So the day is Thursday 18th July, the glorious sun is shining through my window and it is my day off from work. My beautiful partner has gone to work and I am home alone.
There are many things I could do with my day - whether it be strolling in the park, having a quiet read on the balcony or meeting up with a friend for lunch... But no. My sole focus is to get Crewe Alexandra promoted from League 1.
Let me explain myself.
I have been a massive fan of the Football Manager series for about 10 years now. I have spent hours/weeks/months on that game steadily building a solid foundation for any given team. I have won everything there is to win, and I have been heartbroken when losing to that gutting goal in the final minute that my keeper most definitely should've saved! I have been there. I have even played the Champions League theme tune through my phone as my players come out onto the pitch. I have felt every minute, and I have loved it...
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing that youth team player you have produced grow into one of the World's best players. To see him get called into the international squad for the first time, and for him to thank you when getting his first international cap or goal. The feeling of finding that elusive gem playing away in the depths of a Scandinavian league and giving him his chance at the big time - to see him score the winner in the FA Cup Final! To have one of your legendary players retire and then elect to become your Assistant Manager so that you can continue your friendship.
These characters are not simply fake little players running around. They are my players. They are people, and they have personalities to go with it. I imagine they have fake little families, and are friends with all the other fake little players.
...and this is why I am an addict.
But I don't care. Yes the sun is shining, yes there are a million things to do, but young Stevie Harrison has just come into the youth team, and he is going to be my star for years to come! I must make him a star!!
Only a few people will really understand this, but those who do will completely appreciate where I'm coming from. The rest of you can think I'm mental, that's fine. I have a legacy to complete.
Ok, let's face it. My post here was a little tongue in cheek, and in reality I got 0 out of 3 correct..
The major thing I got incorrect was that I didn't predict that for the first time in history, the World Cup held in South America would be won by a European team.. However, my thought process wasn't a million miles off for the rest of it.
Winners: Germany
Prediction: Brazil
I predicted that Brazil would win the World Cup.. I was wrong. They were utterly hammered by the eventual winners in the Semi Finals. I can't really defend that.
Runners Up: Argentina
Prediction: Germany
I had predicted that not only would there be a Europe vs South America final, but also that Germany would be the team representing Europe. I would argue that had Brazil been on the other side of the draw, the final could well have been Brazil vs Germany but as they both won their groups that was deemed impossible. If you read my original thread too, I toy with the idea of putting Argentina there and state that the only reason I chose Brazil was because of home advantage. So yes, I was wrong but I was close to being right.
Top Scorer: James Rodriquez
Prediction: Edin Dzeko
Now, I was completely wrong with my answer here. I had Bosnia down to be a dark horse. They scored plenty in qualifying and Dzeko was their top scorer. They should've breezed past Nigeria and Iran but alas, they didn't. Unfortunately he ended the tournament with 1 goal to his name, and Bosnia never made it out of their group.
However - I was correct to state that the top scorer is likely to be playing for a team that does not compete in the final. In fact, James Rodriguez didn't even play in the Semis... So my thought process was correct, but my decision making was a bit off.
It is no secret that our issues with the national team are being blamed on those 'average' foreign players that get brought into the Premier League on smaller pay packets. The England National Team is apparently worse off because of this, and the idea of a 'B Team League' has been brushed off with barely a whimper - after all, how is the English team going to benefit from more players playing at a lower standard...?
If the FA will not put rules in place to restrict the amount of players from across Europe joining our league, surely English players should be looking to seek moves to clubs outside of our own nation. There are barely any British players plying their trade across Europe's other big leagues, and I think this is part of our downfall.
In the Premiership, we have a huge amount of Spanish, French, Dutch and German players. Players who are mostly internationals, and some who are absolutely World Class.. On the other hand, the only player in Woy's squad to play outside of the Premier League is Fraser Forster.. Of Celtic.
I was frustrated with Tom Ince when he turned down a move to Inter Milan, stating that he has 'unfinished business' in the Premiership. This isn't the case. He is still young and can return to the PL after 5 potentially brilliant seasons playing for one of Italy's top clubs - but no. He'll probably move to Hull, or Crystal Palace and be constantly ignored by the National team because he isn't at a big club. He has the potential to be one of the most effective wingers in Europe, and this lack of ambition really frustrates me.
