The trials and tribulations of watching England Germany

Watching England and Germany yesterday was certainly an emotional affair. Not just because of the dismal result, but the practicalities of watching the game!

First came the decision of where to watch it and with the sunny skies above we opted for going in a friend's garden, a fridge full of beers and a TV under an umbrella to ease the glare from the sun.

We set up the Freeview box and everything looked ship shape and we were ready for the big encounter.

With five of us watching, there was the usual banter/debate about what the team should be, how we can win and whether we had a better side than the Germans.

Then the match started. The two German goals silenced our chatter and the only noises from the garden became the occasional expletive at England's performance.

About 25 minutes in we had our own drama. The signal on the television began to flicker and we were left with very little picture. Not what you want in such an important game when hours before kick off it looked trouble free.

We frantically moved the TV back into the living room, followed by the scart lead and tried to set it back up. In the midst of the chaos we heard a cheer from next door and thought we scored, so moved with more speed and less haste.

Finally we hooked it up and low and behold we had scored. 2-1. Game on. We were greeted by debate in the commentary about goal line technology and came to the conclusion that England's goal was contentious, but because of Blatter's decision not to have technology, we had got off scot-free. There were shouts around the living room of '66 all over again and we were making predictions of 4-2.

Then they showed the replay, and the short-lived praise of Blatter turned into the more familiar cries of "What a pr**k."

We went into half time having caught up with the rest of the world and the feeling of injustice, but also hope that England now had the bit between their teeth and could go on and win.

Unfortunately we couldn't have been more wrong and Germany seemingly cruised to the 4-1 win, with the only relief that I wouldn't have to think about rearranging my 4th team cricket match next Saturday afternoon. My friend Tom summed it up when he said that England would have given it more of a go in this World Cup with 11 Championship players playing.

While the raw emotion has gone from this World up from me now. There is still plenty more to enjoy and it started at 7.30pm watching Argentina and now, as I write, watching Brazil. The team I backed to win, Holland, are still in the tournament with a 100% record. Good times ahead, although nothing like what we hoped.

The World Cup so far

Now that we have seen every team play in this World Cup the most important thing we have learned is that England do not look that bad compared to the other hotly tipped teams.

Steven Gerrard was immense against USA and if he carries on playing like that and leading England from the front then there is no reason why he could not take us all the way. The hardest game in the group stage is out of the way and looking at Slovenia and Algeria we should walk it, even with Rob Green's freak accident.

Same goes for Spain. Even though they lost to Switzerland today they would still fancy themselves to beat Honduras and Chile (although Chile were one of the most impressive so far).

Brazil were not outstanding against North Korea, whose crying forward epitomised what the World Cup is about for these smaller nations, but got the job done. The tasty clash will be when they play Portugal, who have left that group looking interesting after the draw with Ivory Coast.

Italy only managed a draw and with their goalkeeper a doubt it looks ominous for them, although the competition in that group is poor so, like England they have the toughest group game out of the way with a point from it.

I didn't get to see Argentina but by all accounts they could have got six or seven against the Super Eagles. They obviously have one of the strongest teams, especially going forward, on paper so it will be interesting to see what happens to them, as nobody seems to trust their manager.

Germany looked class and by far the best of the big teams so far. They got lucky with the Cahill sending off and some have compared their performance to ours, with Australia possibly on a par with USA. However, USA have more European established players than Oz and got their goal with a stroke of luck. Plus you can see what the game meant to them against a kind of old enemy with the New York Post headline USA Wins 1-1. If Australia played us they would probably look more up for it with the Ashes rivalry and so on. That apart, Germany still brushed the Socceroos aside and looked very, very good. Klose and Podolski, who couldn't buy a goal last season, looked up for it on the biggest stage.

France were poor in a poor game and did not look like a team fighting to win the World Cup. It was fitting that Henry didn't get a handball decision (and it was the right one) but the France Uruguay game highlighted a worry that a lot of fans have after this first round of games, that there aren't enough goals.

