DJT Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Hooooooooly cow... I don't think I need to describe what happened. But let's play up this angle: Owen Hargreaves comes on to help England defend a 1-0 lead in the 76th minute. About 15 minutes later, France has won 2-1. [^] I think England's problem, other than a mistake by Beckham on the PK and a mistake by Gerrard that led to France's PK, is that they just tried to hold on to their lead, especially throughout the second half --- you know, the thing that Italy is always criticized for. Did they do anything except sit back defensively and break out on a few counterattacks? It was the same story at the last WC. (Not that I'm complaining, with results like that. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I must say I was having serious doubts about Gerrard even in the first half, he is not exactly a technical wizard and thinks quite slowly. Missing basic passes over and over. Sure was a terrible giveaway for the loss though. The problem with England was not the defense, which held up fine, but the midfield, since France was able to pretty well walk up to five metres from the box and go from there for the entire time they were behind. So no containment, no horizontal movement or even effective back movement to open France up, no patience with the ball, everything you need to take it away from the opponent for a least a while to give your defence a rest and eat up some time, apart from forcing the rival to work a bit. Only Scholes give a sense of knowing what he is going to do before he receives, even Beckham is a control first, think second player. Having a mid that does not think as a unit is fine for counterattacking, indeed it worked well enough for England as Rooney's fine run (what a mature player for his age) was deserving of the insurance goal. But it is a disaster for the defence. Having said all this, I think France was lucky and England unlucky on the day. France is starting to aged and look mannered, they have no freshness at all, everything so damn predictable. So really a bit boring amidst all that talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N-A Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Taking off Rooney was a key mistake. He was clearly trying his all to outclass the French. Heskey gave the free kick for the 1st French goal and James messed up for the penalty. I'm not sure if England were trying to hold on to the win. The French defence were just to good to break down and have a chance on goal. When you look at France's past results they haven't lost a game in 18 matches and not let a goal in for 7 1/2 hours till England scored. Mind you at the end of the day its same old England. You think they are going to win and they don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC supporter Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 It's very harsh to say James messed up for the penalty. Gerrard placed him in an untenable position. A great and surprising finish to the game, though -- and I never thought I'd say this about an England international match, but I actually found myself supporting France and was satisfied with the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbsfc Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Fantastic ending! I thought England had stolen it but France's class shows through in the end. I agree that England's midfield was dreadful but the back 4 were stronger than I thought they would be. Scholes kept getting drawn to the middle of the pitch which left openings and Gerrard and Beckham were invisible.. Although Rooney drew the penalty I thought he was out of his league out there - all clutch and grab and lucky not to be sent off. Did Owen even play?? That Zidane's not bad, eh.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 all you can do is laugh - unless yer a brit! oh. my. god. that was quite hilarious. makes me think germany actually has a chance. if england can lose two goals in about 2 minutes then germany can reach yet another final! germany being a large part of my heritage. i knew it was a mistake the second they took rooney off. also, should brought on butt not the whore. sven will lose his job if they don't reach the semi-finals after this result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcl_19 Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Ya i heard something about a number 10 for france. Wasn't disspointed, With a little expearience he could really go somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S. Only Scholes give a sense of knowing what he is going to do before he receives I watched the match again on tape and saw Scholes lose the ball or give it away in three of his first four possessions of the second half; I'm being a little harsh, because he wasn't as bad as that during his performance, because he had to spend much of his time providing defensive cover for Cole against Pires and to a lesser extent, Gallas. Scholes tends to play in-land, away from the left flank, and doesn't like to take defenders on as much as he does from a central location (in the first half, when he found himself on the centre right of midfield, he attacked the