LEN Teh Footy God's Footballodium

[scotchedpommes]

Cheers rdece.

Scotland is applauding that man for putting England to the sword, he was Croatia's 13th man (fans were great, deserve mention as 12th).

The Croatian fans were indeed outstanding. For 7,000, they made it sound like
the Maksimir. Of course I'm obliged to hope Croatia fail, but . I have already
decided to give my passive support to Poland for the tournament.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Well since you obviously have connections with both Scotland and Serbia(?), you should be reasonably happy whatever the outcome was (execpt a draw, that would have put them both through).

[scotchedpommes]

I'm teh neutral.

I don't imagine our man in Serbia, [the absent Duke] would have been
waving his checkerboard flag. Just a hunch.

Here are the pots for the World Cup Draw on Sunday:

Pot 1:

Italy
Spain
Germany
Czech Republic
France
Portugal
Holland
Croatia
Greece


Pot 2:

England
Romania
Scotland
Turkey
Bulgaria
Russia
Poland
Sweden
Israel


Pot 3:

Norway
Ukraine
Serbia
Denmark
Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Finland
Switzerland
Belgium


Pot 4:

Slovakia
Bosnia and Hercegovina
Hungary
Moldova
Wales
Macedonia
Belarus
Lithuania
Cyprus


Pot 5:

Georgia
Albania
Slovenia
Latvia
Iceland
Armenia
Austria
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan


Pot 6:

Liechtenstein
Estonia
Malta
Luxembourg
Montenegro [First campaign]
Andorra
Faroe Islands
San Marino

1. Eight groups of six teams and one group of five.
   
2. Nine group-winners qualify directly
   
3. The highest ranked eight of the nine second-placed teams will enter two-legged playoffs.
   
4. Rank of second-placed teams decided by results against those finishing 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th only.

Greece
Scotland
Norway
Wales
Slovenia
Faroe Islands

That'd do nicely, ta.

[Afonso I of Portugal]

Greece
Scotland
Norway
Wales
Slovenia
Faroe Islands

That'd do nicely, ta.

Nice group! However Greece is not easy as they play ultra defensive football...

[IrishArmenian]

Yeah, the King is right.

[scotchedpommes]

Wishful thinking, it was. I wouldn't be surprised if we draw Italy again. It would
be our third consecutive group shared with the Italians.

I know Greece are renowned for defensive football, of course, all of Europe
knows it. That said, have you seen their qualifying campaign? Looks like they've
played some good football, scoring more than a single goal a game. [This may
be the way of things when they play teams weaker than them, granted.]

Would still take Greece over any of the other teams in Pot 1. Here I think is a
more likely outcome, given our luck, and one which would ensure our manager
legs it to the English Premier League.

Bearing in mind that we usually draw teams we've had in recent groups.

Czech Republic
Scotland
Ukraine
Belarus or Lithuania [Both of which are teams we often face.]
Armenia
Montenegro

Random possibility for another group:

Portugal
England
Denmark
Macedonia
Iceland
Luxembourg

[naut]

Edit:

[scotchedpommes]

Any of those top seeds other than Greece could maul us, and if we get Serbia
or Ukraine out of Pot 3 I won't fancy our chances of making the playoffs.

Anyway, Martin O'Neill has said he doesn't want the England job, apparently he
told the English FA they blew it when they turned him down before. Capello is
clearly going for it, and I think Harry Redknapp looks like he would as well.
Birmingham City want Big Eck, and will probably take him after the World Cup
draw.

In far more important news, you can now watch a video of Tony Henry
singing of his manhood, complete with two sets of subtitles, on the BBC
website.

[InsaneApache]

Blimey we beat the Salford Red Sox and we're out of the relegation zone. Anelka = God.

[scotchedpommes]

Yes! I just knew the BD's would come out and get something against the Mancs.
[Good thing I never said so, mind.]

[IrishArmenian]

Blimey we beat the Salford Red Sox and we're out of the relegation zone. Anelka = God.

Love you guys!

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Did anyone hear Stuart Hall commentating on Everton v Sunderland for 5Live? He was absolutely effusive, and quoted about four pages of Shakespeare verbatim at the end of the game. Love it, the man's a legend.

[IrishArmenian]

Czech Republic
Scotland
Ukraine
Belarus or Lithuania [Both of which are teams we often face.]
Armenia
Montenegro

If this happens, we only have obstacles in the Czech Republic, Scotland and the Ukraine! Yes! Belarus/Lithuania or Montenegro would definitley taste defeat!

[scotchedpommes]

Did anyone hear Stuart Hall commentating on Everton v Sunderland for 5Live? He was absolutely effusive, and quoted about four pages of Shakespeare verbatim at the end of the game. Love it, the man's a legend.

