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Log on to this page after each round of games for the lowdown on how each team fared. He’s harsh, but fair and you won’t find anything quite like it elsewhere. Enjoy our Chairman’s pithy post match analysis of the overpaid heroes and goats that make up the “Happy Band” of the EPL. If you're in the prawn sandwich and skim latte club, or part of the "Dippy Darling" brigade this column is not for you!!

Who's hot? Who's not? Who's left their bottle at home? Watch this space carefully as the season unwinds.

Who was hot before?  Visit Damon's 2008/09 season archives to find out!

Previous Analysis:

World Cup 1st Round Pt 3.... World Cup 1st Round Pt 2.... World Cup 1st Round Pt 1.... Round Thirty-Seven.... Round Thirty-Six

World Cup Diary Part Four

Day 16

Uruguay became the first side to book their place in the quarter-finals after seeing off South Korea. In an open and entertaining start to the game, the Uruguayans went ahead after just eight minutes. Goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong misjudged Diego Forlan's low cross across goal and Luis Suarez steamed in umarked at the far post to score from a narrow angle. The Koreans responded strongly and, with the South Americans looking to try and hold what they had, started to dominate. The endeavour was rewarded with twenty minutes left when Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera rashly came to try and claim Mauricio Victorino's attempted clearing header and was beaten to the ball by Lee Chung-Yong. The game was finally won with a piece of magic with ten minutes remaining. Suarez, admirably keeping to his feet throughout, showed what a good player he can be when he does so. Picking up the ball on the corner of the area as South Korea failed to clear a corner, the striker jinked outside his marker before curling in a sumptuous effort that found the net via Jung's far post. It was a goal worthy of winning any match and proved enough to see Uruguay reach their first World Cup quarter final for forty years.

Ghana ensured there will still be an African interest in the last eight after they edged past the United States after extra time. Kevin-Prince Boateng put his side ahead with only five minutes on the clock, after mugging Ricardo Clark and advancing before beating Tim Howard a little too easily from the edge of the area. The Black Stars dominated the first half-hour and the unhappy Clark paid the price by getting the first-half hook as coach Bob Bradley looked to get his side back in the game. They are a resilient lot, the Americans, and they fought their way back into the contest, eventually pulling level after Jonathon Mensah had upended Clint Dempsey in the area and Landon Donovan converted via the post. As the game wore on, it seemed the US were the more likely team to score but, denied by a mixture of poor finishing and an excellent performance from Ghana keeper Richard Kingson, they were unable to find the net again before the end of the ninety minutes. Asamoah Gyan made them pay for their profligacy just three minutes into the extra period, smashing home a great goal from wide, despite the close attentions of a couple of defenders. Ghana meet Uruguay for a place in the semi-finals and the chance to go further than any African side has previously managed.

Day 17

Germany comfortably put England out of their tournament misery with an impressive display in Bloemfontein. The Germans were lively and creative from the start, looking to expose the lack of pace in the centre of England's defence and with Mesut Oezil a constant menace as he escaped his marker time and again. The opener, when it came on twenty minutes, owed nothing to subtlety, as Manuel Neuer humped a long ball straight down the middle of the park and Moroslav Klose outpaced and outfought Matthew Upson to the ball before poking it past David James. James then had to be alert to pull of a smart stop to deny Klose a second as England were over-run but he was beaten again just after the half-hour when Lucas Podolski raced into the area to area to convert Thomas Mueller's pass, the striker having so much time and space he could even afford a poor first touch before slamming the ball through the keeper's legs. Looking well beaten at that point, the English dug deep and pulled a goal back when Upson atoned for some of his earlier sins by heading Steven Gerrard's cross past Neuer and suddenly, the game was back on. Within a couple of minutes of the goal, England scored again ... only for the officials to miss it, to the consternation of all. Frank Lampard has never had much luck with scoring goals at World Cups but he produced an excellent finish to send a dipping shot over Neuer that smacked the underside of the crossbar and bounced a good yard or so over the goal-line. Unfortunately for England, neither referee Jorge Larrionda nor his linesman saw the ball enter the net so play was waved on. Perhaps fired by a sense of grievance, England started the second half all over the Germans like a rash and Lampard was again unlucky when his free-kick crashed off the German bar. Over-committed upfield, Fabio Capello's side were playing a dangerous game and so it proved with twenty-three minutes to go. Gareth Barry lost possession on the edge of the German area and the Mannschaft swept upfield at pace, with James committing himself too early and the wrong way as Mueller spanked home Christian Schweinsteiger's pass. Barry was again at fault just three minutes later, failing to deal with Oezil out by the touchline and left in the midfielder's wake as he progressed into the area before squaring to Mueller to complete the rout. Much will be written about the ghost goal but, whilst it's undeniably true the second half would have had a different complexion had it counted, it's equally undeniable the better team won this one and they deservedly progress to the quarter-finals.

More refereeing controversy marred the second of the day's games, as Argentina saw off Mexico to set up a date with Germany. In a fascinating game between two good sides, Mexico had probably had the better of the opening twenty-five minutes, with Carlos Salcido thundering an effort against the Argentine crossbar. That changed when Carlos Tevez was allowed to head his side in front, despite being a clear two yards offside at the time. The Mexicans were rightfully furious and the incident may still have been playing on defender Ricardo Osorio's mind eight minutes later, as he committed a howler in ceding possession to Gonzalo Higuain on the edge of the area and the in-form striker gratefully rounded Oscar Perez and slotted home. Half-time saw a ruckus develop around referee Roberto Rosetti, with Mexico's players still righteously indignant but there was nothing wrong with Argentina's third, seven minutes after the restart, as Tevez hammered in a shot from distance that gave Perez absolutely no chance as it flew into the top corner. El Tri refused to lay down even at that stage and continued to push for a goal. One finally came with twenty minutes left, courtesy of Javier Hernandez's slick turn beyond Martin DeMichelis and explosive finish past Sergio Romero. It proved to be no more than a consolation, however, and it's the Albiceleste who go through to what promises to be an excellent encounter with the Germans.