space and slid a nice pass in to Owen in the box, a classic Scholes play!). I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not sure he is that effective on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Silvestre was lucky not to have be shown the gate on Rooney there. Me? I'd have red carded his sorry arse straight to the dressing room, but these go both ways sometimes so I might be a bit harsh on the man. Zidane hit a ball. Boy, did he hit a ball. I don't think Rooney was in over his head. Just his style of play and once he's more comfortable bringing it to Europe (the sooner the better for England) he may just accomplish something. Bloody Hell. Two goals in what may as well have been added time. What a lark. There's a reason why England hasn't won fu'k all in forty years, and well, there it was. P.S. #1 nephew watched his 1st football match on TV yesterday. He's 12. Russia-Spain. Brother-in-law said he was stunned. Couldn't believe his eyes. Watched it from start to finish and talked the ear off anyone who'd listen the rest of the evening and night. Warms the heart I tell yah. Warms the heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Rooney should have stayed on? Nope, not a chance. Why, you might ask? Well, because his stupid immature glory-hunting cost England their second goal. He was drawing three defenders and had a man open to his right. A simple square ball and a tap in would have made it 2 - 0 and ended the game. A ball in the net is worth more than a penalty. Rooney showed his lack of maturity and it was he who cost England the match. But that's just my opinion. [}] BTW I really enjoyed it when two non-voyageurs got into the following exchange: #1: Isn't that [Hargreaves] the one from Canada. #2: Nope, he's not Canadian. #1: Yeah he grew up in Calgary. #2: Well if he was Canadian he wouldn't be playing For England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 James' body language when Zidane twisted that one in around his 5 man wall. That was pretty good. Could almost see him go just-ever-so-jello-like for a momment. Starting from the top of his head and rippling down to the heels of his feet as all confidense and hope melted away in a flash and was instantly absorbed into the thirsty ground. It's surprising how 10,000 thoughts can shoot through your mind in 1/10th of a second. Especially when your helpless. Now, I'm willing to take a stab at it but 10,000 swears/curses/crys of pain is a lot of ground to cover. Crap. Did you see that? Fu'king Frog Bastard! Somebody should have bought Rio a calender. Oh no, I just wet myself. Ug. The next Frenchman in my box is gonna get it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 James' body language when Zidane twisted that one in around his 5 man wall. That was pretty good. Could almost see him go just-ever-so-jello-like for a momment. Starting from the top of his head and rippling down to the heels of his feet as all confidense and hope melted away in a flash and was instantly absorbed into the thirsty ground. It's surprising how 10,000 thoughts can shoot through your mind in 1/10th of a second. Especially when your helpless. Now, I'm willing to take a stab at it but 10,000 swears/curses/crys of pain is a lot of ground to cover. Crap. Did you see that? Fu'king Frog Bastard! Somebody should have bought Rio a calender. Oh no, I just wet myself. Ug. The next Frenchman in my box is gonna get it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 quote:Originally posted by DJT I think England's problem, other than a mistake by Beckham on the PK and a mistake by Gerrard that led to France's PK, is that they just tried to hold on to their lead, especially throughout the second half --- I don't know how you got the impression that they were simply protecting their 1-0 lead. England sat back immediately after the opening whistle. They were playing France, so of course they're not gonna have much possession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 First of all, I didn't see the game. But France played a friendly versus Ukraine last weekend that was televised here on TV5 which I did see. Once again, it was Zidane who saved their scalp with a terrific goal late in the contest. Again, France seemed to have problems scoring even when they control the ball outrageously throughout most of the game. On paper they sure look great but what is going to happen to this side once Zidane retires? For several years now, they have had trouble scoring goals in many international tournaments ( ie.: Euro's and WC's). And for all the accolades that Thierry Henry receives for his play in the EPL, you would think, that you would see his name on scoresheets more often in these events. Eg>; Wasn't it Trezequet and Wiltord who scored the big goals in the final game of Euro 2000? Don't recall, but how many goals did Henry get at the last WC when France was eliminated in the group stage? However, Again, I didn't see the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Hmmmmmm, let me think. What do Barthez and Beckham have in common, that would make Fabien think David may go to his right on the penalty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.