Sorry if this is over long and a rant.

Ronaldo Cheated?

No he didn't. What he did do was appeal to the ref to penalise Rooney for his tackle on a team mate. Rooney lost his cool because he was frustrated with the game, he wasn't getting enough of the ball and felt let down by a club mate (Ronaldo).
Reality is that country always comes before club and Ronaldo acted predictably putting his loyalty to his country first.
You can't really blame him for that but English soccer fans will blame him and his life will be hell next season, for sure. Sad but true and I will probably join in, none of us are perfect.

The ref was biased?

No he wasn't he made some lousy calls against both teams but he made more fair and good ones.

The Real Reasons?

(1) Sven's Tactical Mistakes.
Lets start with why the hell did he take 3 goalies and more midfielders than he ever needed and yet only took four strikers. We were doomed from the first minute of the first match when Owen went down. We had no viable replacement forcing Sven to play a makeshift system that he hadn't allowed for. Basically, we had no plan B.

(2) Sven's slavish alliegance to David Beckham and not having the guts to play Aaron Lennon who has all the pace needed to scare the opposition.

(3) Sven not fielding the right team. I personally would not have played Lampard after the first couple of matches, he is brilliant for Chelsea but was not on form of late.

(4) Playing Rooney as the lone up front man was bound to lead to that red card. Young Wayne is best playing just behind the front man where he can get around drop deep and make the play. He is inhibited up front on his own. If the England management had any knowledge of psychology they might have predicted that the lad would get frustrated. Imho, although Rooney is not blameless, the idiots who put him in that position must shoulder a high percentage of the responsibility for his sending off. Lesson there, know your players.

(5) Sven's conservatism and defensive tactics. It's great to have a good strong defence but we need a strategy which allows creativity in midfield and attacking players to do just that.


The FA and Club Greed

The English season is too long, leaving our players knackered or injured for major tournaments. We all know that the the winning team is just that a team England are too often a good side with great individuals who have never had the opportunity to gel as a team, get to know each others games and work properly together. Time is the issue. The Premiership is too big, too important and whilst the clubs have the power and the FA is too weak as p*** to do anything about it we will never win a major tournament so we might as well get used to it because I can't see it changing.

Finally - We lost because we can't take penalties.
Watever the reason, we lose our nerve. When Lamps came forward to take his kick, I could see the fear in his eyes, I knew it wasn't going in. After that it was downhill all the way.

Will Portugal Win The Cup?
No, I don't think so. I reckon it's Germany's for the taking but I wish Portugal well in their semi final.

I dearly wish it was England going through, but it isn't I am over it but I blame all the reasons above and not either of the two teams on the field this afternoon who both played their hearts out.

Well done and agreed on most points.

The very notion that Ronaldo cheated for simply appealing to the referee is odiously stupid.

Good analysis.

Nice, clear and realistic post Jezz, congrats and better luck next time

finnally a good opinion

Thanks mate, I hope we can get it right next time.

Completely agree with you - great post

You don´t seem to be British.

Hikaru3 I am English through and through.
I support my team and my country that doesn't mean I have to lose all sense of reason, nor am I a bad loser.
We lost and I am p***** off about it but I have moved on and hope we get it right next time.
Thank you.

Thanks mate, I am p***** off we lost but we must move forward. Sadly, I am not sure that McClaren is the right man to take us onwards and upwards.

Why England lost ???!!
Just because you're not good enough. Look at your goalkeper !! And Crouch, what a edited by yeek - watch the language joke.........
So pleased you're crying once again.
Ahahahahahahah

I agree, I think England have made yet another mistake with the selecting McClaren as manager to succeed Sven, but only time will tell.

Grow up. I am not crying at all, I made a reasoned post.

Shouldn't you be going to bed early for school tomorrow?

I agree with the other guy.... you needed tecnicians at the front, not a post!!!!

[img]http://img362.imageshack.us/my.php?image=crouch4aj.jpg[/img] made by _No20_ hiihi



respecttttt to all football fans!!!! the true ones! PORTUGALLLL

Nice one Jezz, finally someone that isn't trying to make stupid excuses for England's loss. At the end ofthe day they lost and that is it, nothing will change that now so may aswell get used to the fact.

