Dorking Wandering
The Dorking Wanderers FC Fans Forum
Just thought it might be fun to see what others are making of this World Cup...something to occupy us before the friendlies start...(can't wait)
FWIW for me;
Most impressed by - Morrocco, Saudi Arabia, Senegal (first half, lovely football), the referees
Disappointed by - Spain, Netherlands, Uruguay and the always overrated Brazil
Absolutely hate - 'hydration breaks' - shameless profiteering squeezing some ads in and killing any momentum
Relieved by - VAR - hardly had an impact - don't know how they are managing it but we seem to avoid the ridiculous delays and over analysis that it usually brings
Not surprised by - loads of rich fans at the games, it's pretty obvious the vast majority are very, very well off. Working class, they aint.
Frustrated by - constant linking of players to relatively obscure English clubs - kills any remaining mystery and magic very quickly
My hope - an outsider wins it - maybe an African or Asian nation, that would be something. And Austria make it to the knock outs.
Why is it so often that as soon as England appear on the scene, the game slows down and becomes a painful watch (Croatia second half excepted).
So many games have been played at breakneck pace, been great to see - guess a lot of last night was down to Ghana simply not being interested in winning. Which was a shame as when they did attack, they looked really decent.
@crawleysth Yea was an awful watch. 1/4 finals at best with this squad
Yes Gary, I think our frailities at the back will cause us issues when we play better sides. Agree 1/4 at best, but may not get that far.
If I am being honest, I'm not particularly bothered about this World Cup.
Apart from the Azteca, the stadiums all feel like bland (but vast new builds)
The majority of the games are too late to watch
There's just too many games!
It feels like a chore to fill in the scores on my wallchart each morning (of games I never saw!)
To give it credit, the grounds are very full (amazed considering the ticket prices) even if the fans just seem to want to wave to tv cameras (like it's the old days on The Big Match Live and televised games were a special event) and generally speaking the refs are pretty decent
The 'star players' are all performing well.
I'm just not feeling it this time. 48 teams is too many. 24 or 32 felt more special.
Honestly can't wait for Bognor v Wanderers enough.
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
Spot on David! Can't wait for Bognor (PS trying to find out the ko time atm - might be 12.30pm, 1pm or something else!)
To give it credit, the grounds are very full (amazed considering the ticket prices)
Yeah - and it shows - bunch of rich middle class 'fans' and probably a fair few US residents just wearing the shirt of whoever is playing. Most seem just there for a 'good time' and no massive interest in whether thier country wins or loses.
Roll on the mighty Wanderers
I’ve enjoyed it so far even though I’ve only watched a handful of games live. Mainly watched the ten minute highlights of each game on YouTube . There’s definitely far too many teams but I guess that’ll be the norm now- possibly even more teams in future tournaments!
And if they do go ever for a 64 team World Cup that reduces further the pool of countries able to host. Effectively they'd be playing a chunk of the qualifiers out at the tournament
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
I’ve enjoyed it so far even though I’ve only watched a handful of games live. Mainly watched the ten minute highlights of each game on YouTube . There’s definitely far too many teams but I guess that’ll be the norm now- possibly even more teams in future tournaments!
Like you, mainly watched the highlights plus the England games. Will probably watch more once gets down to last 16. I see USA are already talking about hosting it again in 2038, as they feel they are one of few countries that could host 64 teams.
@gary-munnery Haha - just get there whenever and hope you catch some action 🤣
Will anyone be getting up/pulling an all nighter on Sunday?
I am planning on going to bed at about 9 and getting a few hours sleep before setting an alarm clock to get up very shortly before ko.
And if I fall asleep watching it, I'll have another alarm set so i don't oversleep for work.
Not very optimistic about our chances to be honest but fingers crossed regardless.
By the way, been meaning to say I don't like this 5 second rule on throw ins - despite in our league clubs like Hungerford majorly taking the piss on timewasting in the past. Throw ins are important tactically and I'd like teams to have a fairer amount of time than 5 seconds to take them as they can create real opportunities from them. Football should be about lots of moments, not just sacrificing quality for rushing the game along!
"Why would I leave to join a League Two club? We're going there anyway!" - Marc White
Will anyone be getting up/pulling an all nighter on Sunday?
No I shall just record it and watch it in the morning. I am not optimistic either what with Mexico's home record and no time to adjust to the altitude.
