The Blackstone Code – Episode 6

The story so far:    Professor Padraig O’Riordan, an expert in football cryptography at the University of Liffey (formerly Dublin Polytechnic), is visiting Preston when the curator of the National Football Museum, Jack Salter, is murdered.  Tara Farmer-Palmer (T F-P), the local constabulary’s football cryptographer, helps O’Riordan to escape from investigating officer, Chief Inspector Freddie Flintoff, in a Chieftain tank.  O’Riordan has worked out that a bizarre clue left by Salter refers to a book by Mike Blackstone and that the book contains clues to the whereabouts of the real Jules Rimet Trophy.  In order to visit ‘Blackstone expert’ Steve Field they ditch the Chieftain at Lancaster Services and call a taxi, unaware that the tank has been discovered by local coppers.  Now read on…

 

          Padraig O’Riordan, in his sideline as an author of ‘tuppenny dreadful’ novels, realised that an episodic style might lead, if he wasn’t very sure of his stuff, to losing track of the plot, no matter how slender that may be.  The taxi driver asked where O’Riordan and T F-P wanted to go, the Irishman gave him the vague instruction “Down the A6”, not knowing Steve Field’s exact address.

 

 

          Back in the police control room, DS Fuzzyduck excitedly approached Flintoff.  “Sir,” he said. “They’ve found the tank at Lancaster Service Station.”

          “Lancaster ?” replied Flintoff.  “Why Lancaster ? I thought O’Riordan would try to flee the country.  Have the service station searched.  I want them found.”

 

 

          The taxi exited at Junction 33A of the M6 and joined the A6.  The radio, which had been burbling incomprehensible messages, suddenly burst into life.  “Car 67.  Come in, car 67.”  The driver tapped the button on the side of the microphone for the radio. “Control this is six-seven here.  I can hear you loud and I can hear you clear.”

          “Erm,” hesitated the person at the taxi control room. “Can you come back to base, please ?”

          “I’ve got a fare.  You know I’ve got a fare.  I haven’t finished this job yet,” replied the driver.  “What’s the problem ?”

          “Erm, it’s, uh,” stumbled the operator with a nervous laugh. “There’s an urgent problem with you vehicle.  Can you come back in, please ?”

          T F-P leant forward and pressed something through her jacket into the driver’s midriff.  “I’ve got a gun here,” she said.  “Stay calm and no-one gets hurt.”

          O’Riordan hoped that the list of those likely to get hurt was limited to one.

          “Pull over, give me the keys and then get out,” she continued.

          The taxi driver dutifully got out of the cab and handed over the keys.  T F-P trained her attention on the driver and held out the keys to O’Riordan

 “You drive,” she said.

          “Me ?” said O’Riordan.  “But ... but... I’m from rural Ireland, where everyone owns a pony.  I’ve never learnt to drive.”

          “Very well,” said T F-P.  “I’ll have to do it.”

          They got back in the taxi and drove off, leaving the driver shaking by the road way.

          “I…erm…I,” stammered O’Riordan.  “Didn’t realise you had a gun.”

          “I don’t,” said T F-P removing a tablespoon from her jacket pocket.

          O’Riordan was glad that T F-P had taken a specialist police driving course so that she could keep control of the vehicle with only on hand on the wheel.  The writer in him knew that underdescription of a character’s appearance, as well as speeding up the story, meant that you could make things up as you went along and that anybody could easily have a Batman-style utility belt equipped for all the perils that they may encounter.

 

 

“Sir,” DS Fuzzyduck said triumphantly. “We know that O’Riordan and Farmer-Palmer got a taxi from Lancaster services.”

“Good,” said DI Flintoff.  “But where are they now ?”

“The taxi firm can’t contact the driver,” replied Fuzzyduck. “So, erm, we don’t know.”

“Well, find them, Fuzzyduck. FIND THEM !”       

 

 

         

          The hijacked taxi pulled into the gravel drive of a large Edwardian mansion.  O’Riordan and T F-P got out and pulled the old-fashioned doorbell.  A small, middle aged woman answered the door.

          “What is it that you want ?” she said in an Edinburgh accent, which was the only thing to dispel similarities with Father Ted’s Mrs Doyle. 

          “We wish to see Mr Field,” responded O’Riordan.

          “I’ll see if the master will see you.  Who shall I say is calling ?”

          “Professor O’Riordan. Padraig O’Riordan.”

          The woman shut the door behind her, leaving O’Riordan and T F-P standing in the dark in the portico.  Shortly she returned and ushered them in.

          “You’ll have had your tea,” she said.  “The master is in the library.”

          O’Riordan and T F-P entered the vast, book-lined room.  To one side sat a man in a smoking jacket, so close to a blazing open-hearth fire that, like Roald Dahl introducing Tales of the Unexpected, you expected his trousers to catch alight.

          “Ah, come in,” said the figure in a stagey manner that, O’Riordan thought, would make him an ideal character to be played in a film by one of Britain’s gay theatrical knights – or possibly even peer – giving him the chance to go right over the top.  “I was just perusing an anthology of Charlie Buchan’s Football Monthly.  What is it that you want at this time of night ?”

          “Erm, we want information,” said O’Riordan.  “About Mike Blackstone and the followers of Blackstone and the search for the real World cup.”

          “Slowly, slowly,”  said Steve Field, for it is he, as if you hadn’t guessed.  “Too many questions for an old, hobbled man to answer.”

          O’Riordan had not noticed until now the small crutch in the fireplace, looking much like Tiny Tim’s, the Dickensian character, not the Jewish American ukulele player who had a hit with Tiptoe Through The Tulips.  Just then, the maid returned.

          “Will the lady and gentleman be staying, sir ?”

“No, Agnes, they will not,” said Field.

“Very good, sir,” said the maid retreating from the room.

“That was Agnes Dea,” remarked Field.  “She has been my faithful servant and protector for many years.  I don’t know what I’d do without her.  Please take a seat and I will explain to you the rumour – and it is mere conjecture – about the true whereabouts of the real World Cup.”

“We already know that the Real FA replaced the trophy with one made by John Noakes and stole the real one back,” said T F-P.

“Ah, but that is only the half of it,” replied Field with the air of a man about to go off on one.  O’Riordan thought that such a monologue as Field was about to embark on would, while advancing the plot, make a bad screenplay as a movie would need to use it as an overdub or intercut it with flashbacks and action scenes.

