An Australian man has been arrested in Italy for an assault on a local man following the football match between Australia and Italy.

Witnesses say the 28 year old Australian man was 20m away when the incident happened.

The victim suffered a fractured skull, a cardiac arrest and has since developed diabetes as a result of the incident. He is expected to recover in a few minutes.

Reports are that we are close to finalising signings of Luke Young from Charlton & Carlton Cole from Chelsea for a total of UK5.5m.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-2250347,00.html

* Academy graduate Chris Cohen has joined Yeovil Town permanently for an undisclosed six figure fee.

The versatile 19 year old said, "I had a good loan spell here and it was the best deal for me to come back. I am however a little sad to be leaving West Ham. There's an element of that when you leave any club - especially a club that you supported as a boy. But sometimes you just have to move on. And I'm going to try my best for Yeovil Town; that's all that matters now."

It's a good move for him - he needs to focus on his playing and not whether he can break into the West Ham first team. I expect we haven't seen the last of this talented youngster, who can play in the centre or left side of midfield and defence.

* In other news, Middlesbrough have made a £5 million offer to Fulham for their midfielder Steed Malbranque. It would appear that Alan Pardew would need to dig deeper if he wants to bring the French 26-year-old to Upton Park, but £5 million is a bloody big bundle.

And so, what is arguably the greatest achievement in Australian sporting history ends. What a way to go out - a dramatic and controversial penalty moments before the final whistle. And the irony that the unwitting and possibly innocent culprit Lucas Neill, without doubt Australia's player of the tournament, would be the man to ultimately trigger the final act that was to send his team home.

It's been a magnificent trip and to make such a sudden exit, just as Australia were starting to look as though they would score in extra time, is gutting. May 13th springs to mind.

They played quite well, passing the ball confidently (particularly in the first 20 minutes or so) and really just saw the Azzuri at their defensive best. There's not much you can do about that (although having some more width and maybe bringing Kennedy on instead of Aloisi might have helped, but Italy did look very, very strong defensively). The fortifications held, and we had no ideas.

Was it a penalty? I dunno. I thought so, but everyone else seems to think it wasn't. If it was, it was soft. In my mind if you're going to give a penalty in the last 5 seconds of a World Cup match, it's going to have to be a two footed head high Kung Fu kick - you REALLY want to be sure of it. Having said that, it happened quickly enough that I find it hard to blame the referee - to me, it looked like a penalty, even after several replays. I reckon Neill was impeding the player without actually attempting to play the ball. Grosso definitely played for the penalty, as had many of the other Italians throughout the game, but he was still impeded. As Fozzie said, some refs will give it and some won't. What can you do. It wasn't a red card either, and we sure didn't bitch about that.

Well, I hope Johnny Warren is up there watching it on his 500 inch LCD. The Socceroos have done their Captain proud, and they can only build on it.

Player ratings

Schwarzer 7 confidence inspiring.
Chipperfield 6 a bit dodgy defensively and missed two half chances.
Neill 8 his indescretion for the penalty is barely enough to blot his magnificent record.
Moore 7 reliable again.
Culina 6 Some wayward passes and not much imagination.
Wilkshire 7 I groaned when I heard his name called out but he acquitted himself very well with a studious and disciplined game.
Cahill 7 ran around a lot, and a bit unlucky not to score.
Grella 8 defensively superb.
Bresciano 6 just not himself.
Sterjovski 6 couldn't get involved.
Viduka 6 tried too hard

Aloisi 6 ineffective

Forget about whether it was or wasn't a penalty. That was just gut-wrenchingingly, agonisingly cruel. We haven't seen cruelty like that since, hmmm, May 13th....

According to rumour Steed Malbranque is about to have a medical and will join West Ham for 4.5M. If this comes off I'll be one big f*&%off happy chappy. This guys oozes class; anything good for Fulham is channeled through this lad. It's no wonder he has been linked with Newcastle and Liverpool also but rumour says those two are procrastinating and we nearly have him in the bag. My only source is the thread on West Ham Online so can not confirm that this will happen but there are a few on there who seem very confident. It was reported yesterday in that reputable rag - The News of The World.

