Misc World Cup 2018 stuff

[-james-]

I thought we could use a thread for any discussion points until the BIG DAY. Who's going to win? Is anyone going?

It all kicks off on the 14th June. Here are the groups, in case you had forgotten:


GROUP A
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Egypt
Uruguay

GROUP B
Portugal
Spain
Morocco
Iran

GROUP C
France
Australia
Peru
Denmark

GROUP D
Argentina
Iceland
Croatia
Nigeria

GROUP E
Brazil
Switzerland
Costa Rica
Serbia

GROUP F
Germany
Mexico
Sweden
Korea Republic

GROUP G
Belgium
Panama
Tunisia
England

GROUP H
Poland
Senegal
Colombia
Japan





Thread prompted by the news that VAR will indeed be in use.

974742873663995906

Thoughts?

[Giggles]

Thoughts?

VAR needs to die.

[-james-]

I'm interested in who they're going to have manning it. If it's Bakary Gassama & co. then it could get amusing.

[Baz]

Yeah, ooking forward to a Gambian ref who doesn’t even have a telly in his family home trying to get to grips with VAR.

How to ruin football number 2. Number 1 being to put the World Cup in a racist joke of a country where all the fans want to fight. :moop:

[Giggles]

Yeah, ooking forward to a Gambian ref who doesn’t even have a telly in his family home trying to get to grips with VAR.

How to ruin football number 2. Number 1 being to put the World Cup in a racist joke of a country where all the fans want to fight. :moop:

Isn't that what happens at every world cup once you lot are going anyway?

Can't wait to see the footage of some tubby lager louts getting mouthy and being absolutely minced by a gang of Russians :drool:

[Kikó]

I'm looking forward to it. St Petersburg, Saransk, Moscow. I've got tickets for Russia's second game and Portugal's last game.

[phonics]

I'm looking forward to it. St Petersburg, Saransk, Moscow. I've got tickets for Russia's second game and Portugal's last game.

You going to hang with the Portguese crowd? I was talking to a Russian 'friend' and I really do worry for the travelling English. The Russians seem to still think we're like the 90s portrayal rather than Club Wembley and the England Band and the amount of those amateur fight club nutters seem well into 'proving themselves' on home turf.

[Kikó]

Yeah avoiding England. Brother in law speaks Russian, sister in law is Russian so hoping it'll be like an invisiblity cloak.

[John]

They were running around France in MMA gloves having sent a forward party in a month early to get them kitted up. I dread to think what the mad pricks will be like with homefield advantage and unlimited numbers.

[phonics]

The guy I was talking to's only issue with that idea is that these clubs are all funded by the Government and while they may want a light aura of 'intimidation' that the Kremlin probably doesn't want 'Moscow is a warzone' headlines. But he also said that they might want to make those headlines since Putin will have won the election and they can claim this is the 'manly Russia' that they talk about so much. He only interacts with the finance side of them not the cultural side so wasn't sure what they want. His most likely scenario was a series of 'minor attacks' of like 3 or 4 people but dispersed around rather than the 50 on 50 shit we saw in France.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If we're going to chicken out and go, then the least we should do is get all our players to smuggle some kind of gay pride armbands onto the pitch (probably in their pants, after all how could the manly men referees look there) and whack them on in unison.

[Kikó]

The guy I was talking to's only issue with that idea is that these clubs are all funded by the Government and while they may want a light aura of 'intimidation' that the Kremlin probably doesn't want 'Moscow is a warzone' headlines. But he also said that they might want to make those headlines since Putin will have won the election and they can claim this is the 'manly Russia' that they talk about so much. He only interacts with the finance side of them not the cultural side so wasn't sure what they want. His most likely scenario was a series of 'minor attacks' of like 3 or 4 people but dispersed around rather than the 50 on 50 shit we saw in France.

I think it's likely the Kremlin will control them and it'll show the world how good Russia are. That's the hope at least.

[Giggles]

Get the house on the Belgians.

https://www.balls.ie/football/football-manager-world-cup-385887

[-james-]

They'd stand a far better chance if they had a computer managing them, yes.

[Giggles]

Or anyone else.

[Spikey M]

The Belgians are the biggest bottlers in Football.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I've gone full circle on Belgium since my Belgium Watch days. Bob Martinez will walk away with a World Cup medal and his methods will dominate football orthodoxy for decades to come.