“Well,” continued Field.  “There are those that say it never left the country and that it was the replica that was stolen in Brazil.  But the true followers of Blackstone believe that the trophy was taken to Mexico for the next World Cup Finals.  The pre-tournament farrago with Bobby Moore and the bracelet in Bogota was the Real FA having a dry run for stealing the trophy itself.   That is, of course, if it could not be returned to England by deeds on the playing field.  And even when that was lost, the tournament had been rigged in such a way that three of the four semi-finalists – England should have been the fourth rather than Germany – had won the trophy twice so they would keep it in perpetuity if they won it again.  It would then be simple to steal the trophy back and the Real FA would have ample time to do so.  This is hinted at by Mike Blackstone in ‘Brown Sauce’ when there is a robbery in a game he attends at Penrith with a crowd of 87; naturally he and Hugh Elwood as the two newcomers are the chief suspects.  There are those that say that the robbery and rumours that Penrith were soon to move grounds are more than mere coincidence.”

“But the World Cup wouldn’t be hidden in Penrith, would it ?” queried T F-P.

“Why not ?” said Field.  “Withnail and I is set in Penrith in the late Sixties and there are a lot of strange goings on in that !  Anyway, when Adam Crozier, a Scot – not to denigrate Miss Dea’s countrymen – was appointed as the FA’s Chief Executive and he, in turn, appointed Sven-Goran Eriksson as England coach, the Real FA had to take action to stop the whereabouts of the World Cup getting out.”

“The fire alarm business…” mumbled O’Riordan.

“Fire alarm ?!” enquired T F-P.

“Fa-rye-a A-lam,” confirmed O’Riordan.  “It’s the Irish accent.”

“It turned out that Sven knew nothing, as did his successor, the fool McLaren,” said Field.  “And Mark Palios’s body was dumped in the North Sea, theatre of breams.”

“Bream,” said T F-P.  “The plural of bream is … bream.”

“Feck,” muttered O’Riordan.

Not having heard the expression before T F-P thought that it might have been a reference to Mike Atherton, and obliquely to Atherton Collieries where, indeed, the brown sauce was off, who had ‘FEC’ scrawled on his locker as a young professional in the Lancashire dressing room.  Newspapers had tried to convince the general public that it stood for future England captain, but others said the phrase was less complimentary and the E stood for Educated.

“You mentioned the Real FA,” O’Riordan remarked.  “What does that mean exactly ?”

“There is a school of thought that the FA is a front; Graham Kelly was an accountant, Crozier a PR man, Brian Barwick is a TV executive – not men used to running football.  The people who do run football, the power behind the throne, are the Real FA, with their ancient regalia, blazers, slacks and archaic rituals…”

“Archaic rituals ?” said T F-P falteringly. “Oh dear.  Oh my.”

Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“Whatever’s the matter ?” asked Field.

“No, it’s just ..” she continued, now sobbing.  “No, it’s too horrible.”

“What is ?” said Field . “Do tell us.”

 

 

To be continued…

Any resemblance of any of the characters to any person, living or dead, particularly Steve Field, is purely coincidental.

Walkers Crisps Vote 2014

     There are 6 new flavours that - as Walkers seem to do every year - are competing to become a 'new' flavour in the Walkers range.  I have bought two large variety bags and will be trying them all.

Hot Dog and Tomato Ketchup

     Possibly a poor move to start with the one that I feel will be my favourite.  They have certainly captured the authentic flavour of a hot dog .  I did feel that when I finished the bag, that seems to have fewer crisps in than I remember from years gone by,  I actually wanted to eat more.  Possibly a little too similar to tomato ketchup crisps.

Ranch Raccoon

    When I explained to my brother, who lives in Canada, that Walkers were releasing a raccoon flavoured crisp and that I wouldn't be able to tell whether they'd managed to get the real flavour of raccoon, he asked me to read the ingredients.  When I got to 'Dorset sour cream', my sister in law shouted "ranch salad dressing flavour". Ah, problem solved; but I don't know what that should taste like either.  On eating the first one it was so sour that I had to get a drink to take the taste away, the second one tasted better, the third one sour again and so on alternately.  They tasted to me like curdled mayonnaise and although I finished the bag, it's not something I'd care to try again.  I'm sure the fact that for 24 hours afterwards I felt as if I wanted to vomit is a coincidence.  Other sites have reviewed these crisps, such as Grocery Gems, and have described them as 'meaty'.  I thought them sour.  My take on this is that we've been influenced by what we've read; the other reviewers saw the word 'raccoon' and expected meat, I read sour cream and expected sour. However, few of us have found them tasty.  Or, as a Devonian, maybe the Dorset put me off.

Cheesy Beans on Toast

      The one I was least looking forward to as I don't like cheese and don't like beans, but I do like toast. It was therefore a relief that they don't taste of cheese or beans but simply, as with a number of crisp flavours, the great taste of synthetic. I'd say this was like a cheap barbecue flavour, but might just stick with "like nothing that exists in the natural world". I may be doing Walkers a disservice as they do not state which sauce the beans were cooked in. Or if they were cooked at all.

Chip Shop Chicken Curry

     I'm guessing Walker's have labelled these 'chip shop' to avoid being sued by curry houses throughout the world.  On tasting it seems that what they were aiming at was the curry sauce that you get to dip your chips in.  And jolly nice they are too. Or maybe it was just the fact that they're made with free range chicken from Devon.

Pulled Pork in a Sticky Barbecue Sauce

     I was expecting to taste pork and to need to wash my hands afterwards.  Turns out that the crisps aren't sticky and the major taste is the barbecue sauce.  Again the great taste of synthetic. Possibly the most off putting thing is the name 'pulled pork'. I know it's a fashionable thing but to me it has unfortunate connotations.

Sizzling Steak Fajita

      A strong taste of peppers and, so I read, paprika. not an unpleasant taste but I don't like hot, spicy food.  Finding out that the inventor/ proposer is studying civil engineering simply reminds me of the (alleged) Yellow Pages entry - Boring: See Civil Engineers.

Order of merit:

Hot dog with tomato ketchup
Chip shop chicken curry
Cheesy beans on toast
Pulled Pork in Sticky Barbecue Sauce
Sizzling Steak Fajita
Ranch raccoon (frankly, cardboard would be rated higher than these)

Before compiling the order of merit I did try most of the flavours again. And some cardboard to check that I preferred it to Ranch Raccoon flavour.  I couldn't be arsed to vote as it would've mean registering on the Walkers site and quite frankly they can poke it.

Stickers: Second Epilogue

     And hopefully this is the last sticker blog, probably for ten years.  I ordered both the collectabubble stickers and Panini at the same time. The collectabubble ones turned up two days later by recorded delivery, at a cost of £4.70 plus £2 delivery.  Eight days after ordering I got an e-mail from Panini saying that the stickers would be delivered within fifteen days.  A further eight days later I received the stickers, including the fabled 00 Panini logo, at a cost of £3.39, having got a discount for joining the Panini club.  Thus I have completed the set with the only gap being the My Panini ad, which I'll have to draw myself as the paninicheapskates people haven't replied. 
     The total cost was:

                    Two boxes and album              £102-99
                    Forty extra packets                    £ 20-00
                    Collectabubble.com order           £ 6-70
                    Panini order                                 £ 3-39
                    Grand Total                             £ 133-08

     The roughly 600 swaps were given away to a colleague's son; I have no idea how well he has done.  Apologies to anyone who thought that I might be desperate to get rid of my swaps; I was, so I took them to work.
     The paninicheapskates people have had worldwide publicity, a short film made about them,  are having an exhibition and may be part of a Panini book. Me ?  Absolutely nothing.

Stickers: First Epilogue

  Possibly the first of many. So, I bought 40 more packets and in the first 10 packets got nine new stickers.  In the second ten packets, I got 2 new stickers and the wheels were definitely coming off.  In the third ten, I got 3 new stickers, meaning I needed the last ten packets - 50 stickers - to provide 21 new stickers if I was to get to the Panini order threshold.   I actually got five. Assuming a similar swap ratio I'd need another 30 packets to get to the magic fifty needed.
     Hence I decided to order enough to get to that threshold from collectabubble.com, but was surprised to find that they don't actually have every sticker. As they were ten pence and Panini charge fourteen, I ordered as many that I needed as I could  and the rest, including sticker 00, from Panini.  I got an e-mail confirming that the ordered stickers would be sent out from collectabubble, but  a rather vague order confirmation from Panini giving no estimate of delivery date.
      I haven't done a statistical analysis of the two boxes I initially bought to confirm if they conform to the Swiss mathematical findings because it's a lot of work and I can't be arsed.  An educated guess based on the fact that I didn't get more than three swaps of any one sticker is that it did match with their findings.

Stickers: World Cup Day 25

    So, the World Cup is over  but the sticker collecting goes on.  The predicted 2-1 to the land of silver went awry as they won silver.  An extra time goal from the bloggers' favourite Chas und Dave song, Götze.   And my bet from roughly a fortnight ago that Germany would win the Cup comes in. Bastian Schweinsteiger makes it through 120 minutes despite a "punch in the face" from Sergio Aguero that left a cut on his cheek.  The Argentina team group seems rather ironic given the eventual result and Rodrigo Palacio comes on in the 78th minute and misses a gilt-edged chance


Via affaritaliani.it

by trying to lift it over Neuer.  He also showcases  his awful rat's tail ponytail, which doesn't make up for the male pattern baldness which can't be seen from his World cup sticker, but is fairly obvious, along with the rat's tail trying to hide itself inside his shirt through shame, in a card showing him in his Genoa days.  He looks surprisingly like former Exeter City striker Daniel Nardiello.

Missing:  85 (hence got 555)

Swaps:         482
Complete sets: Colombia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Italy, Ecuador, France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Germany.

      Least:              10   Cameroon and  South Korea (but also missing 8 of 24 stadium stickers)

      Most Swaps:    30   Iran  
                               28   Croatia, France

      Least Swaps:   2    South Korea
                              3    Cameroon and Belgium, and those Belgian swaps were all in the
                                    last six packets.

      Complete Pages:   31

      Most Individual Swaps: 3  Nineteen different stickers

    Longest Sequence of Stickers:   61   Numbers  421 - 481

    Longest missing sequence:    9   Numbers 627 - 635

     Betting total:      -£13.32

     I bought 40 more packets from the Co-op, in the belief that an average of one new sticker per packet - roughly what I was averaging near the end - will see me below 50 stickers.  I was served by a Polish assistant that a mate of mine thinks is mad.  He counted the packets silently, I was tempted to count them out loud but I'd have been counting in English and he'd probably be counting mentally in Polish.  In the first ten packets I get 9 new stickers.  A fair start, but below the required rate.
     Today I read of a guy who finished his 1996 Premiership sticker album by tracking down the six players he still needed - I don't fancy tracking down assorted Australians, Bosnians and South Koreans in nearly 20 years time.  But then he threw his album in the sea and wrote a book. Bloody publicity hound.

Via whoateallthepies.tv

     Before moving on, and I will be back with an epilogue or possibly more, there's something that's been bugging me for most of the tournament: why was Reni, the drummer of The Stone Roses, so keen to see the back of Spain ?

Via john-squire.com



 

Stickers: World Cup Day 24

      Third Place day. I didn't realise they actually got bronze medals, thought it was just a prestige

Via worldcupballs.info

thing.  Anyhow, today's prediction Brazil 0 Netherlands 1. Another chance for Brazil to humiliate themselves or possibly redeem themselves, although coming back from a 7-1 defeat won't be easy.
     With supreme irony it was 1-0 for thirteen minutes which was ended by the player whose sticker I got, Daley Blind, who is later carried off.  Brazil went on to complete conceding double figures in two games with a 3-0 defeat. 
     Well, it's over. I still need 92 stickers but have only 30 to reveal, so even the chance of ordering the last fifty from Panini has gone.  I've decided to take the Swiss survey I mentioned earlier as a guide - OK, I have no-one to swap with - but they recommended one box and forty packets, so I'm going to buy another forty packets and just over one new sticker per packet will see me to below the Panini order threshold.  If that doesn't work out then I will have to consider ordering from another company (eg collectabubble, who are cheaper per sticker anyway) despite hoping that ordering from Panini will bring the elusive 00 Panini sticker.  With my determination to finish the set by hook or by crook, I have asked paninicheapskates whether they will do a sticker of me to put in the 'mypanini' space on the same page as the 00 sticker.
     The Final prediction: Germany 1 Argentina 2, courtesy of stickers Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Argentina team group and Rodrigo Palacio.

Stickers: World Cup Day 23

      Think I mentioned yesterday that today's prediction - you may have noticed that due to the UK-Brazil time difference, with games ending late at night UK time, this blog is a day in arrears - is a 2-2 draw.  And that would have been a far more interesting game than the borefest we got. The stickers also throw up two no-shows Rafael van der Vaart and Ever Banega, while Dirk Kuyt gets to take one of the penalties and Pablo Zabaleta lasts 120 minutes.  The highlight of the game was Ezekiel Garay hoofing the ball into the crowd because he only had one boot on and wanted time to put the other back on.
     So Alex Sabella becomes the first (to the best of my knowledge) ex-Leeds United player to manage a side in the World Cup Final.  So a reminder of when stickers/ trading cards would sometimes be faked. An old Dauily Star trading card where Alex Sabella's face has been cut and pasted onto someone else's body, I think possibly  Frank Gray.

Via e-bay

 And if you thought tonight's game was a lot of balls...

