Roy Hodgson to Liverpool on an estimated 40 million SEK a year. I have said it for years he is a top trainer and at last he has the platform to show his true worth. He has learned his trade in Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and even the Arab Emirates and now shown his class at Fulham. He knows about the mentality of the ”scousers” and what they require at the same time knows all about the mentality of their European opponents. Who knows we might even see some more Brits playing for Liverpool. Having said that are there any Brits that are good enough?

Nadal – Söderling went as expected. Nearly everytime Söderling hit what looked like a winner Nadal managed to return it. Enough to break anyones spirit.

The summer weather is still here in Kalmar and i haven´t had time to enjoy it as yet. I had a quick Ice Cream break this afternoon and enjoyed the scenery lots of sun worshipers off to a little bathing area in the middle of town that when translated means ”The cats arse”. I am sure there are a few jokes to be made about that.

I am not a ”Twitter” person but i did see Paddys latest ”Twitt”. When a reporter from a Gothenburg ”rag” called him and asked him why he had been the World Cups ”worst reporter”. As Paddy said how do you answer that? As my dad always says ”the last idiot hasn´t been born yet”!

The Midsommar murders on TV 3 at 21.00 is a must on a World Cup free day. Enjoy!

Det här är ”King of the Castle”. Varje dag på förmiddagen presenterar vi dagens match. Du ska försöka tippa rätt tecken – 1, x eller 2 - om du lyckas är vidare till dag två. Den som har längst svit (antal dagar i rad) blir ”King of the Castle”. Skulle man åka ur är det bara att börja om dagen efter och försöka gå så långt som möjligt. Vinnaren kommer sedan att presenteras på ”Wall of Kings”. Sedan är det upp till alla att slå rekordsviten. Du har även chansen att vinna genom att bli månadens ”King of the Castle”, det blir du genom att vara den som lyckas tippa rätt tecken i flest antal matcher under en månad.

Månadens pris: En sommaröverraskning!

Lycka till!

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Topplistan just nu:

Topplistan för Juni:

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

18 holes at Kalmar Golf Club today. The ”Old Course” has recently had a ”make over” and the new greens are both ”truer” and quicker than the old ones. I played with Claude ”The Voice” and we went round in 3 hours 30 mins which is about an hour quicker than the average round. Next week is Kalmar GC ”golf week” and The Voice and i will be pairing up for an Irish foursome on tuesday.

I made it home to see the last 20 mins plus the first 15 mins of extra time in the Japan – Paraguay game. I cant say that i was impressed by either side but it is South America´s world cup thus far and the fact that Paraguay won on penalties is no surprise.

I watched Lindsdals IF this evening beat Vimmerby 3-2. A strange match. LIF took the lead in the first half and after that never really looked like conceding a goal. Then all of a sudden a long throw a touch at the near post and it´s 1-1. Vimmerby then have a ”purple patch” of about 10 mins take the lead 2-1 and have a few chances for 3-1. With 2 mins left Lindsdal make it 2-2 and in the 92 min Fredrick Petersson gets the winner. Lindsdal have the quality to win Div 2 and when they play a quick passing game with a lot of movement up front things start to happen.

David Villa has now scored 43 times in 63 appearences for Spain. If he stays fit then Spain have a great chance of reaching the Final.

Two World Cup ”free” days now! Maybe we can watch some Wimbledon tennis. Söderling – Nadal tomorrow!

Det här är ”King of the Castle”. Varje dag på förmiddagen presenterar vi dagens match. Du ska försöka tippa rätt tecken – 1, x eller 2 - om du lyckas är vidare till dag två. Den som har längst svit (antal dagar i rad) blir ”King of the Castle”. Skulle man åka ur är det bara att börja om dagen efter och försöka gå så långt som möjligt. Vinnaren kommer sedan att presenteras på ”Wall of Kings”. Sedan är det upp till alla att slå rekordsviten. Du har även chansen att vinna genom att bli månadens ”King of the Castle”, det blir du genom att vara den som lyckas tippa rätt tecken i flest antal matcher under en månad.

Månadens pris: En sommaröverraskning!

Lycka till!

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Topplistan just nu:

Med flera.