Apparently Charlton are messing around with the Luke Young deal but we are still persisting on that front. I'm sure Pards has a plan B but I'm sure he'll also keep probing at Charlton in the meantime.

Oh and England are in the quarter finals of the world cup after beating Equador 1-0 where they will meet Portugal who defeated Holland over night by the same score. A superb David Beckham freekick was enough to settle a lacklustre game.

We won... I'm utterly mentally exhausted after that effort.

As Dave says, match report to follow, but not till Monday I'm afraid...

Well we start with Charlton at home which is as good a fixture as any, followed by Watford away. 6 points would be a happy and quite acheivable start to the season. I am not going to print the fixtures here as I've seen quite a lot of clamping down lately (the FA charges 280 quid to put them on your website) so I'll provide a link to Skysports here.

Let's also hope we can wreck Man United's season on the final game as we did with Spurs this year. I think we are due another Old Trafford win!

Also the Aussies played today - bring on the Italians! I'm sure Graham's match report will follow shortly! :-)

It seems a good enough time, just after half the matches have been played in the World Cup, to sit back and take stock of what's been gracing our televisions in the dead of night.

Argentina and Spain have been the highlights for me. The South Americans have played some truly scintillating football. Many, myself included, tipped them as finalists, but they have proved to be even better than expected. Despite only just returning from injury, Lionel Messi has been a delight to watch. His footwork, balance, and vision are of the rarest football beauty. Tevez and Riquelme have also shown what they can do, while Ayala and Heinze (the latter also only just returning from injury) have been reliable and miserly at the back. Their bench is frightening (Aimar and Crespo benched against Holland?) and they are really looking like world beaters.

Spain were, for once, mostly unfancied at the start of the tournament, and have duly surprised many with their quality. Torres is in fantastic form and Puyol is sharp as ever, but they have also played a pretty brand of team football where every player plays a vital part. Their passing and movement is sublime and they look as though they are really enjoying every minute on the pitch. If they can keep it up, they could go all the way.

Germany are also playing better than I, for one, expected. They haven't played any of the top teams yet but they have played a looser and faster game than in previous years. Klose can't stop scoring and they are playing out of their skins, obviously buoyed by the home support. Whether they can reach the finals is another question, but my original tip of Germany going out to Sweden in the round of sixteen is looking a little doubtful.

Three other teams carrying short odds - Brasil, Holland, and England - haven't hit their straps yet. Of the three obviously England look the least capable of lifting the cup. The loss of Owen is nothing short of a disaster and the weight of Eriksson's decision to take only four strikers is going to be a heavy burden on the rest of the squad. Rooney will be a massive factor but they will be needing goals from midfield to progress - Gerrard is obliging but Lampard is yet to find the net - and they will also need to sew the back line up tighter. They should beat Ecuador but the next round will be very difficult for them.

Brasil is cruising. I would guess they are doing only what is necessary to win, in order to build momentum and maintain fitness. Theie bench is also not nearly as strong as their first XI so they will hope nobody picks up any injuries or drops form.

Holland seem to be struggling a bit more and will need to find a bit extra if they want to reach the final. Robben and van Persie need to come under van Basten's control, while van Nistelrooy is bordering on invisible.

Of the less fancied teams, Ivory Coast have been the unluckiest. I will be missing their brand of fast but intelligent football in the elimination rounds. Drogba in particular was a very different striker than when he plays for Chelsea, showing how much he benefits from having a second teammate alongside him. Next season's partnership with Shevchenko will be terrifying.

