18-year old football and politics enthusiast Max Burman takes apart the mindless culture of these shores.
Browsing through the back pages of the newspapers on 11 July, I nearly fell off my very middle-class sofa. Unfortunately, as I’m sure you are aware; this wasn’t down to my hasty return from an isolated desert island upon which I discovered serial flops England had actually made the final of the World Cup.
No, the truth was somehow far more shocking, yet depressingly unsurprising. As a preview to that evening’s showpiece game between Spain and Netherlands, one paper had utilised a graphic of a pitch to show off their considerable tactical knowledge by predicting the line-ups and formations that would be on show. Both teams, this high-brow paper asserted, were set to operate within conventional 4-4-2 formations, bad enough in itself, while Spain would partner David Villa with Andres Iniesta as a central striker and play Sergio Busquets on the right wing. Their opponents would similarly pair Robin Van Persie, yes he was fit once, with Wesley Sneijder, while Dirk Kuyt would start in central midfield with Nigel De Jong on the right.
Watching and Thinking 