Unfortunately didn't, as I thought, quite typically, that it would be a dull game.

If this happens, we only have obstacles in the Czech Republic, Scotland and the Ukraine! Yes! Belarus/Lithuania or Montenegro would definitley taste defeat!

And the Czechs would be some obstacle. As long as we don't draw France, Italy,
or Germany, I think I'm going to have to be happy with the situation. More
concerned about who our new manager is going to be. I dread to think.

[IrishArmenian]

Yes, I said the Czechs, Scots and Ukrainians would be the tough opponents.

[naut]

Edit:

[Rhyfelwyr]

Trying to listen to the WC draw and follow the Cagliari v AC game on Channel 5 right now.

EDIT: Oh god they're putting us through some modern dance thing, get on with the draw!!!

[Rhyfelwyr]

Netherlands
Scotland
Norway
Macedonia
Iceland

Croatia
England
Ukraine
Belarus
Kazahstan
Estonia

I nearly had a heart attack when there was a 50/50 chance the Scots would draw Italy, just after England got Croatia as well.

Its going to be tough for Scotland, I think they should be able to get second spot, Norway haven't been themselves recently.

And thats a tough group for England. I can see them not reaching the WC now, although Ukraine haven't been inspiring of late either.

[scotchedpommes]

Full list:

Group 1:

Portugal
Sweden
Denmark
Hungary
Albania
Malta


Group 2:

Greece
Israel
Switzerland
Moldova
Latvia
Luxembourg


Group 3:

Czech Republic
Poland
Northern Ireland
Slovakia
Slovenia
San Marino


Group 4:

Germany
Russia
Finland
Wales
Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein


Group 5:

Spain
Turkey
Belgium
Bosnia-Hercegovina
Armenia
Estonia


Group 6:

Croatia
England
Ukraine
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Andorra


Group 7:

France
Romania
Serbia
Lithuania
Austria
Faroe Islands


Group 8:

Italy
Bulgaria
Republic of Ireland
Cyprus
Georgia
Montenegro


Group 9:

Holland
Scotland
Norway
Macedonia
Iceland

Group 2 looks great. Israel could make the World Cup from that. Can we take their place, please?

[cegorach]

Czech Republic
Poland
Northern Ireland
Slovakia
Slovenia
San Marino


yes, Yes, YES !!!!

It couldn't be better, I guess + there are two of our neighbours in the group which means that it will be really easy for the fans to support our team.

[IrishArmenian]

Group Five is quite tough. Spain and Turkey will definitley be difficult opponents and I doubt Belguim shall roll over either.
Can we stop getting the controversial opponents? First we have Azerbaijan in the Euro 08 qualifiers and now Turkey? Give us a damn break!

[Rhyfelwyr]

These are my predictions for the results, having drawn up some tables. (OK I have too much time on my hands, I always ending up doing something stupid like this when I sit down to do an essay )

NB: Bulgaria are the runners-up that don't make it through here.

Group 1:

SWEDEN         23
PORTUGAL       20
DENMARK        17
ALBANIA         8
HUNGARY         6
MALTA           5

Group 2:

GREECE         24
ISRAEL         22
SWITZERLAND    20
MOLDOVA         8
LATVIA          6 
LUXEMBOURG      2

Group 3:

CZECH REPUBLIC 23
POLAND         21
N IRELAND      14
SLOVAKIA       12
SLOVENIA       10 
SAN MARINO      0

Group 4:

GERMANY        23
RUSSIA         22
FINLAND        19
WALES           8
AZERBAIJAN      8
LEICHTENSTEIN   4

Group 5:

SPAIN          25
TURKEY         21
BOSNIA-HERZ    13
BELARUS        11
ARMENIA         7
ESTONIA         3

Group 6:

CROATIA        26
ENGLAND        20
UKRAINE        19
BELARUS        12
KAZAKHSTAN      6
ANDORRA         1

Group 7:

FRANCE         25
ROMANIA        25
SERBIA         18
AUSTRIA        11
LITHUANIA       7
FAROE ISLANDS   0

Group 8:

ITALY          30
BULGARIA       15
IRELAND        13
GEORGIA        11
MONTENEGRO      9
CYPRUS          4

Group 9:

NETHERLANDS    17
SCOTLAND       17
NORWAY         12
MACEDONIA       6
ICELAND         3

[Afonso I of Portugal]

In general i agree with you but regarding Group 1, i think Portugal will finish 1st instead of Sweden. In fact i think it will be hard for us against both Sweden and Denmark but in the end, with more or less difficulties, we should manage to went to the tournament.

[Afonso I of Portugal]

In group 8, are you sure Italy finishing with 30 points? shouldn't be 20?

[Rhyfelwyr]

I can't really see any teams in Group 8 giving Italy any trouble. They may drop 2 points, but I doubt any more than that, unless they are seriously off form.

