Not a great performance from England but luckily Ecuador were much worse on the day. Good goal from Beckham. Pitchside temperature was apparently 36 degrees celsius so you can see why it wasn't a high-tempo game - that's hotter than any of the matches in Japan/South Korea in 2002! 
The only reason I can think of that so many of the England players are off form is because they are utterly clueless as to the tactics Sven wants them to employ in any particular game. It must be said that I also think Sven is utterly clueless as to the tactics he wants to employ! I'm getting sick of the pundits here praising Lampard because he was useless once again. Scuffed all his chances for shots and wasted a few chances to set Rooney up with poor passes. He's the new Paul Scholes - sometimes he scores goals but if he doesn't he offers nothing else to the team.
Enough about England though - wasn't the Portugal/Holland game the most bizarre you've ever seen? If it had gone to extra time I'm sure the game would have been abandoned eventually as I could see one or other of the sides having another couple of players sent off! That's what happens when the referee obeys the letter of the law (as ordered by FIFA) and the players act like complete idiots throughout the game.
Most amusingly, Figo will probably get away with his headbutt because the referee booked him at the time and there is a kind of 'double jeopardy' rule which states players cannot be punished twice for an incident. Quite how the referee felt able to give a yellow card for an offence which neither he nor the other officials saw, I'll never know.
The missing players for Portugal ought to make us favourites for that game but unfortunately, I fully expect another limp Svengland Quarter-final defeat. The sooner he's gone the better. Unfortunately, our manager in waiting, Steve McClaren, is cut from the same cloth as Sven but without the interesting private life.
The only reason I can think of that so many of the England players are off form is because they are utterly clueless as to the tactics Sven wants them to employ in any particular game. It must be said that I also think Sven is utterly clueless as to the tactics he wants to employ! I'm getting sick of the pundits here praising Lampard because he was useless once again. Scuffed all his chances for shots and wasted a few chances to set Rooney up with poor passes. He's the new Paul Scholes - sometimes he scores goals but if he doesn't he offers nothing else to the team.
Enough about England though - wasn't the Portugal/Holland game the most bizarre you've ever seen? If it had gone to extra time I'm sure the game would have been abandoned eventually as I could see one or other of the sides having another couple of players sent off! That's what happens when the referee obeys the letter of the law (as ordered by FIFA) and the players act like complete idiots throughout the game.
Most amusingly, Figo will probably get away with his headbutt because the referee booked him at the time and there is a kind of 'double jeopardy' rule which states players cannot be punished twice for an incident. Quite how the referee felt able to give a yellow card for an offence which neither he nor the other officials saw, I'll never know.
The missing players for Portugal ought to make us favourites for that game but unfortunately, I fully expect another limp Svengland Quarter-final defeat. The sooner he's gone the better. Unfortunately, our manager in waiting, Steve McClaren, is cut from the same cloth as Sven but without the interesting private life.
