TODAYS SPORTS REPORT :D

At last the English cricket side taste success - after 12 straight games against Aussie opposition, and 12 straight harrowing, confidence rattling losses, the boys from Blighty struck success on their Australian tour. OK, it wasn't an Aussie scalp, but let's give them their due - Sri Lanka are a top ranked side.

On to more important topics - will the most famous shoulder in the southern hemisphere (ie that belonging to the Shiek of Tweak aka Shane Warne aka WARNIE) be healed enough for Aussie's impending world cup triumph?

And will Oceania be granted direct entry into the World Cup of football - stay tuned, for we will know the answer to that in about 4 hours time.

And finally, tickets to the England V OZ football match next February sold out in just 20 mins today - looks like the Barmy Army are looking for revenge, and believe their boyz must be "good things" to dish out an Aussie thrashing.

thank feck i hate cricket [img]tongue.gif[/img] since ian beefy botham went there havent been any characters, nothing to give the game much life :( well david gowers a laugh i spose, it needs some real characters or it'll never be much fun :( plus england is pretty poor at most of the games it invents, cept snooker [img]smile.gif[/img] and obviously football

Hold on - no characters - aren't you selling one Phillip J. Tufnell a bit short here :D .

Oh well, a bit of respite until the Boxing Day Test, anyway. :D

Thats yesterdays news actually [img]tongue.gif[/img] The question is who will replace him if he doesnt heal in time? Australia will of course win it regardless, like they will win the the vb one day series ;) . Looks like it will probably be england we will be facing in the final. I wonder if they will put up a fight this time? I hope its better than the effort they put in with the ashes.

[ 12-17-2002, 08:03 AM: Message edited by: dragon_lord ]

ah i forgot about tufnell [img]smile.gif[/img] but yeah 1 person is pitifully short of any other sport, even the "boring" ones like golf or snooker have some characters who just make the game more interesting, cricket rarely has that :( shane warne is an excellent cricketer but flat as a pancake personality wise [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Hold on - no characters - aren't you selling one Phillip J. Tufnell a bit short here :D .</font>[/QUOTE]You need to do more research! There is no such player as Phillip J Tufnell although we did once have a Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell aka "The Cat"!

Shoddy work Davros!

aka "the dope" wasnt it? hehe anyone watch that episode of "they think its all over" v.v.v.v.v.funny program [img]smile.gif[/img] poor tufnell got slated all episode

Hold on - no characters - aren't you selling one Phillip J. Tufnell a bit short here :D .</font>[/QUOTE]You need to do more research! There is no such player as Phillip J Tufnell although we did once have a Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell aka "The Cat"!

Shoddy work Davros!</font>[/QUOTE]That's the fella

Philip Tufnell
He's a cat
Cannot field
Cannot bat :D

Aww bugger - I thought all your second names were John or James ;) - shoddy work I will admit - I was only guessing. I thought the sentence sounded as if it had more credence if I gave an initial - trust you to catch me out :D .

Did you snap up your ticket to the game in Feb?

LOL - I just saw the last line in Donut's sig - it's probably been there secretly baiting me for weeks and he has been having a quiet chortle to himself ;) . One day, justice will be done, and the urn will go to the winner of the series.

It's been there for three weeks. I wondered when one of you lot would read it. :D :D

heh heh... donut, what ever happened to arsenal and liverpool? they seem to be a bit scared now that manutd is the big boy in the block again... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

edit: i admit its a bit lame, but i just love it when a team with french or brasilians (and no argentines) in it losses!!! :D

[ 12-17-2002, 11:31 AM: Message edited by: norompanlasolas ]

Top of the league ma! [img]smile.gif[/img]

It's been there for three weeks. I wondered when one of you lot would read it. :D :D </font>[/QUOTE]Donut Powers - International man of mystery ;) .

What a momentous day yesterday was - England break their duck - AND this in a couple of hours ago [img]smile.gif[/img]

__________________________________________________ ____________________
Oceania granted World Cup spot

Australian soccer was given its greatest chance to make up for years of heartbreak when Oceania was granted direct entry to the 2006 World Cup.

The unanimous decision by soccer's governing body FIFA presented Australia with its biggest opportunity to finally prove itself after four losses at the final hurdle on the way to World Cup qualification.

While the Socceroos must still qualify for Germany 2006 as Oceania champion, there's little doubt a full strength Australia would beat New Zealand, its biggest threat in the region.

Asked whether this was the biggest day in Australian soccer history, Oceania Football Confederation president Basil Scarsella, a former chairman of Soccer Australia, toed the diplomatic line.

"That's a matter for Soccer Australia to address," Scarsella said.

"I think it's the biggest thing for Oceania. That's important to recognise, it's not just Australia, it's Oceania."