Topplistan för Juni:

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Its not only the World Cup and refereeing mistakes that are hitting the headlines. Things are happening in the ”Allsvenskan”. AIK are back in the headlines.  Last week they appointed Alex Miller as their new trainer. I remember Alex Miller as a solid defender who played for years at Rangers. I have no idea what he has achieved as a trainer and as always i wish my fellow brits well. However it does say a lot about AIK´s opinion of the Swedish trainer elite. A week later and Alex Miller has already made his mark. Bojan and Mutumba sold too Hungarian side Videoton.

The fact that a scottish 60 year old didn´t fancy Mutumba and Bojan as players will come as a shock to no one. The scots love fighters and tough tackling midfielders and forwards like Duncan Ferguson. 2LAX9 and the media man don´t fall into that category. One thing is for certain the new AIK will not win that many new fans but will probably start picking up some points.

Holland through to the last 8 without getting out of third gear. If Robben and Van Persie can stay fit they might have a chance against the Brazilians. Assuming the Brazilians beat Chile.

VM-tipset Topplistan

Ställningen efter Gruppspelet

1  Joachim Petersson                              61p

2   Magnus Andersson                             57p

3   Svante Gustavsson                             55p

4   Michael Nilsson                                   55p

5   Martin Ahlqvist                                   53p

6   Fredrik Löfgren                                    53p

7   Kjell Arwidsson                                    51p

8   Christian Riebne                                  51p

9   Mattis Andersson                                49p

10 Uffe Nordenhem                                 48p

11 Jim & Ullis Eriksen                             47p

12  Åke Eriksson                                       47p

13  Barbro Peiper                                     47p

14  Pelle Sederqvist                                 47p

15  Alexander Wadin                               47p

16  Robert Norberg                                  46p

17  Magnus Persson                                 46p

18 Johan Blomqvist                                 45p

19  Ian Brown                                             45p

20 Joakim Jonsson                                  45p

21 Johan Lewton                                       45p

22  Magnus Moberg                                  45p

23  Snäckan                                                  45p

24  Tommy Berg                                        44p

25  Jan-Åke Ehrnborg                             44p

26  Tord Elfving                                         44p

27  Peter Henriksson                               44p

28  Stefan Hällbom                                   44p

29  Jonne Karlsson                                   44p

30  Lars Simonsson                                  44p

31  Johan Flobecker                                 43p

32  Mathias Karlsson                                43p

33  Fredrik Winblad                                  43p

34  Peter Karlsson                                     42p

35  Lars Hansson                                        41p

36  Daniel Stolt                                            41p

37  Magnus Svensson                               41p

38  Magnus Gunnarsson                          40p

39  Kent Johansson                                   40p

40  Jerker Petersson                                 40p

41  Adrian Swartz                                       40p

42  Gustav Eliésersson                             39p

43  Thom Emilsson                                    39p

44  Christer Pålsson                                  39p

45  Shuhajit Dutt                                        37p

46  Jonas Berg                                             36p

47  Johan Johnson                                    36p

48  Jonas Stigemyr                                    36p

49  Håkan Fredriksson                             35p

50  Gary Thornton                                     35p

51  Michael Pettersson                             34p

52  Tjalle                                                         33p

53  Lasse Johansson                                  32p

54  Toni Andersson                                   31p

55  Maria Elie                                               31p

56  Håkan Karlsson                                    31p

57  Jonathan Wennö                                 30p

58  Leif Hennigsson                                   29p

Det här är ”King of the Castle”. Varje dag på förmiddagen presenterar vi dagens match. Du ska försöka tippa rätt tecken – 1, x eller 2 - om du lyckas är vidare till dag två. Den som har längst svit (antal dagar i rad) blir ”King of the Castle”. Skulle man åka ur är det bara att börja om dagen efter och försöka gå så långt som möjligt. Vinnaren kommer sedan att presenteras på ”Wall of Kings”. Sedan är det upp till alla att slå rekordsviten. Du har även chansen att vinna genom att bli månadens ”King of the Castle”, det blir du genom att vara den som lyckas tippa rätt tecken i flest antal matcher under en månad.

Månadens pris: En sommaröverraskning!

Lycka till!

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Topplistan just nu:

Med flera.