Via spanishleeds.blogspot

With 101 stickers still needed and only 60 to reveal it's unlikely that I'll get down to the fifty ordering threshold of Panini - requiring a 85% success rate - so alternative means will be needed. The small profit of two correct results for the semis has brought me down to a loss of £17.95. It'll be a bit tricky to make that up from four fifty pence bets.
     And finally paninicheapskates can really show up how scary some of the stickers are. I give you potential Dr Who villain, Australia's Mark Milligan.

Stickers: World Cup Day 22

       The prediction for the first semi-final is Brazil 0 Germany 1. And that was the correct score - with the lone sticker, Thomas Muller, the scorer - for 12 minutes. Then it became two-nil. A minute later it was 3-0. Two minutes after that 4-0 and 3 minutes subsequently 5-0, which was when I fell off the sofa laughing.  Brazil improved by 60% in the second half, only conceding two more and finally managing to get a goal back, having spent most of the second half seemingly believing that a wonder goal was worth five.  Brazil had not lost at home in a competitive game since 1975 or ever lost to
Germany in a competitive game. if you're going to do something, do it with style.  I had considered that a good headline had it stayed 1-0 would have been 'Mullered'.  Brazil ended well and truly mullered.


Via telegraph.co.uk



The prediction for tonight's semi is Netherlands 2 Argentina 2.  I have got amongst the stickers half of the stadium in Natal thus completing a page of 12 stadium stickers. The other page of 12 stadium stickers only has 3 on it.

Stickers: World Cup Day 21

       Think this is pretty much unprecedented: one correct result and one correct score.
       A remarkable enough start with a correct result but also the only goalscorer


Via footballcardsdirect.com, another way of getting
 wanted stickers for only ten pence each

Gonzalo Higuain as one of the day's stickers.  Bit wide of the mark with 4-1; Argentina's Ezequiel Lavezzi starts but does not finish, Marcos Rojo is not selected despite playing well in the tournament thus far and Sergio 'Kun' Aguerro (a nickname phonically only one letter away from that of his ex-father-in-law, Diego Maradona) also fails to make an appearance, but he is injured. Belgian sticker Toby Alderweireld contrives to get himself booked.
    Again when I get a 0-0 prediction the only talking point is how long it stayed scoreless.  It is with great joy that I can tell you 120 minutes. Despite the £6 this made me plus the correct result for both games the betting is still adrift to the tune of £18.93, not one of my favourite tunes.
    Today I got the sticker of Korea's Hong Jeong-Ho. Isn't that what Jay Z called Beyoncé in Crazy In Love ?  I imagine that's the sort of thing that might get you punched in a lift.
   With 116 stickers still needed and only 110 to reveal the dream of getting a full set without ordering any has died. And the possibility of getting down to less than fifty needed looks decidedly dodgy.

Stickers: World Cup Day 20

     Today's predictions are France 3 Germany 2 and Brazil 1 Colombia 3.
     By getting Olivier Giroud, I complete the French set, this must be a good omen, mustn't it ? However, I did complete Germany first so maybe not.  The German squad had apparently been affected by flu during the week, but both sides played as if under the influence of some malady.  The only goal is scored from a Toni Kroos free kick, and Sami Khedira returns to bolster midfield. The three French stickers: the aforementioned Giroud, Patrice Evra and Mamadou Sakho all get on the field (I was going to put 'play' but it's difficult to tell whether France even turned up), Sakho being substituted twenty minutes from time.
     In the other game Brazil beat Colombia 2-1 and my Brazilian sticker is Bernard, who sadly hasn't got a look in at this World Cup. It would have been a fitting tribute to actress Patsy Byrne who died last week and played Queen Elizabeth's nurse in Blackadder, who shared her name with the Brazilian winger.  The biggest part played by any sticker, although it would have done simply by being the only one on the field as Macnelly Torres was not selected for the Colombian squad and Falcao is injured, is by Camilo Zuniga who makes the challenge that rules Neymar Jr out of the rest of the tournament.  It will be interesting to see how Brazil cope without him. Anyhow with Colombia goes my £1 on them to win the tournament, a bet placed four days ago.
      And as it's a Saturday I can reveal that the predictions for the games that will take place later today (July 5th) are Argentina 4 Belgium 1 and Netherlands 0 Costa Rica 0. Watch this space.

Via paninicheapskates

 



Stickers: World Cup Day 19

    For the last pair of Round of 16 games, the predictions are Switzerland 0 Argentina 1 and Belgium 2 USA 2.  I get half of the Sao Paulo stadium where the first game takes place. 
    It needs to be stressed here that I'm betting on the score after 90 minutes and therefore the fact that Argentina win 1-0 after extra time is of no use to me.  And I slept through most of the game.  The lone sticker, Lionel Messi, sets up the goal for Angel Di Maria.  Di Maria has a poor game and Alan Shearer says that he "keeps hitting front man with his balls". In many ways I think that's worse than what Saurez did.  Di Maria apparently set a new World Cup finals record for most misplaced passes.
     In the second game, Belgium v USA also ends goalless after ninety minutes but is a much more absorbing match.  In extra time Belgium go two up in the first period, but the USA get one back right at the start of the second period but that is the end of the For the USA Tim Howard plays a blinder in goal but Eddie Johnson goes off injured,  Belgian stickers are Eden Hazard who has a subdued game and Christian Benteke failed to make the squad due to injury.  Howard sets a record for most saves in a World cup finals game since records began. And if your interested 'since records began' with regard to this sort of statistic is 1966.
     The quest is almost over as I require 137 stickers with 190 left to reveal.  Therefore I need a success rate of 72% to complete the set or 45.7% to be able to order from Panini.  Betting running total: -£23.58.
      A stadium drawing on paninicheapskates.com is reminiscent of an old King Crimson album cover, but from the 'in the mouth looking out' angle.

Via paninicheapskates

via superstarthegump.com

Stickers: World Cup Day 18

       Today's predictions: France 2 Nigeria 0 and Germany 1 Algeria 0.
       For only the second time a prediction proves right. France do indeed beat Nigeria2-0 but take a long time to score the  first. Mathieu Debuchy plays the full game and the French badge amazingly remains unkissed despite the relief at the late, late(ish) show. Joseph Yobo celebrates becoming the Nigerian to have played most matches in World Cup finals by putting through his own goal.
       In the second game I got a surprisingly good run for my money with it finishing 0-0 in normal

Mesut Ozil, via acertaincinema.com

time.  The only sticker I got was of Marco Reus who missed out on the tournament through injury.  Having failed to score in 90 minutes, the Germans score in 90 seconds of extra time. Germany went on to win 2-1 in extra time with the 'winning' goal scored - before Algeria got one back - by Mesut Ozil.
       And the runner up is: Colombia, their badge completing the set.  As they are still in the tournament I will have an each way bet on them, but I'm troubled by this as they are playing the hosts and in the same half as my other 'tip', Germany.

