Stolen by the Ref

[RevidgeBlue]

Portugal were the better side but in Souness parlance we were "mugged" by a very poor decision from a referee who gave us absolutely nothing over the game.

And the once influential Beckham capped off a woeful tournament by missing his second vital penalty.

I look forward to a lengthy AESF rant later on.

[Grabbi Graeme]

If Collina, Frisk or Kim whatsisname would have give that goal, even Mike Riley would have give it.

[ABBEY]

NOT READING WHATS BEEN POSTED BUT CHEATING SWISS ###### WANTS A CUCKOO CLOCK SHOVING UP HIS ASS AT 12 O CLOCK....TOSSSER!!

[Morph]

In terms of the balance of play, we didn't deserve to win. The painful inevitability of a Portuguese equalizer must have been obvious to every Englishman bar the eleven on the pitch. We defended far too deeply, were sloppy in our ball retention and toothless in attack. That said, there is no disputing the fact that we were robbed of an admittedly undeserved victory by a Swiss grocer who seemed hell-bent on delivering the result the home nation demanded, and was prepared to disallow a perfectly legitimate goal to ensure that result. The agony of going out on penalties (again!) only makes it worse. The better team won, but they shouldn't have done.

[Grabbi Graeme]

Abbey you are spot on

[Velvet]

what a match

[Lathund]

As you must well know you've got little chance of getting there.

Ofcourse they're favourites, but their defense isn't impressive at all. And stranger things have happened. You gotta be optimistic, we have absolutely nothing to lose.

[Manchester Blue]

As you must well know you've got little chance of getting there.

Ofcourse they're favourites, but their defense isn't impressive at all. And stranger things have happened. You gotta be optimistic, we have absolutely nothing to lose.

Apart from a place in the semi-final!

[Exiled_Rover]

We looked good, scored a early goal then we lost Rooney, people say were not a one man team, but after we lost Rooney we seemed lost,

We defended very deep in second half conceded the goal, we have to feel we were cheated/robbed over the disallowed goal, we came back well to bring it to 2-2 and as we have experienced before going to penalties we just cant seemed to do it.

Come on The Czech Republic

Even if Rooney was in the team, it would have been the same. It was the same against France. In my opinion what this match showed was-in how poor condition the English players were in. The Portuguese ran and ran and ran while the English players stood in their position trying to recover from the last attack.

I remember how our players reacted when Hodgson brought in that Italian fitness coach and we trained twice a day. All the training the players do throughout the year- it's in situations like this that it shows and I felt the English players looked tired far quicker than you would expect from a strong squad.

I think it had more to do with the fact we've played three games in seven days, with only three days rest after the last one (compared to Portugal's four). That coupled with a climate we're not used to (you can only aclimatise so much) and one the Portuguese were played against us somewhat.

[Morph]

what a match 

However angry we are right now, well done to Portugal. Good luck to you, as you are the hosts I will be hoping you win from now on. Now that England are out, at least you don't have to worry about more foreign supporters getting into the stadium than Portuguese fans

Edited June 24, 2004 by Morph

[Grabbi Graeme]

Its nice to see how young players learn so much from playing with more experienced players , Ronaldo's diving about reminded me so much of Mr Van Nistlrooy

[Lathund]

As you must well know you've got little chance of getting there.

Ofcourse they're favourites, but their defense isn't impressive at all. And stranger things have happened. You gotta be optimistic, we have absolutely nothing to lose.

Apart from a place in the semi-final!

Well duh... but noone expects us to get there. We will have performed well even if we go out. Holland have much more pressure on them.

And not to anyone in particular:

Yes the referee was awful, but don't do what the Italians always do and solely blame the ref. He had a part in it, but Portugal were the better team too, don't forget that.

[ABBEY]

what a match

(Please don't use that word again) OFF!!! CHEATING HOME TOWN REFS!!!!!!!!IM FUMING!!

[John]

Once again, England simply not good enough.

True maybe dubious ref decision but any team has to offer more of an attacking threat than England did.

Beckham is currently in the team on reputation, Owen doesnt really offer much either.

As for the penalty spot- same for both sides. Problem is people get too hyped up when England win a game, so when a loss comes a long disbelief and amazement is common.

JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH

[nolan9]

S**T

[Tom Pringle]

If you play defensive for 87 minutes you usually get punished. We would have had it not been for Lampards goal.

