Pub-based punditry on the beautiful game.
The Football Pubcast is a podcast featuring four (or more) blokes, in a pub, talking football.
Shows are recorded every week from our local pub in Canary Wharf, London.
With Simon off on holiday, Jim, Stu and Dan took to The Henry Addington on Thursday lunchtime to record this week’s instalment of The Football Pubcast.
With Stu in uncharacteristically chatty mood, Jim at the helm and Dan armed with an array of talking points, the show was a packed one once again as the lads looked back at a busy week of footballing goings on.
Simon, Jim, Dan and Stu paid a belated visit to Henry Addington’s in Canary Wharf for this week’s instalment of the Football Pubcast.
Here’s what’s on the show:
– The week in football
– The Fernando Torres miss – was it the worst miss of all time?
– Frank Lampard’s England career
– A week of comebacks
– Cult Hero left wingers
– An update on our adopted team, Melbourne Heart
– Another profile of a player from the 1990s
This week’s show is our 50th – a landmark show we’re sure you’ll agree. Considering we started doing this just as a bit of a mess around, we’re genuinely surprised we’ve reached the big five-oh, but that’s thanks to everyone who subscribes, downloads and streams the show on a weekly basis. We’re amazed you do (others may be amazed you do, too) but we love you for it, so thanks.
We’d love to tell you that, for our 50th show, we had something particularly special in store. In fact it was little different to any other show, with one notable exception – a rocket and watercress salad, which became a surprise star of the show towards the end of our Pubcast.
We cover all the usual, the latest results, the weird stories of the week, our cult heroes (centre midfielders this week) and an update on our adopted team, Melbourne Heart. Stu’s rabbits will be delighted…
Enjoy the show and here’s to the next 50!
[Note: This week's show contains strong language]
It’s the preliminary round of the FA Cup today and as promised we’re off to Trafford for step 2 of our cup run. I’m told there’s another team that play in Trafford somewhere but it must be some sort of pensioner’s team or summat as they play in ‘Old’ Trafford…
Just a few “thank you’s” before i waffle on about today’s game, big thanks to the Football Forum for letting me spam all over their ‘Domestic Cup’ pages we now have a few followers from there.
The guys at the Football Pubcast are as mad as a bag of clown shoes! Great website and podcast even though they’re from that London! The Pubcast team are now following us and putting our blog on their site… cheers guys!
Finally, thank you Jenson Button for ripping up the streets of Manchester on a rainy bank holiday Monday…. just AWSOME! Loads of stuff on YouTube if you missed it and I got to say thanks to the little guy who tried to help the Rhino get a better view!
The Sat-Nav told us we had reached our destination, as i looked up we were outside the Aldi in Flixton town centre. We decided to ask someone who looks local for directions (how does someone “look” local??) “excuse me mate, where’s Trafford’s football ground?” with a puzzled look on this blokes face i knew we had made a mistake and sure enough he answered “your miles away, it’s on the main Chester Road but they’re not playing today it’s Internationals this weekend, England played last night & Rooney got a couple!” So after a couple of phone calls we arrive at Flixton golf club because Trafford FC is right next to it!
After Cheadle had put 8 past Chadderton in the last round & Trafford only winning 2 of their opening 6 fixtures, on paper it looked like a more evenly balanced cup tie than the teams league positions suggested, even one of the Trafford subs was either going to play… or get married! Now that’s dedication! To be fair the lad has the same answer to both questions… “wanna play the second half?”… I DO…. “wanna marry this girl you knocked up at xmas?”… I DO.
KICK OFF!.. the Trafford men in all white start to knock the ball about between themselves in a training session-like but within’ moments they’ve cut through all the green shirts and striker Matt Landregan fired just wide from close range, this sent the Cheadle dug out into an outburst of shouting “face the ball..A?” – “close him down..A?”
We now have a new obsession, why do all footballers & managers shout things in question form? Last season we was focused on how many miles referees cover running backwards in a game but now it’s this strange behaviour, even when it’s tactical advice it becomes a question.. “you’ve gotta’ be quicker than that Macca’……. concentrate A?”
