially with FIFA trying to stamp out racism in football, but there were plenty of people North of the border (Scotland) really happy to see England go out of the world cup.

    Maybe now the supposedly neutral media will stopping bringing up '66, if you want to talk history what about '67 when Scotland played the then world champions (England) off the park in their own back yard (Wembley)

    I know what your thinking, another Scotsman with a chip on his shoulder, but while English arrogance prevails, I and many others of Scottish descent will always support England's opposition.

    Ps. It looks really good for the Ashes (Go Australia)

  16. #16 On July 2, 2006 10:31 AM Stuart Young said:

    I'm Scottish, but I was supporting England.

    You've got to admit that England only have themselves to blame, after rooney got sent off they basically gave up and backs to the wall defended for the next hour.

    Surely they should have realised that if it went to penalties they would lose, and that if they actually attacked they had a good chance of scoring.

  17. #17 On July 2, 2006 12:08 PM Alex Clarke ( Haga ) said:

    I am sure half of England looked the same as you did.

  18. #18 On July 2, 2006 01:21 PM Pete said:

    It's not all bad... I've got Portugal in the office sweepstake. :)

  19. #19 On July 2, 2006 01:32 PM Stephen Clarke said:

    What a fantastic game for English football - Beckham quits as England's captain.

    I must admit I neither like nor understand, if I am honest nor do I want to understand football.

    I am a Yorkshireman born in Doncaster one thing that constantly reminds me of why I believe football should be consigned to Rm 101 is the '66 world cup final.

    Also why is it when English fans of this quote, unquote 'game' support their country's team and everything goes swimmingly they are English - any hassels and their 'British'.

    No worries maties - there is always Euro 2008 muck-up too!

  20. #20 On July 2, 2006 02:59 PM Tomas said:

    Sorry Andy, honestly!

  21. #21 On July 2, 2006 04:49 PM James John Malcolm (AkaXakA) said:

    I've got to be with Gerard Blake on this one :)

    (And yes, Rooney does have himself to blame, the only thing C. Ronaldo did was wink)

  22. #22 On July 2, 2006 05:25 PM Martin said:

    @ Gerard Blake:

    can you, or anyone who bandies around the accusation of English arrogance around every successive football competition (at which, co-incidentally, Scotland are not present), finally explain what you mean? Is it arrogant to show allegiance to and support for your country? If so, then is every fan at the World Cup also arrogant? Moreover, is it arogant to believe that your team can win? Would the solution be to always believe your team will lose (this is perhaps a solution for a different problem if you happen to be an England fan during a penalty shoot-out, and one that many can testify to already, by the way ;))? Does the phrase "Scotland the Brave" show arrogance, because it praises Scotland?

    What do you mean, "while English Arrogance prevails"? Similarly, would it be fair and meaningful to say around the time of every World Cup "while Scottish jealousy prevails"?

    If supporting every opposition that England faces, regardless of how tenuous or non-existent your connection to that country is, is not evidence of there being a chip on your shoulder, then what does it show?

    I ask out of curiosity, but don't sweat it man.

  23. #23 On July 2, 2006 07:35 PM Malarkey said:

    (Ed says: "OK chaps, no hooliganism please, I don't want to call in the riot police ;)")

  24. #24 On July 2, 2006 08:11 PM Martin said:

    Apologies Malarkey, I realise that your blog isn't the place for that discussion (but certainly, no 'int of 'ooliganism 'ere). This time however, instead of passing no comment on the accusation and leaving it unquestioned, my curiosity got the better of me.

    But back to the game: arghhh... The experience doesn't get any easier, regardless of how predictable it is... In fact, the predictability makes the agony all the more excruciating... :( ;)

  25. #25 On July 2, 2006 09:26 PM KC Allen said:

    So which UK newspaper has the headline that says:

    "Rooney kicks England in the cojones."

    ?


    (and me a die-hard ManU fan)

  26. #26 On July 3, 2006 10:46 AM John said:

    Gerard is absolutely right, the English are arrogant, without a doubt, seeming to believe they have some god-given right to be successful at football competitions. Fact is, they have some good players but they're not a first-rate team, in spite of what the papers say.

