Part of Maradona's problem is that he's been surrounded his whole career by paid and unpaid sycophants, something which continues now in the countries where he played. He's on TV here quite a bit at the moment, and the arse-licking constantly puts me off me tea.

Spain are peaking much too early.

At least that's what I'll be telling all my students.

'Nah, you wanna be struggling against sub-standard opposition at this stage of the competition, like England ...'

The standard of commentary in Spain has left me shell-shocked. My favourite last night was the man screaming Ronaldinho's name for several seconds after he'd lost the ball. Other than that, there's been a healthy strand of racism towards the African teams, especially those playing against Spanish-sp...

I like the frog

Yay ....

When do Japan play?

Oh, come now. Let's get things into perspective - it's the opening game of the World Cup. Any team who actually plays really well in the opening game will have completely run out of steam by the quarters. It's a month long competition and it's crucial to pace yourself. Furthermore, in order to progr...

Living outside the country, I haven't had the chance to see any of Sam's 'performances' yet. He's not embarrassing us, is he? Jay-Jay made any appearances yet?

I enjoyed the use of the word 'suspected' in that article.

Phil Neville's tackle against Romania in 2000.

Yes.

Yes.

Good ..... Lord

Mexico's group includes Iran and Angola, so it can't be a bad shout.

'Spain' is quite large - care to be a little more specific?

That one by the Mexican fella in 1986 - the scissors kick.

Sorry for being so vague, but for anyone who knows what the hell I'm talking about, it was absolutely stuning

Which is the one that used to be Liberty Street way back? That's not bad.

Haven't had Indian for ages - it's pricey and shhhhockingly bad in Madrid - strictly for British tourists confused by Spanish menus.

Batman wrote:He is no Torben Piechnik

Ouch