Stickers: World Cup Day 17

       Today's predictions are both 2-0; to Mexico against the Netherlands and to Greece against Costa Rica.  I get half of the Recife stadium where the latter game takes place.

Via ebay where they were asking silly
money like 99 pence per sticker

       For the first game I was at the cricket in Taunton and trying hard to avoid the result, as the cricket would end before the football. A friend with a whizzy phone and got the score on his phone but only told me how many goals had been scored in the game.  As the train was pulling in to Exeter the train manager announced "The next station stop is Exeter and in the World Cup tonight it was Holland 2 Mexico 1".  I don't know whether this was being used as an excuse for not coming round to collect tickets.  Anyhow the Mexico goal is scored by Giovani dos Santos, whose sticker I get, and Javier Hernandez, who comes on for the last fifteen minutes. Maybe Mexico's demise is all his fault.
      In the second game,  Costa Rica take the lead, Greece's Vasilis Torisidis nearly concedes a penalty when the ball hits his arm and Jose Holebas puts in good crosses that Greece almost equalise from. As the game went into injury time, before you could say Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Greece equalise.  The game goes to extra time which fails to produce a goal.  Hollibobs goes on to score in the penalty shoot out but Greece lose 3-5.

Stickers: World Cup Day 16

     This is all getting a bit tricky as there isn't really enough time in the day to do this blog- even at the weekend -  but I'll persevere.
     And the predictions for the first pair of knock out games are: Brazil 0 Chile 0 and Colombia 0 Uruguay 1. This shouldn't be a difficult one to write.
     As previously said with a goalless prediction the only thing to say is how long it stayed 0-0. In this case, 18 minutes when a Chilean defender put through his own net via David Luiz's body, Chile equalised and despite some near misses it went all the way to penalties and a Brazil spot kick victory.
    The later game ended two nil to Colombia thanks to goals by Ham-and-eggs Rodriguez, one possibly the most spectacular of the World Cup thus far.  The lone sticker is that of Edinson Cavani, who has a poor game to add to the rather non-descript tournament he's had. Perhaps he should bite someone to attract attention.

     And the winner is: Germany.  The first complete squad after sticker 492 ends my Mertesacker emptiness.  As they are still in the tournament, I haver placed a massive fifty pence each way bet on them to win the cup.  Although at rather shorter odds than I would have got before the tournament.

Stickers: World Cup Day 15

Via paninincheapskates but ed
ited

     The last round of group games before the knock out stages.  Today I get both halves of the Sao Paolo stadium where Belgium play South Korea and half of the Brasilia stadium which hosts Portugal v Ghana.  And the predictions for today are Germany 5 USA 3, Portugal 2 Ghana 2, South Korea 0 Belgium 0 and Russia 0 Algeria 3.
     The bookies seem convinced that Germany v USA will be a 0-0 stitch up as I cannot get a price on my predicted eight goal thriller.  Rain was close to being the big winner.  Germany scored the only goal of the game, but it failed to involve any of the eight stickers - well, I suppose it went past USA keeper Tim Howard.  Of the Germans, Mats Hummels and Toni Kroos start, Mario Gotze comes on as sub, Sami Khedira remained on the bench and Marcel Schmeltzer did not even make the squad.  The other Americans were Matt Besler and DaMarcus Beasley who both play, Mr Beasley causing some problems for the German defence by running at them.
      Ghana let me down by not getting a second, thus losing 2-1.  Portugal's Bruno Alves starts, Ghana's Jordan Ayew comes on as a sub, Daniel Opare doesn't, likewise Fabio Coentrao, made with oranges ripened in the sun, but who's injured.  The first goal is an own goal by John Boye and BBC's commentator makes the "G'night John Boye" joke. Copycat.
      There's not much likelihood of being able to write much when I don't get any stickers of either side.  However it does mean that for at least part of the game I will have the right score. In this case, for 77 minutes until Belgium's Jan Vertonghen scores the only goal of the game.
      Now that England have gone out, English fans have to take their pleasures where they find them and watching Fabio Capello's Russia draw 1-1 with Algeria and be eliminated by the North Africans is one of them.  Algeria's Essaid Belkalem is in their team, Saphir Taider fails to get on and once again I get the non-selected Adlene Guedioura.
      At the end of the group stages the betting running total is -£21.83 and I still need 166 stickers with 310 left to be revealed, hence I would need to get 53.5% new stickers to complete the set or 37.4% (over one in three) to be able to order them; both rather tall orders, I think. 
     Now it's time for the roll call of teams that have a worse record than England at this World Cup:
          Cameroon - no points, one goal scored
          Honduras - no points, one goal scored
          Australia - no points
          Japan - one point, conceded six goals
          South Korea - one point, conceded four goals
          Iran - one point, one goal

Stickers: World Cup Day 14

    Games are still coming thick and fast.  Since opening a new box the swaps are also coming thick and fast. Today's predictions are Honduras 1 Switzerland 0, Ecuador 1 France 2, Nigeria 1 Argentina 1 and ,erm,  Bosnia 3 Iran 8. Could happen.  Although online bookmakers are failing to offer odds for it, so probably not that likely.
     So the first game bombs against my predictions with Shaquiri, whose hips don't lie, scoring a hat-trick for the Swiss - I assume as with Roger Federer winning tennis tournaments  that they will give him a cow, which makes it a cow-trick. The sticker for this game is of Honduras's  Jerry Bengtsen who has an effort cleared off the line.
     The other game in the group was described as 'a team that didn't need to win against a team that weren't capable of getting a win'. No, it's not a re-run of Costa  Rica v England but Ecuador v France did similarly end 0-0.  Ecuadorian Renatu Ibarru comes off the bench for half an hour, which is more than Matthieu Debuchy and a damn sight better than Eric Abidal who failed to make the squad.
     Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 and neither badge - yes, I got both teams' badges - makes a significant impact.  After yesterday's Suarez related shenanagins - and if he does appeal against his ban, let's


Via oldschoolpaninini.com

hope the appeals committee have the power to increase it - Argentina do feature the  most vampiric player in the tournament, Angel di Maria, who would be nailed on to feature in a remake of FW Murnau's 1922 silent classic Nosferatu.
     And finally, Iran failed to get eight, but Bosnia did get three.  I did get half the Salvador stadium that hosts this fixture.  The scorer of Iran's only goal Reza Googoobarabajagal, sorry, Ghoochanejad is one of the eight stickers.   Pejman Montazari, Ehsan Hajsafi, Javed Nekouman and  Andranik Teymourian start, Khosro Heydari comes on at half time, Hashem Beikzadeh is on the bench and Mohammed Khalatbari failed to make the squad.  For Bosnia-H Emir Spahic plays the full game, Izet Hajrovic is on the bench and Adnan Zahirovic did not get selected for the squad.
      Two days ago the swaps passed the 100 mark, today they passed the 200 mark.

