Somehow I should have guessed!

Israel for the first European game! Always something to make things interesting. I hear many players that featured in the World Cup have yet to return to their clubs - seems sensible but difficult to see it helping them early on. At the end of the season you may get the same affect, to a lesser degree, as with Ashley Cole - he looked sprightly in the WC unlike most other English players. A high price for Arsenal though! All part of the fun me thinks.

Taking the Michael

When Real Madrid took Michael Owen the only thing that was annoying was the small price tag but given what I am about to say maybe it wasn't!  In his last season on merseyside he was not playing a full season.  So he was great in spells but all too frequently crocked.  There is definite value in having a player, of lesser quality, but who plays most of the season and steadily puts a reasonable number of chances away.  At Newcastle he wasn't ever present and for England, yoah!  A shame for all.  Now Shearer has always had something more physical about his play.  Ah well...

World Cup Withdrawal Symptoms

Why can't we have football on every day. Fifth place play-offs, and so on. Enough to ensure we do not have days with no matches at all. The human condition is such that you get use to a steady supply of world cup football. We crave the next match, not matter what the importance. Togo versus Saudi Arabia is not a match you see outside the tournament in a meaningful way. Friendlies are just are not the same. Come on FIFA take the medical advice and feed our addiction in a way that doesn't stress the body then wean us off slowly by following the final with the women's version or the U20 version, anything to make the withdrawal bearable. Come FIFA play ball!