RE: How will England get on at the World Cup? Plac

Well done England on qualifying. I didn’t see muh of today’s game, but the result matters more than the manner. I gather the game was rather nerve-wracking.
Anyway, best of luck for the rest of the tournament!

RE: France–kicked out!!

Without any reasons? Erm, two trophies in 2 years….?

I admit that there was a huge feeling of complacency in France before the tournament, which really shocked me when I went over there on holidays earmier this yar. And to be fair, we played so badly, we cannot complain about the outcome.

The good thing is that it’ll get rid of all the casual glory riders who do not really care that much about football and who were starting to take over from more hardcore supporters.

And how can we appreciate victory if we forget about the taste of defeat?

The only downside is the utterly predictable feelings of rabid anti-French bilge emanating from some quarters (as bad as the anti-English feelings one sometimes comes across in France). But it is the preserve of some rather unsavoury individuals.
Thnakfully, other people can be gracious in victory, in defeat and in offering commiserations, which is always very pleasant when your team have been humiliated.

RE: France–kicked out!!

>Poor France……who am I kidding when Denmark scored I was
>cheering as loud as I could. }> Also GO ON IRELAND 2-0!!!!

Beware… what goes around, comes around!

Manners that maketh man

Thanks Steve. Spoken like a true gent, which you undoubtedly are!

We were just too poor overall to deserve anything. We cannot hope to go very far if we rely purely on luck and on one player. I think life is full of cycles and after being so successful (and to be fair, favoured by luck) the time has come to fall back to earth.

I must admit I have been quite disappointed at some of the reactions from some English quarters after the dismal start to our World Cup campaign. I ought to know better than to be surprised by now, having lived here for almost 8 years and having tried very hard to fit in and to out-English the English. It still rankles a bit though when it happens. Thanks God for educated and civilised people such as yourself!

The next generation has indeed some promising players in the wings. Cissé should have played from the start because he cleary was up for it and in contrast to some of his team mates, he had the “eye of tiger” rather than the look of a beaten man about him. Shame about Zidane reaching the end of his playing years. I can’t quite see how anyone could replace a player of his calibre.

And best of British for tomorrow!!

C’est fini

What can I say… Seeing the way they played, France deserved to be eliminated. A half fit Zidane showed his true class but it was not enough. I’d have liked to see Cissé play from the start, he is one for the future and what a difference he made when he came on.

End of an era for France.

RE: First points..

I think that without Zidane, the team goes from a world beater to an fairly good team. I disagree that Frank Leboeuf (FL) is a liability, but it seems I am in a minority of one, even among French supporters who are lashing out at Leboeuf at every opportunity. There might be some slight bias because he is captain of the club I support, but I do not agree he is that bad. Against Senegal, he mistimed his tacle on the Senegal goal, but why was the ball lost in the first place? Why was Leboeuf on his own on the left flank? Why did Petit not boot the cross in the stand? Why did Barthez fumble helplessly at the ball?

The fact is that FL made some crucial interventions on passes which could have been extremely dangerous. He has never been blessed with scorching pace, but has good positional sense usually and is always up for it. He is universally disliked though, in England as well as France, but that won’t make me alter my views; only his performances will. He is on the way out though, no doubt about it.

Lemerre seems to favour older and more experienced players over young ones though there are quite a few promissing talents coming through.
I thought Thuram did very well yesterday, but I absolutely hate Candela’s style of play. He is a nice bloke, but he is diabolical in defense, always running off to attack, not tracking back enough and not good enough in my view as a defender. A bit like Roberto Carlos minus the talent…Petit impressed me with his running, challenges and efforts.
The ref was in my view very poor.

The thing which shocked me on my last holiday in France was the sense that a lot of people thought it was in the bag. They’d forgotten about the lean years which followed the Platini era.

Zidane is absolutely crucial to France, sadly. Without him, the team struggles.
Apparently we need to beat Denmark by 2 goals to qualify. It will be tough… Fingers crossed – and to all England supporters out there reading this before the Argies game, COME ON ENGLAND!!

RE: Guidelines for World Cup commentators in the U

I can vouch for the fact that they are World Beaters in this field. It’s one of the things which makes life in the UK so attractive and pleasant!

RE: Guidelines for World Cup commentators in the U

He, he, it IS good.

😀

And yes, sadly true (if a bit exagerated), as the past few days have demonstrated. See yesterday ‘s Korean player whose father was a football celebrity, and who was compared to a hypothetical son of “Bobby Charlton”.