You need to up your posting time. You’re rusty.
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At least Mo gets a moment out of the tournament.
Icarus.
Gazinsky in midfield for Russia looks good. Always available for a pass
Here’s an updated list of RTE commentaries.
I’ll work out the distances each commentator has travelled between venues later. Tremendous efforts from Adrian Eames, Ray Houghton and Brian Kerr in particular.
George Hamilton and Ronnie Whelan are being worked quite easy by comparison.
June 14th
Russia v Saudi Arabia - Moscow Luzhniki - George Hamilton and Ronnie Whelan
June 15th
Egypt v Uruguay - Ekaterinburg - Stephen Alkin and Ray Houghton
Morocco v Iran - St. Petersburg - Adrian Eames and Brian Kerr
Portugal v Spain - Sochi - Ger Canning and Jim Beglin
June 16th
France v Australia - Kazan - John Kenny and Ray Houghton
Argentina v Iceland - Moscow Spartak - George Hamilton and Ronnie Whelan
Peru v Denmark - Saransk - Hugh Cahill and Brian Kerr
Croatia v Nigeria - Kaliningrad - Adrian Eames and Jim Beglin
June 17th
Costa Rica v Serbia - Samara - John Kenny and Brian Kerr
Germany v Mexico - Moscow Luzhniki - Stephen Alkin and Jim Beglin
Brazil v Switzerland - Rostov-On-Don - Adrian Eames and Ray Houghton
June 18th
Sweden v South Korea - Nizhny Novgorod - Adrian Eames and Brian Kerr
Belgium v Panama - Sochi - John Kenny and Ray Houghton
Tunisia v England - Volgograd - George Hamilton and Ronnie Whelan
June 19th
Colombia v Japan - Saransk - Adrian Eames and Jim Beglin
Poland v Senegal - Moscow Spartak - Stephen Alkin and Brian Kerr
Russia v Egypt - St. Petersburg - Ger Canning and Ray Houghton
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Is it only Hamilton and Whelan that are actually out there?
All of them are out there.
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Adrian Eames started out based in the Baltic region for his first two games - Morocco v Iran in St. Petersburg on Friday, then presumably a leisurely flight down to Kaliningrad for Croatia v Nigeria on Saturday night. He certainly would have clocked up the air miles for the marathon trek down down to Rostov for Brazil v Switzerland on Sunday. He’d have been back in the air early the next morning to catch a red eye to commentate on Sweden v South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod which was the early game on Monday - a superb effort there in particular. I imagine he probably then took a rented car to drive the relatively short distance to Saransk for Colombia v Japan today lunchtime.
Adrian will be a broken man by the time this is over. They all will.
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What’s peoples opinions on Brian Kerr? I personally like the cunt, think he’s great entertainment & knows his shit (or maybe i don’t know shit!).
I’m sure he’s been mentioned or discussed here already but i haven’t read back over the last 500 posts!
Kerr has fantastic football knowledge, really knows his stuff!! just his voice would grind on you, I like him though
I’ve quite sadly/impressively, depending on your point of view, watched all the games live so far up until missing the second half of tonight’s game.
So I watched the RTÉ highlights show tonight. It was just Jacqui Hurley doing 3 separate pieces to camera to introduce the day’s games and then highlights.
There was no pundit involvement at all. Has it been like this so far? RTÉ appear to be doing this World Cup onthe cheap with only one commentary team over there. I remember previous World Cups when the nightly round up /
highlights show was great viewing due to the punditry high jinks.
I’m a big fan. He knows what he’s talking about, and has actually done his research. He can also read a game if given the chance to do so. Plus has a bit of personality.
Think @Bandage doesn’t rate him.
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Early days but it’s been a great World Cup so far.
Hopefully the VAR won’t fuck it up. Fucking jokeshop here trying to watch it. @Chucks_Nwoko you got Optus?
The VAR is a load of bollox. Has there been one decision overturned yet? Seems like they are afraid to overturn.
Egypt should have had a second peno last night.
It seems you’re not going to get something reviewed if you’ve already had a penalty. You will if you’ve already had a stonewaller not reviewed.
Peru didn’t have a stonewaller reviewed and then later on got one from a review.
Argentina got one peno and then didn’t get a later one reviewed that should have been awarded.
I thought Russia v Egypt was a good game and it’s a shame for the tournament that Egypt are, barring a miracle, out after two games.
Today’s matches look fairly shit and I think I’ll only be keeping a half-eye on them.
Has anyone been booked for diving yet? With the ability to go back and check I expected there to be a crack down on obvious dives. Doesn’t seem to have happened.
I don’t think so. Wasn’t there an obvious dive in an attempt to win a penalty in one of the matches yesterday? I think it was a Senegal player when they were 2-0 up, just before Poland scored. He went down and threw out a leg expecting to manufacture contact which he did not get. Pretty sure he wasn’t booked. All these incidents are blurring into one for me at this stage.
Has there been an offiside review? Can’t recall one of those either. So it’s really only for penalties that it’s being used.
I said a few days ago that if this thing is going to be used, they have to use it for everything over which there is any doubt, and that the job of a linesman should become effectively redundant except for the most obvious of decisions - you can rule out a goal for offside, but you can’t undo an incorrectly called offside.
Yeah, the Senegal dive was at 2-0. The Polish goal was reviewed for offside and then given but I can’t think of any other examples just now.
Seems to be an excessively high level of penalties so far? Do the stats back this up
I’ve seen them given.