As I've said before I'm quite impressed with Australia. Croatia is yet to come, and if we can make the final 16 then it'll be brilliant. (I predict 3-2 to us against the Croats). Our next opponents - probably Italy - are beatable, but it will be a very tough test. Very bloody tough. The group stages are not the same as the cut-throat eliminations, especially against a team like Italy who will hate to draw. Imagine if they got knocked out on penalties... for the 487th time.... by Australia. They sure as hell won't want that and will be up for it in a big, big way. So I'm expecting to go out in the next round if - and that's a big if - we do go through.

The less said about Italy, France, and the Czech Republic the better.

Overall it's been a fantastic World Cup with some entertaining games and brilliant goals. If things keep going as they have been the elimination rounds will be first class.

Here's to WC2006, let's hope it ends as well as it started...

Eriksson 5 complete twat
Robinson 5 very unsteady
A Cole 4 terrible for their second goal
Rio 6 OK
Terry 6 not his best
Carragher 6 adequate
J Cole 8 excellent
Lampard 7 comfortable
Hargreaves 6 good and bad
Rooney 6 petulant when subbed
Owen N/A must be gutted

Crouch 6 tall
Campbell 5 WTF?
Gerrard 7 Gerrard

We just had our 10,000th hit last night (I've only just got around to making the counter visible). That's an average of about 26 a day since we started back on June 6 2005 - immediately following promotion.

Well, that title is a bit harsh, but I think we all knew in our heart of hearts that Brasil would turn us over. Having said that, though, it was only moments of individual class that made the difference, but tactically the Socceroos had the South Americans round their little finger for long periods.

The first half in particular was absolutely magnificent from the Aussies. Tactically superb, they stifled the Brasilian flair to the point where the world champions were visibly at a loss for openings to exploit. The Socceroos simply gave them no options. It was a lesson in tactical planning and it came off to a tee. I don't recall ever seeing a side so well organised and disciplined, covering space and breaking forward when the opportunity arose. Right from the off, the Aussies did not press the Brasilian back line, allowing them to pack the midfield and deny the Brasilians any space. It was almost as though the pitch had shrunk to about two thirds its normal size, and that's exactly the way to successfully curb an attack. When the Aussies had the ball, the pitch seemed to open up, allowing the play to flow.

As if we needed it, that 45 minutes was confirmation of Guus Hiddink's tactical genius. Critics will suggest that Brasil were not at their best, but they would have had to be at their best to get past the Socceroo fortifications. It was very, very impressive.

The initial period of the second half was always going to be the real test, and would dictate the rest of the game. The Brasilians came out with a new plan, and the Aussies were always going to have to respond to it. Unfortunately, the South Americans stepped up a notch, and the Aussies found it difficult to maintain their performance. The game opened up, and this would always suit Brasil. Sure enough, a couple of small defensive errors (Neill allowing Ronaldo the space to receive the ball cleanly, the other defenders being drawn to Ronaldo and away from Adriano, and Chipperfield letting Adriano turn onto his favoured left foot) led to a goal. The class of Brasil showed through here, as many sides would not have the talent to exploit such a small chance.

From then on, the Aussies were on the back foot. They had to score, and pushed forward. Hiddink brought off a key defender, Moore, for a more attacking lineup. He knew that goal difference was irrelevant given the draw between Croatia and Japan, so it was worth risking conceding a second.

It could have easily been a draw, with Kewell, Viduka, and Bresciano all coming close. Dida's save from Bresciano's spectacular volley was top drawer, although it may not have gone straight in. But Australia were caught short and Brasil found themselves with four players on three. The oddly-named Fred punted it in, and it was all over.

Player Ratings
Schwarzer 6 - Could do little about the goals, but commanded his area and took an excellent one-handed catch from a shot (that would have been disallowed anyway, but shows his skill - this guy could palm a bowling ball).
Chipperfield 6 - Made a few errors and tried to milk it too much going forward.
Neill 9 - Outstanding. Man of the match.
Moore 8 - Excellent. Back to his best.
Popovic 7 - Unlucky to be injured. Was having a good game till then.
Emerton 8 - One of his best games. Kept possession well and tackled well. Disciplined.
Grella 7 - Partly at fault for the last goal, but that didn't spoil a great performance.
Culina 7 - Good. Poor set pieces though.
Cahill 8 - Very lively and only subbed for his yellow card.
Sterjovski 7 - Generally very good but occasionally gave the ball away.
Viduka 7 - Held the ball up well.

