England 0 Portugal 0

[bob fleming]

Rooney stamped on the guy's balls.

I doubt Ronaldo has any.

BTW your contribution to this thread has done my blood pressure no good whatsover.

[AxesFirstTouch]

When they tell us how gutted they are it won't sound very convincing, you made the bed guys and now you have to lay in it.

England players showing emotion in the interviews? A prepared script full of cliches quoted in their monotone voices.

[Rovermatt]

I doubt Ronaldo has any.

BTW your contribution to this thread has done my blood pressure no good whatsover.

I'm sorry I suppose.

Please be calm Bob, you're one of the funniest posters on here. You always get my vote in the Groobys.

The pressure on England players just seems to be higher going into major tournaments than anyone else. Our media build the team and players up to enormous heights and then can't wait to crucify someone when they mess up. It must be on the player's minds as they step up to take a penalty.

The awareness of the press's possible reaction was certainly evident in some of the post-match comments-Steven Gerrard's in particular.

Edited July 2, 2006 by Rovermatt

[SouthAussieRover]

Can someone please explain to me the rules re simulation?

Was the penalty for simulation not a yellow card?

The referee should have booked the likes of Maniche for their play acting.

Were you watching Septic Bladder?

Edited July 2, 2006 by SouthAussieRover

[AlanK]

As much as we are all dissapointed, I get the impression many feel the same as me especially Rev.

We knew we had the players but not the manager.

We know we have bluffed our way through to this stage a lot like Brazil have.

We never looked like winning it and are therefore not actually that suprised we are out which takes the edge away from defeat.

From the moment the squad was announced up until the pens we never really had a hope in hell did we?

I hope to god that it was not Mclaren pulling the strings. None of us wanted him as gaffer but he is so lets get behind him and hope Sven was shackling him like he did the players.

As for Sven, he cheated the Rovers and must have had something over the FA to have remained in position. 3 tournaments, 3 quarter finals when teams like Greece are winning. I don not know one English football fan who will miss him or give 2 hoots where he goes.

We carried on partying last night to celebrate his departure.

Good riddance.

[Mr. E]

This game, as well as England's world cup, was over when Rooney was sent-off. I mean sure the team held it's own even down to 10 men....but c'mon, you're not gonna win with Peter Crouch alone upfront. This was ofcourse vastly due to Sven's shortsightedness, but the red card was the deathblow for this game.

As for the penalties - it's simple - England can't win a game on penalties, no matter how well they are prepared. As soon as the ref blew the whistle for the end of the 120 mins, England were out.

[rover6]

Why, why, why, why, why did the stupid imbeciles at the FA not give the England job to Scolari or Martin O'Neill?!

The very thought of that English Sven taking over the reins is making me physically sick. What is the point of qualifying for tournaments when that dunderhead (who is culpable along with Sven) will ensure we won't win?

The current crop of English players are the best we've had for so long - better than the 1990 squad. We just need a manager who can motivate and has tactical nouse.

FFS We might have been better of with Souness in charge.

Edited July 2, 2006 by rover6

[Ozz]

Well at least we got rid of Captian Beige

Beckham Cries Like a girl.

[Hasta]

I'm too rough to read back though the thread sorry but judging by this page obviously opinion differs. A few quick points though.

Rooney was being fouled before the 'incident'. Rooney put his foot on the guy but I don't believe he stamped on him. He didnt really have anywhere else to put his foot. The referee looked like he was taking no action whatsoever until Rooney pushed Ronaldo. The ref may well say he sent him off for a stamp after reviewing the pictures but I think the reaction of the Portuguese and the push where what go the red card.

Errikson has been a complete failure. His reluctance to drop his favourites has cost us. To sum it up we played better and looked more threatening with 10 men than we had done in any of the other 4 games. Why? Because Beckham was out, Lennon was in and suddenly we had genuine threatening pace.

At the start of the tournament I knew we couldnt win it, as I did in 2004, with SGE in charge. If Mclaren gets it right this group of England players will go very close in 2008. Unlike Rover6, I will reserve judgement on Steve Mclaren. He took risks to chase games at Boro during the UEFA cup last season that Sven wouldnt even dream of. Put it this way, its certainly not a backward step.

Forgot to say , that Hargreaves can play a bit too.

Edited July 2, 2006 by Hasta

[rover6]

Anyone want Hargreaves at Rovers now?

Why did it take so long for England fans to see his true talents? Because Sven was using him as a right back/left winger/ general dogsbody for nearly ALL his reign.

[RevidgeBlue]

Why, why, why, why, why did the stupid imbeciles at the FA not give the England job to Scolari or Martin O'Neill?!

The very thought of that English Sven taking over the reins is making me physically sick. What is the point of qualifying for tournaments when that dunderhead (who is culpable along with Sven) will ensure we won't win?

The current crop of English players are the best we've had for so long - better than the 1990 squad. We just need a manager who can motivate and has tactical nouse.

FFS We might have been better of with Souness in charge.

Don't disagree with you there but a few weeks ago you thought Sven was a genius for picking Theo Walcott.

I just think the last five years have been a complete waste. Years of meaningless friendlies when he made 9/10 substitutions etc and he arrived at the World Cup still without a clue as to his best line/up formation etc.

