England v Russia

[vimothy]

?

1-1 = rubbish

sorry, concentrating on too many things all at once

 

[hucks]

1-1 = rubbish

Well 2-1 to Russia is total shit, then...

 

[vimothy]

Well 2-1 to Russia is total shit, then...

damn

 

[crackerjack]

Bollocks.


We are all Israelis now! (oops, sorry wrong thread)

 

[tht]

nice

 

[IdleRich]

"You've definitely got the best of this Idlerich. Listening on the radio is nervy at the best of times. When it's coming down a phone line from 1000s of miles away, it just disappears into white noise every time summat exciting happens."

Ha, by the time you said that I'd nipped out of work early and into the shitty wetherspoons across the way. Unfortunately every other football fan in central London had obviously had the same idea so that meant you could barely get down the stairs and I spent the last half hour watching with my head tilted forty-five degrees to the left so I could see the bottom two-thirds of the little screen that they had put in for those who couldn't see the big screen.
Anyway, from what I saw (not much admittedly) England were awful. OK, that wasn't a penalty but it was a sneaky and clumsy professional foul and you can hardly take the moral high ground when you're doing that. Russia seemed to be able to exchange passes with ease around and even in the English box and the defence looked panicked and clueless. Robinson may have been partially unsighted for the second one but... you know. It's depressing how few ideas England had going forward as well, they didn't create a chance and their best moments were throw-ins.
As an England fan I seem to have spent so much time watching the clock tick down while desperately hoping for someone to do something...

Scotland dropped a bollock too I notice.

 

[vimothy]

Good goal though... and not a penalty...

 

[IdleRich]

"Good goal though... and not a penalty..."

Still haven't seen it but everyone is saying it was offside.
Regarding the penalty, Rooney got done (though why it was him "covering" that run I don't know) and he just cynically pulled him back. It was certainly out of the area when he first grabbed him but arguably he still had hold of him and was still fouling him when he entered the area - in that situation the ref has pretty much got a choice between a free-kick and a penalty, why give the benefit to the bloke who is cheating? I don't think that we can really complain too much to be honest.

Edit: In other words it seems to be a bit much to say "I was cheating but then we were robbed 'cause I didn't cheat as much as they said I did". Maybe don't cheat in the first place.

 

[vimothy]

If we didn't concede a penalty, one shouldn't have been awarded. I don't think that's controversial. It was outside the area - not a penalty.

 

[IdleRich]

"If we didn't concede a penalty, one shouldn't have been awarded. I don't think that's controversial. It was outside the area - not a penalty."

Well, like I say, I think he still had hold of him when he entered the area so it's debatable. Either way, it's a lot easier to say "the ref lost us the game" when we should be looking at why we couldn't defend and we had no ideas up front (especially if the Rooney goal was offside).

 

[vimothy]

Well, like I say, I think he still had hold of him when he entered the area so it's debatable. Either way, it's a lot easier to say "the ref lost us the game" when we should be looking at why we couldn't defend and we had no ideas up front (especially if the Rooney goal was offside).

Offside?

 

[IdleRich]

"Offside?"

Just going on what the commentators were saying when I got to the pub yesterday and what it says in the paper today:

"Those minded to castigate the official should recall that he also erred by not disallowing Rooney's beautiful goal, which was fractionally offside"

That's the Guardian who do have terrible and anti-English football reporting but given that that seemed to be the categorical opinion of the studio yesterday as well I'm not going to argue.
Then again just googled and the Indie says:

"Micah Richards' high ball forward was improbably flicked on by Michael Owen before Rooney – possibly offside – hit a volley of raw power from just inside the area into the Russia net."

They don't seem so sure. Wait until I see it I guess.

 

[vimothy]

Didn't look offside to me, but then I didn't get a great look because my girlfriend had chosen that moment to phone me up and natter on about how I never listen to her properly, or something. From what I saw it looked like a screamer. No one mentioned anything about offside - not that that proves much.

You should watch it. It's definitely worth seeing.

 

[IdleRich]

"Didn't look offside to me, but then I didn't get a great look because my girlfriend had chosen that moment to phone me up and natter on about how I never listen to her properly, or something."

Bitch.

"You should watch it. It's definitely worth seeing."

Yeah well I will do but it doesn't count for much now unfortunately.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

If we didn't concede a penalty, one shouldn't have been awarded. I don't think that's controversial. It was outside the area - not a penalty.

Rooney had his mitt on the man outside the area and kept pawing him once he was inside the area. Penalty.

England weren't awful - the Russians managed to raise their game when they could have bottled, with tricky and quick play in the so-called final third that would have been difficult for most teams to deal with.

England's major disadvantage is not having a playmaker in the middle.

 

[vimothy]

Rooney had his mitt on the man outside the area and kept pawing him once he was inside the area. Penalty.

He fell over outside the area, pretty clearly from the replay - not a penalty. Unfortunate for England, it could have been 3-0 by that point. Anyway, it's done now. They weren't bad last night, it's just a pity that they were so dire in the earlier games.

 

[baboon2004]

Didn't manage to catch the game apart from the Guardian's minute-by-minute report...but where the hell is the steel and guts that have been such a characteristic of the England rugby team's march to the World Cup Final in recent weeks? Can we please get some of them to have a word with Rooney, Gerrard and co?

 

[mixed_biscuits]

He fell over outside the area, pretty clearly from the replay - not a penalty.

You fannywagon, he began to fall over outside the area and continued to fall over inside the area. Rooney was still applying pressure, thus penalty (tho' there might be an argument for an earlier free kick call precluding the penalty decision).

 

[mixed_biscuits]

Didn't manage to catch the game apart from the Guardian's minute-by-minute report...but where the hell is the steel and guts that have been such a characteristic of the England rugby team's march to the World Cup Final in recent weeks? Can we please get some of them to have a word with Rooney, Gerrard and co?

Forget steel and guts - skill might be a good start. Gerrard is not a playmaker; Rooney is not a goalscorer. Russia might have kept their bottle under pressure but they would have got nowhere without their nifty movement and passing.

 

[IdleRich]

"Didn't manage to catch the game apart from the Guardian's minute-by-minute report...but where the hell is the steel and guts that have been such a characteristic of the England rugby team's march to the World Cup Final in recent weeks? Can we please get some of them to have a word with Rooney, Gerrard and co?"

Football takes more than skill and guts though - throughout the years England teams have huffed and puffed and never given up but still been put to the sword by cleverer sides time and time again. I'm fed up of seeing Graham Taylor/Kevin Keegan or whoever coming near to bursting a blood vessel as they exhort their sides to greater effort to get that equalizer when effort simply isn't enough.
The top club sides are learning that but it took a while, they kept getting out-thought but managers such as Ferguson have enough European experience to be a bit more canny these days. Shame that no decent manager would want the England job really.

"You fannywagon, he began to fall over outside the area and continued to fall over inside the area. Rooney was still applying pressure, thus penalty (tho' there might be an argument for an earlier free kick call precluding the penalty decision)."

That's my point, the earlier free kick call only precludes the penalty if the referee decides to give it - but why should he not play the advantage resulting in the penalty?

Fannywagon?