I'm doing the BBC News 24 Paper Review at 11.45pm tonight. I'm not looking forward to it. There will tabloid howls of outrage about England's general World Cup performance. But today there were a number of heroes on the pitch. Hargreaves, Rio, Ashley Cole, Gary Neville, Peter Crouch.There is only one man responsible for what has happened in Germany and he's Swedish. He took the wrong players and played the wrong formation. He never knew what his best team was and was unable to motivate the players. You just had to look at his demeanour after the penalty shoot out. John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and several others were in tears. Sven was walking round devoid of emotion. He knew he was about to talk into another job with a multi million pound salary. Sod off Sven. You won't be missed. (now I've calmed dopwn, I've toned it down...)
UPDATE: On a brighter note, Andy Murray is thumping Andy Roddick in the tennis.
Hargreaves certainly outplayed the stars, didn't he?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how whoever receives thorough media attention is told to "F OFF!". Rooney, Beckham, Sven, Blair, etc. Screw them all!
ReplyDeleteSven did all he could with a mediocre bunch of players. It's only English arrogance that led you to believe your team could accomplish anything more.
ReplyDeleteits a crime that the best crop of players we will (maybe) ever have were played in completely the wrong formation, which frustrated our best player to the point of lashing out (helped by disgraceful gamesmanship from Ronaldo). I'm so angry with Sven i cant put it into words...
ReplyDeleteSven-Goren and IDS - no-one ever satisfactorily explained to me where either of them came from, why they persisted in post, or why they might be missed.
ReplyDelete(and your word for N24 is "disproportionality"
Aaron, mediocre? You jest. At least 8 of them would get into any country's team. That makes trhem world class in my book.
ReplyDeleteAt least 8 England players would get into the sides of Brazil or Argentina? Are you sure?! Based on what I have seen, only Steven Gerrard and a fit Rooney would be classed as top players. England had a bad manager, but too many of the players just didn't deliver. They deserved to go out.
ReplyDeleteIt was the Portuguese goalkeeper wot lost it for us. I think you are being a little harsh on Sven. We have had a whole succession of England managers who couldn't do much better.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of that banner seen at Aberdeen when McLeish had managed Rangers to a disastrous season:
ReplyDelete'Alex, return to base - mission accomplished'
I can just imagine the same banner at the next Sweden game with Sven's name replacing Alex's
SCOLARI: "I've half a mind to apply to the FA for that England job."
ReplyDeleteERIKSSON: "Oh, you won't need that much..."
Come, come, be happy for Portugal - they are England's oldest ally! Or were...
ReplyDeleteWhat is important now is that the England team will have a country to play for in the next world cup or will we have nu Labour regional teams?
ReplyDeleteA surprise, I agree with Iain on a football issue - and Iain said something good about an Arsenal player!!
ReplyDeleteFor once I am going to agree with the boy Oakeshott. You must be mad if you think we have 8 players who could get into any team in the world. I can only think, based on your previous comments, that you think Frank Lumpard is a world class player and are therefore including the likes of him. Oakeshott is right, Gerrard, Rooney... and....errm, that's it!
ReplyDeleteBob, has the sun been getting to you? Agree with Michael Oakeshiit? Bloody hell. It's not often even I do that!
ReplyDeleteOk, so here's the 8
Rooney
Owen
Cole J
Cole A
John Terry
Rio
Gerrard
Lampard
Beckham
Ok I admit that I would now no longer include Beckham. He was shite today and has been all tournament, and I agree Big Fat Frankie hasn't been at his best. But I think most of these players would get into most teams' sides
Result "Absolute Disaster" for Portugal, says Hazel Blears.
ReplyDeleteWhat a load of rubbish Iain. I pride myself on being objective about football, you are blinded by club prejudice and wishful thinking. The Brazilians and Argies wouldn't have most of the names you mention in their squads.
ReplyDeleteI thought Ronney was the only man to blame.
ReplyDeleteBut then he ain't conviently Swedish....
Nadders, why would O'Neill wanty to manage England when Quinn is about to offer him £2m a year to resurect Sunderland?
ReplyDeleteI hope that was Beckham's last game for us, he was very poor throughout the tournament, as was Lampard - he may well have had more shots than anyone else, but how many of them hit the target? Joe Cole needs to learn that it's a team game and stop trying to do it all one his own.
McClaren needs to learn that England were at their best playing 4-4-2 with Downing and Lennon on the wings with a fit Rooney/Crouch/Owen (perm any two from three) up front.
We need to find some penalty takers with real intention and conviction.
Time to wipe away the tears and grab a beer!
I dunno much about football, but it seemed to me that there was plenty of chances for goals - most of which were scuffed, mis-hit or just missed by players who are apparently the best we have.
ReplyDeleteIf the system or coach was to blame, would those chances have occured? Is it really Sven's fault if the players can't finish golden opportunities?
As for Ronaldo, how can one who looks so cute be such a nasty piece of work.
The Brazilians and Argies did'nt win their semis either.
ReplyDeleteFor all their supposed better players.
You see, Sven is in fact a genius, in only four years England have advanced to the point where they go as far as Brazil in the World Cup.
