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Any chance you could put that World Cup guide up as a prize after you've finished using it for the twitter Thursday quiz?

wooh second

just did my world cup predictions...no african team past the group stage, england to be knocked out by brazil in semi's...who'd have thought

Good to see you've already hit the supermarket hard - I take it you've remedied the biscuit situation with a few Rand well spent?

Kudos to you for taking on this epic journey - it must be hard to be away from family and friends for six weeks, but what an opportunity to see sights that most of us stuck back in Blighty must only dream of. Take care out there, and if a jellyfish stings you, make sure you pee on it. AFTER YOU'VE DROPKICKED IT IN REVENGE.

@ #2 23_Carra_Gauld - I've done the predictor too, and have pretty much the same results. Although I did somehow have the Final being won by Kaiserslautern of Germany after an extra-time goal by Dean Windass. I think it might be broken.

Dan, Dan the blogg- Man! You're back.

Good to read your blogg again, usual mix of football insights and self depreciation.
My sympathies with the torn cartilage, I tore mine and had the medial cartilage removed when I was 16. Now, I can feel the consequences of 24 years without a medial meniscus! I'm not on any prescription meds which keeps my health insurer happy. I'm not ready for a knee replacement yet.

Being a Welshie living in the USA I am going to shout for the USA this world cup.I will do my utmost to watch Eng vs USA live. USA willfall by the way side in the group stages and England will get booted out in the quarters, all because they passed over Arsenal's Theo W.

Dan any predictions on who will sign Joe Cole? Arsenal might be a bit cautious after saga with his name sake Cashley Hole. And if his agents want to be firm about his wages, well the Gunner's pay structure is not going to help. Man City will get him I reckon.

One other thing,
Are you able in this public forum to say how you damaged your knee?

Looking forward to the blogs. I like your 'behind the scenes' take on things. The 500-page tome looks a bit excessive. Is it possible to have too much information?

Great to see you back blogging Dan - gives us a taste of the human side of the journo teams' exploits in S.A....lots of witty humour and funny tales of daily shenanigans - plus all the proper 'foody' news..poor old Garth with his tea heh - never could hold onto a cup ;)

Great story about the vuvuzela and the baboons - maybe James Pearce could use one where he's staying? That hospital the studio's built on top of looks a bit spooky to me, bet your glad you'll be on the bus most of the time? What's the first game you are going to - we might be able to provide you with aome facts not in that amazing book of delights you've all been given?

- Lefter Kucukandonyadis (W.C. player with longest name ever)

shame he was daftly banned for last wc, who knows eh, thanks FA

Actually I am the W.C player with the longest name, coming on in the 84th minute of Portugal vs Netherlands in 2006.

- Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Good blog as always Dan. Usually a lurker but thought I'd crawl out of the woodwork :)

Will you be posting your Oceans 11 footie squad anywhere from the Twitter competition? Can't seem to find all 3 squads...

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Great blog. Garth Brooks spilling an entire cup of tea on himself sounds ample enough entertainment for any journey. Although i have heard good things about the Book of Eli. Booked seven days off work just to get into the swing of things so will have plenty of time to sample your antics on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ bus.
Less than 2 days and counting!! Can't wait!!

Great stuff as per usual Dan.

Looking forward to hearing about all the culinary delights South Africa has to offer!

I can't believe Capello didn't pick you for his 23 man squad. Did he not see the now famous overhead kick?

One quick World Cup quiz question for everyone:

In the past 40 years, England have only progressed further than Germany in 1 competition (World Cup and European Cup). Which competition?

Taribo West

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@14 WorldCupWillie has to be Euro 2004, no?

Dan,

great to see your blog survived the 'great' sense of humour cull...

The stat book sounds awesome. It's just a shame it won't become public domain!

On the subject of the Suarez stat, it'd be great if there could be another song lyric sweepstake - or even something like the Glenn Hoddle Situation game (that got me through a GCSE RE exam...)

Get the biscuits sorted out. What's the food situation there like? (I know there's great food in ZA, but are there decent biscuits?)

Roger Milla

Dan -

Please try and get some footage of a small local bar with small local people watching England, and their views about how bad we are.

Stay Lucky,

Liam

"the injury came as the result of a brutal tackle in a game of church football 6 weeks ago!"


