World Cup 2014

At the time of writing, the World Cup 2014 Semi Finals have yet to be played. The protagonists are Brazil v Germany and Netherlands v Argentina. With five wins, Brazil have the most auspicious World Cup record, followed by Germany with three wins and Argentina, who have won the cup twice. Netherlands have featured in the final three times, but have never won. Being British, I'm favouring the underdogs, which, in this case, must be the Dutch. It would be great to see them succeed and finally lift the trophy rather than being the plucky also-rans. However, there is one aspect of the Netherlands play that leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Suarez Bites Chiellini

As with most World Cup Finals, there have been those players whose antics, when fouled, have been worthy of an Oscar nomination. A tap on the shin can lead to theatrical dives and rolling around on the field of play as if the player in question has been poleaxed. It is an unfortunate aspect of the modern game and it is clear from some of the players' actions that it is a part of their game that they must practice - see this tongue-in-cheek video (Diving Practice). The bottom line of such deeds is that it is cheating, pure and simple. Once Suarez was taken out of the equation for his physical attack on the Italian player Giorgio Chiellini, the tournament seemed to take a turn for the better. However, waiting in the wings was Arjen Robben.

When Netherlands played Mexico on Sunday 29th June 2014, the knockout phase of the World Cup Finals was in full swing. With the score drawing at 1 - 1 and the game looking like it was heading into extra time, Arjen Robben entered the penalty area and dived spectacularly after minimal contact from Mexico's Marquez. The resultant penalty was converted and Netherlands went through to the Quarter Finals. By his own admission, this wasn't the only time he'd taken a dive during the match - although he didn't dive to get the penalty, honest!

Despite this, I want the Dutch to win as they are the only team in the semi finals not to have won the World Cup. If this win comes with a red card for Robben for diving, then that would be a scenario I could live with. 

"Football Knowledge" Update

Football Knowledge - England Honours Page

Most people who have looked at my "Football Knowledge" website have liked what they've seen so far. The England pages are complete as are the Premier League pages for next season's teams. I'm working through the Championship teams and would like to finish the English Football League system up to and including the Conference Premier League by the start of the new season. In between, there is the World Cup to contend with, so it would be a good idea to include the national teams on the website for those countries taking part in Brazil 2014...not a lot of work, then!

QPR - Notable Players Page

If you've previously taken the time to look at "Football Knowledge", thank you. I have tinkered with the format to a point where I'm happy with the formulaic layout of the site, but, as always, constructive criticism is more than welcome. As mentioned in an earlier post (New "Football Knowledge" Website), the idea behind the website is to give all football fans an insight into the history of not only their club, but also the teams that their club may face. It is interesting, as I construct the site, to note how some of the so-called "bigger clubs" have not really had much success in their history, relative to their current position in the football league tier. Conversely, other "lower" clubs may have been seen as the team to beat early on in the life of the fledgling football leagues at the tail end of the nineteenth century.

Dropdown Menu

Club Buttons

Accessing the various team pages is an easy process. Finding your team in the dropdown menu is one way of getting access to the team's Home Page. The other way to access the same page is to click on the appropriate title in the navbar. So, for example, clicking on The Premier League will take you to the page for that league. At the bottom of the page are the team buttons which, when clicked, will take you to the team's Home Page.

Steve Bloomer
Derby County, Middlesbrough & England

Some of the "Notable Players" (Most Appearances Top 3 and Most Goals Top 3) have led fascinating lives inside and outside of the footballing world. One player who springs immediately to mind is Steve Bloomer who played for Derby County from 1892 - 1906 and 1910 - 1914. Number three in the Most Appearances Top 3 list with 525 appearances for the club, Steve Bloomer is also the club's all time top scorer with 332 Derby County goals to his credit. On retiring from playing the game in 1914, he left England to pursue a career in coaching/management in Germany for Britannia Berlin 92, a football club formed in 1892  and a founding member of the DFB (German Football Association) in 1900. Within three weeks of arriving, war was declared between Great Britain and Germany, and Steve Bloomer, along with thousands of

other British nationals, was interned in the Ruhleben civilian detention camp near Spandau in Germany. The camp was akin to a small town and the society adopted the British way of life with its own police force and postal service. Sport was an integral part of the camp life and the Ruhleben Football Association was one of the many social aspects of the internees. A league and cup competition was organised and many ex-professional players who also found themselves interned for the duration of the war helped with the organisation of the Ruhleben FA and also played for one of the member clubs. This is an interesting aspect of the First World War which has not been widely reported, at least not in my lifetime, and is a subject I intend to research...watch this space.