ReplyDeleteWas no one else impressed by Aron Lennon... always thought he'd be good, some hope for the future at least :(
ReplyDeleteStill he should have been given more of a chance against Ecudor, rather than keeping a 1/2 fit Beckham.
All that said i think we'll be looking back fondly on the Sven era after a year or two of "Stevie Mac"... a O'Neil, Alladyce or Scolari would have started from scratch, as it is we'll have more of the same and it wont be good i fear :(
Still i can always hope Leicester City go up next season.
Sven deserves all the blame. The boys were tasked with making a silk purse out of a Swedish sow's ear. Everyone watching with me, and 100% of the soccer academics in the BBC studio, passed the same verdict: Sven's strategy was flawed in every possible way and all the players could do was obey orders and suffer. Beckham was clearly livid and who can blame him? If ever there was a case for outright mutiny, this was it. And the bastard had the cheek, after the match, to say the players had not been good enough. If Sven's time were not up, he would have been lynched by the fans before the FA could sack him. God help him when tomorrow's papers come out.
ReplyDeleteBloody disgraceful. No strikers to speak of: Rooney utterly alone in the Portuguese half for most of his time on the pitch and obviously furious about it. Ditto Crouch later. These two were asked to produce magic with neither hat nor rabbit.
The rest of the team were farting about in the wrong half of the pitch for 75 per cent of the time, while Portugal attacked, attacked, attacked. A Portuguese goal seemed imminent throughout the 90 minutes. Thank God for the defenders.
The England players could hardly pass the ball to a team-mate without Portugal nicking it and playing. I mean - playing football. When they passed the ball, there was a man waiting for it at every one of the 360 degrees around the man on the ball. When England kicked it, it was either long and piteously hopeful that someone would run to the right spot and collect it, or passed to the opposition.
All down to Sven's orders. Decent players - lousy plan.
Portugal deserved the win from about 10 minutes in, and not just on penalties.
It never fails to amaze me, that we are our own greatest critics when it comes to the world cup. We always do our team down, yet constantly, England is the ONLY team from Britain that make it this far.
ReplyDeleteEvery news report, every match, the lads took a kicking from the media and the fans.
Yet still Scots call the English arrogant.
It doesn't matter what we or say, that kind of inbred racism will always pour forth from that country, because it's part of their make up to slag off the English.
As for Murray, I don't care if he wins or loses. He's Scottish, not English. Like many others, I've adopted the Scottish mentality for sporting events.
However, unlike the Scots, I won't stoop to calling them arrogant, just because they're enjoying a fellow countryman doing well at something and I certainly wouldn't be pathetic enough to buy a t shirt with each of his opponents names on.
"Time to wipe away the tears and grab a beer!"...
ReplyDelete...and remember it's only a game.
England lost because they put only one penalty into the back of the net. l think Klinnsmann said that he didn't bother with penalty practice for his team - he thought it was a nerve thing and you couldn't train for it.
ReplyDeleteEndland didn't have nerve when it came down to it.
P.S. Highly amused how Andy Murray is being claimed for Britain! All thoughts of divorcing Scotland forgotton. Thank goodness for those successful Scots (P.M. Chancellor, nemesis of Roddick), eh?
I think sven and the media have bred a clture of fear in the england team. Our players were so hesitant except hargreaves and lennon. We didnt want the ball, didnt make runs, didnt help eachother out....complete lack of my favourite word - movement.
ReplyDeletein the past matches, belarus onwards we havent looked like scoring in open play. all from set pieces. thats the problem and its the managers fault for letting players think it is ok to play timidly and not to their best.
However, Euro 2008 we have a good back 4 a good midfield with lennon, not becks, and a good forward. pity bout the manager tho
Your politics is excellent but the football knowledge is sadly lacking, Iain.
ReplyDeleteThe primary culprits are Lampard and Gerrard, allegedly two of the best midfielders in the world, both of whom turned in display that would have shamed your average Fourth Division scuffler. Beckham's performances were little better but at least he created goals and scored.
Sven didn't cover himself in glory, but the blame lies with the players, not the manager.
"....why would O'Neill want to manage England when Quinn is about to offer him £2m a year to resurect Sunderland?
ReplyDelete1) The England job pays twice that much.
2) raising the bleedin' dead would be easier than resurrecting that shower of shite from last season.
Oh what a surprise. When in defeat the new mask of English Toryism slips and the old one emerges.
ReplyDeleteIt was of course the furriners fault. Some pickled herring eating Swede wot dunnit. How could anyone English make a mistake?
No, no, no. That horrible Portuguese thug stammped his balls on poor Wayne's metatarsil.
Anyway what's that now? Must be 40 years of hurt and ticking.
No wonder so many people love it up here when the inevitable happens and the fairy story excuse-making factory goes into operation.
anonymous (with a scottish bent):
ReplyDeleteHere's a deal. You can keep the loud-mouthed gobshite Murray for your own in Scotland. His triumphs will all be yours. God knows, after decades of backing utter losers he might challenge your national mentality, But....
In return can each of your deep fried mars bar guzzling, workshy, welfare addicted countrymen promise to return 90% of the £8500 the Government spent on each of them last year since it was nearly all paid for by English taxes?
Fair deal?