Odds and Ends

FIRST THE ODDS:
from soccernet
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has confirmed that the voting process for the World Cup hosting rights in 2018 and 2022 will go ahead as planned on December 2, despite recent controversies surrounding the executive committee.
FIFA's ethics committee has been forced to deal with allegations that two members of the executive committee, Nigeria's Amos Adamu and Tahiti's Reynald Temarii, asked undercover Sunday Times reporters for money in return for their votes.

It has also been alleged that the Spain/Portugal and Qatar bids have colluded to manipulate the vote by casting their support for each other, but this has been denied. Spain/Portugal is bidding to host the 2018 finals and Qatar is in contention for 2022.
[end story]

When so much money is at stake, it's a given that corruption will occur.  Rumors of collusion surrounding the Olympic bids have been rampant in recent years.  It's unfortunate that a few can spoil it for everyone, but how ironic that Nigeria and Tahiti were involved...two countries which have no chance of hosting the WC.  So if that's true, then why do they have a vote?  I know that sounds odd to say since it's the World Cup we are talking about, but when countries with vested interest in the outcome see smaller countries (one which suffers from dire economic and political issues) with a vote, why would it surprise anyone if they sought out these representatives to secure their votes?  I'm sure most people who do this are sure they won't be caught.

I must add that both men have pled innocent to the allegations, but Septic Bladder assured international soccer fans that the vote will go on despite the outcome of the investigation.  So....does that mean the winners have already been decided?  That's what the majority of readers on forums think; that the vote is just a public display of fairness, while behind the scenes the political shenanigans are deciding the eventual winners.
Honestly, I really don't care where the World Cup is held.  It should be spread out around the globe so all can have a chance to enjoy it, and it should be a safe venue.  Other than that, it doesn't really matter...the pitches are the same length, the players are the same, and the fans will support them no matter where they play.

SERBIA PENALIZED AND ITALY AS WELL
UEFA have handed down punishments to two countries after a Euro 2012 qualifier was halted after seven minutes due to crowd unrest.  The match, being played in Genoa, between Italy and Serbia will not be replayed, despite Serbia asking for it.  Italy declined saying, "it would be a gift to Serbia."  Instead, UEFA has awarded a 3-0 match win to Italy, but also penalized the country financially (100,000 euros) and a one-game match ban for fans.  The penalties are no doubt for their inability to control the crowds.
Serbia, who lose a valuable three point, putting them second from the bottom in their group, have also been fined 120,000 euros (light in my opinion...I'm sure the damage to the stadium was more than that), and a two-match fan ban.  Their fans will also not be able to purchase away tickets for the qualifiers.
What do I think?  Honestly I feel that penalizing Italy almost the same as Serbia was unwarranted.  When a country has unruly fans it is their responsibility to warn the host country that there could be problems.  The melee that ensued before the match and at the beginning was not unavoidable by Italy, aside from not allowing the fans to enter and then they would have had an all-out riot.
Serbia has been a hotbed of violence at matches for years and I think a two-match ban without fans is comical.  If a country allows its fans to use these matches for political free-for-alls then the country should be banned from competing in the Euro.

NOW FOR THE ENDS:
Just a few notes on Manchester United.
Firstly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to EDWIN VAN DER SAR!  Wow.  40.  And still going strong.  I always feel safe when he is in goal and I hope he continues to play until he's 50.  I'm sure that won't happen, but I hope he has had a great day because his contributions to United and Holland throughout the years has been stellar.
Secondly, Wayne Rooney will not be returning for the Man Poo derby.  Apparently his ankle is worse off than first thought.  I'm not sure that's the whole story.  It might be that he and his chav wife are enjoying their time in Dubai too much and don't want to leave the chicken nuggets and champagne to return to gloomy Manchester.  It's been reported that he now makes more money than Cristiano.  250,000 GBP per week.  I believe that is someone around 400,000 dollars.  United have not released details of the deal (and rightfully so when half of their fans are probably finding it difficult to afford a ticket these days).  I don't care if your feet are solid gold and you score 10 goals per game...nobody is worth that kind of money.
Hopefully it's just a rumor and he's pulling down around 150 a week.  I can't imagine that Rio, Scholes, Giggs, and company would stand for a turncoat chav making more than they do.

Thirdly...CHICHARITO (and I write his name in all caps now to underscore his lights out performances recently) has wowed the crowds, his teammates, and his manager.
Sir Alex said he wasn't surprised at all by his form and said that "We are not surprised because we identified a lot about him before we signed him. We did a lot of work on him.  Seeing him in pre-season and training we thought he would do well. He is young and wants to learn and he comes from a really good football pedigree. He speaks the language and that is important. Everything is in his favour.  We are all pleased.  Everyone is really excited to have him at the club. He has done really well. His winning goal on Tuesday demonstrated again that he is a very good finisher.''  Keep scoring, Little Pea.  With Michael Owen now going to be out for a longer period of time (hamstring) and Wayne Looney slogging down fatty foods and alcohol in Dubai...we need your fantastic finishing!
United will host Tottenham this weekend.  Come on, CHICHARITO!!!!!