The Good McCarthy scored. His volley just after they equalised also showed great technique. First look I think he'll do OK. His partnership with Roberts looks like it could trouble a lot of defences provided the refs let them get away with a bit. They got away with a hell of a lot more of backing and tussling tonight than Bellers or Dickov would have. Zurab, having just returned from injury, looked our best defender out there by a fair way. Emerton can do a job at right back if needed. Not sure what he'd be like up against Lennon, Robben or Ronaldo though The Bad Under pressure, we sat back and wilted like the bygone days of Souey. You could see the goal coming long before it did. Todd was lucky with the penalty and lets himslef down with silly blocks or tackles. MGP was anonymous. He redeems himself with a high goalscoring rate but he gets very few crosses in from the left, has little pace and contributes nothing. However he does score goals which, one game apart, is more than David Bentley. He was woeful. The Ugly Kevin Kilbane. The worst player to make a consistant living in the Premier League. Probably.

I'm not saying he's bad, hes a good player but once again his price is over-inflated due to his nationality.

£6.2mill. IMO that is too big a fee for someone who, whilst being fast and direct, lacks cutting edge and an end product to his talent.

Powerage - ACDC

I was wondering if bitterness at our own downfall was clouding our judgement with us all labelling Portugal the cheating enemy of football. Good to see tonight proved our judgement was correct. Sure other team do it but not to the extent of what we saw tonight. More or less any contact led to a player going down. When the BBC highlighted the 5 or 6 dives in the box at the end of the program it showed it for the disgrace it was.

Firstly I wouldnt actually play my suggestion. I'd drop Lampard. I was merely pointing out there were far better ways to accomidate Gerrard and Lampard. Lennon obviously looks now like he should be first choice but had Lennon not arrived on the scene in the last few months Gerrard on the right was a logical choice. Doing this would have been a way in which they could have both played in the side. Gerrard plays there at times for Liverpool, can do what Beckham does and has more chance of getting past the full back. I muted Lennon on the left only as a possibility. Gerrard and Joe Cole have obviously proved innefective as left midfielders. If Lennon proved (which he hasnt) that he could play effectively on the left would it not be better to have an effective player on either wing than a very effective player on the right and nothing on the left.

Fair points herbergeehh but I'd rather have a blood and thunder premier league game where chances are created due to both teams going forward and chances caused pressure on the defneces and mistakes. A half of football littered with misplaced pasess and long hoofs up front which generates 10 shots on goal will always appear more exciting to me than 45 minutes of playing the ball around (very skillfully may I point out) up to and around the area but very little goalmouth action. On another point did any else think that when Lehamnn tried to 'do a schumacher' (© David Pleat 2006), that he did actually try to knobble the italian after he'd punched the ball.

Sven should never, after nearly 6 years in charge, have ended up changing right at the end to 3-5-1 purely because he didnt take another striker except one he was obviously unprepared to use. When you think about it that really sums the turkey of a manager up. To insist that he knows what he's doing all the way through 6 whole years and then at the last minutes have to change his entire formation. Why. Because he didnt bother to take any strrikers apart from ones he didnt trust enough to use. Most people with a football brain know that putting you eleven best players on the pitch isnt enough. Some have to be sacrificed for the good of the team. Getting the balance right is far more important. I know that may mean with injuries we end up playing players who arent first choice or who fall short of the level we are playing at. But if the system is right, and the other players are good enough, it gives a better chance of winning than changing everything around just to get your buddies on the pitch. Had Sven gambled on Bent, Beattie or even Ashton in the 4th striker role people would have just looked at them as fodder in the squad. Yet at least they would have had the experience to have come on and done a role alongside Rooney. Of course now Sven had realised after god knows how many years that Gerrard and Lampard couldnt play together in the centre this would have meant dropping goldenbollocks on the right wing so it was a no-brainer from the start. Foreign managers are fine if they are more or less the best man for the job. Sven was nowhere near that. Thank god this tool is finally gone.

If you mean when Lennon went through Eddie then Nuno Valente played the ball. Brilliant tackle under the circumstances.

Knock the commentary off so you don't have to put up with David Pleats semi-orgasmic statements and the game was pretty average in 90 minutes. Sure, plenty of nice passing around the middle of the park but a lack of final ball and hardly any shots on target. My Dad, who's practically deaf, commented that it was hardly a classic just seconds after David Pleat said it was one of the classic 0-0's of all time. If England had performed for 90 minutes like Germany had there'd be people saying we were uncreative, dreadful etc... Having said that in extra time both teams really went for it to create a brilliant 30 additional minutes with Italy scoring two great (for different reasons) goals. Classic exciting extra time certainly (just as on Saturday) but let's not go overboard about the 90 minutes because both them teams were nothing special, especially up front.

Although I agree they dont work playing together in midfield, I do feel that moving Gerrard out to the right might solve the problem. (Unless the last 4 years have given significant evidence that this wouldnt work). I'd also look at seeing how Lennon can cope on the left wing. Joe Cole is the best solution weve found so far but I still don't think it works brilliantly and he does disappear for spells in games.

It hurts nothing like when Rovers get knocked out of the FA Cup or lose a high profile game such as the Mancs.

Good to see there are more rabbit movies available now. Angry Alien Rabbit Films

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.

I've been hounding and abusing him long before this world cup!

I'd prefer England to be playing France than Portugal. I think they're not technically as good and that they are one of the few teams that England may have the legs over in this tournament. Just my opinion.

Theyure average odds from an English bookie. Dont know many continental bookies to check. Dopnt get me worng though, at them odds the value is all with the Portuguese.

England are 5/4 to win in 90 minutes. Portugal 9/4

Fair play to France. They have slowly improved throughout the tournament and did so again in that game. Spain, despite haveing most of the ball, looked lacking in ideas and nouse to create anything (think rovers away at 10 man Everton!). Good to see ZZ being as cool as ever with his goal at the end. Have to say though Eddie, the penalty was nailed on. I wouldnt use the word stamped, but the defender just clumsily came down hard on the back of the spaniards ankle.

Come on Fernando

Gerrard is actually still available at 43/1 on BF which, given your logic Eddie and if he was to switch to a more attacking role, is a decent price. He was generally around 65/1 before the tournament but has been backed as high as 300/1 - presumably late during the Trinidad game before he rifled in his first.

I just hope he doesnt rest Torres for the next game now they have won the group. He could easy bag another brace against the Saudis

Good news for me after the Spain game tonight. Torres now top scorer with three although he really should have scored a couple more. Now trading at 4/1 on Betfair and I've just laid my stake back.

How come when I listen to Martin O'Neil I don't get the urge to think "stop stating the bleeding obvious , I can see that" Most pundits talk like they're talking to the 3% of the population who've only tuned in cos its the world cup and know nothing about football whereas the other 97% of us have to sit and suffer. At least on BBC if you press the red button on digi you can knock Motson off and get either Five Live commentary or just crowd noise. Bliss.