McClaren now has to be brave and bin Beckham who has completely gone the odd free kick apart. A harsh word or two with our other goldenboys Gerrard and Lampard wouldn't go amiss either.

[rover6]

Don't disagree with you there but a few weeks ago you thought Sven was a genius for picking Theo Walcott.

Please don't pedal this one.

I supported Sven on picking Walcott because it seemed to me that he was shaking of his obsession with pandering to the media, club managers and players.

For once he got people's noses up by leaving out Defoe and Bent. He actually backed his own judgment for once. I was fooled into thinking he had changed and had a plan.

Ultimately, I was wrong but not for one moment did I think Sven was a good manager. My now infamous signature stated that Sven had restored a 'modicum' of my faith in him.

On numerous occasions I have sparred with Flopsy, arguing that despite Sven managing to qualify England for tournaments and getting out of the group stage, he was a crap manager - and I stick to that.

[American]

One reason for the loss: Sven.

Imagine if Crouch and Rooney had started up front together with Cole-Hargreaves-Gerrard-Beckham in midfield. England would have destroyed that Portugal team with this lineup. Part of the problem/reason for not doing it was wanted Lampard and Gerrard out there together. Another part of it was knowing if one of the strikers got injured or tired, there was no one to bring on as a sub.

And Flopsy, 1000 times on the chalk board: Hargreaves is a god and Flopsy is an idiot for harping on about his selection.

[rover6]

American, totally right. That central midfield that should have started day one of this tournament.

However, Sven did not have the fortitude to drop Lampard (who is inferior to Gerrard).

BTW: If Flopsy's going to do his lines, i may as well do mine. 1000 times: "Sven likes 17 year old boys who aren't ready for international footy."

[adopted scouser]

It's been summed up hasn't it.

Argentinian Ref

Half fit Rooney

No Owen

Lamps cant score for the life of him

Manager picks Walcott over Defoe or Bent - and then doesn't play him.

Two of the best midfielders in the world cannot convert a penalty

How in the hell did anyone thing England would win this thing?

[greggyk]

It's amazing how when England lose it hurts so much more than when Rovers lose or having a ###### season.

[des]

now that we are out, can someone tell me why we picked our next england boss before the world cup.

the fa must of know that all the good ones would be tied up until after the world cup. suelry it would of made more sense to wait, let things settle dowm them pick the next boss.

As it is we have a boss who for me while he may be a ok coach as a manager he is not rated yet, well at least by me.

[Ianrally]

It's been summed up hasn't it.

Argentinian Ref

I "half" heard on the radio on Friday, that although he is an Argentinian national, he was actually born in Portugal.

Was I hearing things, did anyone else hear this?

[Rovermatt]

Forgot to say , that Hargreaves can play a bit too.

I thought Hargreaves was the best England player by a mile yesterday. He ran up and down for 120 minutes and dispatched his penalty with minimum of fuss. England fans see very little of him for obvious reasons, but he certainly undermined some of the mindless heckling he has been given in the past. You don't start in midfield for Bayern Munich without being able to play a bit.

Edited August 15, 2006 by Rovermatt

[T4E]

It's amazing how when England lose it hurts so much more than when Rovers lose or having a ###### season.

Thats simple.

With Rovers we are all realistic. We know the limitations and can manage expectations accordingly.

With England, reality is suspended. The hype is believed and usually well balanced individuals turn a blind eye to the obvious and buy in to the media rubbish.

The inevitable eventually returns, but hurts way more than it should be allowed to.

[Paul]

It's amazing how when England lose it hurts so much more than when Rovers lose or having a ###### season.

Sorry! If Rovers lose it hurts a damn site more than Englamd losing..........for me anyway.

[FourLaneBlue]

Thats simple.

With Rovers we are all realistic. We know the limitations and can manage expectations accordingly.

With England, reality is suspended. The hype is believed and usually well balanced individuals turn a blind eye to the obvious and buy in to the media rubbish.

The inevitable eventually returns, but hurts way more than it should be allowed to.

Regardless of the hype...there is still always a chance that England can actually win the whole thing. Look at this tournament...we've been pretty damn poor yet were only a penalty shootout away from the semis!

Alas...Rovers don't have a chance to win the league.

[T4E]

England are consistently poor in World Cup finals. Poor teams do not win World Cups. From that point of view, it was never going to happen.

We can argue til the cows come home how good the team looks on paper (pretty damn good, for the record), but when it comes to the crunch, you have to perform. England rarely do. When was the last time England beat a genuine contender for a major trophy in a knockout game?

[FourLaneBlue]

Spain...and we needed penalties to do that!

There is always a chance though, however small or unrealistic, which isn't shared when looking at Rovers winning the league.

[T4E]

I thought of Spain but ruled it out due to the penalties thing. Arguable they were contenders too....

I think the Rovers/England thing is a bit skewed. England winning the World Cup and Rovers winning the league are not directly comparable, admittedly. A better comparison would be CL qualification - something we flirted with last season. Its not beyond possibility, as Everton showed. However, when Rovers failed to make it, most of us were philosophical and took it rather well. For some reason that balanced viewpoint doesn't translate to international football.