Bringing a small, fast striker onto the field of play and then hoofing it up in the air (Rovers style) for him and owen to win is useless. Why not bring someone on who was going to win it in the air. Heskey maybe?

Bringing on a defensive midfielder in the 52nd minute. Nice one Sven, really take the defensive game to them.

Neville, Terry, Sol and A. Cole. You're true lions, you battled for every ball, you ran after everything that even got past you. HEROES

The midfield 4, Gerrard - Battled, couldn't do much else. Scholes - Made his usual clumsy challenges, created a little bit. Lampard - Quiet at times, never made a true impact. And finally, David 'Media Darling' Beckham - That my lad, was a disgrace, you're supposed to be this england captain that leads by example and not one that shouts and rips into everyone. If thats the example you want the rest of the players to follow then we shouldn't have bothered. You've been off all tournament and will need to re-think your future at Real (If it's affected his game, surely it has!?)

Come on you Czech

[John]

A team that lacks balance was never going to win the competition. Having 4 central midfielders just doesnt work.

As Rovers fans we should realise this by now after last season...

[nolan9]

If you play defensive for 87 minutes you usually get punished. We would have had it not been for Lampards goal.

Bringing a small, fast striker onto the field of play and then hoofing it up in the air (Rovers style) for him and owen to win is useless. Why not bring someone on who was going to win it in the air. Heskey maybe?

Bringing on a defensive midfielder in the 52nd minute. Nice one Sven, really take the defensive game to them.

Neville, Terry, Sol and A. Cole. You're true lions, you battled for every ball, you ran after everything that even got past you. HEROES

The midfield 4, Gerrard - Battled, couldn't do much else. Scholes - Made his usual clumsy challenges, created a little bit. Lampard - Quiet at times, never made a true impact. And finally, David 'Media Darling' Beckham - That my lad, was a disgrace, you're supposed to be this england captain that leads by example and not one that shouts and rips into everyone. If thats the example you want the rest of the players to follow then we shouldn't have bothered. You've been off all tournament and will need to re-think your future at Real (If it's affected his game, surely it has!?)

Come on you Czech

Totally agree Tom. But whats your opinion on David James because i thought he was shocking??

[Morph]

what a match 

(Please don't use that word again) OFF!!! CHEATING HOME TOWN REFS!!!!!!!!IM FUMING!!

C'mon Abs, we're all narked off at the moment, but that's no way to talk to a lady. It ain't the Portuguese fault the ref was bent (but if there are any Swiss on the board, be prepared to get an earful)

[tchocky]

I was just going to say a word or two about sitting back and defending a 1-0 lead for the majority of the game, a tactic the English on here hate the Italians for, but England never do that themselves so I won't bother...

I heard that humble pie they are serving now is really tasty

[Tom Pringle]

Nolan9 - I didn't David James was that bad. Couldn't do much about either goal. Think he only once managed to do his famous flapping antic on a corner but it didn't cost us.

[Exiled_Rover]

what a match 

(Please don't use that word again) OFF!!! CHEATING HOME TOWN REFS!!!!!!!!IM FUMING!!

C'mon Abs, we're all narked off at the moment, but that's no way to talk to a lady. It ain't the Portuguese fault the ref was bent (but if there are any Swiss on the board, be prepared to get an earful)

I think they're hiding at the moment

[Hasta]

Why just defend all game?

Why take Gerrard off with 8 minutes left when if they equalise we have no subs for extra time?

Why did hardly change anything despite having NO possession?

Why is it a free kick if you boot comes off?

Why not play Scholes 'in the hole' instead of Vassell and Own isolated up front?

Why pick beckham on current form?

Why get a twit (sp?) of a ref?

Where exactly is there a push for campbells goal?

Why did James not stand still and scorpion kick Postiga's crap penalty away?

Why do we have a Swede managing England?

[78]

FUMING!!

Quick mods, get the fire extinguisher out, put out that fire!

I thought Ashley Cole had a superb game. Showed far more courage and strength than any other player in the England side.

On the other hand, Beckham. What a waste of space. Kept waiting and waiting for him to start to perform, but nada. Can get back on his moped and join Raul, Del Piero, Ballack, Kahn, on the way back home.

[Hasta]

I was just going to say a word or two about sitting back and defending a 1-0 lead for the majority of the game, a tactic the English on here hate the Italians for, but England never do that themselves so I won't bother...

I heard that humble pie they are serving now is really tasty 

Tchocky I'm bestest mates with a mod on this messageboard and any more of that I'll be getting permission to tell you where you can go!