Lost in translation
Thu Mar 27 09:02AM
Nobody was expecting miracles straight away - that kind of optimism is left to Newcastle fans - but at one point last night, England fans could have been forgiven for thinking Steve McClaren was still in charge. First up was the insipid display, which lacked inspiration going forward and boasted a gaffe at the back that brought memories of just why the French love using the nickname 'Calamity James' so much.
The personnel chosen to take to the field at the Stade de France also harked back to a bygone era, with the inclusion of a certain century-maker making all the headlines.
Let's get one thing straight. ED in no way at all begrudges Becks his 100th cap - he fully deserved it for being such a great servant to his country over the years.
But the future on the right hand side surely is David Bentley and talk of Becks carrying on until 2010 are pie in the sky.
Nice golden boots, cap and specially-embroidered shirt though.
Then there was the raft of half-time changes - four of them this time - a move which left England with little hope of getting back into the game against a classy France side playing in their own back yard.
Don Fabio himself claimed he was pleased with the performance and through his dark rimmed spectacles (with a rose tint?) he saw an improvement on the Switzerland game.
At least that's what his translator told us. With ED relying on internet translation sites for its vague knowledge of the Italian language, there is no way of knowing if the man attached to Hat's side is actually doing a good job. He might have told us Beckham has no chance of ever playing for his country again last night, but we'd never be any the wiser.
It looks like we'll just have to trust him, and the manager, for the time being.
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Dunga may well have had a point yesterday when he said England are as good on the pitch as Brazil. The Selecao coach may have initially been mocked for his seemingly outrageous assessment, but on last night's evidence at the Emirates, he was bang on the mark - Brazil played just as badly as England.
Sure, the South Americans were missing some of their best players - Kaka and Ronaldinho were their most notable absentees - but an enviable bunch still took to the field against Sweden, and should really have given their colourful fans more than the 1-0 win they mustered.
On the subject of fans, if there was a World Cup for supporters, Brazil would be perennial winners. Wherever they go in the world, yellow and green flags, drums, trumpets, silly hats and hot girls invariably follow. It is a sight to behold, and an experience ED savoured last night.
In particular, their Mexican waves were a triumph - that's a proper Mexican wave, feet stamping and continuous shouting included, not the airy fairy ones you normally see performed in this country - even if the fans seemed to have difficulty in comprehending the Emirates stewards' zero-tolerance policy towards standing "except in moment of extreme excitement".
The problem with Brazil supporters is that are in a constant state of excitement. Take the example of Robinho's first darting run last night - as soon as he touched the ball a volley of teenage screams erupted, akin to what ED imagines the noise to be like when Robbie Williams takes to the stage.
That Robinho trod on the ball seconds later and made a prat out of himself did not appear to matter - and neither did the fact that he and his team-mates, debutant goalscorer Alexandre Pato excluded, failed to do much else for the rest of the game. The fans present were there to have a good time, and to hell with the football.
With so much music, smiling, back slapping and bonhomie all around, it was difficult to remember what going to the football used to be like. This was fluffy modern football, just how Sepp Blatter wants it - nice fans having fun and spending money in a gleaming, sanitised stadium.
Which made it all the more shocking when Manchester United's Anderson came on as a second half substitute to a chorus of boos from the Arsenal contingent present in the crowd.
Those boos were nearly as loud as the ones that rang out at the beginning of the match when Mike Riley was announced as the evening's referee.
ED can only assume the moral high ground has been taken by Gooners, who were showing their displeasure at the official having let a player get away with first, a horrendous tackle, and secondly a blatant show of disrespect last week.
Nothing to do with the fact that the player concerned was one their most celebrated hate figures, then?
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I have a house in the South of France." Becks explains why he was so proud to reach the 100 mark in Paris.
FOREIGN VIEW: Brazilian striker Hulk has been released by Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale with the J-League season only four games old. The 21-year-old fell out of favour after a display of petulance following his substitution in the second game of the season. "Hulk is a player with tremendous potential but we have decided he does not fit into the club policy of the team coming first," Frontale president Shimpei Takeda said. Incredible, but true.
TALKING POINT: In amongst all the bitching that ultimately marred yesterday's discussion, barney1158 managed to make a coherent point: "Footie stars don't set any examples in my view, they do things wrong and then suddenly make charity donations to take the heat off themselves. Bunch of hypocrites, albeit rich ones. Some decorum back in the game please, the kids of today don't need any more bad influences, unfortunately."
For today, it will be difficult to stop you anyway, so we'll ask you for your thoughts on last night's action.
COMING UP: Unless you're a fan of the Blue Square Premier, there's little football to enjoy today. Which is why we're suggesting you follow the second round of the China Open with our live streaming video. You can even post your questions to the commentators and get them to answer on air - although they'll ignore you if you ask them what their favourite cheese is.
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E-mail this story
IM this storyWhat about the Scotish and Ireland matches? Now that was real football. Who was England manager in '66? Bring him back quick!!!
Don One
From laird.haigh on Thu Mar 27 11:52AMThe answer to your question captaincom is simple. Scotland have spirit and that word i mentioned earlier...Unity. We know we're not the most technically gifted or talented bunch to grace the footballing world but our sense of togetherness is exceptional. This is what led us to 2 unbelievable victories over France and is the reason we are still punching above our weight despite our obvious weaknesses when compared to the 'bigger' teams. On paper we should be getting tanked from the likes of France and Croatia but, luckily, football is not played on paper. If it were, England would be superb.
From kevmun82 on Thu Mar 27 12:02PMI think we should take tips of the England cricket and rugby team, just get players from elsewhere in the world. I mean look at KP and Andrew Strauss, also Martin Johnson (New Zealand if you didnt know), Josh Lewsy and many many more. We could have Almunia in goal (not sure why I am saying this), the current England team is already a joke, so why not continue. Any suggested for foreign imports?
From goodechuff2001 on Thu Mar 27 12:11PMHargreaves impressive, kept Ribery out of the game??? Was I watching a different match in a different time zone? Hargreaves was no worse or better than any other "englishman" last night. they were all poor.Bless you, must be a Man U fan? Becks tried hard as he normally does, but one man cannot carry a team. The rest were average to say the least, less pampering more grafting is what they need. Playing for your country should be an honour, but after the initial "I am so proud" gobbledegook, it all goes out the window. Pound signs are all most of them respond to. Sadly thats a reflection on the game today. If they were given a lump sum to perform for England every game we might see an improvement. But there again would Cashley be saying "cheeky b--tards, they are short changing me, I am worth five grand more than they are offering!!!" MMMMMMMMmmmm, I wonder.
From barny1158 on Thu Mar 27 12:14PMED I love your daily column it is a must read, but I am from America so I dont know anything about football. But here is my opinion about the English performance. Every game for a fan of the English team is a final exam, end all be all. I think Capello is looking at the friendlies as tryouts, evaluations. It is a marathon not a sprint it being World Cup Qualifications. The best thing that comes from having a foreign manager is he doesnt feel compelled to play the "Usuals" he can take a look at some of the up and comers. I think Gabby would inject some much needed pace up front. I think the future is bright for the England squad.
From dialogproductions on Thu Mar 27 01:04PM"I think Gabby would inject some much needed pace up front" - here! here!
Gabby and Ashley young on the wings, given the free reign to come inside as they need to, rooney up front.....
I know everyone can be an armchair manager and think they know better than everyone else, but it seems at the moment some managers aint got a clue in the slightest lol.
Im willing to give capello the chance, he's only been with us for 2 matches, lets see what he can come up with
From neo_booie on Thu Mar 27 01:17PMHere we go again... England fail to impress and it's Gerrard, Terry's, Ferdinand's, etc. fault because they play for big clubs and don't care about their country. Fact is, the absolute b*ll*cking they get when they turn out for their country, who can blame them? I wonder how our boys would've felt at Waterloo if there'd been 50 or 60 thousand little Englanders boying there every move? I'm sure they wouldn't have performed to expected standards. I remember when England traveled the country under Eriksson, played at the grounds of some big clubs and got some great support. Throughout the game. Non-stop. And actually managed a fair amount of decent results (yes, Erikkson's record actually wasn't that bad). Just a theory (and admittedly, an old one) but maybe, just MAYBE, England's players might actually start to perform if the little Englanders actually deigned to get behind them for a full game, instead of just until the first bad pass is made (usually inside 20 seconds). Incidentally, yes, England were sh*ie. And Beckham was as mediocre as usual.
From gegendave on Thu Mar 27 01:26PMPeople should lay off Bentley. His workrate over the last couple of England games has been exceptional compared to the lacklustre displays of most of the pampered England regulars. If he had players around him who were trying equally hard to impress, he'd look even better and England may even look like a half decent side.
As for the comment about him dropping out of the under 21's "because he was tired" - get over it already! An individual made a choice to stay fresh for the team who actually pay his wages, rather than play one game and fickle England fans still give him stick?! What about focusing on the fact that those players from the big four, who are supposed to be amongst the best in the world, lacked the ideas (and the inclination?) to influence a dull and boring match?
From northern_hamster on Thu Mar 27 01:30PMWhen Bentley played for Norwich on loan, there were few people on the park who had the tenacity and drive that he did. I don't think that his full inclusion into the England team can come soon enough.