[Baz]

Does that mean there’s an fm save with the correct World Cup groups somewhere? I’m all over that! :hubba:

[phonics]

I've gone full circle on Belgium since my Belgium Watch days. Bob Martinez will walk away with a World Cup medal and his methods will dominate football orthodoxy for decades to come.

Going to have to disagree here. Their best central midfielder can't get in the team because he smokes. Half the teams already fighting with each other and out of your two star players (Hazard, De Bruyne) one is doing Conte training, then playing every game and most of the time the full 90 minutes and not doing well and the other is publicly calling him a tactical charlatan.

[Lewis]

lol as if Fellaini smokes.

[Ian]

He doesn't have time after he's trained, said his prayers and taken his vitamins.

[Spikey M]

Dembele smokes?

[Pepe]

I just realized that for the first time in fuck knows how long I won't be working this summer, which means that I will be going balls deep into this. What a time to be alive.

[SincereTheRebel]

Ive just bought the sticker album.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/22/15/4A70E31800000578-5532279-image-a-225_1521731620641.jpg

[wullie]

£800 to complete it, the BBC reckon.

[phonics]

They nailed Phil Jones

https://i.imgur.com/dZnhcdL.png

[Mazuuurk]

What is the point of the sticker albums?

[Giggles]

What's the point in them not being photographs?

[SincereTheRebel]

£800 to complete it, the BBC reckon.

Bargain.

[Baz]

I bought four packs today.

The hype is real.

[ItalAussie]

So here's a question. Is Group A the worst top-to-bottom group in the history of the World Cup?

I can't think of a worse one.

EDIT: Maybe I can. Japan-Belgium-Russia-Tunisia in 2002 was pretty woeful.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Any group with Saudi Arabia in it is automatically a shitshow.

[ItalAussie]

Any group with Saudi Arabia in it is automatically a shitshow.

They have always managed been drawn along at least one rather good team. France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany (8-0!).

If you discount the one top team in a group, there have been a huge number of woeful groups. I reckon Turkey, China, and Costa Rica against Brazil in 2002 might top the list, irrespective of the fact that Turkey bumbled their way to third.

As an aside, it annoys me when good players waste their time in their home leagues. Mohamed Al-Deayea just might have been the best goalkeeper in the world in the late 90's, but we'll never know, because he spent his life stopping pointless goals in a pointless league.

[Baz]

So here's a question. Is Group A the worst top-to-bottom group in the history of the World Cup?

I can't think of a worse one.

EDIT: Maybe I can. Japan-Belgium-Russia-Tunisia in 2002 was pretty woeful.Yep. Hence Suarez golden boot at 25/1 is too good to miss.

(Until Cavani scores all their goals.)

Actually with VAR there’s gonna be about three times as many pens as normal, so Cavani might be the better bet. He takes them for Uruguay, right? He’s 33/1.

EDIT: SUAREZ TAKES THEM! Toot toot... At the Euros SkyBet offered free £5 for every goal your player scored if you bet £25 so I’ll wait til that offer kicks in before dumping a months wage on our Luis.

[wullie]

Cracking news, Haircut is still in the Croatia team

https://i.imgur.com/8EuKDbO.png?1

[-james-]

So here's a question. Is Group A the worst top-to-bottom group in the history of the World Cup?

I can't think of a worse one.

EDIT: Maybe I can. Japan-Belgium-Russia-Tunisia in 2002 was pretty woeful.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/russias-group-is-the-easiest-in-modern-world-cup-history/

Apparently it is.

[-james-]

Egypt to win group a at 6/1 is the best bet I've ever seen.

[Baz]

Does that mean there’s an fm save with the correct World Cup groups somewhere? I’m all over that! :hubba:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1340474838&searchtext=REAL+WORLD+CUP

[Jimmy Floyd]

Egypt to win group a at 6/1 is the best bet I've ever seen.

Yep, incredible value. This Egypt team is a lot better than the Aboutreika team that shat out Afcons ten years ago.

[Jimmy Floyd]

No Brit refs but Bakary Gassama is BACK, give him the final.

[Baz]

Egypt to win group a at 6/1 is the best bet I've ever seen.
Egypt first, Uruguay Second is 10/1.