I have read recently that Fraser Forster has been linked with a move to Athletico Madrid and I think this would be a brilliant move for him. I really rate Forster, but it's clear that playing for Celtic has seen him considered only 3rd choice for England. I think he's far better than Ben Foster, and, provided he's playing for a World Class team on a regular basis, he could really push Joe Hart for the Number 1 spot... But staying in Scotland would see him fester into that average 3rd choice role for the rest of his career.
Yes, the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the World - and there are a lot of British players drawn to that - but if you have the option of Inter Milan or Hull, surely it's a no brainer?! Gareth Bale took the plunge and went to Real Madrid, and he is clearly enjoying that - but even that took a World Record fee.
Look at Joey Barton, succeeding at Marseille a couple of seasons back. Joe Cole had a bit of a revival in France with Lille - but has since failed at West Ham, and even Bradley Wright-Phillips looks a decent player playing alongside Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry in the MLS, moving there from Charlton.
Let's imagine that Tom Cleverley goes abroad along with Micah Richards, Ryan Shawcross and Andros Townsend. Four players that have potential to be good enough for the England team, but are wasting time stuck at their current clubs - happy to be average. Shawcross could get into almost any squad in Europe and would be great in the heart of an English defence, Richards was a brialliant youngster but has since rotted away on Man City's bench and cannot shift Zabaleta from that right back slot. Townsend too would be brilliant in La Liga or Serie A, and Cleverley could even do a decent job in the Bundesliga. But it is just not going to happen.. The draw of the Premier League is too great, even if it means a player's career suffering because of it.
The amount of players you could list who have 'wasted potential' goes on - you look at Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclar, Ravel Morrison, Wilf Zaha, Conor Wickham.. All players who are not getting game time in the biggest competitions because they would rather stick it out at an average English team, or convince themselves that they're going to knock Juan Mata or Yaya Toure out of the starting lineups of their clubs. Not going to happen. Move on. Live a little. Reach that potential!
Cool. Rant over. Thanks for reading.
Today sees Costa Rica play Greece in the title match for the Unofficial Football World Championships.
The winner will move up in the rankings - Costa Rica from equal 24th (with Angola, Paraguay, Peru and Zimbabwe) to joint 22nd (with Colombia and Romania). Greece would move ahead of Japan and Chile, to joint 15th alongside Wales and Austria.
For those who didn't read my last post about the UFWC, it is the longest international football 'competition' in which there is a winner-stays-on mentality. The first champions were England back in 1873, having beaten Scotland - they held onto it until they were beaten, the team that beat them then held onto the title until they were beaten, and so on.. Right up to present day, over 800 international matches have had the title up for grabs, over 142 years, title bouts have been fought between some of the huge teams in the World, as well as some of the minnows.
As recently as 2012, North Korea were UFWC title holders having won it from Japan - and held the title for a whole year before losing against Sweden on penalties in the 'King's Cup', held in Thailand.
Scotland currently top the World Rankings with most successful defences of the title, mostly due to the fact that in the early years there were very few international football teams at all. They look likely to stay there for some time, with England 13 defences behind, and Argentina 3rd in the rankings and 29 victories away from overtaking them.
This year, we will see the UFWC and the World Cup title unified during the World Cup for the 9th time in history. England could've kept them apart had they beaten current holders, Costa Rica, before heading back home - but alas they did not, Costa Rica successfully defended the title and it is now up to Greece to take it off them.
What's great is that the teams competing don't even know they are competing for it. They could lose the title in an international friendly, or they could - as will happen this year - win it in the World Cup Final. It is unlikely that Costa Rica will keep hold of it for much longer, but you never know!
The winner of today's game will then take on the team who wins between Netherlands and Mexico, in another title bout.
Today, I think Costa Rica will keep hold of it. Greece have only scored 2 goals in the competition, and blagged it through the group stage thanks to a last minute penalty which Samaras put away.
Costa Rica have impressed, beating both Uruguay and Italy - and are currently one of the few teams to maintain an unbeaten record in the competition. They've played some good football, and are ultimately the surprise of the tournament.
I'm gonna go for a win on penalties for Costa Rica, after a 1-1 draw. Quite specific, but I'd like to imagine it'll go that far.
When you think of footballing World Champions, you think of Brazil, Spain, Argentina. You wouldn't realistically think that Scotland are ranked number 1 in the World - but you'd be mistaken.
