Ah, the bi-annual dose of abject disappointment. The post mortem now begins with forensic analysis of what went wrong and the usual calls for root-and-branch changes to the game from top to bottom.
My take - well we got beaten, in a game, by a team who played better. It was pretty good for the first half hour - De Rossi hitting hte post from range, Johnson having a good effort at the other. Parker was a monster, tackling, bursting forward and really competing. Balotelli fluffed a few chances, England were passing slickly - it was all set up for a classic.
But then it all went rather wrong. England tired early after their initial burst. Italy took control of hte game, and but for a stunning Terry performance would have run away with it. We held on and on in the hope of penalties only at that point remembering how much we fear and detest them. And so we are out.
I think Hodgson did well with a limited bunch of player. QFs is a respectable achievement; and actually winning a tournament with this generation of players would actually send out the wrong message. I don't want youngsters of the nation aspiring to be like Terry, Rooney, Gerrard (with their sense of entitlement)- and think that the next generation of Milner, Welbeck, Hart (with their ethic of work) are more deserving and I hope more likely to succeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment