Jim the Anvil baby!

The poppy is literally the only thing that should take precedence over the Hart Foundation.

Although 80s Totti is close. YE GODS.

And on a more serious note... has there ever been a study on the effects of concussion-induced depression in soccer, as we've been seeing in football in the last couple of years (and to keep the pro wrestling thing going, the Benoit case)? While I don't doubt that the level of trauma is lower, getting your head in the way of, say, a Gerrard free kick on a repeated basis can't be good for the grey matter.

Ha, I love the "Hart Foundation" thing.

I meant to post this earler, but there has been some interesting news around Blackburn Rovers player and Canadian - David Hoilett. He has rejected a new contract with Rovers, and there is much speculation that he (or his father) is angling for a move back to Germany. The article also picks up the thread about his indecision about representing Canada/Jamaica. The player seems to be on the verge of inviting ill-will from multiple sides.

FIFA's recent rules have turned international football into a complete farce as opposed to clean it up as they might have hoped.  Zarate has no business representing Italy.  And when you read his reasoning .. it's even less sound.

Brazil and Argentina must collectively have a laugh every time somebody starts picking up the scraps from under the table.

Uli is a great writer, especially regarding the bundesliga, people shouldnt forget they are not alone in depression.

Depression is real and serious. That's something that the Ontario and Canadian governments need to change policies on.

Also, from flipping around the Times webpage - is there something of a blissful ignorance surrounding the 2018 England bid? Everyone involved seems to be of the belief that they're the odds-on favourites, whereas the only reason I'd put them ahead of Spain / Portugal right now is that FIFA supposedly doesn't like joint bids.

That, and they're being a bit naive about the "unparallelled" quality of their stadia. Someone ought to mention to them that the only reason the US doesn't have ten times the number of five-star venues that they do is that US Soccer would much rather play in smaller venues away from large Hispanic population bases. Having seen a game at Old Trafford, I can safely say that there's at least 30 stadiums in the US better than their beloved Theatre of Dreams, and I haven't been to the newer NFL palaces like Jerryworld or (obviously) New Giants Stadium. If they're clinging to the hope that just because soccer doesn't rate highly in the U.S. the country doesn't deserve the WC, they're going to be in for a rude awakening.

Stephen, something that you have failed to comment on and I admit that the USA has good stadiums, is that the size of the USA is negative to the tournament. That's the reason stated for the MLS staying with the conference system. Remember that the WC is a month long tournament, countries competing will want to reduce as much as they can the amount of travel their players have to endure. Imagine that a team is playing their group stage games in NY, then the quarterfinals are played in Houston, then the semis and final are played in LA. That's alot of travelling in a short amount of time, plus the time difference and the changes in climate. Compare all that with a team playing their group stages in Newcastle, then quarters in Manchester and the semis and final in London. It's a drastic reduction in travel time, plus no time change and no climate changes.

Plus the USA held it in '94, while England hasn't held it since '66.

Within the confines of commerical air travel and modern athlete pampering i don't see the geographic spread as a big deal.  Plus there is ample time off between each of the relative stages. The fact they just hosted in 94 would pay against them i'd think.  

However, England shouldn't consider themselves clear as of yet.  I'd think Spain would be strong competition and Italy always has talk about bidding for a future WC in order to start the process of rebuilding their dumpy stadiums.  

Also, remember that no pro sports team (well, other than penny pinching MLS squads and similarly minor leagues) flies commercial anymore. Everyone flies charter, which eliminates virtually all travel problems. The time change is a minor problem, but one that can be easily solved by smart scheduling (have two groups in the NY / Boston area, two in Chicago / Detroit, two in Dallas / Houston, and two in LA / San Diego - no one has to fly more than 45 minutes for the first few rounds).

The key is that the US is the only country in the world that can generate the type of money  it does because of the difference in stadium quality. For example, think about what would happen if Mexico played a World Cup game in Cowboys stadium. That place has an insane amount of lucrative premium seating, will only be eight years old in 2018 AND can supposedly get more than 100,000 people in for a game, which they'd easily do for a Mexico WC match. And a US bid would be headache-free, since unlike South Africa and Brazil, there's no construction involved.

That combination just doesn't exist anywhere else in the world, and that's why the English dismissal of the US is idiotic - they don't seem to understand how yawning a gap it is between the two countries (although Tottenham's new building helps the English case).

Alex: I think Italy's only going to bid on 2022, and even then only if no European country wins 2018. You're right that Spain's probably the frontrunner, since the UK always botches their bid somehow at the last second.

liek ive said with numerous players i am not fond of.....i hope begovic roles his ankle and has to end his career

www.thesun.co.uk/.../Nani-hits-out-at-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.html

doubt nani will ever play another game for utd after this