I imagine that none of you have ever heard of the Unofficial Football World Championship (UFWC), but it is something that captures the imagination, and cannot really be argued against.
The current holders of the UFWC Trophy are Costa Rica (Ranked =24th). Odds are, they do not know this - but by beating Uruguay (11th) on the 14th June, they took the title and have held it ever since. England (2nd) had a chance to claim it off of them, but the 0-0 in their final group game was not quite enough. Costa Rica's match against Greece (=17th) on Sunday will determine whether they hold onto it for a little longer.
You see, the UFWC is a competition that has gone on since the very first international football match was played between Scotland and England, in 1872. Back then, there were no other teams and thus, the winner of that game could claim to be the best in the World! It finished 0-0 of course, but they had a rematch in 1873 which England won 4-2. England were Champions!
Imagine the UFWC as a belt in boxing. You defeat an opponent, you get the title. Every match is a 'title fight', whether it be a World Cup Final, or a seemingly pointless friendly.
Through 142 years of international footballing history, the title has passed through the hands of some huge teams, as well as some minnows of the footballing World. Even the likes of Angola (=24th), North Korea (=20th) and Wales (=15th) rank higher than teams such as Portugal (=38th) and Belgium (=30th).
1 point is scored for the team who wins the vital match involving a UFWC title holder. A draw counts for nothing, and is considered a successful defence of the title. Owing to the fact that most international matches in the 19th century were contested by the home nations, England and Scotland are a few points clear of the rest - but that will all change in time.
So if you follow the 142 year UFWC lineage of over 800 international competetive and friendly matches, following who beats who, and starting with the first ever International Football match, you discover that Costa Rica are the current Unofficial Football World Champions.
So grab a beer, and tune in on Sunday because Costa Rica vs Greece is the next UFWC Cup Final!
UFWC Rankings (Top 10)
1 
SCOTLAND 86
2 
ENGLAND 73
3 
ARGENTINA 57
4 
NETHERLANDS 49
5 
RUSSIA 41
6 
BRAZIL 29
7 
SWEDEN 28
8 
GERMANY 27
8 
ITALY 27
10 
FRANCE 25
Today brings in the final group games of the tournament, giving us a day off tomorrow before the serious games start.. It's been an awesome tournament so far, with a couple of talking points I'd like to discuss.
Luis 'Jaws' Suarez.
This man is a fool. He has had a brilliant season with Liverpool, despite starting it with a 10 game ban for biting Ivanovic. He managed to turn things around, and even had some of us believing that he had turned a page. Alas, he has not. He is still a bitey wanker - highlighted by the chunk he decided to take out of Chiellini's shoulder in Uruguay's game against Italy.
His punishment? A 9 game international ban, and 4 month ban from footballing activities worldwide. This now means that since 2010, Suarez has been banned from playing in 34 matches without receiving a red card.
I think it's a generous punishment. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if in 18 months from now, he has bitten someone else and we go through this process all over again. He is a waste of great talent. I also think that if someone like Joey Barton were to do the same thing, he would be out of contract and unemployable - but alas, this is Suarez. He scores goals blah blah.. anyway, enough about him.
England
I think the criticism of the England team has been pretty harsh. I was very positive after the game against Italy, and thought we got some good things out of it. We were never going to do particularly well in this tournament, and knew that we had a tough group. Uruguay frustrated us, and the Costa Rica game was meaningless. I always suspected the Italy game would define who goes out of the group, and I was correct - though I certainly didn't expect Costa Rica to defeat anybody and win the group.
We have very few players in their prime at the minute - either too old or too inexperienced - and the one chap who should be in his prime is constantly being slaughtered by the media. We got what we realistically expected, and that's fair enough.
I would like to have seen more of Lambert in the World Cup, and more of Adam Lallana - Sturridge missed too many chances for my liking, and there's only so many times the likes of Barkley or Sterling can try and wiggle their way through an opposition's defence.
Saying that, I think we did OK. Yes, it is disappointing to not progress - the same can be said for any team who gets knocked out in the first round - but I don't think we were too bad.
Right, on to today's matches!
USA vs Germany
Huge game for USA and Klinsmann this, who have done well to be where they are. Nicked a victory out of Ghana, and just missed out on a huge upset against Portugal - USA are punching above their weight, and this game could see them either scrape through or narrowly miss out. Germany have looked alright, but not as great as you might expect.