Bresciano 7 - Great volley and good creativity.
Kewell 7 - Wasteful, but gave us time to press forward.
Aloisi 6 - Quiet.

I have to say that the whole was much greater than the sum of its parts. Overall I'd give the performance an 8, as a team.

Here's a few more...you can see a bunch of others here.

Giant Condom



Fanz in Da Standz



On Me Head Son

Dear Jason,

After reading your recent article, I would like to invite you to join me for a game of poker one day because you have displayed a tendency to show all your cards!

You quite rightly point out that soccer fever (out of politeness I will use your terminology) is sweeping the nation and perhaps the fact that you are commenting on our beautiful game reflects the fear that you have for our rising sport. As I said, you have shown your cards.

The purpose of this letter is not to knock either your code or any other code. However, I disagree with much of what you wrote.

Now that I am an Aussie, I appreciate and agree that Australians are the smartest race in the world, but the fact is that there are billions of people who follow our game and just a portion of Australians who follow yours.

Your game is at its most popular in Melbourne, and as a fellow resident of the Sunshine State I'm sure you will agree that we can't take Victorians too seriously.

As far as my memory permits, all attempts at spreading AFL to other parts of the world have so far resulted in just a handful of Australian backpackers taking part and even fewer watching from the sidelines.

In regard to the comments you made on low-scoring results in soccer, again I feel I must enlighten you on a few points.

I cannot see that rugby union has more scoring elements than soccer. If you ignore points gained for penalties and just focus on the main method of scoring, tries, then scorelines are very similar to soccer, with often just one, two or three tries being scored by the winning team.

I also recall a recent game of NRL that was 0-0 until the closing stages, but it was still a nail-biting game.

If you cast your mind back again to your match versus Adelaide, I remember that they had not scored a goal before half-time. High scoring in all AFL games?

Lack of scoring (or points) does not mean lack of action or entertainment. I trust you were watching the Socceroos against Japan? And did you see how it captivated the entire nation, with celebrations in the streets and parties all over the country?

You will also find that even though the game was televised live at 11pm and did not finish until 1am, the TV audience comfortably eclipsed that of the AFL grand final.

Jason, the world is now a lot smaller than it used to be.

We live as a global family and our sport is the very essence of multi-culturalism. It offers international and cultural exchange that no other high-profile sport can offer.

It provides its elite athletes with the opportunity to wear the green and gold and represent their country against the best the rest of the world has to offer.

It presents corporate partners with a route into a host of global markets, and furthermore, it is an industry in its own right where the top players, the likes of Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka, will earn more in a year than your entire squad put together.

It is not called the World Game for nothing, Jason.

You spoke about courage in your piece, Jason. Well, courage is not just about bashing people on the field in a pub-style brawl.

When John Aloisi stepped up last November to take the penalty against Uruguay, the one that secured qualification for this World Cup in Germany, he had the hopes of the entire nation on his shoulders.

It was unimaginable pressure for one man to bear, but he scored.

That, Jason, is courage personified.

You made many other points in your article that I could challenge, but in the interest of humility I will only comment on one more.

So you think that soccer is not a contact sport? Well, in fact it is; it's just not a collision sport.

If you ever care to test my theory then you are most welcome to join us for training at any time.

There remains an open invitation for you to do so, especially after your soccer-style goal against Adelaide!