After over two years of campaigning and three frantic days of lobbying in Madrid, Scarsella received verbal support from the other five confederations but had a nervous wait for FIFA's executive committee to ratify their recommendation at Tuesday's meeting to decide the makeup of the 32-team 2006 tournament.

"It was unanimous support from every confederation and every member of the executive of FIFA," he said.

The other confederations stuck to their word at the meeting and supported Oceania although South America (CONMEBOL) and Europe (UEFA) were forced into making reluctant sacrifices.

The South Americans wanted to lift their quota from 4.5 to five, but dropped to four places.

Europe also held out as long as it could before taking a cut from 13.5 to 13, but UEFA actually has 14 places with Germany's automatic entry as host.

North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) was given the other half place, going from three to 3.5, while Asia retained its 4.5 places and Africa kept its five.

The fourth-placed CONCACAF country will play the fifth-ranked Asian country to decide the 32nd and final spot.

The champion no longer earns direct entry.

In previous years, Oceania had half a berth, forcing its champion in to a cut-throat home and away play-off against a low-ranked nation from a tougher confederation.

Australia lost the last three play-offs - to South America's fifth team Argentina for 1994, Asia's No.4 Iran for 1998 and again to South America's fifth side, Uruguay, for 2002.

It also lost to Scotland in 1986.

"We're there and we're delighted," Scarsella said.

"It's great for Australia, but also for the 10 other countries because it's going to have a great impact on the whole region."

Australia has made the World Cup once before - in 1974, also in Germany.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Hmm - 2006 - I could have like 4 months off work - go support OZ in the World Cup in June, perhaps another BBQ in France, nip over the channel to take in the first Highbury game of the season (actually the new stadium will be up by then won't it), then onwards to the links courses of Scotland and Ireland.

Sounds great - anyone else want to come [img]smile.gif[/img]

And so the vanquishers of Tonga, Fiji and American Samoa can take their rightful place alongside those teams that must face Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France and England.

I'm suprised that the Australians are accepting this. I thought they would want to earn their place rather than be given a free ride ;)

What do you mean about a free ride - we have to face off against the ENZEDDERS - we in OZ know that you cannot afford to be complacent where they are concerned.

See you in Germany buddy ;)

PS : Who was it who once said "It's not 36-Nil now SKIPPY" :D

im actually happy for the aussies (and oceania in gral) because they really deserved at least one full spot in the world cup. i mean, its a hole continent, even if the competition is not that high.

what i strongly disagree in is that they took half a spot from the southamericans!!! i mean, what the hell, i might be mistaken, but wasnt brasil the last world champions??? (and they dont automatically qualify for germany) also, argentina has 2 world cups, uruguay 1, and paraguay, colombia and chile can present pretty tough teams. and to add insult to injury, they give that half spot to the north american confederation! mexico, usa, jamaica, costa rica, honduras, guatemala, el salvador... yes, they are some pretty strong teams indeed. :rolleyes:

this confirms that fifa has their heads up their asses and that blatter should be shot. :mad:

What a marvellous typo! A 'hole' continent! Thanks noro. ;)

What a marvellous typo! A 'hole' continent! Thanks noro. ;) </font>[/QUOTE]Thanks for that - one keyboard ruined - this thing will be totally crystallised solid tomorrow - glares at noro and Donut between whoops of laughter and trying to swallow the rest of his fizzy black cola drink [img]tongue.gif[/img] .

to be completely fair to australia they have their best team in years and are a side who can trouble any in the world on their day, they impressed me alot with some real world class players, they wont win the world cup in my lifetime i doubt, but they can certainly do some damage i reckon, and i think it was silly them having to go through and playoff like they did, so its good they go through, i assume in 2010 they will playoff with the oceania teams again, none of this facing middle eastern countries, dunno who thought that one up.

liverpool are having a bad bad run atm :( i really dont want to see man utd do well again though, i hate alex ferguson, roy keane, soljskaer i think all 3 are scum, not nice people at all, ferguson put me off that team along time ago and the other two just continue it, i like arsenal and i like wenger, liverpool too, in fact any team over man utd [img]tongue.gif[/img] shame about leeds too atm cos venebles is a great manager and hes just having a lot of bad luck and a muppet chairman :(

What a marvellous typo! A 'hole' continent! Thanks noro. ;) </font>[/QUOTE]Thanks for that - one keyboard ruined - this thing will be totally crystallised solid tomorrow - glares at noro and Donut between whoops of laughter and trying to swallow the rest of his fizzy black cola drink [img]tongue.gif[/img] .</font>[/QUOTE]lololol!!! [img]graemlins/laugh2.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/biglaugh.gif[/img]

hey, only donut could have noticed something like that... so its his fault! :D