2014 World Cup

France were lethal on the break. Very convincing performance, although they slacked off a bit to concede the two late on. Took the sheen off it slightly. Pity Benzema's final effort won't count; lovely finish.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Did the Swiss keeper just completely ignore the penalty rebound there?

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He did. Was stunned at that myself. Completely unprofessional. He should have thrown himself across the face of the goal. I know they were two goals down at the time (or was it three?), but it looked like he'd just given up completely.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

A free kick has been scored!!

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Phew! Praise the lord! Proper order restored. Although it should never have been. That wall was a joke. Was it Benzema who lifted his leg in a lame dog-about-to-take-a-**** fashion?

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

Ok so Kerr was exceptional to do what he did back then, so that leads to my other question of would his coaching methods work today or would they be outdated? Has Kerr got all the FIFA coaching badges etc, he wouldnt have need them back then

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I think he'd have earned the right to be the guy in charge though, the guy who oversees the system, who appoints the coaches and to whom the coaches are accountable. I also think he'd be the kind of guy to build bridges between all the conflicting factions in Irish football and who'd push to join everything up properly. He knew the LOI inside out but also the schoolboy and intermediate games too.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

That's what often fascinates me about footy. The best players don't always make the best team.

So, what was Kenny vs Eamon about? Selecting JT or not?

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It's not the particular issue that matters, just Kenny stands his ground, picks his spot on the wall and keeps staring at it while he stands his ground with an intelligent intensity against a bumbling Dunphy.
So far it's 2-0 to Kenny and he's walking on water.

I dont disagree with any of that at all Stutts, it is a sin that he doesnt have some sort of job in the game when you see some people involved as coaches or whatever

MO'N rubs it in?
<a href="http://youtu.be/J125_gQwVDU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://youtu.be/J125_gQwVDU

Valencia (the other one) with the miss of the tournament so far in this late game. Decent enough stuff so far, both teams going for it.

Nothing compared to that penalty rebound miss in fairness! Don't think anything could match that.

But yeah, should have been a goal.

Game's picking up alright. Have to say I enjoy Brian Kerr on commentary. Nice mix of knowing what he's talking about and occasional dry humour.

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Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy

MO'N rubs it in?

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'I use to be a player once, now i'm an older gentleman ...........but with 2 EC medals in my pocket' ;)

Jesus, Adrian Chiles is a complete bell end

Crikey, how did that ball ever make it past four Hondurans and through to Enner Valencia at the back post? Very poor defending.

Sneaky little kiss from the Ecuador manager to his assistant there. Oh, these Latin types.

Love Brian Kerr on commentary. An LOI reference a game, this time in comparison to Ecuadorian right backs (paraphrasing): "Reminds me of some bad LOI matches I was watching 20 years ago, bad pitches....And I don't mean a Dublin side. Or Sligo."

Hondurans love to get stuck in. Little restraint.

Is Kerr commentating on RTÉ?

He is, yep.

Gotta love the guy who handles the ball into a the net from an offside position, then complains so much about it getting disallowed that he gets booked.

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Originally Posted by Razors left peg

I think I hate the Swiss more than most in World football. I'll never forget the night under Kerr when we failed to qualify and they made the playoffs. Their fans were the most miserable bunch Id ever seen. I remember being devastated in the pub afterwards and the Swiss fans looking like they didnt give a toss made me even more p1ssed off.

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Not a whole lot of pre match atmosphere here, but i can imagine at work there will be a lot of ribbing from the French. They care about their league and teams anyway, well supported all things considered :)

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Originally Posted by bennocelt

Not a whole lot of pre match atmosphere here, but i can imagine at work there will be a lot of ribbing from the French. They care about their league and teams anyway, well supported all things considered :)

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Swiss French support Switzerland or France?
or are you referring to French French?

Amazing game here. All semblance of decent play has gone by the wayside, some baffling decisions, not least this: https://vine.co/v/MTHeqnvd0te

Honduras fouling at every opportunity too. Such a dirty team.

A lot of conclusions to draw from this World Cup re presentation:

RTE
Bill "Okie Dokie" O'Herlihy: Bill is Bill. Nothing much to say here. He's retiring. He'll be missed.
Darragh Moloney: A decent presenter. Can control the panellists and lead the conversation. But no Bill.
John Giles: Still no better reader of the game. I don't care if he doesn't know the finer details of names or say, where they play. He analyses a game live like no other. A national treasure.
Eamon Dunphy: Out of his depth at this stage. His argument with Kenny Cunningham was another low-point. Souness would have decked him if he tried that. Childish and patronising. His time is nigh.
Liam "Chippy" Brady: Some decent input. Good as a buffer for Dunphy's bull.
Didi Hamann: We all know what he can contribute but does it well. Like him a lot.
Kenny Cunningham: The new star in the making. A wonderful analyst with pinpoint statements and no crap. When he gives an opinion based on conjecture he informs us as much. No bluffing just facts. The true heir to Johnny. Getting more comfortable on the air too. Murdered Dunphy the last night.
Ossie Ardiles: Haven't seen enough to comment. From what I remember of WC2010 he was great. Bar that accent.
Ronnie Whelan: You'd never guess that this man was one of the most talented footballers ever to emanate from Ireland or Britain. It's almost like he doesn't know anything about soccer outside of the game you happen to watch him "analyse". his contributions to the Spain-Netherlands game were particularly awful. The man at the bar would know more than this charlatan.
Richie "I wanna be like Eamon when I grow up" Sadlier: Easily the most negative man on the planet. The problem is that he’s not the worst pundit. If he just toned it down and didn't troll he would be the better for it.
Brad Friedel: Haven't seen sight nor light of him. Has he turned up to RTÉ at all?

Dream Team: Giles, Cunningham, Hamann

ITV
Adrian "Gombeen" Chiles:A absolute shyster. One of the most terrible presenters in all of football, nay, sports bradcasting. Stunted, lacking in knowledge. A terrible presenter. No wonder Roy abandoned ship.
Matt Smith: Lacking any knowledge or presence. A terrible presenter but a Bill in comparison to Chiles.

In saying that ITV's pundits are actually somewhat decent...
Lee Dixon: Really warmed to Dixon for his CL punditry and his presence with Roy was actually solid. Two massively impressive players with great careers and completely deserving of respect. Can analyse the game well.
Andros Townsend: The big shock of the whole World Cup. Andros is actually a very good analyst of the game. All the more impressive given he should be playing at this World Cup. Have enjoyed his contributions.
Glenn Hoddle: Outside of the England games I've enjoyed Hoddle. It does show in general, that the better the player the better the analyst.
Martin O'Neill: His put down on Chiles was classic. Calm and collected as we already know he is; no surprises in his punditry. Very witty. Dare I say, very Irish. Every panel needs one of us.
Patrick Vieira: I would have loved for him to be in the studio wth Roy. Decent analyst but his accent drives me mad. Almost unlistenable.
Fabio "Hairy" Cannavaro: Not bringing much to the table other than that piece. And a WC winners medal.
Ian "Wrighty" Wright: Almost nothing can prepare you for the awfulness of this guy. Atrocious.
Gordon Strachan: Not someone I thought I would have warmed to as quickly as I did. Insightful. To the point. Daycent.
Gus Poyet: It was a shame the Uruguayan couldn't be truly honest when his national team beat England. Hasn't been a bad addition.

Dream Team: Hoddle, Dixon and Strachan

BBC
Gary Lineker: He's no Chiles. But I REALLY dislike him as a presenter. Smarm everywhere.
Alan Hansen: Dreadful as always. Never says anything of note. Thank God he's finally retiring.
Alan Shearer: Completely growing into the role of "senior" analyst bar one or two biased opinions re England (which is to be expected) he was spot on. Starting to enjoy is presence. Annoyingly.
Thierry Henry: Yes I despise him for "you-know-what". Yes I hate his smugness. But boy is he knowledgeable and on the ball. Wonderful pundit. Dang. BBC are causing me a crisis of conscience.
Clarence Seedorf: Again decent. At ease as a pundit. Doesn't hide behind cliche. Can actually be fairly funny to boot.
Robbie Savage: THERE. ARE. NO. WORDS. Horrific co-commentator and analyst.
Rio "de Janeiro" Ferdinand: Not great. Not bad. Some of his punditry is clearly auto-cued. But he's no Robbie Savage.
Juninho: Thankfully I have missed him. But what I have seen has been desperate. Token Brazilian for the Beeb.
Mark "Lawro" Lawrenson: Thankfully on co-commentary duty so I don't have to listen to him pluralise all team names and talk in cliche. And that HAIR! Eugh. One of the worst pundits out there. If he was a team he'd be like your Port Vales, your Drogheda Uniteds, your Roda JCs...

Dream Team: Shearer, Henry and Seedorf

CBC
CBC do sport well. Well, sport that Canada are good at so that’s essentially the Winter Olympics or the NHL. World Cup coverage is another kettle of fish altogether. Hindered by awful pundits (Craig Forrest, really?) and that incredibly annoying habit of North American sports of staring straight into the camera like a rabbit in a headlights when talking. Atrocious.
Thankfully their commentary is provided by ITV for the games that BBC are showing live. That makes sense if you've been watching.

Am I the only one who usually mutes the telly and heads out into the sun during half time, and so doesn't really give a rat's arse about the punditry?

Always thought people gave out about a bit too much about what's a necessary evil to fill a void.

Still, interesting list Bonnie!