To be fair, the commentator's job is to narrate what is happening, the analyst's job is to provide insight into why things are happening.
Canning probably doesn't want to be commentating on it, any more than we want to be listening to him.
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To be fair, the commentator's job is to narrate what is happening, the analyst's job is to provide insight into why things are happening.
Canning probably doesn't want to be commentating on it, any more than we want to be listening to him.
Speaking of commentating, George didn't do in the Spain/Iran game what I learned to do the hard way many years ago: before thinking that a goal that has been scored, look at the ref and then the linesman. The ref never indicated that the Iranian shot which hit the back of the net was a goal. The flag was up but George merrily went his way commentating as if it was a goal.
As to the match itself, an interesting game I thought despite the ultra defensive play by the Iranians until Spain scored. And after they scored, the Iranians came out and played some good football and could have equalised. Sadlier said he thought Iran were correct to play ultra defensive because Spain would cut them open if they didn't. Well why was it then that when Iran played a much more expansive game Spain never looked like scoring again? It's not that they didn't try. Although I don't want to sound like Dunphy, Spain did look a bit dodgy at the back on occasions.
I really think that teams like Iran with their foreign coaches are not doing themselves justice with these play for a draw tactics in most games. They can play football.
For a country that once had Michael O' Hehir as a supreme commentator I can’t say that Ger Canning measures up . Ok , It would be very hard to come anywhere near .
Its so typical of RTE that a Person gets into a Position and is then impossible to move on . Could they not have Promoted him upstairs or something ?
what's more disappointing is that it appears they have sent maybe only one commentary team to Russia with the rest quite obviously sitting in a studio in Dublin. the result is that the commentary sounds like it was added after the match was over and the atmosphere comes across muted
Great result for Australia. Group on a real knife-edge now: if France and Peru draw, France and Denmark could have a kickabout 0-0 in the last game and both progress. If Peru win, any one of the four could go through.
This World Cup is starting to fall a but flat tbh. We're down below Italia 90 levels goalswise, and that's after starting with a 5-0 and 3-3 in the first 24 hours.
There's been few enough upsets to speak of. Peru have done ok, but have nothing to show for it.
There's been some good games - Spain v Portugal; Denmark v Peru; Germany v Mexico to name 3 - but too many have been turgid affairs.
And the games are all very similar. One team attacks, but there's 8 defensive players around the edge of the box; no way through; get tackled. Up to the other end, but there's already 8 defensive players around the edge of the box; no way forward; have a shot from 25 yards; wildly over. It's too easy now for professional teams just to sit on the edge of the box.
I think that's why it feels like there's been so many great goals - scoring from 25 yards is becoming increasingly important as a skill because you can't cut defences open any more.
There's still two-thirds of the tournament to go, so have to give it time. But if so many games continue being one-dimensional turgid 1-0 wins, you wonder will rule changes be proposed (like the backpass rule in 1991). But I can't think of anything simple and obvious (cutting out wrestling aside) that might help.
/shaking fist at cloud
^^^^^ All Joking aside the Goals need to be made bigger . At least One Ball higher and two ball widths wider .
Once upon a time you were lucky if the goalkeeper was 6 foot tall and most of the time he was in 4 to 6 inches of mud . Its a very simple change that will lead to more Goals .
There have been lots of dud matches: too many of the lower seeds playing for draws, too many of the "big" teams struggling to either put in the appropriate amount of effort (Uruguay for one) or breakdown a packed defence more than once a game. A 1-0 can still be entertaining of course, but when they start to pile-up...
At least there are already two groups where the third round of games have must-win scenarios for lower seeded sides that could provide some serious drama.
Making the goals bigger would certainly lead to more goals alright. I remember Kevin Myers had a column in the Irish Times years ago saying they should be made 10ft high and 10 yards wide (as opposed to 8x8 now), so there'd be areas of the goal that keepers couldn't reach, and you'd get 5-3s all over the shop. That's daft; you can't have unsaveable areas, and 5-3s would diminish the power of the goal. An rud is annamh is iontach, and all that.
But I don't think making the goals bigger would alter the fact that it's so hard to get a shot away in the first place. Arguably the solution is to make the pitch bigger, but that's obviously impossible. Reducing teams to 10 a side would probably be too big a move for FIFA to consider (understandably so; there has to be some continuity with the game's past)
You can't give more points for a win because that just further paralyses teams already scared of losing. You can't give bonus points for scoring goals because that just screams "match rigging" You could tweak the offside so you can't be offside in the box, say, but those kind of tweaks have been counter-productive in recent years (lots of long ball stuff)
Not entirely sure what the answer is. The players are just so much bigger and fitter than they were when the game was invented that they're too big for the pitch now.
This one is quite nasty. A poor game, but the leg-breakers are breaking up (if you'll excuse the pun) the general monotony of the games to date, and are making it vaguely watchable.
Argentina falling apart. Shambolic stuff.
Argentina in big trouble in the group now. Need to beat Nigeria, but if Iceland do that as well, then Argentina are going to have a good bit of goal difference to catch up. Could well see them not in the knock-outs.
Feel sorry for Messi; he's about the only one trying out there for them.
A dull 0-0 draw more likely; I think Croatia will want to top the group. Runner-up probably plays France next; winner plays Denmark/Australia.
But yeah, quite possible alright.
A lot of the Argentinian players have looked seriously fatigued, perhaps a training issue? When that midfielder (missed the name) lost the ball ahead of the second goal, and refused to track back, it took on shades of the 7-1.
Just no kind of shape to them. A team of individuals. Croatia just had to absorb and break when the moments came.
Are Croatia a physically big team . The Argentines looked smaller than them in nearly every position .
Both Croatia and Serbia are Physically big . Something in the water in them there parts .