Stickers: World Cup Day 13

     Unlucky for some.  Today will be the day England go home. OK, play their last game, they're probably not going straight from the ground to the airport.  And my prediction for that game is England 2 Costa Rica 6. I suspect if you'd tried getting odds on that scoreline before the tournament started you either wouldn't be able to get a price or it would have been far longer than 500-1, although the way this group has gone so far 500-1 is probably quite generous.  We all expected this to be a team that had already qualified against the group's whipping boys, didn't we ?  Much ado about nothing-nothing.  The two England stickers are Ashley Cole and Kyle Walker, neither of whom made the squad.  Difficult to relate anything to the stickers as next to nothing happened in the game, but Joel Campbell did actually have a shot on goal.  President Yeltsin Tajeda starts but Johnny Acosta Coffee, Christian Bolanos and Michael Barrantes are on the bench, Ariel Rodriguez failed to make the squad and reminds me that I must dot my i's and make e's less like a's.
     The other predictions for the day are Italy 3 Uruguay 1, Japan 0 Colombia 1 and Greece 0 Ivory Coast 2.  Diego Perez is on the bench for Uruguay as they win with a goal in the last 10 minutes.  I get the sticker of the victim of the bite, Giorgio Chiellini, and Andria Burzagli who plays the full game as well as Thiago Motta who plays the last fifteen minutes.
      The sole sticker for the Japan v Colombia game, Juan Cuadrado, opens the scoring with a penalty in Colombia's 4-1 win. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2-1 with an injury time penalty and Didier Drogba starts but does not finish, in many senses of the word; again a country's badge fails to make a significant contribution.

Stickers: World Cup Day 12

    In terms of packets opened I am now just past half way, having got two packs into the second box.
    I think I may regret trying to bet on scores predicted by stickers obtained on the day as today I had a bout of 'a Mexican in every pack'.   I have been unable to obtain odds on a result of Croatia 2 Mexico 10. Thankfully the other predictions are more sensible, erm, Brazil 3 Cameroon 3, Australia 3 Spain 0 and Netherlands 1 Chile 3.
     So I got 3-0 Australia v Spain right.  OK, so it was 3-0 to Spain, but frankly who's counting ?  Mark Bresciano plays the last 18 minutes, Dario Vidosic fails to get on and Rhys Williams failed to make the squad due to injury.
     Memphis Depay comes off the bench to score the Netherlands second  goal in a 2-0 win. (Adrian) Chile's Eugenio Mena, Mauricio Isla Bonita (young girls with eyes like potatoes) and Marcelo Diaz all play.
     Brazil beat Cameroon 4-1 with ITV pundit Ian Wright complaining that Cameroon's players are too comfortable and only concerned with getting paid.  Thiago Silva starts for Brazil, Ramires comes on after being dropped from the previous game and Dante experiences the circles of hell on the bench.  Eyong Enoh gets booked for the Cameroon, Eric Choupo-Moting gets substituted and Benoit Assou Ekoto fails to make an appearance.
     So, did Croatia v Mexico finish 2-10 ?  Of course it didn't.  'Twas 3-1 to the  homeland of Speedy

Via Paninicheapskates
 

Gonsalez. Remarkably of the ten Mexicans only Andres Guardado (who I get twice) scores, but Paul Aguilar clears off the line, Hector Herrera hits the bar and Oribe Peralta sets up Guardado's goal.  I also get the Mexican badge which doesn't do a lot, Carlos Pena comes on as a sub and is the victim of a tackle that results in a sending off, Giovani dos Santos is substituted (who I also get twice, not by Pena) and Aldo de Nigris failed to make the squad.  For Croatia Vedrun Corluca plays the full game and Mateo Kovacic comes on as a sub.
      Well, one box down and I've just got my first England swap; Glen Johnson. the swaps have passed the 100 mark and so have tournament goals, but I doubt the scoring rate will keep up with the swap rate. 
    
      'Gots':            433

       Swaps:         112

     Most stickers: 18 Croatia and Iran, plans to bet on the first complete team to win the tournament
                             may be scuppered as  Croatia are already out and Iran are not certain to qualify.

     Least:              6   South Korea

     Most Swaps:    10   Portugal

     Least Swaps:    None   Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium,
                              and Nigeria

     Complete Pages:   10

     Most Individual Swaps: 2   Eleven different stickers

    Longest Sequence of Stickers:   18   Numbers  53 - 70, 372 - 389 and 449 - 466.

    Betting total:      -£11.53

Stickers: World Cup Day 11

     Today's predictions: Belgium 2 Russia 0, South Korea 0 Algeria 2 and USA 0 Portugal 4.

Via bundesliga.com

     I get half of the Rio stadium that hosts Belgium v Russia and half of the Porto Allegre stadium where Korea v Algeria is played.  In the first game, Belgium win it with a late goal but sadly for my betting fail to get a second.  Prince Harry lookalike Kevin de Bruyne plays and Dries Mertens supplies a number of chances down the right.
     The Korea v Algeria game is more goal packed than the prediction; Algeria becoming thee first African side to score four in a World Cup finals and Korea getting two in reply. Islam Slimani gets the opener for Algeria but Crystal Palace's Adlene Guedioura failed to make their squad.  And the game was 2-0 for a full ten minutes.
     The USA come within a whisker of knocking Portugal out but a last minute equaliser makes it 2-2.  The man who scores that equaliser, Silvestre Valera, is one of the Portuguese stickers I get. Twice.  The other is the defender whose injury against Germany ended his World Cup, Fabio Coentrao. Twice.  A 'convenient' draw between the States and Germany will eliminate Portugal anyway.
     The Honduras team group means that I have now put a sticker on the last blank page.

Stickers: World Cup Day 10

       Well, the predictions weren't ever that likely to make logical sense, and today's are: Argentina 0 Iran 3, Germany 0 Ghana 2 and Nigeria 1 Bosnia 1.
        Iran actually give Argentina a good contest with only an injury time goal at the end separating the teams. Pejman Montazeri crossed for Reza Ghoochannejad (isn't that a Donovan song ?) whose header was blocked by the Argentine keeper.  Javed Nekounam becomes, I think, the first player whose sticker I get on a match day to be booked in that match.
      Again, in the second game Ghana run Germany a lot closer than expected, even being ahead for eight minutes.  Jonathan Mensah performs well in defence, but Michael Essien fails to make an appearance from the bench.
      In the late game, a couple of misses and a wrongly disallowed goal by Manchester City's Dzeko possibly deprives me of a winning bet as Nigeria win 1-0.  Bosnian keeper Asmir Begovic is nutmegged for the goal and the Nigerian team group really never stood a chance of a good individual performance.

