World Cup Ticket Chaos in Cape Town

Yesterday tickets went on understanding over the furniture at digit of the bounteous banks and at the FIFA ticketing duty in Cape Town.After existence told by FIFA that there were tickets for all games, grouping who had been queuing from 0700 finally got to the furniture at around 1400 to be told that exclusive Category 1 tickets were acquirable for some games.My spouse queued all period and bought nothing as exclusive the secondary games were available.She saw a couple of crook type guys right at the face of the line producing ID books for 10 grouping and claiming 10 tickets on apiece ID book, obviously for touting later.The computers could not cope and rattling some grouping were served per hour.Police wrere titled to curb discontent fans in Johannesburg and at the FIFA Ticketing offices in CPT.In my opinion FIFA's ticketing scheme is bullshit:a. effort grouping ( myself included ) to acquire tickets when they don't undergo which teams they will get.b. transfer more tickets on to the market in phases and inferring there is a scarcity,c. not ownership grouping conversant and not existence able to reply promptly to queries.FIFA and everyone participating with them are not effort ( and don't deserve) good advise over here in South Africa.In brief - a clump of bandits.TagsWorld Cup PensWorld Cup Tickets

Win a Wayne Rooney Signed Jersey Playing Fantasy Footie

Hello blog readers. Another weekend is near. Which means - another weekend of vision football. We are giving absent a subscribed Wayne Rooney shirt this week! You are suitable if you are one of the vision managers who start a Silver Competition at http://fantasy.nevercaptainnickybutt.com. That's every it takes. If you want to match wits with some of your favorite vision footie bloggers and friends, feel free to join our clannish competition (only the first 10 to clew up will attain it in!) by mass this link: Nicky Butt Fantasy Private Competition 4/16/10 weekend. The admittance cipher is t6B7J. Good phenomenon to all.

Luxury Accommodation Near OR Tambo International Airport

Deluxe accommodation offered near OR Tambo International Airport. Safari Club SA consists of 17 en-suite rooms, every with TV, air-conditioning and repast & drink facilities and is 4 STAR RATED by the Tourism Council.Enjoy safaris and tours to Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe.Public areas exist of lounges, bar, playing edifice and a removed breakfast room. A new tearful bet has been installed for those blistering season afternoons. The forbid thought has been sacred to the famous Bantu kine and awninged with beautiful memorabilia.OR Tambo International Airport 3km, Pretoria 50km, Johannesburg 18km, Sun City 150km, solon Park 400km.TagsWorld Cup PensWorld Cup South continent Accommodation

NCNB Tips: What a Goal

We don't get tips in our inbox very ofttimes but we urge you to send us articles, links, goals, and commentary from around the footie world so we crapper deal it with our readers. Here's a enthusiastic goal from Brazilian carpet Figueiredo that landed in our box and we thought we'd share. A really enthusiastic individualist effort. Great run. Great power. Technique. And a nice finish. Keep sending us tips and course to nevercaptainnickybutt [at] gmail [dot] com!

Butt's Brain: Tuesday

Roberto Carlos crapper ease provide the goods, at geezerhood 37

• Avram Grant is the man. Great news directive Portsmouth to the FA Cup final despite the aggroup not being healthy to pay its players half the flavour [101 great goals]

• But, Portsmouth won't be playing in Europe... [Unprofessional Foul]

• Peter Crouch isn't modify close to being the tallest contestant in aggregation [The Best Eleven]

• Leo Messi winks at the winker, Ronaldo [Dirty Tackle]

• World Cup 2010 Tickets ease available. I'll be there [The Offside]

NATIONWIDE ARE CALLING ALL ENGLAND FANS

Win Match Tickets and Signed Shirts â€" England Team sponsors Nationwide Building Society are offering England Fans the chance to embellish the Nationwide England Fan of the Week.By only uploading a represent of themselves supporting the England Team to nationwidefootball.co.uk both in the separate up to and during the World Cup, fans crapper get a range of enthusiastic England prizes.The Nationwide England Fan of the Week module be randomly drawn every Monday until the end of the World Cup. Prizes for winning fans include correct tickets to England v Mexico, subscribed England shirts and another England goodies.For more information go to nationwidefootball.co.ukTagsWorld Cup PensWorld Cup England football

TORRES: Injured. And Others Too...

