Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

T R E 4 5 O N

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

You are here: Home / Sports / Australia v Ghana Open Thread

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55Comments

  2. 2.

    Bootlegger

    Slow-footed versus strategically inept–this will either be very entertaining or simply awful, nothing in between.

  3. 3.

    Libby

    Completely off topic but is that a typo in the subtitle or is Feedom an inside joke here that I don’t get? Or did I just imagine the typo because I’m not awake yet?

  4. 4.

    Violet

    @Libby:
    Is that the “Freedom isn’t Free” one? I think that’s spelled correctly, last time I checked.

    I’m pulling for Ghana for sure. I hope they dominate Australia. They need to to increase their chances of going through.

  6. 6.

    Libby

    Swear it looked like feedom isn’t free but my eyesight’s not so great anymore and the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.

  8. 8.

    Bootlegger

    @Violet: I was in Nuremberg four years ago when Ghanna beat the US. The entire second half they dropped to the ground and writhed in agony any time the US looked at them. They ate up time and destroyed the rhythm of the game. It’s a tactic, I guess, but I’ll never support them and I hope the Aussies beat the crap out of them (literally).

    Disclaimer: I feel this way about any soccer team that employs theatrics. I was thrilled to see the Italian and Spanish thespians fail.

  9. 9.

    handsmile

    From a recent Guardian podcast on dissent in the Australian camp following their humiliation at the hands of Germany:

    [Complaining that the usual Socceroos’ tactics were not deployed]: “At no point did we pick up the ball, punch someone in the face, and punt the ball downfield to someone dressed like a butcher.”

    Have to favor Ghana in this match, though if Michael Essien was on the pitch, the bookmakers would have refused to take bets. (I was gutted to learn that his lingering injury would keep him from the tournament.)

    I suspect the real prize-fight in this group will be next week between Australia and Serbia (and I mean that literally and figuratively.)

  10. 10.

    Violet

    I really want an African country to go through, so they’re all getting my support unless they play the US.

  11. 11.

    Bootlegger

    @Violet: I share your sentiment about an African side going through. Ivory Coast and Nigeria get my support.

    Dangerous free kick for the Aussies. Can anyone keep the ball below the bar? (besides Sneijder)

  12. 12.

    Bootlegger

    And they did it!!!

    The Ghanian wall was just awful. No way that ball should have got over the top of ’em.

  22. 22.

    Bootlegger

    @J.W. Hamner: Technically they are better, tactically the Aussies will have the edge. Neither side will play for the single point from a draw.

  24. 24.

    catclub

    @Libby:

    It is correctly copied from some tea-moran’s sign.

    I was hoping for “feedom isn’t fee”
    but that is too much to ask.

  26. 26.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    Ghana should be credited with a loss here, just on general principles. They look awful.

  28. 28.

    MattR

    @burnspbesq: So I guess that means Germany is back in a good position to win group D. They still need to beat Ghana, but that does not look like it will be as difficult as I thought it was 90 minutes ago.

  29. 29.

    Randinho

    @MattR: Roberto Martinez nailed it: “I think you’ve seen the problem with a very young team.” They should have dome much better.

    Harry Kewell has no right to complain. He screwed up.

    Ghana now leads the group with 4 points.

    @wengler: I feel your pain.

  30. 30.

    burnspbesq

    One wonders why we aren’t hearing vociferous protests from fans from around the world over being forced to drink Budweiser at the World Cup venues.

  32. 32.

    Thlayli

    The big surprise here was that Kewell was sent off before he had a chance to go off injured.

  33. 33.

    slightly_peeved

    Well the Aussies ain’t sitting back, they are playing for three points.

    That was the main problem with the game vs. Germany – Australia play badly when we aren’t playing for a victory. We do, and you see the kind of offense you saw in the second half of that game.

  34. 34.

    Kostas

    Did i hear right? The coach of Ghana has been awarded in the past as the “coach of the year” at Serbia???? For god shake the guy must be one of the biggest jokes of the world cup….. His team was playing against 10 from 25’…. They needed 3 points badly and probably they needed goal difference too… They had their chance and their coach “accomplished” to hold back his team like this….. Obviously he thought he had better chances to draw an 11 man Germany squad than beat an 10 man Australian squad!!! Very clever !!!! Now its by by Ghana … Get rid of your coach!!

  36. 36.

    handsmile

    Certainly Ghana adopted a refreshingly unorthodox strategy in the second half: so confident in their speed and offensive prowess that defense could be regarded as a mere trifle.

    For those of you who do such things, send your prayers to Luke Wilkshire who will have a very bad night replaying his stuffed chance in the Ghanaian penalty box.

    With the return of Tim Cahill for the next match, Kewell’s cruel [sorry] red card will be offset, but the absence of steadfast defender Craig Moore (accumulated yellows) against Serbia, the Socceroos will surely rue [sorry].