With 10 mins gone Trafford, who are bossing the game get a corner, the Cheadle defence only half clear it and Liam Murray crossed the ball back in for Nia Bayunu to power his header home. Built like the proverbial brick shit house, centre half Nia’s goal makes it 1-0.
As the game goes on the Rhino has noticed that Cheadle’s midfield just haven’t turned up as their defence are just booting the ball forward like an under 11’s team would. “i see they’re using the Wimbledon approach, only Wimbledon were GOOD at it!”
Cheadle’s first chance came just after the half hour mark and that was only because Trafford keeper Tom Read fumbled one of the up-field punts but he gathered it up easily at the second attempt with only McDonagh challenging for it.
Totally in control, Trafford have chance after chance mainly coming from the very impressive left winger Kamahl Whight. Whight was duly snapped just before half time by the Cheadle defence and was subbed with about 5 mins left in the half. HALF TIME 1-0
We head for the snack bar for a pie (reviewed on the pie-ometer page) and i get involved in a conversation with a club official about a wasp sting on his leg for some reason??? He tells me how much it hurts then shows me the back of his leg! I then roll up my jeans to show him a very battered false leg and tell him “that’s how i lost mine! It all started with a sting” leaving the bloke close to tears i head off back to the stand for the second half…
The Second half started with Cheadle actually trying to play through the middle but Trafford’s Simon Gallanders seemed to be everywhere and snuffed out most attacks. Cheadle hit the bar from 25 yards out with an hour gone and were looking better all round. “Let’s keep going….A?” was the cry from Waldorf & Statler in the Cheadle dug out but on 71 mins substitute Tom Bentham, on for Landregan, volleyed in a great goal for 2-0. At this point the Rhino tells me “how many players do you think go off with a groin strain?” pointing at the Trafford physio.
With 10 minutes or so left Cheadle are throwing everything they have at Trafford, the ball is blasted at point blank range into defender Nia Bayunu inside the box and the ref blows for a penalty! For the first time in the match we hear from the home bench…. “you’re havin’ a tin bath ref.. A?” lol lol even he’s at it! Adam Roberts stepped up to take the kick & i video’d it (here) needless to say it’s still 2-0.
With only a couple of added-on minutes to go Cheadle are leaving bigger gaps in their defence than in their midfield, Scott Cheetham on for the now hobbling Kamahl Whight, sends the ball in from the left for Tom Bentham to try and get on the end of, and the lanky blond striker obliged with a glancing header for 3-0. Moments later the ref blows and Trafford will now host Northwich Victoria in 2 weeks time on the 17th. For the first round qualifying in the FA Cup. FULL TIME 3-0
Meanwhile under Fern Cotton’s bra…
…as you would expect there’s not much to talk about, a bit like the club house at Trafford. Only 3 pumps on the tiny bar, the rest of the beer selection is in bottles & cans. There’s about 30 people inside the place so it’s now packed. A couple of Becks each and we get a spot next to my very own toilet (well I fit both categories)
We was ready to settle in for a couple of hours and get the locals drinking the new JD & Fruit Shoot wonder juice when the big lad reminded me that we would be back here in 2 weeks for the Northwich game so we should drink up and go to the pub down the road. This turned out to be sound advice from my logistical genius friend as it was 2 for 1 in the local although we did have to smuggle in our own Fruit Shoots, i know… most people sneak the JD in & just buy the soft drink from the bar but the bar maid didn’t seem to mind but it might be worth calling child line as she told us “my kids drink that stuff all the time!” unless she’s holding out for stardom on the Jeremy Kyle show…
The recently-published FIFA World Rankings have England listed in fourth place, behind Holland, Spain and Germany, but above Uruguay, Brazil, Italy, Portugal and Argentina.
FIFA World Rankings – Top 10
1. Holland
2. Spain
3. Germany
4. England
5. Uruguay
6. Brazil
7. Italy
8. Portugal
9. Argentina
10. Croatia
Is that a fair assessment of England’s standing in international football, or are the FIFA rankings flawed?
In the first article in a new regular feature, Pubcasters Simon Pitney and Michael Coxon take opposing sides to a footballing argument and debate the case for and against.