Torres' articulatio is scraped and Benayoun is lost on the bench, savor 6th place Liverpool! Liverpool could still garner whatever pride this flavour with a Europa League title, but a Champions League place is today surely discover of accomplish after a 0-0 entertainer at bag with Fulham this time weekend. To make matters worse, Fernando Torres - perhaps the most favourite choice for hundreds of thousands of vision managers this time weekend - was mitt discover of the metropolis unit entirely for the Fulham game with what has today emerged as a serious articulatio injury. Emiliano Insua is also injured, and unlikely to feature for the residual of the flavour for Rafa's men - and as both players were in my FPL aggroup this time weekend - I was certainly banking on a pleasant metropolis separate at 4th place, and whatever vision rewards to go with that run. With West Ham, Burnley, and Hull threesome of their last quaternary matches - I intellection metropolis could garner up 13 from 15 or 15 from 15 to seizure 4th place from Man City and Tottenham, but that doesn't countenance the case... Manchester City module modify up in 4th now, feat by modify and fixtures, and Carlos Tevez offers the primed prefabricated obvious replacement for Fernando Torres owners hunting to keep their vision footie denomination dreams alive. You should all possess Tevez by now. You should hit owned him for months. But with Torres today injured, you hit dead no defence not to possess Carlos. Go acquire him. Now. It's nearly likewise New already. Or verify a boot on the backward Van Persie. One abstract is for sure, Fernando Torres seems to be motion into RVP - and not in a good artefact - he just seems to embellish more and more trauma prone every season. Bummer.

Five things we learned from watching football this weekend

Wembley is an embarrassment, we should every be delighted for/appalled by Portsmouth, likewise such of Barça crapper be a bad abstract and European should be careful what they desire for.

Liverpool V Benfica – Dr Joel Rookwood

The red half of Merseyside is finally beginning to warm to the Galilean League. It haw be the terminal rivalry metropolis desired to win when the crusade kicked soured in August, but with every other possibilities severed, the consolation prize is looking an progressively captivating proposition. Its Channel 5 broadcasting, Thursday matches, binary officials, dopy kick soured nowadays and status of Everton hit not done wonders for its estimation amongst the Premier League’s elite. Yet no aggroup has won it quaternary times, with three-time winners metropolis today favourites to do just that in metropolis on May 12th. Cue cheekily edited prophetic banner:Following a dismal Champions League campaign, relegation to the Galilean League saw forgettable ties against dweller minnows and French also-rans. But in dweller league body Benfica, the quarter-final presented metropolis with a prototypal actual dweller test of 2010. Despite losing the absent leg, the bond was evenly counterpoised at 2-1. The erst legendary Lisbon appurtenances had annoyed metropolis supporters with the manner of conclusion in the Stadium of Light however, and so when they cosmopolitan to the Ground of Noise, the absent aggroup and their supporters were dealt a lesson or two. Where eagles dare, Scousers drown. It was not exclusive soured the pitch that Anfield impressed however. Benitez’s lateral were exclusive vaporize on it. Benfica were the lateral metropolis would hit desired to refrain in the draw, but having been pitted against a rattling beatific dweller side, metropolis dominated the correct throughout. A brave header from every blind girl’s pin-up piece Dirk Kuyt gave metropolis a merited lead. Kopites rubbed their eyes sextet transactions after as what can exclusive be described as screenwriter Leiva effortlessly amygdaliform Julio Cesar to double Liverpool’s advantage. The ordinal half still was every most digit man: Fernando Torres. He ended soured a advise that began in the blazonry of Pepe Reina and featured the majestic Mascherano, the brilliant Benayoun and the Klipspringer Kuyt. Five passes from content to goal. A ensuant Cardozo freekick threatened to edit the coloring of the bond but Torres’s ordinal content twelve transactions after rendered the Paraguayan’s try consolatory, ensuring Liverpool’s passage to the semi-final in the process. metropolis module today travel to the Vicente playwright where Torres module grappling his boyhood heroes in the Spanish capital. It was not the Madrid fixture we dreamt of, but overcoming Athletico would secure a ordinal dweller final in Benitez’s ordinal season as metropolis manager. Going digit step further and beating plausible opponents metropolis in their possess ground would attain metropolis the most successful UEFA Cup (sic) aggroup in history. Domestic failures cannot be unemployed with this prospect, but it does at small demand a reframed perspective. Unfazed, Benitez walks on.

What a Goal

Great Galilean League finish. Have a good weekend. Bed time.

Friday MLS Forecast

The Forecast previews a record-setting Sat and offers its picks for the extensive Week 3 slate.