  37. 37.

    Kostas

    I really hope Ghana doesnt make to to the next round….. I was supporting Ghana today but they totaly let me down… They had the ball outside the box and instead of bringing 2-3 players more to help score they just relied to 2 attackers against 5 defenders, while having the 11-10 advantage… pathetic for Ghana’s coach and players…. Australia was great considering they played with 10… And with a little bit of luck they could have scored the goal of justice

  39. 39.

    burnspbesq

    @Randinho:

    An angry mob of weasels, armed with pitchforks and torches, has been seen in the vicinity of your residence. They said something about avenging an egregious insult against their species honor.

  42. 42.

    burnspbesq

    @Randinho:

    Could be worse: if Anheuser-Busch hadn’t outbid SABMiller for the beer rights, it could be Miller Lite being served in the stadiums.

    I’m not sure what it says about South Africa that the country’s biggest company (by market cap) is a brewer.

  44. 44.

    Randinho

    It’s funny because InBev, the large company that bought Anheuser Busch makes some decent beers: Caracu, which along with Xingu is about the only beer I drink in or from Brazil. I’ve enjoyed Hoegaarden, Franziskaner, and can drink Stella Artois if I can’t find anything stronger, but Bud is just horrible.

  45. 45.

    Calouste

    @Randinho:

    Bud is what Monty Python were talking about when they said that American beer is like making love in a canoe: it’s fucking close to water.

  46. 46.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)

    @Calouste: True, but the reports I’m hearing are that the power of advertising is slowly turning Budweiser into one of the most popular beers in any number of once proud countries. It seems that the rest of the world doesn’t have better than Americans so much as it is that they hadn’t been offered swill before.

  47. 47.

    Dr. Squid

    That red card was fucking awful. Hit him in the shoulder, fer fuck’s sake. Meaning there shouldn’t have been a penalty kick, either. Worse call than in the USA-Slovenia match.

    Socceroos wuz robbed.

  48. 48.

    Maxwel

    @Dr. Squid

    I agree. The fact that everybody’s accepting it indicates that Soccer has another rule problem. It’s bad that the Aussie would have been better off if he had gotten out of the way and simply allowed the goal.

  49. 49.

    Maxwel

    Oh noes – thunderstorms in Ga. There goes the HD picture as the local yokels run the weather crawl.

  51. 51.

    Randy Paul

    @Dr. Squid: C’mon it hit his upper arm. right near the elbow. I just rewatched it on the Speed Game on the Soccernet website. Even Kewell acknowledges that:

    “It’s devastating for me,” Kewell said. “There was no intent. The referee has killed my World Cup.”

    He had his arm out, the ball hit him on the arm, the arm kept the ball from going in the goal. The rules are clear.

  52. 52.

    Dr. Squid

    Looking again, it’s the arm closer to the shoulder socket. And that wasn’t deliberate – he was sucking his arm back into his body, not sticking it out. The rule is clear – that was not a red card.

    Then in the case of Maradona, not only did he get away with one, but the ref chopped a few lines for him.

  53. 53.

    Randy Paul

    @Dr. Squid: It him in the elbow. You can see the biceps and forearm muscles vibrate from the impact.

    Don’t expect me to defend Maradona (which would have only been a yellow card offense as his hand ball did not deny the opposing team an obvious goalscoring opportunity). Don’t expect me to defend Torsten Frings against the USA in 2002. he should have been sent off. I have heard no analyst say anything other than Kewell deserved the card.

    Kewell said he had nowhere else to put his arm. He should have plastered it against his body. I just watched it again and his arm is in fact moving out from his body, he wasn’t pulling it back in.

  54. 54.

    Dr. Squid

    @Randy Paul: Looking at it again on higher res, it’s still halfway between the elbow and shoulder (fun watching his arm flab flop around, go to 1:02:05 of the full replay to see that), his arm was still moving in, and it still wasn’t deliberate, unlike, well, Torsten Frings or Thierry Henry. Nor was it like the Robbie Findley yellow card, which was worse than calling a foul on the mosh pit disallowing the goal because the blown call on that handball was so bloody obvious.

    Lucas Neill’s mugging of the Black Star in the box just before the handball deserved a yellow card and a direct kick, though.

    Aussie media’s gonna have a field day on Kewell – they seem to hate him like our media hates Al Gore.

  55. 55.

    slightly_peeved

    Aussie media’s gonna have a field day on Kewell – they seem to hate him like our media hates Al Gore.

    Some of the Australian players, and some of the clubs they play for, are less keen than others to have their star players spend 48 hours on a plane and miss a week of club training to play a national game.

    Kewell’s tended to be one of the less keen ones at times. Hence the dislike compared to players such as Neill, Cahill, and Schwartzer.

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