Nice one jezz. great post. I am french and im sick of english people ranting and making excuses for why they lost!

england lost because they choked...AGAIN.

ive never seen a more nervous team taking penalties than that england team yesterday.

Spot on Jezz, I think you covered just about everything there, although I would have said a bit more about Sven's inability to motivate players, his tactical ineptitude, and - as was pointed out before the tournament started by anyone with even half a brain - his ridiculous squad selection, which was proved to be every bit as stupid as most people thought.

Somehow I don't think anyone will be paying him £5 million a year again - I'm not sure anyone will want him at all. A great con-man, but a football manager???

Excellent post Jezz.
And England fans always need an excuse or a scapegoat, and I'm afraid Ronaldo will not enjoy his next season here.

A very fair post, Jezz, and refreshing as well. If I may throw in my tuppence worth?

I’ve nothing against England, the country. Their people are by and large and on the whole, more good than bad. In terms of national traits there is more that unites us (the Scots) than divides us. (Overall I mean. There are some distinctions, primarily in a cultural sense.)

Yet the English football team……
I LOATHE them. With a passion. I NEVER tire of watching them fail.
Why?
Well, the reasons are many.
The English football hierarchy are a self-deluding bunch. They honestly believe that the English football team belong at the World football top table. Yet what evidence is there to back this up?
Since 1966 (and only then with the most monsterous good fortune), with very few exceptions, they have failed (by the standards they set themselves) at major tournaments. Every failure brings a new round of hand wringing and scapegoat hunting. They can NEVER accept they were not good enough. It is only the, frankly bizarre and cartel-like, UEFA and FIFA seedings and world rankings that has given them relatively easy draws that allows them to progress to the last eight of these tournaments. Almost without exception, when they come up against a team with the slightest merit, they lose. Yet they still feel it a divine right to be ranked amongst the elite.

But any manager that took the England job and told the truth – “We do not have the players to match the worlds best. Hopefully, with the right blend of organisation, fitness and team spirit, we can progress. But as long as our League is a play ground for agents to top up the retirement funds of overpaid foreigners, then English talent will fail to progress to a good enough level.”
Any manager that said that would immediately be slaughtered by the media and would not have a chance.
Aaaah the media.
They are scum on a level that goes a long, long way beyond football. More Scottish people than ever before entered into this World Cup trying to at least be neutral with regards to England but the press and the pundits blew that magnanamous attitude away with some bizarre complacency and some of the most absurd hype I've ever heard.

In a way I feel sorry for the players. Players such as Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Ferdinand and Cole (A and J) have never claimed to be world class. They, patently, are not. Yet they are lauded as such, because they look good in the “best league in the world”(sic).
This time, and many, many times previously, England were nothing like the best team in the tournament, not even close. They did and do not have the best collection of players, not even close. To claim they are in the top ten teams in the World is laughable. To claim they are in the top twenty would take selling skills worthy of Arnold Clark.

But that is no reason not to do well. Greece 2004, Denmark 1992, Sweden, Turkey and Bulgaria as semi finalists at various World Cups. Yet England are not allowed to copy the “pragmatic” or "workmanlike" style of these teams, because “they are better and have better players”.
I’m convinced Eriksson saw the limitations this time out (while outwardly building his players up) hence why he adopted the “careful” approach. Had it not, again as I said earlier, been for the seedings and a VERY favourable draw, they would not have got out of the group stage.

And then, there are the supporters.
Fifteen hundred plus arrests, with only frequent racists songs and bottle throwing, is deemed successful, because it is not as bad as it used to be. The self-awareness of these people makes me shake my head in disbelief.
So for as long as they remain a self deluded, non-self aware, jingoistic, arrogant football nation, I will continue to enjoy every failure.

Sorry if it sounds hard-hitting, and I must reiterate that I do not have the slightest problem with England. As soon as some amendments and character developments are sorted (see above) I may consider wishing them well in the future.

He'll develop much better in Spain.