I kind of agree, but it boils down to midfield. Playing with five midfielders, you either need two of them to be wingers, or AMs. Except for Candreva, who sucks balls, everyone else is pretty much a CM.

That's exactly what it is. What the court thought was not enough to give a guilty verdict, the FA did. Sterling did nothing punishable in a civil court, he can't be guilty of anything but he is still racist and for that reason he'll soon be out of the league.

What the court said did go. Terry was then charged internally. What if you were in charge and Terry was your employee? Yes he was cleared in court but wouldn't you want to have your own investigation? I personally would. Obviously you (or the FA in this case) have no such power to sentence someone to death, you can only punish him within the boundaries of the league.

Manaus pitch just days before the Italy England game
(IMG:http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2014/6/11/1402478329287/Manaus-pitch-006.jpg)

Well the Italian players won't find it that much of a stretch, they play in stadiums like the Bentegodi which always looks like a potato field.

Sterling isn't being punished though. The NBA can force owners out whenever they please. Sterling was found guilty of something that is "punishable" by NBA laws and will be receiving a massive amount of money. Terry was found innocent of something that he was then later punished for. It's not a case of the FA and courts having different laws on this, it's the same. Racism is racism, it is punishable by both the courts and the FA. So for the courts to find him innocent and the FA to then find him guilty just proves the witch hunt they were on with him.

This World Cup is already one of the worst ever and it hasn't even started. What a mess.

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: Jun 11 2014, 02:22 PM

Prandelli has recommended to give timeouts during games for water breaks, because non-SA teams are not accustomed to the heat? Heard that on the radio today.

What you recon?

I'm not sure. Football is a game of momentum. Stopping every now and then would affect the game and a rhythm of a team.

Yes. And this would be a break in tradition.

The heat thing confounds me tbh.

And I feel like they're making a huge deal out of it when there are bigger concerns in this world cup. Mainly - will there even be a stadium to play in? - (Sao Paolo stadium apparently still not finished and this is the stadium that is supposed to host the opening game).

Just yesterday over here in Malta the temperature was 29 degrees Celsius with 75% humidity. And this is only just the start of summer. We're looking at 43+ degrees and higher humidity when we near August. Don't know what the weather is like where you guys are but today in Manaus it's 29 degrees Celsius with 80% humidity. Not that much difference

Yes, it's hot, especially when you're doing something laborious, and especially if it's during the afternoon.

But these games are going to be played in the evening and these guys aren't just you and me, they are trained, professional athletes.

I think there's just too much focus on the heat. Some of these Italian players play Serie A games in late August/early September and it's still sh!t hot in the south of Italy. I'm sure they've experienced similar conditions. I think if these teams focus too much on the heat and not on much else it will become a hindrance on that team

Maybe. 29 degrees with 85% humidity is still an awful big difference to the UK though and I'm guessing Russia and Germany too. Maybe for the countries in the South of Europe, Africa, South America and the North American nations it won't be a huge difference, but it will certainly affect us IMO, we just about get into the 20s for summer and the humidity is certainly way off 80%.

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: Jun 11 2014, 05:07 PM

I always get the impression that the English crave that. I see tourists here in the middle of the summer, in the afternoon sun, literally baking their @sses off in the heat either walking around going to tourist spots or sun bathing. Maybe it's an impression I get because they do things in the summer that I wouldn't even dream of doing, basically doing anything during the mid-day. The English seem to relish it

Can't wait for this. South Africa was the worst football tournament I've ever seen. Don't let us down Brazil.

Of course Sterling is being punished. He would have kept ownership of his team if it wasn't for this because it's gonna be worth even more in a few years. He's not really making money off of this, he already owned the team and could sell it any time he wanted to.

Well, we have to make the most of the sun when we actually see it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Yeah but the English actually look like they enjoy getting roasted like a tomato. I can count on one hand the amount of British people I see who come here and remain sunburn free.

I hope there is not a SA version of the Vuvu zela...my ears are still ringing.