We’ve called it Pitney vs Coxon, or PVC, if you’re into that sort of thing…
It seems fashionable to knock England because, well, they are a bit rubbish at times. But the recent outpouring of bile about their FIFA ranking is ridiculous because England DO deserve to be the 4th in the rankings.
Why? Well it’s certainly not because the players are better than those of Brazil or Argentina or Italy or even Uruguay, but because the results don’t lie.
We all saw the 2010 World Cup where England were outclassed by Germany and matched by USA, but you can’t base these things on a month. The rankings are based upon the last 4 years, years that have seen England steamroll two qualifying groups and along the way beat Germany, Denmark and Croatia and draw with Holland. Very few nations have had such a record in that time and it’s reflected in Capello having the highest win percentage of any England manager ever. He may not be the best but he’s effective at churning out narrow wins.
But England don’t perform like the 4th best team in the world, you say? Well, can you really measure a good performance? Unless you have a big, complicated formula taking into account possession, shots, goals, territory, refereeing decisions and Cruyff turns performed by the wingers then no, you can’t. England are effective and consistent, whereas teams like Brazil and Argentina are far more prone to the occasional defeat to a lesser team (as Bolivia’s stunning 6-1 victory of Argentina in the 2010 qualifiers illustrates).
Alternatives? Well the place finished at the World Cup only takes into account 32 teams and the ELO rankings seem to be more weighted on historical factors (not that I’m nearly qualified enough to comment). The FIFA rankings aren’t perfect, but they’re as good as we can get. And if they show England as 4th? All the better!
I accept there is no perfect system for rankings – there will always be anomalies – but this doesn’t mean that I have to accept that England are the fourth best team in the world when my eyes tell me something completely different.
England under Capello have sailed untroubled through two qualifying groups and have performed reasonably well in some friendlies in recent years (Germany, Holland) – however I would argue that both of these are massively misleading. First of all, the UEFA seeding system prevents top teams ever having to face each other – lets be honest England have had two relatively easy qualifying groups with which to inflate their rankings totals – I would wager quite heavily that if they had to endure playing real top class opposition they would struggle to look so sublime – for example if they had to undergo the same process as their South American counterparts, where there is no dodging games against Argentina, Brazil and a resurgent Uruguay, I would fully expect England to lose their fair share of games. They have been protected by a system that ensures they will play mediocre teams and therefore remain “statistically” one of the worlds top teams.
As for the friendlies argument – well we have also been embarrassed by Spain and Brazil as well as losing to a French team that is some way short of the standards reached at the turn of the century. Friendlies – you win some you lose some – it doesn’t really matter.
What does matter is the nitty gritty of winning tournament games – something England failed to do with any aplomb in the most recent World Cup – despite having ,on paper, the easiest group. Once we came up against a decent German team (who we beat in an important friendly) we were completely torn to shreds – a World Cup win has to mean SO much more than a friendly.
I like Capello and I do believe England are a decent team that is probably about 10th in the world – but when was the last time England really did anything at a tournament? (Then look at all the teams around them in the rankings and ask the same question) When was the last time they came through a particularly tough qualifying group? Do you really believe that if England played Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay ten times they would win the majority of the matches? What about Portugal? Italy? I’d rather bet your mortgage than mine.
Which Pubcaster do you agree with? Should England be ranked fourth in the world? Register your vote using the poll below and we’ll announce the results in a future Pubcast. Also, feel free to add your thoughts and comments on the issue by using the comments box at the foot of this article.
The Football Pubcast’s Dan Silver made the hop across town to Wembley for the Euro 2012 qualifier between England and Wales.
Along with his mates Matt and Steve, Dan recorded various updates during the evening as part of our Extra Time special.
Here at the Football Pubcast we obviously like football. We also like music. So we absolutely love this.
It’s the new Vauxhall advert which premiered over the international weekend and features the familiar vocals of Mr Noel Gallagher.
The soundtrack is from his new single “AKA… What a Life!” which is set for release on 11th September, so you can download it while you check out our latest show on iTunes!
Enjoy…