Stickers: World Cup Day 9

      The feedback from the Panini cheapskates is that they Google them in order to know what the sticker looks like so they can draw it.  I had no idea  it would be that easy. I'd have thought that Panini would have been more protective of their rights.  This does, of course, give me another option for completing the set; I could just print them.

Via www.collectabubble.com
 

     Amongst the stickers I get today are No 4 which is the top half of the mascot that looks like a cross between a kangaroo and a pony. Presumably one of the thousands of new species that are still being discovered in the Amazon every year.  Sticker number 271 Alvaro Gonsalez of Uruguay completes the first full page, I also get the USA badge to complete a page of only 7 stickers.  And in trying to find a picture of the Gonsalez sticker I find a site where you can buy each sticker for 10 pence each http://www.collectabubble.com/panini-2014-world-cup---individual-stickers-858-c.asp, which would mean being able to buy the whole set with no swaps for under £70, not including postage.
       OK, so on to the predictions:  Italy 2 Costa Rica 0, France 4 Switzerland 1 and Ecuador 1 Honduras 0. 
     So not only did I lose a pound when Costa Rica beat Italy with the only goal of the game, but the result means England are out. And they didn't even play. Well, at least I was proved right when I suggested months ago that this should be the England Official World Cup song.  Gigi Buffon returns in goal for the Azzurri but the other sticker  is of Alberto Gilardino who, on behalf of Panini and like his club, I'd like to congratulate on getting into the Italian squad. Except of course that he didn't.  I think England's real problem has been that they have no players called Rodriguez (Jay was sadly injured) and no naturalised Brazilians.
      And surely the rock solid Swiss defence wouldn't concede four ?  There was a six minute period where my 35-1 on 4-1 looked like it might come in; all I needed was the Swiss to score and that to be the end of the goals. Then France scored their fifth. And the Swiss got two back in the last ten minutes, the last goal being scored by Granit Xhaka, who had previously had the ball in the net but been ruled offside.  Remarkably the four Frenchmen whose stickers I get are none of the five Frenchman who score for Les Bleus.  Patrice Evra and Mathieu Debuchy both go close to scoring, Paul Pogba, lucky not to be sent off in the first game, comes on as a sub. And Samir Nasri was left at home, allegedly because he would be disruptive to team spirit.
     Ecuador v Honduras was decided by the odd goal, but in three rather than just the one.  Ecuador's Joao Rojas fails to get off the bench.

Stickers: World Cup Day 8

     And today I get half of the Brasilia stadium, which hosts the Colombia v Ivory Coast game, which the stickers predict will finish 2-1 to the Ivorians.  The other games will, yes, I promise, will end Uruguay 2 England 0 and Japan 3 Greece 2.
     I told you Colombia v Ivory Coast would finish 2-1.  Sadly, it was to Colombia.  But I did get Cote d'Ivoire scorer Gervinho and the 'substituted for being a bit shit' Wilfried Bony.  However, Colombian Carlos Bacca fails to get a run out.
     Well, the Uruguay two bit was right.  Damn Wayne Rooney for scoring his first goal in World Cup finals.  This finals' country with the smallest population's Egidio Arevaldo Rios plays and Abel Hernadez is on the bench.
     Another sticker predicted thriller turns out to be a dud; Japan 0 Greece 0. Partly responsible are Japan's keeper Eiji Kawashima, who makes a couple of good saves, and Atsutso Uchida who misses a good chance. Greece's Giorgios Karagounis puts in some good dead balls from which players then fluff their finishes.  Giannis Maniatis plays for the Greeks but Yoichiro Kakitani fails to make it to the pitch from the bench.
     Number of swaps passes the fifty mark.
     I have found a new and ingenious way of finishing the set; draw them. http://paninicheapskates.wordpress.com/about/   However, what I can't fathom is that it is obvious that they are copying the stickers, but where are  they getting them from ?  And why no drawings of any stadia yet ? I'll just nip across to their blog and ask them...

Stickers: World Cup Day 7

     Today's sticker based predictions are Australia 0 Netherlands 2, Spain 3 Chile 2 and Cameroon 0 Croatia 1.
     Memphis Depay scores the winner for the Netherlands in their 3-2 win having come on as a substitute.  The other Dutch sticker is that of Kevin Strootman who failed to make the squad because of injury.
     Spain's fall from grace or return to their old 'flattering to deceive' ways continues as they lose 2-0 to Chile. Think their problem has been that on the days they've played I've got their defenders; Gerard Pique presumably was blamed for the defeat to the Dutch and was dropped; Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba were again lacklustre.  Chile's Jose Rojas fails to get on and David Pizarro was in the provisional squad but did not make the final squad.
      Croatia's win over the Cameroons is more emphatic than the prediction; by four goals rather than a single one.  Although, joy of joys, lone sticker Mario Mandzukic scores twice. 

Stickers: World Cup Day 6

     And the estimated scores on the doors tonight are Brazil 2 Mexico 1, Belgium 1 Algeria 0 and Russia 1 Korea 1.
     Amongst the stickers I get Ghana's John Boye. G'night John Boye.
    As Brazil disappoint by drawing 0-0 with Mexico, keeper Julio Cesar and defender Marcelo are part of the clean sheet and Mexico's Miguel Layun plays the whole game.  Dani Alves blond/ grey dyed hair was said on Twitter to be unlucky.  It never stopped John O'Flynn.
     Belgium come back from a goal down to beat Algeria, but their foil badge doesn't play a huge part in the game.  Belgium did not really look like a team until the two mighty 'fros of Alex Witsel and Marouane Fellaini were united in midfield
     And they said it wouldn't happen ?  OK, I said it wouldn't happen.  Sticker based prediction proves to be a  correct score, thanks to Russia's foil badge and Korea's Ji Dong-Won, erm, I won. Neither the foil badge nor Dong-Won takes any part in the game. Alas the correct result only yields £3.25. However currently I am only £2 down which is quite surprising.
   Is anyone else finding the 'look to camera, cross your arms' thing when they announce the teams a tad annoying ?

Stickers: World Cup Day 5

     Today's predictions: Germany 0 Portugal 1, Iran 3 Nigeria 4 and Ghana 0 USA 1.

