[Football] England Vs France

[mayer]

frankly, if you're going to defend for 45 minutes, you don't deserve to win a game of football.

Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes & Neville seemed incapable of making a challenge anywhere between the halfway line and area, backing off and backing off inviting more and more pressure on King and Campbell.

having watched the other game today, England have every chance of quallifying from the group. if they back off attacking players off the quality of Viera and Zidane, then they don't have any possibility of winning this thing.

[Borboski]

To be honest as much as I'm happy to see France win (!!!) i do think France are a long way ahead and England were playing the way they should have done. It was only (ONLY!) a 20 minute period in the second half when they weren't really trying.

I would expect a much more attcking performance against the two also-ran nations.

[mayer]

England were playing the way they should have done

rubbish... if you're going to defend, fair enough. don't try and do it from your 18 yard box, it rarely if ever works.

you can't play those sorts of defending tactics if your midfield refuses to make challenges.

i bloody wish i came online 25 minutes ago when me and my dad were yelping this at the telly, even though we were 1-0 up. when the goals went in we looked at each other, not with surprise or even disappointment, but resigned inevitability in our eyes. true.

[cptwhite]

HESSSSSKKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....................

[Hornet]

"Resigned inevitability" - that just about sums it up.

Bobby Robson said at half time we needed to survive the first 10 or 15 minutes, however, even after then we couldn't string any passes together.  Beckham missed after Rooney's brilliant run - that happens.  But Heskey's inept challenge and Gerrard's thoughtlessness means that progression now is going to be fucking difficult.

[Timmay]

Progression's going to be fucking difficult? What, a win and a draw against Switzerland and Croatia? I don't like to count my chickens, but it certainly doesn't strike me as "fucking difficult".

[Hornet]

Well I hope your optimism is well placed.  I think they are going to find it hard to lift themselves.

[king mob]

England will qualify & then lose in the quarters as David James throws the ball in the back of his net.

[mikeyg27]

England will qualify & then lose in the quarters as David James throws the ball in the back of his net.

To be fair, if James hadn't brought down Henry, then Henry would have scored anyway, and he should not have been put in that position in the first place. Blaming James is a tad harsh.

[Crazy Penis]

There were more decent passes in the formula 1 today than in the football.

[Doctor Stamen]

Ah well.  That's what happens when you pick Bluenoses.

[Regular John]

It was looking okay until Sven decided to switch Rooney for Heskey, a lumbering twat of a player who decides to kick across an opposition player not two inches away from TWO better placed defenders who would surely have blocked/tackled.

Had he switched Rooney for a midfield player then I don't think it would have gone that way at all.

[nooneherebutuschickens]

* If only Silvestre had been sent off as he should have

* If only Beckham had scored the penalty

* If only Rooney hadn't been taken off for Heskey

* If only Gerrard hadn't been hyped to fuck by everyone

* If only It's always if only's in big tournaments for England. It's always a piece of bad luck or unfair refereeing

They fucked up, and no excuses will change it.

[chimpoo]

optimisms well placed.  I said aloud just before Heskey's challenge that Zidane would win it spectacularly to set up a mouth-watering finalee (4th July).

neither team will feel like they actually lost that match.


Bar all that, blame the fans shouting 'are you totynam, are you tottnam, are you tottnam in disguise?  AARRREEEE  YOU TOTTNAM in DISGUISE?'

's enough to make anyone's mind wobble.

[nooneherebutuschickens]

Bar all that, blame the fans shouting 'are you totynam, are you tottnam, are you tottnam in disguise?  AARRREEEE  YOU TOTTNAM in DISGUISE?'

's enough to make anyone's mind wobble.

Blame the cunt fans for jeering the French during the national anthem.

[morgs]

It always happens.  I sat with a very rowdy bunch who became silent in the last few minutes.  The people who I watched this with said it was robbery and it was not fair.  These were the same people who felt that Man Utd were deserving of their win in Europe in 1999 against Bayern Munich.  France were very strong for most of the second half - the defeat was harsh, but certainly not 'totally unfair' as Beckham seemed to suggest afterwards (looking very shell-shocked).

England should qualify from the group if they can lift themselves.  From a slightly neutral perspective it was a cracking match, full of drama.

[morgs]

.......blame the fans shouting 'are you totynam, are you tottnam, are you tottnam in disguise?  AARRREEEE  YOU TOTTNAM in DISGUISE?'

's enough to make anyone's mind wobble.

We felt the England fans were singing 'Scotland', not Tottenham!

[Make me smile]

I thought we played fairly well  and france looked like they had blown themselves out before heskey's mistake gave zidane a kick up the arse.

yep, for 25 mins in the second half we had to defend, is that at all surprising? we were playing france for god's sake! and when we had to defend we defended well, we looked well organised and limited them going forward.

we'll have them in the final.

roll on thurs!

[chand]

* If only Beckham had scored the penalty

Or, if only Rooney had passed to the unmarked Vassell instead of trying to run past Silvestre.

[mangoliver]

I know we did nothing but defend for a 25 minute period in the second half but I thought we had survived the worst patach due to some great defending from Campbell & King.

In the ten or so minutes leading up to injury time Hargeaves/Vassell had gave much more of the ball in attacking areas and France had been reduced to lofting hopeful balls into the box. I thought we had ridden out the bad patch.

One stupid mistake from Heskey and an even worse mistake from Gerard and we've lost. I thought as a team we didn't deserve that.

We should still be able to beat Switzerland and Croatia though.

[hencole]

* If only Beckham had scored the penalty

Or, if only Rooney had passed to the unmarked Vassell instead of trying to run past Silvestre.