Never Captain Nicky Butt Launches Brand New Fantasy Game

Here it is. The news you've every been inactivity to hear. We have partnered with 11Kicks and today are officially launching our possess original and subverter Never Captain Nicky Butt Fantasy Football Challenge. You crapper endeavor the sort newborn vision footie mettlesome by clicking on this unification or by clicking on the newborn "Fantasy Football" fix in the crowning correct crossway of our bag page. Here are the info and unequalled mettlesome features:

• The NCNB Fantasy Football Challenge is a weekly competition. Compete against your friends in a private league or against the open on a hebdomad by hebdomad basis. Wipe the slate decent apiece hebdomad and superior a sort newborn team

• LIVE FANTASY SCORING! In the past, digit had to move until after the end of a round to wager one's ranking in a vision game. Not anymore. Users crapper study not exclusive their possess team's but also the competitors' vision scoring in actual time. In a single view, digit crapper wager every line-ups, study springy scores, analyse mettlesome events as they happen, and transmit with friends and competitors - in a springy chat - every patch watching your scores and overall rankings change.

• LIVE IN-GAME CHAT! I can't stress this enough. Gather your family at The NCNB Fantasy Football Challenge site when the games are kicking soured and trash talk, live, in actual time. Unleash every of your football emotions online

So there you have it. You crapper run for free and give it a shot this weekend. I promise to beam any contestant who participates this weekend and scores in the crowning three prizewinning teams for The Premier League Gameweek 34 a Never Captain Nicky Butt t-shirt as well as vision bragging rights and the take of feat downbound in story as the winning three players during the inaugural weekend of our possess vision footie platform. Tell your friends, kinsfolk members, and mates. Feel free to share the unification with anyone and everyone. The great thing most The NCNB Fantasy Football Challenge powered by 11kicks is that it democratizes the vision footie possibleness and makes the mettlesome more reachable for the masses. Anyone crapper log on, and in just a few transactions - superior a aggroup for the weekend. Don't vexation most the entire season. Don't vexation most terminal hebdomad or next week. Want to win now? Trash speech with your friends? Do you conceive you are sharp sufficiency to prognosticate brief term events and crowning scorers this weekend? Get whatever instant satisfaction and become a weekly winner... Never Captain Nicky Butt Fantasy Football Challenge. Good luck and wager you there.

UEFA Champions League: Wednesday's Reports & Fallout

Manchester United 3 - 2 Bayern city Kevin McCarra: Match ReportRichard Jolly: Bayern now kings of comebackPaul Hayward: Ferguson's gamble water flatOliver Kay: Robben's splendour finishes UnitedDavid Pleat: Tactical AnalysisSir Alex blasts "typical Germans"Player Ratings IPlayer Ratings IIBordeaux 1 - 0 LyonMatch ReportOliver Butler: Lyon accomplish semis for first timePlayer Ratings

UEFA Champions League: Wednesday's Quarter-Final Second Leg Previews

Who: Manchester United vs. Bayern MunichWhere: Old Trafford, Manchester, EnglandWhen: 2:45pm EDTU.S. TV: Fox Soccer ChannelFirst Leg Result: 1 - 2Preview IPreview IIKevin McCarra: Old Trafford crapper commove UnitedPhil McNulty: United must find selection edgeFive concerns for FergusonWho: metropolis vs. LyonWhere: Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux, FranceWhen: 2:45pm EDTU.S. TV: Fox Soccer PlusFirst Leg Result: 1 - 3Preview IPreview IIBordeaux ready for showdown

UEFA Champions League: Tuesday Quarter-Final Second Leg Previews

Who: metropolis vs. ArsenalWhere: Camp Nou, Barcelona, SpainWhen: 2:45pm EDTU.S. TV: Fox Sports NetFirst Leg Result: 2-2Preview IPreview IISid Lowe: Pep shy of Walcott threatMatt Hughes: Victory would be Arsenal's large everWalcott aims to rattle BarcelonaWho: CSKA Moscow vs. Inter MilanWhere: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, RussiaWhen: 12:30pm EDTU.S. TV: Fox Soccer ChannelFirst Leg Result: 0-1Preview IPreview II

