My Saturday musings, followed by the week’s links.
Anyone who doubts the power of mental belief [1] only needed to witness England’s dire performance against Algeria in the World Cup last night to have their preconceptions tested.
In Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, and Cole, England boasts players the equal of any in the world. The rest of the squad is rich in talent, too, even after all the injuries.
Yet England still doesn’t have a team.
Last night they played like ingenues, or worse – like terrified players from some totalitarian state who feared missing a shot or a tackle would result in a penalty shoot-out back home.
As Gareth Southgate put it: “They look haunted wearing an England shirt.”
I don’t watch football routinely but I always watch the World Cup. It’s a cliche, but in these tournaments sport transcends its technicalities to become mythic.
The story of England’s World Cup 2010 expedition may continue with a victory against Slovenia on Wednesday. But only a decisive victory will rewrite the myth sufficiently to take England towards the finals.
Best of the blogs
- The bearish argument always sounds smarter – Simple in Suffolk [2]
- History’s financial shadow – The Psy-Fi Blog [3]
- The marginal utility of money – Get Rich Slowly [4] (by Mike [5])
- Spending retirement income can be risky – Free Money Finance [6]
- Four ways NOT to build a portfolio – Spotlight Investing [7]
- Regulators make investing riskier – The Munro Fund [8]
- Walking everywhere – New Escapologist [9]
- Dollar Cost Averaging – Consumerism Commentary [10]
- Buying the best from the outset – Early Retirement Extreme [11]
- Get a job abroad as… yourself? – The Digerati Life [12]
- Early retirement experiments – MoneyFunk [13]
- Being too content can cost you – Financial Samurai [14]
- Outliers in corporate life – Eliminate the Muda [15]
The mainstream press
- Emerging Africa – The Economist [16]
- Taxing carbon: Worth a go – The Economist [17]
- Stephanomics: Public sector pensions – BBC [18]
- Are you delusional about your investments? – MoneyWatch [19]
- Risk weakens case for corporate bonds – FT [20]
- Income alternatives to BP shares – FT [21]
- Merryn Somerset-Webb’s budget hopes – FT [22]
- How to beat the annuity trap – The Telegraph [23]
- Homeowners not over-paying on their mortgages – The Telegraph [24]
- A 10-year, 4.99% fixed mortgage [I’d be tempted] – The Independent [25]
- 2nd class treatment of old [typical OAP PR job] – The Independent [26]
- More women investors [Another flawed article] – The Guardian [27]
- David Shaw: Quant pioneer extraordinaire – The Motley Fool [28]
- 11 [US] brands that will disappear in 2011 – Huffington Post [29]
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