Cornish Steve

And here's one final table. This shows the average number of points per predicted game for everyone who participated - with no double points for the last game. verreauxi 2.06 Geth 2.04 MikeO 2.02 markjazzbassist 1.94 NyarkosLeftToe 1.81 TonkaRoost 1.77 PeterH 1.75 doc_bump 1.72 Matt 1.72 Vranny 1.69 Rubecula 1.67 Nikica 1.65 Alguna Vez Tonelada 1.63 Cornish Steve 1.56 Bailey 1.50 bluenosetoffee 1.44

So the Golden Ball is for the fewest number of passes made in the tournament by someone playing in the final?

And here are the final results. Bear in mind that double points are awarded for the World Cup final. First to congratulate is MikeO for achieving a perfect score in the final. Not only is he the points leader for the final game but he also wins the final round with a score of 10 points. Two more mentions before we get to the overall winner. First, Geth did catch me. This is an amazing achievement since Geth joined the contest only after all first round games were played. Second, Rubecula met his goal, finishing ahead of me (not, in honesty, that that took much!). Going into the final, verreauxi was 6 points ahead of MikeO, with the rest of us quite a ways back. Both predicted a win for Germany, so how did it play out? . . . . . . . . . Drum roll please... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MikeO achieved a perfect score of 5, doubled up to 10 points. Verreauxi predicted the correct result (win for Germany) and zero goals for Argentina for 2 points, doubled up to 4 points. So, the final result is a tie! CONGRATULATIONS TO VERREAUXI AND MIKEO - joint winners of the TT World Cup prediction competition. Here's the final table.

Looks like we'll be paying 4m. If he's an 8m player, we've done well. But it will be a risk, and he could turn out to be a 2m player. He's young and has potential, so maybe, under Roberto's tutelage. he could become a 20m player. At this point, who knows? He was voted Bosnia's best player at the WC, and that's maybe the most encouraging sign. I'm pleased we're signing him up, but it's a bit premature to read all this euphoria.

Bosnia's best player at the World Cup... http://bhdragons.com/bosnias-top-world-cup-2014-performers/

A ilttle reflection on Martinez' comments... http://metro.co.uk/2014/07/12/can-everton-produce-the-next-wayne-rooney-or-ross-barkley-under-roberto-martinez-heres-a-look-at-evertons-top-youngsters-4795677/

Congratulations to Rubecula for receiving a perfect score on the 3/4 playoff game. A shoutout too to Geth who, despite making no predictions in the first round (16 games), may well be ahead of someone who has predicted all games at the World Cup (namely, yours truly). On the leaderboard, verreauxi goes into the World Cup final with a lead of six points. Since that game is worth double points, MikeO is still in with a shot.

I missed the first 20 minutes of this game, and therefore both goals. Since then, it's been a boring display by two very average teams. I would much rather have seen Colombia and Cost Rica in the semis.

Coleman, McGeady, and McCarthy facing Tim Howard.

Luiz has been terrible in most games. Yes, he scored a good goal earlier in the tournament, but he isn't doing the bread-and-butter stuff. Holland's second goal was a gift from Luiz.

And now Brazil get a dangerous free kick from a clear dive. It's so disappointing to see players do that.

Robben is such a cheat. He just tried another dive near the centre circle, which was so obvious. The referee rightly waved play on.

Enjoyed this little compilation from the BBC... http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28266510

And I can vouch for the fact that you don't come across that way at all.

Why am I the only one who would prefer a second place finish?! That would be an extraordinary achievement and guarantee CL football.

It means he will be sold.

By my reckoning, that means we need to bring in about eight more players while getting rid of at least one. They don't need to be big names, but they do need to fit in with our new strategy. If we could manage this, I'd be in seventh heaven. Incidentally, we've been getting rid of deadwood, which is just as important as bringing in new blood. Who else should we be moving off the roster?

For what it's worth, I'm beginning to think now that we will sign him for 20m. I also suspect we'll acquire some lesser known (and therefore cheaper) strikers who turn out to be very good. Time, of course, will tell.

You should have gotten your PhD in the "history of Everton football club." Then you'd know a ton about a subject that millions of people care about. At least your current subject matter has given you the opportunity to live on Merseyside for a while.

First off, the defender was already on a yellow card, so a second yellow would get him sent off. Second, the fact that it's stoppage time is completely irrelevant. What happens is that, with the ball at the defender's feet, he kicks it in the air and then heads back to the goalie. This, according to the rules, means a yellow card. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-pass_rule "As the rule specifically requires that the pass be done with intention and through a kick, an infraction would not occur if a player uses their head, chest or knee to make the pass nor would it be an infraction if a keeper recovers a ball that was merely last touched by a team mate. It would however be an infraction if a player was to use a deliberate trick to pass the ball to their goalkeeper, such as kicking the ball up and then using their head. If a player were to use such a deliberate trick then they must be issued a caution."

Another nice article about the growing ties between Everton and Barca. http://www.vavel.com/en/football/premier-league/everton/368224-everton-barca-the-start-of-a-promising-relationship.html

Impressive car. Congratulations!

The deal is done with Barca. "[Liverpool] did all they could to get me to stay." Sure. Even offered to include blood pudding on the cafeteria menu, but it didn't work.

The defender was already on a yellow card. Other than that, it's a real rule.

Proof required!