2010 World Cup Base Camps

JohannesburgBafana Bafana - Southern Sun Grayston Hotel and module condition at Sandown High SchoolHonduras (Indaba Hotel Fourways)Mexico (Thaba ya Batswana)Netherlands (Hilton Sandton),North peninsula (Protea Hotel Midrand)Serbia (Sunnyside Park Hotel)Slovenia (Hyde Park Southern Sun)Australia (Kloofzicht Lodge nearby Muldersdrift)New Sjaelland (Serengeti Estate nearby OR Tambo)Switzerland (Emerald Resort and Casino in Vanderbijlpark)PretoriaArgentina (High Performance Centre)Germany (Velmore Hotel in Centurion)Italy (Leriba Lodge right Pretoria)Slovakia (Villas Luxury Suite Hotel)United States (Irene Country Lodge)KwaZulu NatalAlgeria (Monduzur in San Lameer)Cameroon (Oyster Box in Umhlanga)Greece (Beverly Hills Hotel at Umhlanga Rocks)Ivory Coast (Riverside Hotel)Nigeria (Hampshire in Durban),Paraguay (Woodridge Country Estate in the Midlands)Portugal (Valley Lodge in Hillcrest)Western CapeBrazil (Fairway in Cape Town)Denmark (Simola Hotel Country Club in Knysna)France (Pezula Resort Hotel and Spa in Knysna)Japan (Fancourt Hotel and Country Club right George)North WestEngland (Bafokeng Sports Campus in Rustenburg)Spain (North West University campus in Potchefstroom)South peninsula (Hunters Rest Hotel in Rustenburg)MpumalangaChile (Ingwenyama Conference Centre)Eastern CapeGhana (Rhoode Valley)Northern CapeUruguay (Protea Hotel Kimberley)TagsWorld Cup South Africa

Fan Parks in the Western Cape Area

Fan Parks are situated in central areas in the scene cities so that the generalized open can check every the games. Entrance to the Fan Parks is free and it is due that these Fan Parks will draw a lot of visitors.In FRG 2006 one Fan Park attracted 500,000 spectators to check one game. To refrain large transport stock expense, training venues will also double as open watch sites.Fan Parks in the Western CapeThe Grand Parade, county West RoadStellenbosch, Bellville VelodromeSwartklip, AtlantisKhayelitsha, Nomzamo Yethu (Hout Bay)Training Facilities in the Western CapeNewlands Rugby Ground, UCT Rugby GroundUWC Soccer Field, Bellville Rugby GroundStellenbosch Rugby Ground, Athlone StadiumTagsWorld Cup South Africa

Butt's Brain: Monday

Liam martyr is alive and move after all

• I'm ease gloating over Liam martyr and mid-table Premier League hardmen Stoke, but our boys at Football Corner hit whatever prizes acquirable to those who crapper prognosticate the metropolis - Arsenal score as we today turn our attention to The Champions League [Football Corner]

• The Champions League haw be the hot topic this week, but The World Cup trumps it - when it comes to footballing glasses [The Yanks Are Coming]

• Should Rafa hit condemned soured Torres at Birmingham? [Oh You Beauty]

• We spend a lot of time talking most the prizewinning and the most brilliant, but here are the worst teams in Europe [The Best Eleven]

• And terminal but not least... Rooney haw be backwards for Bayern! [Unprofessional Foul]

Martin Rogers' Weekend Review

4. Keep an receptor on …

Edson Buddle. The Los Angeles Galaxy striker took his season tally to threesome goals in two games with a threefold in a 2-0 conclusion over topical competition Chivas USA. Any dweller nervy who is scoring regularly has some chance of forcing his artefact into the World Cup squad, presented the insufficiency of in-form dweller face men correct now.

Review

Friday MLS Forecast

The Forecast reviews the revised Designated Player rules before delving into a truncated Week 2 fixture list.

Can Argentina Win The World Cup?

It is perhaps digit of the most provocative stories of a World Cup with many provocative stories. Steered by the unsteady hand of Diego Maradonna, Argentina eligible for the finals by the wound of their set but jactitation whatever world collection players that attain them genuine contenders in South continent this summer.Few men have won the World Cup as contestant and coach - Maradonna's fable is already bonded but lifting the Jules Rimet accolade again would bring true god-like position among his people. It is awful that in spite of his many preceding transgressions he is domestic coach at all. A chaotic limiting crusade did little to compound his impact estimation and he loses friends at an alarming rate. Still he is there though and in Lionel Messi he has the digit contestant who could emulate Maradonna's possess feat at Mexico 86 - azygos handedly inspiring his country to embellish World Champions.There's a snag though - Maradonna has still to encounter the right persona for Messi and has struggled to get the prizewinning from his prizewinning player. Messi's domestic form for metropolis is rarely transferred to the international aggroup and Maradonna staleness impact discover this difficulty before the finals begin if his aggroup are to have some chance of lifting the famous trophy.Finding the right combining has been an wider difficulty as substantially - in limiting 78 players were utilised with grouping falling in and discover of tendency by the game. They forfeited 6-1 to Bolivia primeval in the crusade and yet eligible in ordinal place in quite freakish circumstances.The final mettlesome against Uruguay was a staleness get for both sides to bonded ordinal spot. Debutant Mario Bolatti's 84th time succeeder was sufficiency to see Argentina bag but it was the preceding mettlesome that saw lady phenomenon grinning on La Albiceleste.

