Archive for the ‘The Beautiful Game’ Category

March9

Shopping Spree 2: New England Shirts

By: Tim Neale

The new England away kit went on sale last week.

I bought the new home and away tops. More accurately, my parents bought them for me. I refuse to buy the latest team kit, as I think the whole thing is a complete rip off.

But my mother said, “You can’t go all the way to South Africa and not have the latest shirts.” I sure can, but she insisted, so I bought them.

I like this latest strip. I think the retro look is smart.

home and away england shirts

home and away england shirts

I wore the home shirt to see England v Egypt on Wednesday. It was a good match. England played well, against some good opposition. They won 3-1, after going behind 0-1 in the first half. They showed character, missing before.

Are the good enough to go all the way in South Africa?

If they do, I’ll not be there. My money runs out after the last 16 game. I’ll be watching the later stages back home in England. Which is not such a bad thing, there whole country parties when England gets a good run in the world cup.

Less than 100 days until the tournament starts. More importantly, 15 days until I have to pay the balance for my flight and hotel in Cape Town.

I am trying not to wish my life away at the moment.

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December8

World Cup Draw

By: Tim Neale

I was at the Offside Bar in Islington last Friday.

I went to watch the draw for the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa. It was a great evening organised by London England Fans. They normally have a Christmas party in the Offside Bar.

Gary Napper was there. He’d come up from the south coast for the day. I met Gary in Japan in 2002 and have been going to England games with him since. We have an apartment booked in Cape Town for the 2010 tournament.

Springbok

Springbok

There was South African Gum-boot dancing and South African Food. I had to try the Springbok. It was different and tasty.

The event featured on Sky Sports News and the national press.

The draw looks good for England. We kick off on June 12 against the USA. Then on June the 18th England face Algeria. The final game of the group will be England v Slovenia on Wednesday 23 June.

I am happy with the draw. The match against Algeria is in Cape Town near where where I’m staying. England face Slovenia in Port Elizabeth. Which I’m told is an hour’s drive from Cape Town.

Only the game against the USA will be difficult to get to. It’ll be in Rustenburg on the second day of the tournament.

There’s still lots to sort out.

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October15

England v Belarus

By: Tim Neale

Last night to Wembley with Gary K for the England game.

I am a big England fan. So far, I have seen all England’s matches at the New Wembley.

pre-match

pre-match

This was England’s last qualifying game for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. England had already qualified and Belarus could not qualify so the atmosphere was a little flat.

But with England winning 3-0, there are no complaints here.

England kept a clean sheet which I was pleased about. They have one of the worse defensive records of the teams that have qualified. Keeping a clean sheet was an important thing.

Belarus played well. They played a fast, short passing game on attack and broke through the England mid-field on several occasions. But they rarely looked like scoring. England deserved to win, although 3-0 result was a flattering result.

David Beckham was awarded man of the match, even though he only played for 32 minutes. Beckham is a favourite with the crowd, but I don’t think he deserved to be MOM. I would have given it to Shaun Wright-Phillips, who had an excellent game. Fabio Capello, the England coach, likened award to Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

I bumped into Sandra, David Beckham’s mother, on the way into stadium.  I met Sandra in Japan at the 2002 World cup when she nearly got me a ticket for the Argentina game.

But that’s a story for another day.

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