Exactly, he was lucky that he got tripped.

England just defended deep all game and did nothing. France likewise did nothing, but they did it in the England half which is where you score goals.

If only England knew how to pass the ball short and on the ground.

[New World Order]

It was an amazing game for the french though, its strange no ones made that point so far.  Imagine their delight, what a come back.  Not to mention that great free kick.


It looks like their going to make a sequel of that football violence film already.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3802125.stm

[king mob]

* If only Beckham had scored the penalty

Or, if only Rooney had passed to the unmarked Vassell instead of trying to run past Silvestre.

Exactly, he was lucky that he got tripped.

England just defended deep all game and did nothing. France likewise did nothing, but they did it in the England half which is where you score goals.

If only England knew how to pass the ball short and on the ground.

I dont think it was that bad for England as that, they played well in the first half but a few players (Owen especially) didnt perfom or make poor contributions(Scholes cannot defend the left or do as he did last night & hope Cole covers his arse) to the game.
There was a lot of positive points to take out the game, King was amazing in defense & formed a natural partnership with Campbell, Gerrard & Lampard looked a good central midfield & Rooney kept coming on in leaps & bounds (but needs to calm down).

The negative points do need to be sorted out in the next few games, Scholes is not the ideal left side solution & Owens performance was dire & he really should have been taken off at half time, the difference Hargreaves & Vassell made in the second half could make Sven consider starting with them if need be.
Heskey looked hopeless & every inch the cliche that people think he is & if he continues being this poor then his international career is over.
David James also lived up to his reputation & looked shakey during the extended periods of pressure England suffered in the 2nd half.

A French win was harsh on England but thats how it goes, Man Utd fans know what it was like to defend for 90 minutes and nick the game in the last minutes but no comment about that game from Clive Tyldsley which was odd.

England will qualify from the group, as said the other teams are poor to say the least but they have to sort their problems out before they play Spain in the quarter finals.

[Borboski]

A French win was harsh on England but thats how it goes, Man Utd fans know what it was like to defend for 90 minutes and nick the game in the last minutes but no comment about that game from Clive Tyldsley which was odd.

What with it being english commentary I can't complain too much, but compared to the bbc's coverage SHITV are so partisan it starts to grate. I can't stand Desmond's knowing looks to the camera as if to say;

"Eh! All you pikeys at home! Get ready to start shouting racial slurs!"

[king mob]

A French win was harsh on England but thats how it goes, Man Utd fans know what it was like to defend for 90 minutes and nick the game in the last minutes but no comment about that game from Clive Tyldsley which was odd.

What with it being english commentary I can't complain too much, but compared to the bbc's coverage SHITV are so partisan it starts to grate. I can't stand Desmond's knowing looks to the camera as if to say;

"Eh! All you pikeys at home! Get ready to start shouting racial slurs!"

Bit like ITV's ads taking the piss out of the BBC's ads which says "drink beer, watch footy & kick the fuck out your local city centre you UKIP voting plebs".

[Almost Yearly]

Yes, bring Heskey on. That'll do it.

Deep miff.

Inside Beckham's "mind," as he stepped up to take the penalty : I'll show them. I'll show them all how unaffected I am by that last missed penalty and not living up to my meeja image after all... And as for his fucking Tony Blair -style denial after the event. Jesus. Everyone in my pub had been screeching "Let Scholesy take it."

I waited very vocally all game for a Gerrard masterpiece, too. Sure got one.

Deep, deep miff.

[Partridge's Love Child]

Dear David James

When setting yourself for a direct freekick towards your goal, set the wall in front of the corner of the goal closest to the ball.  You should then situate yourself at the other end of the goal that is not covered by the defensive wall.  Do not stand in the middle of the goal, giving one of the all-time great players of World football a clear sight of the goal, you fucking stripe-chinned numpty.

Yours

Gutted, Tunbridge Wells.

I thought the game wasn't great, but both teams played well, which doesn't seem to make much sense.  For once in my life I actually thought brining on Heskey was a good idea, as we needed someone to use their size to hold the ball up field when it was being cleared, rather than having it come straight back to us.  But what does the hopeless fuckwit do?  He wanders back to the other end of the field and trys to mount a Frenchman.

I actually was predicting that to happen from about the 70th minute.  I was reckoning on an 86th miniute equaliser and an injury time winner.  When the free-kick went in, I wasn't actually as upset as I thought I might be, and thought to myself, "Oh well, at least they don't have time to get another one now."  Wrong.

[Jimmy]

I waited very vocally all game for a Gerrard masterpiece, too. Sure got one.

Deep, deep miff.

He was AWFUL wasn't he? Mind you Scholes didn't fare much better and hasn't performed properly for a while now.

I think most people could easily cope with us losing to France, but its the manner of the defeat. Gutting, absolutely gutting...

[hencole]

I thought Scholes played well and took his time on the ball before distributing it, rather than panic, and kick the ball upfield.

[Vermschneid Mehearties]

Bringing on Heskey was a very good idea, and he should have done it sooner. Neither Rooney or Owen were holding the ball up sufficiently. Plus, his foul was only due to the midfields complete lack of assertiveness at that point.

Beckham had the worst England game I've seen for ages, and I'm happy to completely blame him for the fact we lost. We wouldn't have if he coverted that penalty. Simple as that.

But as usual, we blame James and Heskey. Wonderful.

We should have brought on Butt instead of Hargreaves, and Dyer for Scholes, who was shit after he was yellow carded.

We were still robbed though, and I'm still very angry.