Prediction - USA 1-2 Germany
Portugal vs Ghana
Both teams need a victory, and in Portugal's case - a pretty decent one - and I think they'll get it. Ghana have frustrated me because they have some great players, but don't have the composure to put the ball in the net when it matters. Muntari has been sent home alongside Kevin Prince Boateng, arguably two of their better players, and so it falls on the shoulders of the Ayew brothers, Christian Atsu, and former Sunderland man Asamoah Gyan to blag a win. Portugal have been crap so far and really need a performance. I imagine that Ronaldo will take it upon himself to win this, and will possibly be awesome.
Prediction: Portugal 3-0 Ghana
South Korea vs Belgium
I don't have a lot of faith in the Korean team. Losing to Algeria was pretty poor, and they lack the quality to do anything against a decent Belgium squad. Belgium haven't quite hit the heights yet in a relatively easy group, but this game should be the chance for Lukaku, Hazard and co to shine.
Prediction: South Korea 0-4 Belgium
Russia vs Algeria
Really? This game sounds crap but you never know. I've not got much of an opinion on either team, though I'd quite like to see Algeria blag it through to the next round and so I'll be cheering them on. Russia need a victory to have any chance - so should nab a goal, but have been largely disappointing for Mr Capello so I'm going for an unlikely victory for the African team.
Preditcion: Russia 1-2 Algeria
Here's how I got on with yesterday's games - not too bad!
Spain vs Australia
Predicted result: 4-0
Actual result: 3-0
Holland vs Chile
Predicted result: 1-2
Actual result: 2-0
Brazil vs Cameroon
Predicted result: 4-0
Actual result: 4-1
Croatia vs Mexico
Predicted result: 1-0
Actual result: 1-3
So overall not too bad - I was hoping for a Chilean surprise, and thought Croatia would be Mexico but ultimately they were outplayed. I predicted the other two games pretty accurately. This all means that Brazil will play Chile in the next round, and Holland get to play Mexico. Cameroon, Spain and Australia had already packed their bags and Croatia will be joining them on the plane home.
Today sees England back in action, this time against the surprise package of the tournament - Costa Rica. Uruguay face Italy in the other Group D clash, a game in which the winner will progress. In Group C, Colombia have already qualified and face a Japan team who must win, and hope that Greece beat Ivory Coast in the other clash. Ivory Coast will qualify with a victory, and will also qualify with a draw provided Japan don't win by more than one goal. Greece can still qualify, but must beat Ivory Coast and hope that Japan don't beat Colombia. Cor!
On with the predictions!
England vs Costa Rica
Woy is making 9 changes to his starting lineup, keeping only Sturridge and Cahill in place from the last game. I think in general this is a good idea, as it'll give the likes of Barkley and Shaw a chance to impress - though Foster in goal is always shaky, and could prove to be the weak link against a Costa Rica team who appear fearless. Costa Rica will damage England if Joel Campbell plays in 'Beast Mode', though they aren't desperate for the win so may elect to rest some players for the next round.
Prediction: England 3-2 Costa Rica
Italy vs Uruguay
Uruguay simply must win this one, with a draw favouring the Italians. I simply don't think they will though - Italy looked decent against England, but pedestrian against Costa Rica. Both teams will need to step up their game to have any hope of doing well in the tournament, and I think Italy will do just that.
Prediction: Italy 2-0 Uruguay
Colombia vs Japan
The Japanese team have not done much thus far, and I don't think they'll do much here. They have slim hopes of qualification, and must win in order to have a chance. Colombia have already qualified and may rest the likes of Cuadrado and Rodriguez in this game, but should still be a tough team to beat. Colombia lack quality in the fullback positions, and should Japan exploit that they could be in trouble - but they won't. Colombia should still win this.
Prediction: Colombia 2-0 Japan
Ivory Coast vs Greece
I've been disappointed with the Greek team in this tournament. I never expected them to set the World alight, but I thought they'd put up a fight. Two games in, and 0 goals scores doesn't bode well - though they do still have a chance of qualification. Ivory Coast are a strong team, the best of the African teams, but have had some difficulties to overcome - most notably the brother of Kolo and Yaya Toure passing away. Bony and Drogba are a very strong attacking threat, and I just don't think Greece will cope with them.
Prediction: Ivory Coast 3-0 Greece
