jim mk2

Going back 40 to 50 years, sendings-off in football were extremely rare and always headline news on the few occasions they occured. To be sent off a player had to commit a serious offence, such as striking an opponent. In the 1960s I can recall only one Rovers player, Mike Ferguson, being sent off at Ewood, and that was for elbowing an opponent in the face ! Now sendings-off are commonplace and players are booked for innocuous challenges that years ago would not have merited even a free kick. Football is a contact game and it seems to me common sense has gone out of window. The number of bookings/sendings-off is already a record in this World Cup and it is spoiling the tournament. Nothing to do with the media lad. If the FA had waited until after the World Cup to make an appointment, they would probably have got Scolari. He was placed in the untenable position of having to accept the job knowing that his present and future employers might meet in the World Cup. And now they have !

Superb game ? Playacting; feigning injury to get other players booked/sent off; yellow and red cards dished out like confetti; poor refereering; I thought it was a disgraceful exhibition by both teams and a terrible advert for football. Portugal (and Figo in particular) were by far the worse culprits and it is high time Fifa punished teams who behave in this fashion. Saturday is very much a case of Eriksson v Scolari. Big Phil's team have knocked England out in the quarter-finals of the past two major tournaments and he will fancy his chances of completing the hat-trick on Saturday. Plus of course there is the added frisson that Scolari turned down the FA when they approached him to replace Eriksson after the Wolrd Cup. Scolari gave a coaching masterclass against Holland, having to reorganise his team three times owing to the sendings-off but always his players knew exactly what he wanted and what they were supposed to do. Can anyone imagine Eriksson in the same situation ? The passionless Swede would have rooted to his seat in the dugout, giving no clear leadership. Even with two of his best players suspended on Saturday, Scolari have his team set up and organised properly to beat England's confused and bewildered team. Scolari would have been a fantastic manager for England but the FA bungled it by insisting that they had to make an appointment before the World Cup. Instead, we will have Steve McClaren. England won't win this World Cup nor the next or the one after that. England have had the players to have won tournaments since 1966 but have always been badly managed. Nothing changes it seems.

Too much talk of systems and which players should play where. England's team look like 11 apprehensive individuals who do not believe in the manager or his methods.

Terry and Lampard were awful (again). Unbelieveably, Terry was named man of the match by the sponsors.

Showing your true colours by supporting England. Jolly good show Donald.

That was probably England's last win under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Shane Warne is a convicted drug taker yet is seen as sporting role model in that great open-air prison. Very odd. You're being harsh on Rooney, Rev. His "indiscretions" took mplace before he was involved with the lovely Coleen I believe. Considering the pressure and constant media spotlight he is under I think the lad handles himself very well.

Doesn't matter whether he did or he didn't (he did actually), it doesn't mean he is "scum". Machine minders in Sydney know best though

So ..... Rooney is "scum" apparently. A descendant of the criminal classes ought to know.

Sven's tactical contortions continue. For the Ecuador game he is planning to play Carrick in the holding midfield role, drop Carragher and switch Hargreaves to right back in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Rooney as the lone striker. You couldn't make it up folks.

Are the convicts on the way home yet ?

Eh ? What about Terry, who completely misjudged the throw-in and allowed it to bounce over him ? Full marks to Sweden, who spotted England's vulnerability to driven crosses. In 190 years of watching the national team I've never seen an England defence in such disarray. A "flapper" in goal does not inspire confidence either.

Big blow for the men in arrowed shirts. C'mon Croatia ! Send them back to their island exile !

Marcotti writes in the Times every week on the continental game and is always worth reading.

He just did, with a far better post than yours or his antagoniser.

Lucas Neill own goal for convicts v Liechtenstein ! Still think you're too good Rovers cobber ?

Ronnie Clayton and Bryan Douglas gave the club more than 30 years' combined service and they never got stale or gave less than 100 per cent. That used to happen. You're being far too kind to another money-grabbing over-rated overpaid modern football shyster. Stick him in the reserves and sell him when he demands a transfer. Then replace him with someone with similar ability such as the Great Harwood right back, whoever he is.

Typical American head-up-their-own-arse view of the world. Not that the Americans know there is a world outside the US. Every four years, when the biggest sports tournament on the planet comes around, US newspapers publish dross "opinion" pieces on "soccer" like this. Americans are merely jealous because the real world plays football while no one else plays their own poxy sports.

Lovely, lovely, lovely. So good I've copied and pasted it on the wall of the day room.

Good piece by Matt Dickinson but I'm not sure why he chose Rovers as candidates for match-fixing. Perhaps that's because he's a Notlobian.

Very good photos dillo dillo, taken by someone with an artistic eye and worthy of Sunday newspaper glossy magazines.

Bloomin' right. Three nailed-on penalties in my view but what does it matter ? Europe is trembling as mighty Rovers (one win in 16 matches) train their sights on the continent's elite again.

Attendance 20,243.

Not Savage, brushed Reid's head.

Rovers hit bar, Chelsea hit post. Ref's given us nowt so far.