Day 18

The Netherlands ease past Slovakia to take their place in the last eight, despite a below-par performance. This is a far more functional Dutch team than those of tournaments past but there's still talent in abundance and they went ahead just before the twenty-minute mark after a lightning break. Wesley Sneijder found Arjen Robben running into space up the left and found his team-mate with an inch-perfect, raking pass upfield. The winger collected the ball and jinked inside, before finding the bottom corner with a left-foot drive. Holland had played within themselves throughout most of the first half but raised the tempo a little mid-way through the second period and keeper Jan Mucha was forced to make a good stop from another stinging Robben effort and then block a close-range Floris Mathijsen effort with the middle of his face. As long as they were only a goal down, Slovakia were a long way from being out of things and it was Maarten Stekelenburg who was called into action next. The keeper first tipped over a Miroslav Stoch effort before pulling off an excellent reflex stop to deny Robert Vittek what looked to be a certain equaliser, though the Slovakian striker will think he should have done better. Sneijder was finally able to settle Dutch nerves with six minutes to go, after Dirk Kuyt had caught the Slovakian defence napping when latching onto Giovanni van Bronkhorst's hopeful lob forward and, with Mucha hopelessly committed out of his goal, laid the ball back for the midfielder to tuck away. Vittek did bag a late consolation from the spot, after making every effort to fall over Stekelenburg in the box, but the final whistle followed almost immediately and Oranje march on.

Neutrals' favourites Chile bow out after defeat at the hands of Brazil. Marcelo Bielsa's swashbuckling side had been a breath of fresh air during the group stage but the manager, perhaps understandably, plumped to revert to the more traditional back four against the attacking might of the Brazilians and, in truth, they barely threatened throughout the ninety minutes. The Selecao's opener came after thirty-four minutes, as Juan climbed well to hammer home a header from Maicon's corner, and they never looked back. A second followed four minutes after the first; Luis Fabiano effortlessly rounding Claudio Bravo after being picked out by Kaka's beautifully-weighted pass. The third goal came on the hour, with Ramirez galloping upfield unchallenged before laying the ball off to Robinho to provide the perfect finish just inside the far post and the much-derided Dunga now sees his side take on Holland in Friday's quarter-final. It certainly promises to be a rather different kind of confrontation between these two sides than previous encounters have been and should be fascinating to watch.

Day 19

Paraguay make it through to the last eight for the first time in their history after beating Japan in a penalty shoot-out. Neither the Paraguayans nor the Japanese had ever been beyond this stage before so perhaps it was understandable these two, basically conservative, sides failed to produce a classic. The Blue Samurai generally set out their stall to contain and hit on the counter and there was no change of tactics, here, though with Gerardo Martins's side equally cautious, it was always unlikely to reap many dividends. Lucas Barrios briefly lit up the first half with a nifty bit of footwork before seeing his shot saved by Eiji Kawashima and a flurry of subsequent ambition saw Daisuke Matsui throp a shot off the top of the crossbar before Roque Santa Cruz squandered the half's best chance when firing wide from ten yards. The second half came and went and, though Nelson Valdez forced a sharp stop from Kawashima in extra time, so too did the additional thirty minutes and the first penalty shoot-out of the World Cup had arrived. With both Kawashima and Justo Villar tending to commit themselves a little early, we were denied a moment when a goalkeeper is suddenly able to claim glory and it was Yuichi Komano's effort against the bar that finally proved the difference, with all five Paraguayan kicks converted. It remains a bleeding horrible way to exit a championships but someone has to draw the short straw and, whilst Japan have my sympathy, it's lovely to see the Guarani finally progress to the last eight, at the fifth time of asking.

Spain edged past Portugal to take up the final place in the last eight. The Spanish started with a flourish, the ever-reliable Eduardo forced into a diving save from Fernando Torres in the first minute and also called into action to deny David Villa on two occasions shortly after. The Portuguese, though, recovered well to deny their neighbours' midfield the time and space they need to weave their pretty patterns. It was they who perhaps came the closest to opening the scoring, with Hugo Almeida mis-timing a header in front of goal, Tiago unable to direct his flying attempt on target and Iker Casillas hugely relieved to see Almeida's cross deflect of Carlos Puyol and drop just wide of his post. On the hour, Vincente del Bosque decided to change things and withdrew the labouring Torres for big Fernando Llorente, having clearly seen the quietly impressive and surprisingly mobile Almeida cause his own central pairing no end of problems. We have to assume Carlos Quieroz was watching the same game we all were but, incredibly, he decided to withdraw his big front man for the returning Danny at the same time. The dynamic of the game changed immediately and within five minutes Spain were ahead. Xavi Hernandez looked offside when Andres Iniesta's pass reached him but the linesman kept his flag down and the midfielder back-heeled the ball through to the marvellous David Villa. Though Eduardo saved the striker's first effort, Villa reacted quickly to spoon the rebound in off the underside of the crossbar and put his side in charge, with the Portuguese never looking likely to make up the deficit. Referee Hector Baldassi can take a lot of credit for his steadfast refusal to be conned all game, though perhaps Portugal's reputation going before them did for one or two decisions they maybe could have been given, but the Argentine had no choice but to send off Portugal right-back Ricardo Costa for an attempted elbow on Joan Capdevila late on. Yes, the Spaniard made the most of it (would we expect anything else?) but, had Costa really connected, the left-back could have been done some serious damage.

On to Part Five for the denouement.