As for Portugal, they weren't inspiring in the Euro Qualifiers, I think they may struggle to get the neccessary points away from home. Also because of the gap in quality between the top three / bottom three in that group, I think Sweden and Denmark will be close on their heels.

[Afonso I of Portugal]

I can't really see any teams in Group 8 giving Italy any trouble. They may drop 2 points, but I doubt any more than that, unless they are seriously off form.

As for Portugal, they weren't inspiring in the Euro Qualifiers, I think they may struggle to get the neccessary points away from home. Also because of the gap in quality between the top three / bottom three in that group, I think Sweden and Denmark will be close on their heels.

Yes, agreed but maybe they may drop 4/5 points playing away against Bulgaria and Ireland, but no doubt they will finish 1st!
Also agreed about Portugal. We definitely need to struggle against Sweden and Denmark to get our points.

[IrishArmenian]

I have to dissagree with you on group 6. We would most definitley place over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

[naut]

Edit:

[scotchedpommes]

It's all very well approaching these with our own biases and opinions, isn't it?
I had something similar in mind complete with tables, but now that Rhyfelwyr
has gone to the trouble I don't think I'll bother with that much.



Now, for the biased approach: BiH are a strong side, particularly at home. I
really cannot see any circumstances in which Armenia would finish above them,
other than factoring in some key retirements which I won't look into at the
moment.

As for each group...

Group 1 is difficult. I would see Portugal progressing automatically, with Sweden
or Denmark taking the playoff place and possibly being eliminated. Hungary have
some definite quality coming through, and would without any doubt take more
than 6 points from that group. Feel free to hold me to that.


2 for me is Greece, although I think they could be a diminished side after Euro
2008. Israel could well take the playoff over Switzerland, but that should be
close. Both of those teams I could see being eliminated, but playoffs involving
the Swiss have thrown up surprises before.


Group 3, of course, pwned by Slovenia the Czechs. Poland could well sneak
the lead in reality, and I don't see Northern Ireland being too close.


The Germans to take Group 4, with Finland taking the playoff spot after the
Russians bottle it. Finland have done too well in this campaign to make me
think they'd let another tournament go by without at least taking a gubbing
in a playoff.


Group 5 would go to Spain. Playoff spot, to me, will be decided by BiH and
Turkey's results against other teams. In this campaign they both took 3 points
off of each other in close games.


Group 6 goes to Croatia. And I can't decide about the second place. Probably
England, and if not it'll be because they're denied in the 93rd minute of their
crucial match, by Shevchenko taking a penalty [for which he took a superman
dive] with his zimmerframe.


France will win Group 7, barring some major upset in the space-time
continuum. Romania might take the playoff spot, but I don't think it'll be
anywhere near as comfortable as a 7 point gap. Serbia will be close, and by
rights should be.


Italy will cheat their way to the top of Group 8. [I'm not bitter.] Bulgaria
underperform, in my view. They were extremely disappointing in this campaign
and might well hand Ireland second spot.


9, you would expect, will be won by Martin Jol's[?] Dutch side. They didn't
look too hot to me, from what I saw of this campaign. Remember Ireland beat
them in the 2002 playoff. [Nevermind the Euro 2004 playoff, eh.] I think Norway
will take second place. I look at John Carew, or more likely Braaten, and Morten
Gamst Pedersen, and I already see future tears, from a free-kick, in the 82nd
minute.

That makes it:

Portugal
Greece
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Poland
Germany
Spain
Croatia
England
France
Italy
Holland
Norway



In response to Rythmic. Macedonia surprised me in this campaign in that they
didn't do better. Their coach is a lucky man [whose name just happens to be
"Lucky" when translated.] who qualifies small nations for fun. Ukraine's young
players are full of promise, and while I joked about Shevchenko above, I can't
see what way that will go. Their players are technically decent, in terms of
skill, and they can keep possession with the best of them.

As for Scotland's group. We have experience of beating Holland at home, and
being utterly obliterated by them away. Given how poor Holland are now, and
how poor they were when we beat them then, I could see us getting a home
win. In our last World Cup qualification group Norway beat us in Glasgow, and
we beat them, quite convincingly, in Oslo. We then went on to hand them a
playoff place by losing at home to Belarus. I believe that a similar set of
events will occur again, and they will take second place, which seems reasonable.
Last time they were put away in the playoffs quite easily by the Czechs. And
again, I can see an exact repeat.

[Quid]

Switzerland will win the group. If not, we don't deserve to be in it. It's one of the easiest groups we have had in a long time. Greece will be depleted after Euro '08. Their squad is ancient. Israel is beatable; I reckon a draw away and a win at home (last time we played them we gave away a win twice and ended up drawing both games).

Quid