but not his pay packet...

Sorry, but where the hell have you been? Were you around when Beckham played for Man U? Or was it a case of always thinking that dark haired lad who plays on the left wing for Man U was David Beckham? No one with half a brain thought that Beckham was a skilful player. What we knew was that he was a set-piece expert with an excellent long pass game and brilliant crossing ability. We knew that he's limited with pace and in tackling but if given the service down the right, he can be lethal. He had a bad Euro 2004 because he didn't get into positions to utilise his great crossing ability.

Brad can't even organise a wall when facing a free kick so... no I'm being harsh. But it's kind of difficult for a goalie to get instructions about the pitch and rally the troops when he's at one end of the pitch and the players are at the other. Ferguson seems a decent choice and the only alternative to Flitcroft.

No. Terry Venables was nowhere near Ricardo, so how a free kick was given, God only knows.

Why did England lose? Apart from the obvious, penalty shoot-outs and disallowed goals. It wasn't because Beckham didn't perform or anyone else for that matter. IMO it was the decision by Sven not to bring on Heskey. This isn't a revisionist theory dreamt up after the event - it was my thought at the time. England NEED a biggish man who can hold up the ball. Wayne Rooney did it quite well but Vassell and Owen are not naturals at it. Neither a strong in the air BUT think of the number of times Vassell won headers... When Wayne Rooney went off, England needed a big man who could hold the ball up and worry the Portuguese in the air. THEY WEREN'T STRONG IN THE AIR - even Vassell won headers. Sven, didn't have the balls to bring on Heskey after his France foul. But we needed Heskey's bulk. Love him or hate him (ok you hate him) but he is a big man who can win headers and hold up the ball. he might not be a goal threat but we needed a bulldozer like him to give Owen space up front and deal with the long balls. IF Alan Smith had been included, he'd have been the perfect sub. But Sven went for Vassell, and however, hard he worked and he even won some headers, he lacked the physique to hold up the ball and offer England a platform to attack. You heard it here, we lost that match because Sven didn't bring on Heskey for Rooney.

Well I felt as sick after the England match as any time Rovers have lost/got relegated/thrown away a 65 goal lead etc. etc. I suppose I feel so strongly for England because I know that they are my only hope for a team I support winning something major (although Rovers have won more trophies than England). It compensates for the fact that Rovers will always be a middle of the road team, unless we find ourselves another sugar daddy.

Quite a bit of violence occured at home after the defeat. We've got a small Portuguese community living near us and a few of their cars were smashed up and a number of houses pelted with stones. What a bunch of absolute slobs. It's sickening that these brainless chimps continually blacken the name of football supporters.

To be frank, I don't think Ferguson needs advice on how to be a good captain. In fact, it would be bloody cheeky if Flitty offered to tell a man who has captain Rangers and Scotland how it should be done. Besides, everyone has their own methods. Seems strange that there are no quotes consoling and thanking Flitty from our manager. Mmm, not another bust up... I think Flitty could be off.

Sadly, I think we will go out against Portugal. They're not the greatest team and certainly aren't too prolific at scoring goals. But I just feel that their formation, with Costinha and Maniche holding, will deprive Rooney of ball to feet. And Rooney is the crucial man for England, especially was we are playing with no width and no big man up front. I also expect Ronaldo to give Cole a torrid time. Ivica Mornar gave him trouble in the second half of the Croatia game - so that's kind of ominous considering this time it won't be some make-shift winger who's a 8 foot monster with minimal skill - it'll be Figo and Ronaldo.

That is total nonsene, Italy are horrible to watch. They have big name players - so what? They don't produce anything, there's only so much pleasure I get from seeing a name on a shirt, after that I need to see good football. Absolute prattle. I heard Andy Townsend saying something similar after the game and had to turn the telly off to avoid something nasty happening to it. It is SOOO cliche and trite to say Italy are boring or horrible to watch. And it may have been true in the past with their catenaccio etc. But please, take the Italian team that competed in this tournament on its OWN merits. They played 3 forwards and played the most complete football of the tournament in the first half against Sweden. It just so happened that in the other matches, Bulgaria and Denmark, they were out-fought and out-played. But still they leave the tournament unbeaten and with players like Cassano and Zambrotta, hope for the future. I'm not saying they deserved to stay in the tournament. (Although, I did feel sorry for Cassano at the end because he's been a real highlight of the championships). However, no way were they boring or horrible to watch.

Agree. Ferguson was over-priced though. I reckon Andy Cole's position as the club's highest transfer fee outlay (is that right?) is unlikely to be threatened for a very, very long time.

I know P.Neville is everyone's favourite punch-bag (after Emile Heskey) - and I don't particularly like him as a player. But what did he do that was so wrong? Or perhaps you just posted it because it's quite a nice line. From what I remember, he gave away a stupid free kick immediately after coming on. But after that he only gave the ball away once when he tried a cross-field ball. Or did I miss something? I would be more worried about Ledley King in midfield. His positioning was appalling and unsurprising considering he's a centre back. There were times when Croatia were attacking and a midfielder went bursting into the England box. All King did was glance over his shoulder and point at the guy. And then proceeding to stand on the edge of the box watching as a cross came in and his runner almost scores. Please, let Hargreaves be fit for Portugal.

