Early Doors - Your morning briefing blog

Murray saves English face

Tue Jun 30 08:52AM

At least England U21s got their timing right. If you're going to lose 4-0 to Germany in your biggest match for 25 years, you should probably do it while Andy Murray is locked in a five-setter.

Despite Sky Sports News's valiant insistence that the football is their lead story, there is only one sporting water cooler topic today, and that is Murray's antics under the roof at Wimbledon.

Well, that and the South Africa rugby coach's claim that anyone who doesn't like having their eyes gouged out should put on a tutu and take up ballet instead (that's the kind of comment that could convince ED rugby is a good thing).

For a man who once said he would support anyone but England at the World Cup, young Murray has done our Euro-flops a service by sparing them from public ridicule.

Whenever England play Germany, the tabloids love to go on about the war, casting the players as major historical characters.

If England played the part of any wartime figure last night it was not Churchill or Montgomery, but the Czech Sudetenland; reduced to looking on helplessly as they were completely overrun.

England, in fairness, were not that bad. It was just one of those occasions when you are reminded that football is about goals and nothing else.

Whatever the balance of play, however many shots on target or corners you register, if you lose 4-0 it's a drubbing. Even if your goalie just chucks the ball into his own net four times, which poor Scott Loach might as well have done in lieu of his calamitous display. England would have been better off with Ken Loach in goal.

As it turned out, Joe Hart's shenanigans in the semi-final shoot-out - picking up a yellow card that ruled him out of the final - proved costly to the tune of at least two goals. Although you might suggest it serves Hart right for being such a cocky beggar.

The pages of German scandal sheet Bild are surprisingly light on triumphalism this morning, which makes things all the more depressing.

The Germans knew they were going to win, so they see little reason to crow about it now they have done so.

- - -

Chelsea's appeal against the Champions League bans handed out to Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa is another massive own-goal from football's most paranoid PR machine.

The four-match sanction handed out to Bosingwa for comments made about referee Tom Henning Ovrebo after Chelsea's defeat against Barcelona might seem a little harsh, but you can hardly expect to call the ref a cheat and get away with it.

Drogba's behaviour, while hilarious and the kind of thing ED would like to see after every match, was clearly unacceptable.

Six matches - in rugby terms more than a sucker punch but less than a gouge - seems like a reasonable punishment for screaming obscenities down a camera lens during prime time. There is no place for that in football; after all, what do you think Kitchen Nightmares is for?

Regardless of the suspensions' merits, what makes Chelsea look petulant and foolish is that their appeal has absolutely no chance of succeeding.

Drogba's crazy-eyed dissent was the kind of thing the authorities cannot abide - particularly as he was using their equipment to vent his expletive-strewn views on Ovrebo.

He could not have made himself any more unpopular with the powers-that-be if he had arranged for a courier to deliver a dog turd direct to the doorstep of UEFA HQ in Switzerland.

Chelsea's statement described the punishments "unnecessarily harsh given the circumstances," a particularly petty remark that showed they have no intention whatsoever of chalking Ovrebo's admittedly pitiful performance down to experience.

The Norwegian obviously had a bad game but it was not one-way traffic as he sent Barcelona's Eric Abidal off for a tangle of legs. And the Jamie Redknapp line that a referee from "a country like Norway" could never be any good was undermined somewhat by the fact that the bloke who reffed the final was Swiss.

Chelsea could have taken the high ground. They could issued a statement expressing disappointment at the severity of the punishments, but saying they would accept them for the good of the game.

Instead, they have launched an appeal that is clearly doomed to failure and they are going to look like idiots.

Unless it succeeds, in which case ED will look like an idiot.

- - -

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "If I have the chance to play for Barcelona, I'd be really happy." The fiercely loyal Andrei Arshavin seeks a way out of his 50 per cent income tax hell in North London.

FOREIGN VIEW: Santa Fe's Uruguayan coach Ruben Israel resigned after being threatened with death if he did not quit, the Colombian club's president Armando Farfan has said.

Israel had not yet taken charge of a match.

"Yesterday he received several calls with threats on his life and those of his family, calls we can't understand because he hasn't even stepped onto the grass in the stadium," Farfan said.

He said the club would meet with Israel to try to make him change his mind by offering him security guarantees.

He added the person that made the threatening calls claimed to be a member of hard core fans of Santa Fe, six-times champions but seeking their first title in 34 years.

Israel, 51, was appointed to replace former Colombia and Ecuador coach Hernan Dario Gomez, who quit after Santa Fe's failure to reach the semi-finals. He led Libertad to Paraguayan league titles in 2007 and 2008.

COMING UP: Look, Elena Dementieva v Francesca Schiavone might not have quite the same appeal as Murray or Federer, but it's Wimbledon. You can at least pretend to be interested.

- - -

In light of some epic stupidity on the message board below, Early Doors would like to confirm it does not think Andy Murray is English. He's Scottish. ED knows this. The headline does not suggest otherwise.