     Amongst those stickers revealed is the England team group which is just a composite of head shots rather than a picture taken before a match, giving the impression that it's not officially sanctioned by the FA.
    So the first prediction goes spectacularly wrong as Germany run out 4-0 winners against a lack lustre Portugal who were a man light after a sending off. And to top it all off the one sticker I do get, Josue, failed to make the Portuguese squad.  Portugal bring on Eder as substitute and every time he gets mentioned I want to sing this.
      I wish the Iran v Nigeria game had matched my prediction instead of the borefest it turned out to be. Partly responsible for the nil-nil draw are Iran's Khosro Heydari and Nigeria's John Obi Wan Kenobi Mikel and Ogenyi Onazi who play, relatively blameless are Hashem Beikzadeh of Iran and Elderson Echiejile and Azubuike Egwuikwe of Nigeria who are on the bench, totally blameless is Iranian Mojtaba Jabbari who failed to make their squad and has retired from international football.
       A bizarre result of sorts from the USA v Ghana game:  the one sticker I get Matt Besler, is the player replaced by the scorer of the winning goal John Brooks University.  It finished 2-1 to the Stars and Stripe.
    
Swaps have now reached 30.

Stickers: World Cup Day 4

     I've now got the World Cup ball which has completed a page. Not as impressive as it sounds as there are only two stickers on that page. 
     The predictions from the stickers obtained today are Switzerland 4 Ecuador 0, France 2 Honduras 0 and Argentina 1 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1.  Swiss keeper Diego Benaglia disappoints me by not keeping a clean sheet and Gokhan Inler and Xheridan Shaquiri get shots on target. Fourth sticker Phillipe Senderos is only on the bench as Switzerland sneak a 2-1 win in injury time.  In the second game 'diminutive' Mathieu Valbuena sends over the free kick from which France scored their third (and is fouled quite a lot, but then so is just about everybody in this game) and Mamadou Sissoko comes on half way through the second half in Les Bleus' 3-0 victory.  In the final game of the day, Federico Fernandez starts for Argentina but Avdija Vrsajevic is only on the bench for B-H as Argentina run out 2-1 winners.
     The betting is none too successful as the odds on the winning results are not enough to cover the lost  correct score bets as they are odds on.

Stickers: World Cup Day 3

     Well, today I got half of the Belo Horizonte stadium where the Colombia v Greece game is due to take place.  I may not have got the correct score or result but I did get the sticker of the first goalscorer Pablo Armero. Even more remarkably it was supplied by the other Colombian sticker I get, Juan Caudrado. We should savour the moment. It may not happen again. Both Greek stickers, Jose Hollibobs, sorry , Holebas and Panagotis Kone play.
     The  BBC commentators have said that "we've seen plenty of goals", however I held out little hope for Uruguay to lose 7-2 to Costa Rica. Or, indeed, to lose at all.  The wonderfully named Yeltsin Tejeda - I'm hoping that, like cricketer Nixon McLean had brothers named after US presidents, Tejeda has brothersnamed Aafter Russian presidents - concedes the free-kick from which Junior Diazfoulsa Uruguayan to giveaway the penalty. Brain Ruiz was fouled for the free kick which Christian Bolanos took which lead to Costa Rica's second goal. One of the other Costa Rica players whose sticker I get comes on as substitute and the other two are on the bench. 
     The England game is a bit of a failure by comparison; wrong score, wrong result and the one sticker is that of Kyle Walker who didn't make the England squad through injury. Another significant injury from the  game was England's physio Gary Lewin whose ankle was broken in the celebrations after Daniel Sturridge's goal. However, there should be plenty of injury time in future England game as physio hobbles on on crutches.  Phil Neville, BBC's co-commentator for the game, shares more than most of the same latters with Phil Neal; he just repeats the last thing the commentator says, even if it contradicts the last thing Neville said.
     Ivory Coast fall one goal short of giving me the  correct score with their 2-1 win over Japan. But the correct result, along with the Costa Rica result, means I'm only  £1.25 down.  Didier Diver is the 'inspiration' for the win after they were behind to Japan and Yaya Toure has some moments. But the third Ivorian sticker Lacina Traore failed to make the squad.  The Japan badge has little influence on the game.
     I also got the World Cup and  a couple of  stickers at the front which I don't understand, possibly the logo and the mascot, but as they are in halves they both look a tad weird.
     There seems to be a new trend in different coloured boots on each foot. Whether this is one-upmanship on coloured boots or a boot company's initiative I have no idea. Looks bloody daft though. As does absurdly tight shirts that looked particularly stupid in a rainstorm.
     Appropriate that Chris Waddle was one of the guests for Sunday's Football Focus as the BBC's studio is as high above Copacabana beach as Waddle's Italia 90 penalty was above the crossbar.
Is there a split in the Italy camp ?  Mario Balotelli seems to be only growing the bit of hair that Gabriel Paletta can't.


Via TransferMarketWeb.com

 

 

 

 



Via National Post, Canada website





Stickers: World Cup Day 2

I get my first English player, Gary Cahill, and the first foil sticker, Fair Play, which is sticker number 1 as well as Lee Keun-Ho of South Korea who is number 639 and hence last in the book.  I also got the first packet without a team group in it, so there isn't one in every packet, which should make things easier.  Possibly the most significant sticker revealed is the one which may describe this whole exercise, or perhaps a relation for Alan Sugar's typical footy import Carlos Kickaball, Honduran Carlos Costly.
No stickers for either Mexico or Cameroon indicates a nil-nil draw,  and the other two predictions are Spain 3 Netherlands 1 and much fancied Chile 1 lowest ranked team in the finals Australia 2.  Officials tried hard to make the first game  0-0 by disallowing - wrongly - two Mexican goals, but it finished 1-0 to Mexico and a pound lost.
For Spain against their former colony (yes, I know it was a long time ago, but it's mntioned in the Dutch national anthem) the stickers are relatively significant Ramos gave away free kick for 3rd goal, Casillas miscontrolled a back pass for 4th, compared to them fellow defender Jordi Alba was relatively blameless.  On the BBC's highlights programme they interviewed an old tramp outside the stadium.  No, sorry, it was Mark Lawrenson.  Sadly, I can't find this on I-player so you'll just have to trust me.
Chile beat Australia 3-1 and two of the stickers Marcos Gonsalez and Lucas Neill failed to make their nation's squads and Dario Vidosic is on the bench for The Socceroos.  Gary Cahill's Australian namesake, Tim, scores their goal.Two more pounds into the bookies pocket.
Anyhow swaps thus far 6, including the Costa Rican team twice.

Predictions for Day 3's game having opened the requisite packets:

Colombia 2 Greece 2         22-1 correct score, 5-2 correct result
Uruguay 2 Costa Rica 7    Funnily enough couldn't get a price on this score,8-1 correct result
England 1 Italy 0               7-1 correct score, 21-10 correct result
Ivory Coast 3 Japan 1        25-1 correct score, 6-4 correct result