Topplistan för Juni:

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Back home after an afternoon in Hällevik together with ”Tyskan” Peter Antoine. I enjoyed the sunny trip south, it was nice to meet Peter again and chat with the trio in TV4´s studio everything else was a nightmare. England were once again embarrassingly poor, the two officials  (referee and his assistant) who missed the fact that Lampards shoot that hit the underside of the bar was at least 30 cm over the line both need shooting and Don Fabio´s coaching was unworthy of a so called ”tactical genius”.

Not one of the England side can be satisfied with their performance today. The British ”bulldog” spirit that has always been our trade mark was gone. Weak in the tackle, slow in picking up runners and ”sloppy” passing was symbolic for one and all. Rooney hasn´t been himself all tournament. If his problem is physical or mental remains to be seen. Lampard – Gerrard never could and never should play together in midfield. Defoe needs service he didn´t get any and therefore didn´t contribute. Barry is not 100%, Upson to slow and James to old. All in all too many ”stars” not enough ”grafters”.

Capello! Tactically a defensive genius i have heard. Bollocks i say. Terry should never have been moved from left centre to right centre of defence. If Upson can´t handle the right side then pick Dawson. A man not afraid of reputations i have heard. Bull shit i say. Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney all big names all very poor but never subsituted. (Rooney after 75 mins against Algeria due to injury). Todays substitutions!!! He took off Milner who was the only player looking like finding the forwards with a dangerous pass. He put on Heskey and took off Defoe. What was he thinking there? We were 4-1 down and he puts on a forward who scores as often as a 4o year old virgin. I am definately not putting all the blame on the Italian but he must take his share.

Having said all this the Germans deserved their win and even if it had stood 2-2 at half time i am sure the second half would have had the same outcome. England have had a disastrous World Cup and changes must be made if we are to have a chance in the Euros 2012.

I wish the Germans allt the best against ”Mad” Maradona´s  Argentina. 3-1 against Mexico tonight and getting better all the time.

Det här är ”King of the Castle”. Varje dag på förmiddagen presenterar vi dagens match. Du ska försöka tippa rätt tecken – 1, x eller 2 - om du lyckas är vidare till dag två. Den som har längst svit (antal dagar i rad) blir ”King of the Castle”. Skulle man åka ur är det bara att börja om dagen efter och försöka gå så långt som möjligt. Vinnaren kommer sedan att presenteras på ”Wall of Kings”. Sedan är det upp till alla att slå rekordsviten. Du har även chansen att vinna genom att bli månadens ”King of the Castle”, det blir du genom att vara den som lyckas tippa rätt tecken i flest antal matcher under en månad.

Månadens pris: En sommaröverraskning!

Lycka till!

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Topplistan just nu:

Topplistan för Juni:

Vill du vara med och tippa i ”King of the Castle”?

Skicka ett mail till info@lansdowne.se med namn och dagens match med tillhörande tecken (1, x eller 2).

Ange ”King of the Castle + dagens datum” som ämne.

Group matches out of the way and now the fun begins. Two surprises. France and Italy didn´t make the knockout stages. France were simply not good enough and Italy didn´t have that little bit of luck when needed. South America have been the outstanding continent so far and could well have four countries in the last 8. I have been having a quick look at Lansdowne.se World Cup ”Tips” and see that nearly all the predicted last 8 sides are the same. The only game that is apparently wide open is Germay – England.

I am off to Blekinge tomorrow to sit with Peter Antoine ”Tyskan” and watch the game. TV 4 will have a camera team there and we will be linked to the TV4 Studio throughout the game. Am i looking forward to the game? No! England – Germany has not been a match up that has been successful for us Brits the last 20 years. It usually ends in heartbreak after extra time and penalties.

One win from six group matches for the ”Swedish” duo Sven and Lasse.

I had an enjoyable ”Midsommar´s Eve” yesterday. Åke 7 was the host and ”sil o potatis” was on the menu.

Junior is putting together the current standings list in the Lansdowne.se World Cup tips. They will be published asap! Apologies for the delay but ”Midsommar” always seems to slow things down.

15 mins left in the Uruguay – South Korea match. 1-1 and things are wide open.

Suarez 2-1. 9 mins to go.