Comments1 - 30 of 624
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First
From kettu93 on Tue Jun 30 09:00AM
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Deutchland Rulesssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
From andreak8 on Tue Jun 30 09:04AM
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Germany Germany
Germany Germany
(to the tune of Vindaloo
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:05AM
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How is it that it times of crises England always looks to the Scots to pull them out of the doo doo ?
Did some one say Choke ?
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:06AM
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Football is about goals !!! Doh! Um ! Really Priceless !!!!!
Don't forget to pack your apple juice next time boys !
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:09AM
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F..... English Murray is Scottish 100% of the time, save england wtf is that about, so if he doesnt win Wimby then he will be Scottish thats the way they class him it makes me sick,
From jason.dowd on Tue Jun 30 09:12AM
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Theres nothing like a humble victor and arti is nothing.......
From andy_lycett on Tue Jun 30 09:14AM
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Chelsea's punishment seems particularly tame given that Drogba's rant is going to be played in every sports programme intro clip for the next ten years.
I wonder what kind of Carrot Pearcey was dangling in front of his young charges last night ? It obviously was not big enough either that or Pearcey has lost his mojo
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:16AM
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To arttidesco, who cares m8, the main matches for the full teams are the 1's that count, no 1 even watched the game yesterday, but we watched the last 2 england germany games, 5-1, and 2-1 with our b team out was it lol twa*t
From postmanpatcan on Tue Jun 30 09:18AM
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6 - too right! Please don't class the typically dour Scot Murray, without a humerous in his otherwise bony body, as English. We really don't want him. We'd rather our champions have a little more personality. Like... Errr...
From danny_saks on Tue Jun 30 09:20AM
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No worries about Chelsea or ED looking like idiots Stanford Bridge already do for having wasted the Oligarchs entire supply of cash in less than ten years and any blog with initials that can be mis interpreted as Erectile Dysfunction obviously is in the same boat as the folk on Stamford Bridge
Did the Englaenders actually turn up for last nights game ?
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:22AM
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10 Danny 100% Bob on
From annieh97 on Tue Jun 30 09:27AM
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to postmanpatcan: the last 2 games were 2-1 England in 2009 and 1-0 Germany in 2007! Both games and both teams were with z B squads. About yesterday game, many people saw it. Rendez-vs in South Africa!
From andreak8 on Tue Jun 30 09:28AM
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7 - Andy would you please put some clothes on? The weekend is over now mate.
From danny_saks on Tue Jun 30 09:30AM
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#7 and #9 We are the humble victors of something like Three trophies in the main event, England have won precisely... well maybe one flukey one on home turf thanks entirely to strikers from West Ham United
I bet Germany make the Finals in South Africa again and England struggle in Qtrs and get dumped out by a vast;y superior team like Belgium (All bets off if Capello sees sense and sends the England Ladies Cricket team in despair
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:31AM
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#10 Like the England Ladies Cricket team of course to World Championships in a year has to be something to shout about
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:33AM
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Andy Murray is NOT English!!!!!!!!
From tommylarocca on Tue Jun 30 09:34AM
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I discorvered a hot place
"""""""W e a lthyFinder C om""""""" where many sexy singles- who like dating and-- chatting there. I'm an open- minded girl with strong s---exual a--ttraction I-- am Waiting 4 u
From hotsummer00782 on Tue Jun 30 09:36AM
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The last big game England played England lost 2-1 to Italy and finished forth behind ahem this is embarrassing, Germany, Argentina and hosts Italy in 1990 ! FFS !
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:37AM
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Great win for murray in that hobby with the bat, ball and net! Danny of course he's not got a great personality, He's Scottish, went to school where the Dunblane Shootings occured, then trained in America - you cant get any worse a combination!
From doobie.doobiedoo on Tue Jun 30 09:38AM
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I know Artti talks some rubbish on Germany days but have to agree the Women have been kicking a$$ of late
From annieh97 on Tue Jun 30 09:40AM
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#17 Todays lesson for the Englaenders appears to be that they are part of a larger urban conurbation called (laughably) Great Britain when they can pull on the sports successes of England's colonies to cover up for their own inadequacies
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:41AM
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Steve - and he's ugly - before we go all stereotypical Wayne Rooney is not a typical Brit
From annieh97 on Tue Jun 30 09:42AM
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14-Thats me Danny until the day before next season kicks off!!
It reminds me of Summertime Special when Saturday night TV was at its peak (or is that nadir??)
From andy_lycett on Tue Jun 30 09:43AM
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Well I suppose it is time to get off my little soap box and go and enjoy some humble pie, better than gloating all day about another football triumph over a U21 pub team Have a fab day Englaenders and remember the word is Mr Murray is not English !
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:45AM
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Morning.........
From edgar_friendly on Tue Jun 30 09:47AM
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#21 I imagine Germans would queue up and pay to get their a$$es$ kicked by the Ladies cricket team
From arttidesco on Tue Jun 30 09:47AM
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What a stupid headline. 'Murray saves English face'??? Murray is a Scot and an English hater. I for one can't wait to see him and his arrogant personality get whacked out of sight by Federer. I bet he chooses to be British when they are dishing out the money. Hypocrite.
From the_rop on Tue Jun 30 09:48AM
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hopefully the chelsea appeal will succeed...........
in getting the bans INCREASED
From peter.wood95 on Tue Jun 30 09:48AM
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Ha ha ha fair enough Steve. Tho I'm still not sure at what point he had the personality bypass. All other things aside tho, the guy can play a bit can't he?
From danny_saks on Tue Jun 30 09:49AM
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