...were you trying to get on the end of a cross at the time? :)

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It's too early in the morning, I thought split tea was some african potion you would be drinking, but then realised I just can't read before drinking coffee.

OH and +1 to the peeing, but not on the jelly fish, on the sting!

The 500 page tome really disappoints, but does not suprise me... I did some work at old trafford once and found some commentators crib sheets with all these facts about players...
I assume the majority of journalists, commentators and pundits are well compensated for their work, so it grates that rather than spend time researching players and teams themselves, they let some statiticians do all the hard yards for them...
I find it sloppy, Im really passionate about football and like to think i could do a job with the knowledge ive aquired, not just reel off bullet points from a booklet or crib sheet...

Surely the team that provided the most England squad members for Italia 90 was Glasgow Rangers. A fact that is etched on my mind as it won me 8 pints in our local pub quiz.

If only my school had offered similar motivation, I may not now have a job that means I spend 90% of my day reading football websites for lack of anything else to do.

24. At 09:35am on 10 Jun 2010, PepeXabiBarnes wrote:
The 500 page tome really disappoints, but does not suprise me... I did some work at old trafford once and found some commentators crib sheets with all these facts about players...
I assume the majority of journalists, commentators and pundits are well compensated for their work, so it grates that rather than spend time researching players and teams themselves, they let some statiticians do all the hard yards for them...
I find it sloppy, Im really passionate about football and like to think i could do a job with the knowledge ive aquired, not just reel off bullet points from a booklet or crib sheet...
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Right so, with out looking it all up, give us the low down on the Japan V Cameroon match would you? Who plays in midfield ? What sort of scoring record have their strikers? Or perhaps you would fancy Nigeria V Greece?

#18 Dan wrote: Portugal v Ivory Coast is the first game I'm going to but I'm trying to wedge in as many as possible.

First 'Group of Death' match-up in the 'Friendly City' Port Elizabeth - where the Portugese were the very first European visitors back in the 15C and where the local rugby team are called The Mighty Elephants..- so I reckon the Portugese will turn up early on scoring a quick goal then soon fade away after being trampled over and roughed up by an Ivorian stampede. Result 1-3 ;)

(Sing now)..Back home, they'll be thinking about us...When we are far away...

Hi, maybe you could ask about how many fans will return to watch the World Cup when/if its held in England in 2018 !! Tell them to bring their wooly jumpers !!! And Umbrellas !

I hope the TV companies do NOT turn down the Vuvuzela.

It could create the best atmosphere at any World Cup since Argentina in '78!!!

i think footballers are payed to much to do nothing expect to kick a ball along

good blog Dan was really looking forward to the start of your blogs after the termination of QOTW and Robbo. I am from Sunderland but currently live in Port Elizabeth. My first game is also Portugal and Ivory Coast i will be the guy behind the goal in a Sunderland shirt.

As for the Romany creams i believe that the Vanilla fudge is by far the best they have to offer. have you tried a Bar One yet, seemed to me when i first had one that it was just a poor mans Mars Bar what are your thoughts on this?

look forward to your next blog

23_Carra_Gauld you obviouosly don't follow the African cup of nations.

Re #18 : "the injury came as the result of a brutal tackle in a game of church football 6 weeks ago!"
Those occasions can be the dirtiest sporting events known to man. University footie & rugby proved to be more saintly than many 'church' matches.

I hope you do not have to wait that long for surgery. I assume they will shave or trim the torn meniscus??? It's not a massive op, but it is significant enough.
Does the BEEB have its own health care plans / policies (you are a national treasure after all ;-] and the license fee is so high it must be used for something constructive)
or,
will you have to wait an age like the rest of the commoners in poor Blighty.
Finally petition on quite a different matter, IF YOU GO ON SAFARI PLEASE WOULD YOU WRITE A BLOG ON IT.

Dan,
Is there a parallel "Journalists-World Cup" organised in SA ?

If not, then now's your chance to do so.
There are some (very sick) people who might pay money to watch a video of sports-journalists kicking seven shades of !@#$% out of each other in defence of national honour.

Lemon puffs... I'd forgotten just how good they are. Must track some down.

Hold on, what a great excuse to get out to SA.... I'm packing now!

I agree that Glasgow Rangers appear to be the club side that provided most member of the England team back in Italia '90.