From g_hine on Thu Mar 27 01:35PMAll the slating of England players is all very well, but unfortunately people on this site often let their club biases seep through when talking who did and did not perform for England.Cut the club tags off the players for a moment, and see the various players for how they do perform when in an England shirt, and vote them on those performances alone, and forget whether they play for Man U or Chelski or the Pool, and see the whole picture. There is no doubt there are some talented players, but their oversized egos play too much a part. Back to the basics has been suggested, so lets see some of that in England shirts, instead of the fame hungry, egotistical players that seem to fill the game at the mo. Maybe filling the team with the best Championship side available might do them all the world of good, even if its for a friendly, then they can fight for their places , instead of being handed them on a plate cos they play in the premiership. Most of their egos need deflating somewhat.
From barny1158 on Thu Mar 27 02:21PMJesus Christ! It was a friendlies versus a team that -accoring to world rankings, recent results, and common sense- is much better than england. This wasn't 1-0 vs Croatia or USA. They lost on a PK...English football sucks because nobody whines like England's fans.
From jasondharrison on Thu Mar 27 02:22PMHas the sky fallen in? England lost by a goal and a penalty at that in a friendly in Paris where they haven't beat France for nearly 30 years.It was a glorified practice match which gave Fabio (Rome wasn't built in a day) the chance to guage the depth of the talent available to him and identify who are the key players he can build a winning side around.A handful maybe on this performance but a strong base. It will be Fabio the Fabulous when the winning starts which it will.
From peter.mccrory1 on Thu Mar 27 02:42PMThe match was not televised where I live, so I didn't see the game and so can't comment on the match itself. I am all for Don Fabio evaluating the talent he has got, and presumably Trevor Brooking and Stuart Pearce will have briefed him, apart from Don Fab and his team reaching their own opinion through going to games and watching the selected squad train. He might throw in a couple of young up and coming players in the expanded squad but when it comes to picking the actual team, it is same old same old. He doesn't have that many chances to try things out and blood new players before the WC qualifiers start, so why he is wasting time with Crouch, Brown and Beckham is a bit of a mystery to me. Maybe the up and coming talent aren't actually that good, and Don Fab is stuck with Hobson's Choice. I haven't coached professional teams to league titles in 2 countries Like Don Fab so I wouldn't dare to think I know more than him, but he has me a bit puzzled at the moment. One thing is for sure, he will need a very long time before he can make an impact and start to change things, if he is going to be able to do it at all.
From andywalker269 on Thu Mar 27 03:08PMGoing back in time for a minute... was recently told that the phrase "by the skin of your teeth" translates as "per un capello" in Italian. I hope this will not be the case regarding World Cup qualification.
From g_hine on Thu Mar 27 03:21PMTypical English fan, you don't give anyone chances and even when you are trying to look like patient media you don't know how to do it. I believe capello will not listen to media non-sense who trashed sven while he is the best manager since alph ramsey in term of results.
From italialover1982 on Thu Mar 27 04:22PMManagers are overrated.Full stop.I mean, you can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.When are people going to start relising that England are'nt actually any good, no matter who's in charge of the team.I don't want to be too simplistic about this, but sometimes we can get to analytical about football.Fabio Capello might have a proven track record in European football, but when did he ever manage a full sqaud of English men.I watched the game very closely last night, and was almost embarassed by the gulf in class between France and England.France played an expansive passing game, whereas england relied on the 'get rid of it quickly approach'.For players like Gerrard,Rooney,Hargreaves and cole, that simply is'nt good enough.
From samuelbanks on Thu Mar 27 07:02PMAfter reading all these comments on the England team it makes me feel pleased I am unable to receive Sky TV. It must be very upsetting for the england supporters who had to pay.
From r.miller949 on Thu Mar 27 08:09PMIf you have a team that can't be bothered to learn the national anthem
how can they be expected to hive their all on the field. maybe if the
anthem was changed to money money money and you do not get any unless you win might help (Beckham excluded )From darrylwilliams498 on Thu Mar 27 08:25PMsame old rubbish now we are trying to play the italian way and havent got a clue wot were doing!We have a mgr who cant even speak english a team thats clueless could it get any worse!!!! am afraid it might as that was pitiful to watch again.
From rbrawn on Thu Mar 27 08:51PMIn a break from tradition, snooker players are trying to get in on the anti-role-model action that is normally the preserve of Chelsea and Man U professional footballers
From g_hine on Fri Mar 28 09:05AMmaybe am phony but i actually felt becks had a good game. the whole team was messed up but i saw him trying those things he is good at. that could not be said for most of the other England players.
From adewaleadediran2005 on Fri Mar 28 09:31AM
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