That maybe true, but we have still had drama and enjoyment - especially from the fans blowing their vuvuzelas - and there is plenty more football to come. We all hope for more goals but some want an end to the vuvuzelas, which, it was decided this week, will not be banned for the World Cup. I understand why some don't like them, when you turn on the radio it sounds like a bad reception, but when is Africa going to get it's next World Cup? Let the fans have their fun.

South Africa is a breath of fresh air in a money-obsessed football world

The World Cup is almost upon us and we are all counting the seconds. And one of the great things is that for the first time in a long time, money isn't at the back of an English football fan's mind.

Supporting your team in the World Cup is all about national pride and while we may criticise the team on the field or the manager's decisions, what we don't have to worry about are wage bills, the owners and the threat of administration.

It may sound rich (excuse the pun) coming from a fan who supports a club where money is no object but by the end of the domestic season I was sick with every other sports news story being about finance, whether it was Portsmouth, Crystal Palace, Chester City or Manchester United and the Red Knights - and I bet fans of those clubs were even more sick. This season I spent more time hearing about financial turmoil than I did about what happened on the pitch, which is, and I think I speak for everyone (apart from Portsmouth fans getting the administrators' autograph), what I watch football for.

Footballers earn too much money. We all know that. In fact, if you heard the very latest figures from Deloittes, clubs spent 67% of their revenue on wages in the 2008/09 season. But it's the trend of sports news stories combined with the trend of high wages that we even know that.

That's why the World Cup is a breath of fresh air. There will be no talk of wages, no worries about administration and no campaigns against the owners or a mysterious consortium. There will just be football. At the highest level. But in its purest form.

And it's fitting that in a year when finance has dominated the football season that the World Cup will take place for the first time in the world's poorest continent. We see people on the television who are so poor that a football fan can't comprehend it let alone a Premier League player, but money doesn't matter to them because they are so excited about the World Cup coming to their home.

The money problem in football isn't going to go away overnight but at least for a month we have so much to enjoy and so much to talk about and wages and finance won't crop up once. Bring on the World Cup!!

JT

World Cup fever's kicking in

We now have less than a week to go until the greatest show on Earth gets started and we have already had plenty of drama in the build up.

First there was Theo's agony at being left out and then Ferdinand's injury, in the first session in the first day of training. I'm gutted for Ferdinand, as captain he would have dreamt of being hoisted up like Bobby Moore with the Jules Rimet trophy and you have got to be sad for him. But the face of Michael Dawson when he arrived in Rustenburg reminded me of the excitement that comes with a World Cup, not just for the players, but for the fans.

It's not just England's chances we have to look forward to. I will take every opportunity to watch football during the tournament and like all football fans (especially those who play football manager) will consider myself an international football expert by July.

I have already set up two fantasy football teams, read multiple World Cup guides (and help write one), placed bets on the eventual winners and top goalscorers (Holland at 11/1 and Milito and 35/1) and taken part in a sweepstake (Holland again). This is World Cup fever and I'm not looking for an antidote.

We hope there will be a surprise package, like South Korea in 2002 and Greece in Euro 2004, and will be watching closely to see who it will be. Maybe North Korea, who nobody knows anything about, or the hosts South Africa, or even Slovakia, in their first ever World Cup as an independent nation. Whoever it is, we will adopt a second favourite team during the tournament (or third depending on bets) but abandon any short-lived loyalty if they come up against our boys.

Equally, all England fans will have one eye on the old enemy. Even with their skipper out injured, we will all see what the Germans are up to in the likely event we will meet them (or Portugal) at some point, and if we don't, then great because (hopefully) that means they're out.

If fans have their club heads on, they will also have one eye on players that they may be watching every week next season. Remember when Senegal turned some heads in 2002, Papa Bouba Diop and El Hadji Diouf have been in England since. While it is the biggest stage in world football, the World Cup is also an audition for players to further their careers. As fans we all look forward to pass comment on them.

These are all great little sideshows. But the biggest symptom of World Cup fever is England, the results, the performances, the players, the manager. It all started last Tuesday with the squad announcement and Ferdinand's injury on Friday. It will only get bigger and bigger. It will really kick in on Saturday night, and let's hope it lasts a whole month.