    As to why the Scottish, Irish and Welsh dislike the English so much, it may have something to do with the fact that the English have been bullying them for hundreds of years. Try asking the Irish about the estimated 1,000,000 Irish people that died as a result of English economic policies in the 1840s. Try asking the Welsh about how usage of their language went from 90% to 9% following English laws that forbade the teaching of Welsh in schools and which humiliated any Welsh child that dared to speak Welsh.

    Independence for Scotland, for Wales and the reunification of Ireland can't come soon enough.

  27. #27 On July 3, 2006 12:32 PM Peter said:

    Do you really think England played great football? In my (not at all) humble opinion they're overrated and plays a very very boring kind of football.

    It's no surprise that England have big problems with hooligans, what are the sorry bunch supposed to be doing during the game. Watch it??

  28. #28 On July 3, 2006 12:39 PM jazz said:

    In the spirit of sportsmanship, the better team won. Frankly, England wasn't in top shape during this round of the World Cup. It's useless venting one's anger on C. Ronaldo or Rooney when the main problem lied on the team's collective performance. Here's to hoping a brighter future for England under the new leadership.

  29. #29 On July 3, 2006 01:33 PM Malarkey said:

    I happen to agree with Jazz actually although the England performance in the second half with only 10 men was the best they have been recently.

    On another note, I'll be leaving comments open for a few days as normal and your opinion is always welcome unless the Ed deems it offensive or off-topic .

  30. #30 On July 3, 2006 09:16 PM Christian Watson said:

    Although, as an Englishman abroad, I was rooting for England, I wasn't too disappointed when they were knocked out because they haven't played very well for the whole tournatment.

    It certainly didn't seem unfair. They likely would have been eliminated in the next game. Of course, if they'd played really well and the game had been a real nailbiter, I would have been gutted.

  31. #31 On July 4, 2006 05:41 PM Judaism said:

    lol

  32. #32 On July 5, 2006 12:16 AM Red3 said:

    I want to know what was up with the ref?

    I can understand, maybe, his panicked red card after a incident which seemed to be getting out of hand very quickly (although the red card seemed to be more for the reaction to the provovcation of Ronaldo on Rooney than for the incident itself, which was almost certainly accidental.)

    But then to not call a) a hand ball block in the penalty area, and then b) a foul from behind on a goal scoring opportunity again in the penalty, I start to wonder about the bias of the referee.

    Especially in the case of b), if the ref thought the England player was faking it he should have been carded. If not it was a foul in the box and therefore a penalty. But to call nothing just didn't make sense. Maybe he was playing to the advantage - Portugal's advantage, that is.

    England's performance has certainly not impressed me this World Cup, excert for a few flashes of inspiration. However, the really poor performers have been the officials, in my opinion.

  33. #33 On July 7, 2006 01:06 AM Stef said:

    I'm half Italian/half Ukrainian but born and raised in Scotland - talk about a confusing world cup! I wanted to clarify a point made earlier about English arrogance by a fellow Scot.

    I didn't want England to win, NOT because I am racist, have a chip on my shoulder, or any other crass reason but because I cannot stand the commentators and tabloids carping on ad infinitum about 66 and all that. If you turn the volume down on the TV and just watch the team it'd be fine but unfortunately all you ever hear from the national commentators is patronising trash (same goes for the tabloids). That is why most of Scotland didn't want England to succeed. Sure there are ignorant racist a*sholes up here - they are an unfortunate part of life everywhere - but it's not racism, just a desire not to have all this 66/06 guff for the rest of our (and our childrens!) lives.

    And before you think it's just sour grapes, I freely admit that we have a fifth rate football team. The only reason they have such a big support is because the Scots love a party! I've been to a couple of away games and man, what a laugh. No-one actually expects Scotland to win but that means the serious business of drinking and dancing can begin without any heartache. Maybe the England fans should do the same...

    On another note, FORZA ITALIA!! :)