Yours in Sport,
Miron Bleiberg
Head coach, Queensland Roar FC

Coventry have signed West Ham defender Elliot Ward for £1 million. I'm probably not alone in being very sorry to see him go, as he was utterly brilliant for us in our promotion season and wasn't really given a proper chance in the Premiership. Unfortunately he's just been squeezed out of a very talented group of defenders at West Ham, and he needed to try his luck elsewhere. I have no doubt that Coventry have made a great deal, we'll be seeing Wardy in the Premiership soon.

Good luck Elliot!

Also, Yeovil want Chris Cohen. I was always a fan of this young lad as well, so I wish him good luck if he does leave.

Cheating bastard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2WxxwYBvrk

A second win in two games is enough to see England through to the Round of 16 thanks to a 2-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago in the early hours of this morning.

Well, in my humble opinion, they looked like shite. The scoreline flattered them. T&T just defended the entire match and were extremely disappointing. I was hoping they'd push forward on the break at least but they hardly managed that. Shaka must really be sick of the sight of Gerrard!

England struggled to break them down and looked very lacklustre. To be honest, as an Australian who really only follows England because I know the players and because I support West Ham, it's getting very hard to continue to support such a bloody boring team. I fucking hate Sven Boring Eriksson, I hate Ashley Cole, I hate Lardarse, and I hate Crouch. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, but I'm starting not to give a shit any more - they simply don't add up to anything like the sum of their parts, Eriksson's tactics are dull as ditchwater, and they just aren't as exciting to watch as Argentina, Spain, Brasil, or, God help us, even Germany.

I certainly would like to review my initial opinion that England would make the semi finals. Unless they pick their game up dramatically they are not going to beat Germany and could well struggle against Ecuador.

One thing I'd like to mention - Rooney. Sure, the kid is brilliant, one of the best all round footballers I've ever seen. But he ain't the saviour of English football and Eriksson (and McLaren) need to recognise that. Sven just keeps talking him up and putting pressure on him. No player could live up to his hype and I feel for the lad. Bringing him into the side and expecting the team to suddenly start winning is just misguided. All the other players would naturally absorb some of that expectation and fail to perform themselves, with or without Rooney. England need all their players to perform at their peak for the entire tournament if they want to win it. At the moment, that's not happening.

Robinson 6 - Not totally convincing but okay.
A. Cole 6 - Overlapped a couple of times and got stuck in defensively.
Terry 8 - A bloody man-mountain is this fella. He might be blue scum, but he's one fantastic defender.
Ferdinand 7 - Did his job.
Carragher 6 - Adequate, but no Neville in this position. (boy, that's hard to say)
J. Cole 6 - Tried his tricks but no end product.
Lampard 5 - Very much below par.
Gerrard 6 - Barely involved apart from the goal.
Beckham 6 - Free kicks, crosses, and corners went astray too often - but the one for the goal was pinpoint.
Owen 5 - Out of sorts.
Crouch 6 - Fucking lucky to score. I'm sure Beckham said to him at half time, "Look, I know you're trying, but you can't head a ball for shit.. Next time you're looking for a cross, just stand perfectly still and I'll try and ricochet the ball off your forehead into the goal."

Rooney 7 - Lively.
Lennon 7 - Promising.
Downing 6 - Adequate.

(oh, and Shaka 6)

* In other news. West Ham have signed Jonathan Spector for a half million quid. Is he the right-back we've all been wanting, or is he cover for the other defensive positions?

.....but the evidence is a little sketchy. Pretty much the same drill as against the Paraplegics - little fight, little effort and little point getting up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. But for the final 7 minutes we would have had to settle on a 0-0 draw against the carribean minnows. The highlight of the game was Steven Gerrard's 91st minute corker, but poor Shaka Hislop must have been thinking he was still at Cardiff. The Hammers stopper certainly did nothing in this game to tarnish his reputation, but must've had a touch of the old deja vu about him and must be thinking Steven Gerrard is taking this piss out of him.

For anybody who stayed in bed, half your luck - the result was 2-0. I will not rate the players as quite frankly, they were all well below par.