The "Dark Arts” and other tall tales from the World Cup

Today's book under discussion was my first ever self-published book in April 2023 and here's a link to the paperback version:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C2SG69L3

The following is taken directly from the book and from part of the excerpt read here on this video:

“The Dark Arts” and other tall tales from the World Cup

Well we’re nearly there and after World Cup shocks galore, we’re down to the last 4 amid walking football and referees as blind as a Wuhan bat.
There’s been some “Dark Arts” apparently, my home nation disappeared in their usual mélange of murky malarkey and VAR continues to destroy the remaining vestiges of what was once the beautiful game. I dream of the day that intervening bureaucratic machine of doom is encased in 10 miles of concrete and buried in the world’s deepest ocean, and I can dream.

You just watch me!

Those soul sucking bureaucratic authorities can’t stop me dreaming.

Not yet anyway.

As you’ll have read in my daily diaries hence far, I thought Croatia too old and a tournament too far to beat Brazil but they twistedly deserved their victory over the tournament favourites. Argentina first comprehensively won, then threw away a guaranteed win for a penalty shoot-out victory instead over a one-paced Netherlands.

I was as pleased as punch to see Morocco being the underdog we all aspire to be and I believe England thoroughly outplayed and outthought the defending Champions before, as is seemingly scripted, contrived to lose a game their adventurous and attacking style of play deemed them worthy winners of.

Thus is tournament football.

Thus is life.

So we have the showdowns between “The Vatreni” and “Albicelestes”, “The Atlas Lions” and “Les Bleus” and whilst I’m hoping and dreaming of a final between a heavy underdog Morocco and an overwhelming favourite in Argentina, I’m expecting two dogged and low scoring affairs on Tuesday and Wednesday that see Croatia and France facing off on Sunday for the right to be called World Champions, just as they did in Moscow four years ago.

The dark arts eh? Have these people lost both their memories as well as their minds? And who are these fools?

Maybe it’s because I’m like the lead character in Christopher Nolan’s Memento, old memories are readily available but newer ones? Less so. Perhaps that’s why I snorted so heavily when I heard that Argentina had used “The Dark Arts” when defeating Netherlands on Friday.

The Dark Arts?

Please!".

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