It must be very difficult living up there in them Highlands in this summer sun.
Haggis nipping at yer toes, and tartan mosquitos flying up yer kilt bitting yer danglers.
Then, of course, you have England at the World Cup. What a bugger!
Scotsman Article By Tom English:
IT'S FAIR to say that it's not just ITV that has taken some stick for some of their coverage at this World Cup, particularly the coverage of the tournament's lesser lights. The BBC have been getting it in the neck as well. To give you an example, what I'm talking about here is things like Alan Shearer's self-proclaimed "expert analysis" that amounts to a conveyor belt of cliches and the kind of insight that even a child of six would describe as laughable.
Before the Algeria versus Slovenia game in Group C on Sunday, Shearer seemed to be speaking for the entire BBC panel when he said, "Our knowledge of these two teams is limited." Limited! What the former England striker was saying was that he hadn't done his homework, that he hadn't spoken to any of his vast array of contacts in the game, hadn't tapped into the BBC's huge research machinery, hadn't even bothered, seemingly, to peruse the internet for some background on Algeria and Slovenia or even flick through a newspaper or a magazine. Shearer was content to sit in front of the cameras and tell the viewers that, really, he didn't know much. Hardly a revelation to those of us who have groaned our way through his anodyne commentaries in the past, but embarrassing all the same.
Why do the BBC deem that acceptable? Why is Shearer not taken aside and told, 'Listen, if you can't be bothered doing some research on this game then get lost'. It's a different, and entirely more professional story, on radio where the wonderful 5 Live and, closer to home, the award-winning Radio Scotland present their football coverage in a proper fashion. How does Shearer (but not just Shearer) get away with opting out like that?
There's a lot of this going about, on BBC and ITV. The level of punditry is cringe-making. It's lowest common denominator stuff. Patronising and insulting, much of it. Emmanuel Adebayor's mobile phone started ringing in his pocket live on air the other day. His respect for the viewers didn't even amount to him making sure the thing was switched off. Edgar Davids has been unintelligible, Gareth Southgate hasn't said one interesting thing, Kevin Keegan has been nothing more than a cheerleader for England and Andy Townsend has been his usual bland self, trotting out statements of the obvious with a rapid-fire gusto. "I tell you what, for me, he's gotta hit the target from there!"
GROUP A FIXTURES
Friday, 11 June 2010
SOUTH AFRICA 1 MEXICO 1
SOUTH AFRICA: Khune, Gaxa, Mokoena, Khumalo,Thwala (Masilela 45), Tshabalala, Dikgacoi, Letsholonyane,Modise, Pienaar (Parker 83), Mphela.
Goal: Tshabalala 55.
MEXICO: Perez, Aguilar (Guardado 56), Rodriguez, Osorio,Salcido, Torrado, Marquez, Juarez, Giovani,Franco (Hernandez 73), Vela (Blanco 69).
Goal: Marquez 79.
URUGUAY 0 FRANCE 0
URUGUAY: Muslera, Victorino, Lugano, Godin, Pereira,Maxi Pereira, Perez (Eguren 87), Arevalo Rios,Gonzalez (Lodeiro 63), Forlan, Suarez (Abreu 73).
FRANCE: Lloris, Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra, Govou (Gignac 85),Gourcuff (Malouda 75), Toulalan, Diaby, Ribery,Anelka (Henry 71).
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
SOUTH AFRICA 0 URUGUAY 3
SOUTH AFRICA: Khune, Gaxa, Mokoena, Khumalo, Masilela, Tshabalala, Dikgacoi, Letsholonyane (Moriri 57), Modise, Pienaar (Josephs 79), Mphela.
URUGUAY: Muslera, Maxi Pereira, Lugano, Godin, Fucile (Alvaro Fernandez 71), Arevalo Rios, Perez (Gargano 90), Pereira, Suarez, Forlan, Cavani (Sebastian Fernandez 89).
Goals: Forlan 24, 80 pen, Pereira 90.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
FRANCE 0 MEXICO 2
FRANCE: Lloris, Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra,Govou (Valbuena 69), Toulalan, Diaby, Malouda, Ribery,Anelka (Gignac 46).
MEXICO: Perez, Osorio, Moreno, Rodriguez, Salcido, Marquez,Giovani, Juarez (Hernandez 55), Torrado, Vela (Barrera 31),Franco (Blanco 62).
Goals: Hernandez 64, Blanco 79 pen.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
France v South Africa, 15:00
Mexico v Uruguay, 15:00
GROUP B FIXTURES
Saturday, 12 June 2010
SOUTH KOREA 2 GREECE 0
SOUTH KOREA: Jung, Cha, Cho, Jung-Soo Lee, Young-Pyo Lee,Chung-Yong Lee (Jae-Sung Kim 90), Ki (Nam-Il Kim 74),Jung-Woo Kim, Ji-Sung Park, Chu-Young Park (Seung-Youl Lee 87),Yeom.
Goals: Jung-Soo Lee 7, Ji-Sung Park 52.