A well known confectioner of Dairy Milk sell some interesting variations in South Africa that are well worth trying out. If you are feeling a little braver, you might want to try out biltong. A meatier substitute for chewing gum...

Baron Greenback

Liverpool , Glasgow rangers, and Nottingham forest all had 3 players in the squad. Which makes it a bum question, unless the site I took this from is wrong...


1 Shilton, Peter L. 40 G 118 74GA Derby County FC 7 7 0 0 720 6GA 0
2 Stevens, M. Gary 27 RB 39 0 Glasgow Rangers FC, Scotland 2 2 0 0 180 0 0
3 Pearce, Stuart 28 LB 24 1 Nottingham Forest FC 6 6 0 0 630 0 1C
4 Webb, Neil J. 26 M 19 2 Manchester United FC 1 0 1 0 18 0 0
5 Walker, Desmond S. 24 CD 18 0 Nottingham Forest FC 7 7 0 0 720 0 0
6 Butcher, Terence I. 31 CD 72 3 Rangers FC, Scotland 5 5 0 2 444 0 0
7 Robson, Bryan 33 M 85 26 Manchester United FC 2 2 0 1 155 0 0
8 Waddle, Christopher R. 29 F 52 6 Olympique de Marseille, France 7 6 1 2 614 0 0
9 Beardsley, Peter A. 29 F 40 7 Liverpool FC 5 3 2 1 361 0 1C
10 Lineker, Gary W. 29 F 51 31 Tottenham Hotspur FC 7 7 0 1 713 4 0
11 Barnes, John C. B. 26 F 53 10 Liverpool FC 5 5 0 2 390 0 0
Before World Cup Finals At World Cup Finals
No. Player Age Pos App G Club App St Sub On Sub Off Min Gls Disc
12 Parker, Paul A. 26 RB 5 0 Queens Park Rangers FC 6 6 0 0 630 0 1C
13 Woods, Christopher C.E. 30 G 16 _GA Glasgow Rangers FC, Scotland -
14 Wright, Mark 26 CD 24 0 Derby County FC 6 6 0 1 612 1 0
15 Dorigo, Anthony R. 24 LB 3 0 Chelsea FC 1 1 0 0 90 0 0
16 McMahon, Stephen 28 M 12 0 Liverpool FC 4 3 1 2 255 0 1C
17 Platt, David A. 24 M 5 0 Aston Villa FC 6 3 3 0 406 3 0
18 Hodge, Stephen B. 27 M 22 0 Nottingham Forest FC -
19 Gascoigne, Paul J. 23 M 11 2 Tottenham Hotspur FC 6 6 0 0 630 0 2C-S
20 Steven, Trevor M. 26 M 26 3 Glasgow Rangers FC, Scotland 3 1 2 0 186 0 0
21 Bull, Stephen G. 25 F 7 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 4 1 3 1 166 0 0
22 Seaman, David A. 26 G 3 _GA Arsenal FC -
Beasant, David J. 31 G 2 0 Chelsea FC

No No No....this is all wrong. When in Rome (or is that Romany) do as the Saffas.....

Try Lemon Creams (Bakers Biscuits) you twist the 2 pieces off to reveal the synthetic but strangely addictive lemon cream therein...kind of like an emerging market Oreo but with flavour.

Dunking options: Marie Biscuits, Bakers tennis biscuits and you must dunk the Ouma rusks (numerous flavours)

Romany creams are the standard bearer as are Bakers (yes them again) 'eet sum mor' shortbread.

What can I say...I'm a fat Saffa.

Then at any supermarket (Pick n Pay, Shoprite etc) or bakery get melktert (milk tart) and Koeksusters (a kind of nuclear powered yum yum with the benefits of cholestrol speedballing to boot)

Hi Dan
If you do as 36 suggests with biltong make sure you have something to hand to take the taste away. It has to be the most foul substance known to man. I tried many exotic (to me) things like Ostrich, Kudu and my favourite Warthog when out there last year but biltong is surely for tourists only. You can't take it back once you're home. Give it as a gift but don't expect a Christmas card!

I've just read you've hit the Romany Creams hard. My sister went to S.A. two years and swore by them. She came back with loads. Luckily one of my colleagues is from S.A. and gets them sent over. Also on Bakers Biscuits get the Blue Label Marie's they're a better version of the classic rich tea.

