Tonight was England's final

Tonight was England's final

Didn't find your answer?

I say well done to England. They have progressed beyond the group stages. OK, so they will be knocked out in the next round. So what. They can hold their heads high after coming top of their group. Well played lads and congratulations on a fine achievement.
Tony Kelly

Replies (11)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By AnonymousUser
04th Jul 2006 11:52

Why England lost to Portugal
The reasons why England lost to Portugal:

There are 2 primary reasons as to why England lost:

1. The presence of a round object on the field, without which play would be easier
2. The presence of the opposing team, which also does not help things

Essentially it is the second reason that is of most importance, as the Portuguese, after showing up, did not adjust to England's game tactics, which is fundamentally against the rules of fair play. Having full knowledge of Rooney's temperament, they should have taken every effort to not enrage him. This includes passing him the ball, allowing him to come into space, and encouraging him to nutmeg 3 of their defenders in series, purposefully positioned on the field in eye-pleasing geometric patterns and positions. In fact, Ricardo Carvalho should have been honoured to have the Holy Foot of England, for which all the land was praying for, land on his crotch, not displeasured by it. As far as the FA is concerned, it was Carvalho that brutally attacked and sexually harassed Rooney with his crotch in broad daylight amongst thousands of witnesses. If you look at the video replay you can see that Carvalho moved while on the ground in anticipation of Rooney's foot being planted on his groin.

Ancillary reasons include unfair FIFA rules whereby both teams have a goal of equal size and take penalties in turn. As the inventors of the game, the English should have the natural advantage of not being allowed to lose, as mandated by the official rules set out by the Federation. The opposing team should be given some hope of winning through the presence of a goal, though its size should be smaller than the ball when inflated.

The stab in the heart was provided by the appointment of a biased and incompetent referee for the match in question. First of all, the referee should have been English, preferably Graham Poll. And secondly, he should be supplied with a separately colored set of cards for Rooney: white, yellow-ish, yellow, orange, green and red.

The English players played very well. They attempted to pass the ball to their partners, but their partners rarely received the ball, which is a fault of the partners of our players, not of our players. The Portuguese, however, played poorly, not to mention the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo should have been sent off for:
a) running for 40 yards without rest, which is illegal, and
b) for winking to his bench, which is also strictly sanctioned.

Let us hope that FIFA reform will prevent the scandalous events that are aforementioned...

Thanks (0)
avatar
By AnonymousUser
22nd Jun 2006 10:53

My own view is that if they win,
it will be despite the manager, not because of his selections etc.
For example, I would question Beckham now being captain. He has had his day, and now his performances are mediocre at best.
Also, in the game against Sweden his key players should have been rested a bit more.
I would have experimented with the lineup in the first half and made changes if required in the second half.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By AnonymousUser
21st Jun 2006 12:54

Human beings
Most human beings have an inherrant need to belong to a group. In the past this may have been a life and death thing as groups provided security, food and procreation. Obviously things have moved on but the desire for belonging is still very strong. This is why football fans wear colours so that they can be easlily associated with their "tribe". I would refer you to Desmond Morris "Soccer tribe" or Nick Hornby "Fever Pitch" for full chapter on this aspect.

Although now quite multi-cultural, England comprises essentially an Anglo-Saxon population with some real identity problems. Compare us to Scots, Welsh or irish who experience no such problems is defining and understanding their cultural hertitage. The mass support for the England football team therefore provides an easy way for many people to feel that national belonging and to exercise it. Ditto royal weddings, jubilee and other flag waving opportunities.

Our national ill at ease I think stems from the factors you allude too. At one point England had an empire and most people at the time felt proud of this achievement. We now realise that this was built in the main on slavery and oppression either economic or physical and that has left a void. The flag of St George was stolen by the extremists & biggots which kind of leaves nothing for the group to grab hold of. In this context you might view the England mania in a more positive light as in the main it is a harmless expression of the sort of emotions that people in say Argentina have no problem with.

Does that answer your question at all?

PS I think your passion for human rights is an admirable one.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By tomtrainer
21st Jun 2006 13:02

Steven
Yes, it does. Quite thoroughly, in fact.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By tomtrainer
21st Jun 2006 10:49

Steven
Yes: human rights (that's the clean answer, anyway). I find it much easer to be passionate about human rights than football, "dull and unrewarding" though it may be.

I absolutely respect, however, that some people have different priorities to mine, and accept that football is very entertaining.

The real question, though, was not about why people like football, but about their reasons for supporting a team comprised of their compatriots. Why should I (or anyone else), as an English person, support England over any other team? What do I lose if England loses?

Given the UK's support for brutal Latin American dictators in the past, maybe I should support a Latin American team; Argentina maybe, by way of an apology for the Belgrano (one of the few times we stopped supporting their dictators).

Thanks (0)
avatar
By taylorag
21st Jun 2006 12:53

Why not support Argentina?
After all, they are going to win it.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By taylorag
21st Jun 2006 17:30

Steven, It was Britain that had the Empire.
I hate to be pedantic, but it does upset us Celts when England and Britain are used interchangeably.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Liam2002
22nd Jun 2006 01:27

There's some mileage in the old horse yet
I disagree, they will get to the last 4, possibly last 2. There needs to be a coup within the team to make this happen, however. Sven's decisions have been poor all along.
Let's take last night's game for example:
(a) This game was his only opportunity to use Walcott. His failure to use him (for pace) together with Rooney is inexplicable. Crouch has been disastrous, the three bounces in the 6 yard area of the england goal that cost us a victory over Sweden were the fault of Sol Campbell, Beckham and Crouch, who stood in the net behind the hapless robinson and headed the ball north.
(b) Owen's departure is a good sign; england have always done better after taking him off
(c)hargreaves did well last night, and Rooney showed Gazza signs of brilliance. Generally the team were excellent in the first half, and then Sven spoke with them.
(d) Donkey shold have started in goal, as Robinson is off form
Bring on Neville, expand the midfield to include Gerrard, Lampard and Terry, stick Rooney up front and tie Rio to the left side of the goal post
Its not over by a long shot, lets hope the players organise themselves and do what they do best, England to win (from an irishman!)

Thanks (0)
avatar
By tomtrainer
21st Jun 2006 07:21

Patriotism?
Why do people feel compelled to support a particular team simply because the players were born in the same country as them, and why do they allow their emotions to be dictated by that team's success or failure?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By AnonymousUser
21st Jun 2006 10:17

Passion
Do you not have a passion Tom? Is there not something in your life that absorbs, frustrates and excites you in equal measure? If football is not your thing then that is just fine but it's a long, dull and unrewarding life if you don't have a "thing" at all.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By AnonymousUser
21st Jun 2006 09:59

Value for money ?
Probably opening a can of worms here but...

If you were employing a team who cost as much as the England Squad, wouldn't you expect them to do considerably better than just reach the knock out stages ??

Maybe they should be given quarterly appraisals like the rest of us and if they don't meet the grade - get rid !!

Or maybe their salaries should be based on a scorecard which includes number of goals scored, quality of passing, number of sucessful saves etc. etc. It might help focus the mind.

Is it too late to apply for Sven's job ??

Thanks (0)