GREECE: Tzorvas, Torosidis, Papadopoulos, Vyntra, Seitaridis,Samaras (Salpingidis 59), Tziolis, Katsouranis,Karagounis (Patsatzoglou 46), Charisteas (Kapetanos 61), Gekas.
ARGENTINA 1 NIGERIA 0
ARGENTINA: Romero, Gutierrez, Demichelis, Samuel, Heinze,Veron (Maxi 74), Mascherano, Di Maria (Burdisso 85), Tevez,Messi, Higuain (Milito 79).
Goal: Heinze 6.
NIGERIA: Enyeama, Odiah, Yobo, Shittu, Taiwo (Uche 74), Kaita,Etuhu, Haruna, Obasi Ogbuke (Odemwingie 60), Yakubu,Obinna (Martins 52).
Thursday, 17 June 2010
ARGENTINA 4 SOUTH KOREA 1
ARGENTINA: Romero, Gutierrez, Demichelis, Samuel (Burdisso 23),Heinze, Maxi, Mascherano, Di Maria, Higuain (Bolatti 82),Messi, Tevez (Aguero 75).
Goals: Chu-Young Park 16 og, Higuain 33, 76, 80.
SOUTH KOREA: Jung, Oh, Cho, Jung-Soo Lee, Young-Pyo Lee,Chung-Yong Lee, Ki (Nam-Il Kim 46), Jung-Woo Kim, Yeom,Ji-Sung Park, Chu-Young Park (Dong-Gook Lee 81).
Goal: Chung-Yong Lee 45.
GREECE 2 NIGERIA 1GREECE: Tzorvas, Kyrgiakos, Vyntra, Papadopoulos, Torosidis,Tziolis, Papastathopoulos (Samaras 36), Katsouranis,Karagounis, Gekas (Ninis 79), Salpingidis.
Goals: Salpingidis 44, Torosidis 71.
NIGERIA: Enyeama, Odiah, Yobo, Shittu, Taiwo (Echiejile 55),Kaita, Etuhu, Haruna, Uche, Yakubu,Odemwingie (Obasi Ogbuke 46), Echiejile (Afolabi 77).
Goal: Uche 16.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Greece v Argentina, 19:30
Nigeria v South Korea, 19:30
GROUP C FIXTURES
Saturday, 12 June 2010
ENGLAND 1 USA 1
ENGLAND: Green, Johnson, Terry, King (Carragher 46),Ashley Cole, Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard,Milner (Wright-Phillips 30), Heskey (Crouch 79), Rooney.
Goal: Gerrard 4.
USA: Howard, Cherundolo, DeMerit, Onyewu, Bocanegra, Dempsey,Bradley, Clark, Donovan, Findley (Buddle 77),Altidore (Holden 86).
Goal: Dempsey 40.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
ALGERIA 0 SLOVENIA 1
ALGERIA: Chaouchi, Bougherra, Yahia, Halliche, Belhadj,Kadir (Guedioura 82), Lacen, Ziani, Yebda,Djebbour (Ghezzal 58), Matmour (Saifi 80).
SLOVENIA: Samir Handanovic, Brecko, Suler, Cesar, Jokic, Kirm,Koren, Radosavljevic (Komac 87), Birsa (Pecnik 84), Novakovic,Dedic (Ljubijankic 52).
Goal: Koren 79.
Friday, 18 June 2010
Slovenia v USA, 15:00
England v Algeria, 19:30
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Slovenia v England, 15:00
USA v Algeria, 15:00
GROUP D FIXTURES
Sunday, 13 June 2010
SERBIA 0 GHANA 1
SERBIA: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Lukovic, Vidic, Kolarov, Krasic, Milijas (Kuzmanovic 62), Stankovic, Jovanovic (Subotic 76), Pantelic, Zigic (Lazovic 69).
GHANA: Kingson, Pantsil, Vorsah, John Mensah, Sarpei, Tagoe, Annan, Kevin-Prince Boateng (Addy 90), Andre Ayew, Asamoah (Appiah 73), Gyan (Owusu-Abeyie 90).
Goal: Gyan 84 pen.
GERMANY 4 AUSTRALIA 0
GERMANY: Neuer, Lahm, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Badstuber,Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Muller, Ozil (Gomez 73),Podolski (Marin 81), Klose (Cacau 69).
Goals: Podolski 8, Klose 27, Muller 68, Cacau 70.
AUSTRALIA: Schwarzer, Wilkshire, Moore, Neill, Chipperfield,Valeri, Grella (Holman 46), Emerton (Jedinak 74), Culina,Garcia (Rukavytsya 64), Cahill.
Friday, 18 June 2010
Germany v Serbia, 12:30
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Ghana v Australia, 15:00
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Australia v Serbia, 19:30
Ghana v Germany, 19:30
GROUP E FIXTURES
Monday, 14 June 2010
HOLLAND 2 DENMARK 0
HOLLAND: Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Mathijsen,Van Bronckhorst, Kuyt, Van Bommel, De Jong (De Zeeuw 88),Van der Vaart (Elia 67), Sneijder, van Persie (Afellay 77).