Pineapple Fanta is a nice choice of soft drink. Also there is there is a chocolate bar similar to a Lion bar it comes in a yellow wrapper.

All I can say is over the last year I have become well educated in South African biscuits and soft drinks. There's no shame in it

Re#37

Check the clubs of Woods, Stevens, Butcher and Steven and then count how many of them there are. I believe you will find they all played for Rangers and there are 4 of them. This is a classic pub quiz question.

Another tricky one is name two players who have a goals to games ratio of better than a goal a game for England since the millenium.

So, this World Cup is set to be lethal to baboons. I feel this could be more of a problem than we anticipate.

Us sophisticated management consultants (one up from lawyers on the shark-o-meter) have a technical phrase for those of us who dont co-operate.....it's called "yer off the bus"

I do hope that given us Saffa's proclivity for driving like a John Coltrane solo (lots of improvisation and sheets of sound) and indeed parking by ear, that you stay on the bus which in turn stays on the road. Please ensure both your fore and aft gunners are primed for any wild drivers (underground camshafts and double divorce pipes)

Meanwhile in a word, ok three...Sandton yesterday, Amazing!

Oh, and your 43, when is a Dan Walker a Robert Prosinecki? Have you gone native?

so the vuvuzela emits 127 decibels and a ref's whistle 121.... so that's alright then, not much difference except that there's only one ref... 95000 of these horns at the final times 127 equals 12 million decibels. among other things this will cause little green men on mars to say to one another, did you hear a noise, I'm sure I heard a noise, lets check it out....

@ Number 32 Jydeda - African Cup of Nations is much different to the WC...i think african teams will really struggle against south american and european teams
if an african team gets into knockout stages i will eat my hat

Good to have you back as I've missed the blogs.

I snapped by MCL playing rugby when I was 18. I don't remember it hurting when I did it, just the weirdest sensation something tearing and my knee being pulled apart. I had surgery on Friday 13th then after a few weeks in plaster I was sent to a beautiful young physio called Ruth, who smiled sweetly as she put me through agony. Sorry Dan, but getting the movement back in your knee is going to be painful.

Hi Dan, just dug a twenty year old video cassette of a ´óÏó´«Ã½ recording broadcast on Christmas Day 1990 from out of the attic, showing highlights of Italia 90 with uncle Des presenting, just to wet the appetite. Brilliant, cried again. No more tears lads. In our lifetime please !!! Icky from Preston.

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What sort of lemons puffs were they?

I used to love lemon puffs. It's all Jacobs round where I live. Jacobs Jacobs Jacobs.

I think they're changed the recipe, because they taste of bland cardboard.

All the best everyone

Rodders XXX

I wish there was another this summer! I wanna get my Vuvuzela out!

This summer is going to be so dull - I might even have to start watching Ladies !

Hopefully will start their pre-season early otherwise I'll be out of my mind!

I travelled to the world cup and the sound of the horns where more atmosphere building than annoying.

Although the sound of them kind of rattled through my head while trying to cover an editorial for a football news site.

The decision to move and ban this is a step closer to banning fans with replica shirts... They are designed to show support, whats the problem with that?

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Its not quite the same as buying replica - they don't make a disastrously loud noise!

Come on England - lets absolutely do the !

I believe that South Africa grabbed their chance to shine as host nation with both hands and the world took notice of the success of the biggest sporting event on the planet! The 2010 World Cup experience was very exciting! South Africa made the entire African continent proud and proved the critics wrong concerning their ability to host the world. This is what South Africa and the South African people have done -- welcomed the world brilliantly and they were proud hosts who aimed to show every visitor a good time! I think, the future looks bright for South Africa and the country is now on the world map for given the world a unique and wholly pleasing tournament. This country has so much to offer and I hope that it continues on the path of achieving its full potential

The was a real success.

With all the pre-tournament worries about crime and fans being scared away, its surprising that nothing much happened (or got reported). All I can remember (and I was in JoBurg) was a great tournament with passionate fans.

It's a real shame that we never got to see (and probably never will see) on the World Cup stage.

In a similar way to Giggs, even though he has lit up the world stage with (smashing three past European Champions Inter), he will probably never get to the World Cup, and even if he does, Wales will hardly be favourites to prgoress from the group stages... :(