Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down? We do!

Good evening, ladies and germs

Some more pre-World Cup chitter chatter for your enjoyment, along with 1 or 2 other tasty morsals:

Uruguay have options even without Suarez
There was much hubbub last week when the news broke that Luis Suarez was to undergo knee surgery just 3 weeks before the start of the World Cup. Depending on which media outlet you used, the prognosis was an absence of anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, meaning he'd be anywhere from being fine in time for their 1st game (v Costa Rica on 14th June) to missing the entire tournament. Should the latter turn out to be the more accurate prognosis, it won't necessarily mean the end of Oscar Tabarez's side's chances at the tournament. Aside from Palermo's Abel Hernandez, there are no real out-and-out number 9s among Tabarez's initial 25, but he does possess the option of moving Edinson Cavani forward from the slightly deeper role he prefers with the national team and bringing in another holder or playmaker, depending on the opponent. Of course, that's assuming they stay with the 4-3-1-2 they've often used in the past. Tabarez has demonstrated himself to be an extremely astute tactician, however, and has used a number of different formations in the past. Don't rule out the deployment of a back 3 at some stage, which would again provide the option of using another midfield player behind a front 2. Another option open to Uruguay is 4-3-3, with Cavan deployed at centre-forward supported by Diego Simeone's favourite impact sub Cristian Rodriguez on the left and Benfica powerhouse Maxi Pereira on the right, a role he's operated in on occasion for his club side this season. If Uruguay enter their final group game still in need of a result to qualify for the 2nd Round, however, then expect even a semi-fit Suarez to be rolled out (the same goes for another South American injury doubt, Colombia star Falcao)

It happened in 1988
Ayrton Senna won his 1st Formula 1 World Drivers Championship, the Netherlands won the European Championship (beating USSR 2-0 in the final, thanks to that Marco van Basten volley), this writer was born, Metallica released the ...And Justice for All album, the first Die Hard movie was released, George Bush was elected as POTUS and PSV Eindhoven won the European Cup. Now, 2 of those things are significant when we look at the World Cup.

Not since 1998 has a nation provided the winner of both the European Cup and a major nations tournament in the same year- you have to go back to 2004 to find a European Cup winning country providing even a finalist for that summer's major international tournament. Anyone who has followed Atletico Madrid throughout the last month of the season will have seen that, despite their historic achievement of winning La Liga (massive, massive props to Diego Simeone), they have looked more than a little tired, and by the end of the Champions League final were completely exhausted from a long season (with that in mind, expect Real's Dani Carvajal to get the nod at right-back over Juanfran, while there must now be some doubt over Diego Costa's participation). The other 2 dominant Spanish sides have also had long seasons (as discussed in my previous entry)- all of which and more works against Spain when considering contenders to win in Brazil.

Financial Fair Play
In the wake of some actual sanctions being imposed by UEFA on non-compliant clubs (including, but not limited to, PSG and Manchester City), there's been much wailing about the, ahem, fairness, of these new rules, with the global players' union, FIFPro being the latest to voice their discontent. The rules are an all too rare thing- well-intentioned and applied appropriately. Those that wish to genuinely grow a club for the long-term advancement of its prospects can do so without penalty- activities such as stadium expansion and building a youth academy are exempt from sanction- it's the short-term stockpiling of non-local players on exorbitant, unsustainable, market-distorting salaries that FFP is designed to clamp down on. And for those who say "Yeah, but it's Sheikh Mansour/Qatar's money, they can do what they like with it, they're in it for the long haul", speak to supporters of Portsmouth, Leeds United, Plymouth, Rangers (1878-2012), Dundee, Malaga, Rangers (2012-present), indeed Manchester City themselves under Thaksin Shinawatra and many, many others besides, about owners who have promised the earth, only to fail to deliver




IN FOR SHERINGHAM.......AND SOLSKJAER HAS WON IT!