Goals: Agger 46 og, Kuyt 85.
DENMARK: Sorensen, Jacobsen, Agger, Kjaer, Simon Poulsen,Enevoldsen (Gronkjaer 56), Christian Poulsen,Kahlenberg (Eriksen 72), Jorgensen, Rommedahl,Bendtner (Beckmann 62).
JAPAN 1 CAMEROON 0
JAPAN: Kawashima, Nagatomo, Nakazawa, Tanaka, Komano,Matsui (Okazaki 68), Honda, Abe, Hasebe (Inamoto 88), Endo,Okubo (Yano 81).
Goal: Honda 38.
CAMEROON: Hamidou, M'bia Etoundi, N'Koulou, Bassong,Assou-Ekotto, Matip (Emana 63), Makoun (Njitap 75), Enoh,Eto'o, Webo, Choupo-Moting (Idrissou 75).
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Netherlands v Japan, 12:30
Cameroon v Denmark, 19:30
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Cameroon v Netherlands, 19:30
Denmark v Japan, 19:30
GROUP F FIXTURES
Monday, 14 June 2010
ITALY 1 PARAGUAY 1
ITALY: Buffon (Marchetti 46), Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Chiellini,Criscito, De Rossi, Marchisio (Camoranesi 59), Montolivo, Pepe,Gilardino (Di Natale 72), Iaquinta.
Goal: De Rossi 63.
PARAGUAY: Villar, Bonet, Alcaraz, Da Silva, Morel Rodriguez,Vera, Victor Caceres, Riveros, Torres (Santana 60),Haedo Valdez (Santa Cruz 68), Barrios (Cardozo 76).
Goal: Alcaraz 39.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
NEW ZEALAND 1 SOLVAKIA 1
NEW ZEALAND: Paston, Reid, Nelsen, Vicelich (Christie 78),Smith, Bertos, Elliott, Lochhead, Fallon, Smeltz,Killen (Wood 72).
Goal: Reid 90.
SLOVAKIA: Mucha, Zabavnik, Durica, Skrtel, Cech, Strba, Weiss,Sestak (Holosko 81), Hamsik (Kucka 90), Vittek (Stoch 84),Jendrisek.
Goal: Vittek 50.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Slovakia v Paraguay, 12:30
Italy v New Zealand, 15:00
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Paraguay v New Zealand, 15:00
Slovakia v Italy, 15:00
GROUP G FIXTURES
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
IVORY COAST 0 PORTUGAL 0
IVORY COAST: Barry, Demel, Toure, Zokora, Tiene,Eboue (Romaric 88), Toure Yaya, Tiote, Gervinho (Keita 82),Dindane, Kalou (Drogba 65).
PORTUGAL: Eduardo, Ferreira, Bruno Alves, Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao, Deco (Tiago 62), Mendes,Raul Meireles (Ruben Amorim 85), Ronaldo, Liedson,Danny (Simao 55).
BRAZIL 2 NORTH KOREA 1
BRAZIL: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos,Felipe Melo (Ramires 84), Silva, Elano (Dani Alves 73),Kaka (Nilmar 78), Robinho, Luis Fabiano.
Goals: Maicon 55, Elano 72.
NORTH KOREA: Myong-Guk Ri, Cha, Chol-Jin Pak, Nam-Chol Pak,Kwang-Chon Ri, Mun (Kum-il Kim 80), Jun-Il Ri, Ji, Hong, Ahn,Jong.
Goal: Ji 89.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Brazil v Ivory Coast, 19:30
Monday, 21 June 2010
Portugal v North Korea, 12:30
Friday, 25 June 2010
North Korea v Ivory Coast, 15:00
Portugal v Brazil, 15:00
GROUP H FIXTURES
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
HONDURAS 0 CHILE 1
HONDURAS: Valladares, Mendoza, Chavez, Figueroa, Izaguirre,Wilson Palacios, Guevara (Thomas 65), Alvarez,Nunez (Martinez 78), Espinoza, Pavon (Welcome 60).
CHILE: Bravo, Isla, Medel, Ponce, Vidal (Contreras 81),Millar (Jara 52), Carmona, Fernandez, Sanchez,Valdivia (Gonzalez 87), Beausejour.
Goal: Beausejour 34.
SPAIN 0 SWITZERLAND 0
SPAIN: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Puyol, Pique, Capdevila,Busquets (Torres 61), Silva (Jesus Navas 61), Alonso, Xavi,Iniesta (Pedro 77), Villa.
SWITZERLAND: Benaglio, Lichtsteiner, Senderos (Von Bergen 35),Grichting, Ziegler, Barnetta (Eggiman 90), Inler, Huggel,Fernandes, Derdiyok (Yakin 79), Nkufo.
Goal: Fernandes 52.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Chile v Switzerland, 15:00
Spain v Honduras, 19:30
Friday, 25 June 2010
Chile v Spain, 19:30
Switzerland v Honduras, 19:30