A year or two before former Prime Minister Patrick Manning passed away, I wrote an article stating—among many other things—that Manning no longer held any relevance for politics in Trinidad and Tobago. Of course multiple queries followed from readers. I did not explain myself then as I found the statement …
Read More »Dissecting VAR and T&T’s World Cup lessons: Downer, Fenwick, Merere, Maylee and Ramdhan discuss
“Apart from the instruction to [assistant referees], I believe there is a more fundamental flaw, which is the referee must first refer the incident to the VAR, then is referred to the sideline VAR monitor and, as we saw in many World Cup incidents, a long time can be taken …
Read More »Unpacking the 2018 World Cup: Hart, Walkes, Hislop and Sheppard talk France, trends and lessons from Russia
“Teams that couldn’t adjust defensively and show patience and discipline to withstand those spells [of possession from opponents] found themselves chasing the game. France were without question the best at this…” “There was […] a return to what we would consider ‘outdated’ centre forwards like Mario Mandzukic, Olivier Giroud and, …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Oh là là! France wins cracking final against Croatia; Downer rules on controversial penalty
Compelling, crazy, comic, controversial… France are now the World Cup champions and the greatest international team on the planet, after a 4-2 win over Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow today. The first own goal of a final, a controversial penalty, VAR, a teenaged goal scorer, stifling reactive tactics, …
Read More »Daly Bread: The temporary death of celebrity; T&T’s lessons of humility from the World Cup
World Cup 2018 ends today and I have discerned some lessons of general application. Not many in this region would have foreseen that France and Croatia would be the two teams in the final. Even fewer would have foreseen that Argentina, Brazil and Germany would have failed as early as …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Hazard lights up play off, as Belgian joins Modric, Kane, Griezmann and Mbappé in awards chase
Belgium majored in minors at Saint Petersburg today, as they won one of the least meaningful matches in any competition: the third-placed play off. The “Red Devils” defeated England 2-0, which, ironically, was the second time the two teams met in a quasi-competitive fixture at the Russia 2018 World Cup. There was …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Super Mario spoils England homecoming; Croatia set up revenge match with France
England football fans started the day singing “It’s coming home”; but they will end it crooning “Closing Time.” A predatory finish by Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic in extra time separated the two nations in today’s semifinal and set up a World Cup final date with France on Sunday. The only …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: A flash of Umtiti stuns Belgium as France advance to World Cup final
In another topsy turvy duel, Belgium tried to continue their daring 2018 World Cup run in Saint Petersburg today; but, in the end, the “Red Devils” were left ashen-faced by a flash of Samuel Umtiti, as Les Bleus snatched a 1-0 win. Eh? If Mr Live Wire was a bit …
Read More »What’s up with England? Fenwick suggests why “Three Lions” are roaring at Russia World Cup
On Wednesday, England will contest a FIFA World Cup semifinal for the first time in 28 years. But should we be surprised by their success in Russia? In 2017, England secured a historic treble of international titles at youth level as they were crowned FIFA Under-20 and Under-17 World Youth …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Neymar blanked by VAR as Brazil tumble out; France, Belgium advance to all-Euro semis
Mr Live Wire has not seen so many disappointed faces in yellow jerseys since the 2015 General Elections. For the fourth straight tournament, perennial World Cup favourites, Brazil, failed to navigate their way to the final, as the five-time champions tumbled out in the quarters after a 2-1 loss to …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Neymar strikes as Brazil KOs Mexico, Samurai Blue fall on swords against bullish Belgium
Now that’s more like it! After Sunday’s forgettable fare, the Russia 2018 World Cup burst to life once more today as Brazil bested Mexico 2-0 while Belgium staged a monumental recovery to kayo Japan 3-2 in the Round of 16 competition. Brazil, the five-time World Cup champions, and Belgium, who …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Mbappe runs Argentina out of Russia, Cavani collars Portugal as Messi and Ronaldo take leave
So, farewell to the G.O.A.T and the Goatee. The Russia 2018 World Cup will make do without football’s MVP trophy-grabbing duopoly of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, after the pair were eliminated on the first day of the Round of 16 today. Messi’s return ticket was booked at …
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