Excellent win - but allow me to help Sven by pointing out some minor fine tuning requisite for us to beat Portugal. Give Beckham a kick up the backside. The guy is playing like a second full back (and not a very good one). I don't know what's wrong with him, perhaps he is tired, but he refuses to actually get forward into space on the right. England need him to provide width and swing in crosses. Against Croatia - one cross from open play - NOT GOOD ENOUGH. He may not have skill, pace or great dribbling capability - but he can cross a ball. He needs to utilise that attribute or get dropped. Drop Scholes for Bridge. Bit more controversial, especially as Scholes scored and played reasonably well from the left. But noticeably, in the second half, Ivica Mornar played down the right and gave Ashley Cole merry hell, providing numerous decent crosses. Where was Scholes? Galloping off into the centre as is his want being a natural centre midfielder. Bridge will have the positional discipline to stay on the left and help out Cole. This will be even more crucial if Cristiano Ronaldo plays on the right for Portugal. Just to add - I bet Sven is cursing his decision not to take Alan Smith. England desperately need a forward who can actually win a header (I don't think Owen has won a single aerial duel). With him being reluctant to use Heskey, who can we turn to?

The people in charge of the Blackburn Rovers have been enchanted with the hiring of the ex- realist, after, according to they assure through his page Web, they saw frustrated his draftee "the last season". The president of the Blackburn, John Williams, affirmed yesterday in the English city that "as soon as we heard that Of Pedro he was available, Graeme Souness - the trainer placed his list of priorities". "Of Pedro he is a player of proven level and our fans must be very contentments of which Vista our blue and white t-shirt", indicated the deluded president of the English square. On the other hand the technician, Graeme Souness, emphasized that "Javier de Pedro is a left-handed person with great international experience that will contribute goals with its game. He has an incredible ability with the left leg and two seasons ago he was the best assistant of Spanish Liga The vagaries of AltaVista translation Like the bit about John Williams, the deluded president and Graeme Sounes, the technician

Typical negativity from the Italians. Winning one-nil, they bloody go and decide to shut up shop, rather than springing the counter-attack at every opportunity. Why am I peed off? I had Italy to win in the UEFA.com Predictors' League and lying in 550, I could see that prize winging towards me already. But no, that Zlatan and Trapattoni's negativity confound things.

So the French definitely won't win either? Zidane is a much better player than Scholes. But even with him on the left, France look really unbalanced. The Croatia match highlighted the problem because ZZ went wandering a lot.

Well we aren't going to win the tournament if Sven continues with Scholes on the left. He wasn't terrible but the lack of width is so restrictive. Bring on Wayne Bridge on the left wing and we will be challenging.

In all fairness, I've backed up why I have a downer on us signing de Pedro. The same can't be said about your optimism.

Just to say that Sukur left Blackburn because he fell out with Souness after the Man U game. It wasn't to do with money or failing to acclimatise - which was the story spun by Rovers. The guy madly celebrating that goal against Fulham didn't look like someone desperate to leave the club.

Sorry, didn't make myself clear. A panic deal - as in when we got him in on loan. Souness knew absolutely nothing about him but was recommended him be an agent who knew we were looking for a left back. BTW - aren't the parallels between our search for a left back last season similar to this season's quest for a left winger? After Stig left, I think just about every player had a go at left back. The same has happened with left mid following Duff's departure.

Well... ...you've read me like a book - I'm not happy. Now that the guy's signed, I hope he does well for us. But I have huge reservations about this deal. a) It's yet another old player. What happens in a couple of years when he's past it (if he's not already)? We have to go and find someone else - we are just delaying the problem of finding a decent left midfielder - not solving it. and b. He's skilful but very slow. Being a slow player and playing successully on the wing in the Premiership don't often go together - e.g Viana. (Beckham was an exception). This deal strikes me as a panic buy - as Gresko was. Souness didn't want to give de Pedro a 2 year contract before because he claimed not to know enough about him. And all of a sudden, Pedersen is out of our reach, so we go back to de Pedro. That's my opinion, i've voiced it and that's what this messageboard is about. Many won't agree and I hope that you're right that de Pedro turns out to be a great signing. I also fear that the money that was going to be spent on MGP may be used to try to lure Butt to Ewood.

One bad back pass and Gerrard becomes hugely over-rated? Imo he is the MOST important England player. Retorting to 1864, Heskey did everything right - winning headers and putting himself about - apart from the challenge. How are you to know that Rooney wouldn't have put in a stupid challenge like that? After Heskey came on, England had a brief respite because he was actually holding the ball up. Bringing on a defensive midfielder for an attacker would have been suicidal. When you're defending desperately, you want someone with a bit of height up front who can make something of your panicky punt clearances. Finally, I think it was Dr Rich who thought Beckham was outstanding. Yes, out standing around doing very little.

As much as it may pain people, you cannot make Heskey the scapegoat. In fact, imo Sven got it right when he brought Heskey on. All night Owen and Rooney were being bullied in the air by the French. Heskey came on and England started winning headers and Vassell was looking a threat with his pace and energy. It was crucial that we added some brawn up front as the English defenders were increasingly resorting to long balls. And Owen, esp, was being swatted away by Silvestre and Co. Ignoring the foul, Heskey did very will. Just like Gerrard. England played reasonably well and deserved a draw at least. We should go into the next matches with confidence. I would play Hargreaves on the left instead of Scholes.

I think Karyaka was given licence to roam when he came on, because Russia were desperate for a goal. You can't judge him on 20mins but he looked a positive player who wants to run with the ball. And we need that type.

Well Russia are playing today against Spain, so we can all see how good he really is, or not so good he is.If he plays that is. If he does well his value will probably rocket out of our reaches. Must be quite good scoring all those goals despite playing for a small Russian team.