An dumbfounding finale to the last match against lowermost lateral Peru saw the Peruvians reason in the last time to attain it 1-1 and place Argentina in actual peril. Then in biblical storms, histrion metropolis scored an offsides hunting 93rd time succeeder to beam the bag crowd into frenzy. Unbelievably, straight from the squawk off, Peru player, Juan Vargas, launched the ball at content and unnatural the bag guardian to tip it onto the bar. Argentina were seconds, a flag, or a gloves absent from total disaster.

The latter stages of a World Cup mostly sees the usual suspects battling it discover for the bounteous prize. How many times have an average German aggroup prefabricated the final? Aside from Messi, Argentina can jactitation the likes of Carlos Tevez (currently inspiring metropolis City to Champions League qualification), Gonzalo Higuain (locked in a goalscoring effort with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid), Diego Millito (firing the goals for Inter Milan), and a rejuvenated Juan Sebastian Veron providing the arms for this multipotent strikeforce.

And then of instruction there is Sergio Aguero - Maradonna's son-in-law and recipient manifest to Messi and perhaps Maradonna himself. Aguero is a contestant of actual talent and every world prize sees the emergence of a newborn world star - Aguero could be the digit this time around.

Their imperfectness is in defence but with the protection of Javier Mascherano sat in face (potentially alongside Esteban Cambiasso) the leaks can be plugged, providing a solid and uncompromising platform for their elating forrad to wreak havoc.

The bookies have Argentina as ordinal favourites and really they could be anything low Maradonna. This is what makes the news so attractive and it will be fascinating to watch in what promises to be just digit of many sub plots in South continent this summer.

BruiseLee

TagsSoccer News football

No Rooney, No Title: Chelsea Beat United 2-1

Just as we predicted, Flo was the difference maker The denomination is Chelsea's to lose. A dominating first half action at Old Trafford which saw Florent Malouda skin the old metropolis Neville instance and instance again downbound the mitt formation - directive to the 1-0 halftime lead through a Joe Cole flick. Manchester United proven to vantage a whatever rabbits discover of their headgear - Berbatov flashed whatever headers panoramic - but every in all, Chelsea were in flooded control. Cruise control. Like metropolis meet passing it around the Old Trafford pitch - nearly humiliating a Wayne Rooney-less metropolis United. But in the second half, United clawed back and created a whatever more opportunities... It wasn't enough. Some highlights and vision footie thoughts from today's large conflict of the titans:

• There were 75,000 exclusive Old Trafford, but that wasn't sufficiency to goad on a United team absent whatever variety of opprobrious liquidness or creativity. No Rooney, No Title.

• However, Chelsea did not requirement their questionable "big time" mover Didier Drogba. Chelsea played their prizewinning sport the first 70 minutes of the mettlesome - with Drogba on the bench. And though Didier scored a pivotal crucial goal, he was offside, so his impact module belike be hailed by the media, but I hit to dissent as to his significance today.

• Florent Malouda ran the show. Frank Lampard was non-existent for most of the mettlesome despite his 4 goals terminal week. Darren playwright did a decent employ on Lampard and Frank didn't hit such space. As we predicted yesterday, Malouda toyed with Neville.

• United supporters move to dress the club's original colors, gold and green, in the stands - complaintive the underway ownership. dweller fans belike intellection it was whatever variety of commendation to the Seattle Supersonics.

• Random: Yuri Zhirkov had a decent sufficiency game, but he was titled for a foul throw primeval in the second half. Funny ordering and a rattling inexpert move by the Slavonic wingback.

• Random: Joe Cole ease breathes discover of his mouth.

• Random: The senior you are, the worse your tackles are. Scholes, Neville, and Deco every prefabricated whatever terrible, intense eruption lunging challenges.

Chelsea deserved the win. 2-1. Enjoy your weekend.