Friday, June 25, 2004
And so mighty england have fallen. and what a fall it was, yet again for the third time in recent history they have been on the receiving end of a penalty shootout heartbreak, and for that they have no one else to thank than their skipper david beckham. how he can completely miss the goal by as much as he did with his effort i'll never know. all i know is if i were manager i would never want him taking anymore spot kicks in the future. it would probably be cruel to place all the blame on his shoulders however, as he did have a decent match, being involved in setting up both england goals. for it truly was a night of ironies.
"Miss it like Beckham"
it was ironic that the much touted "feet of rooney" that were supposed to send the host nation packing weren't given much of a chance as the young boy wonder was to break a bone in his foot not long into the game, and that vassell who came on for him was to miss the decisive penalty in the shootout later on in the night. it was also ironic that postiga, who plies his trade in england with tottenham and was considered a failure in his first year, was to come on and grab the all important equaliser that sent the game into extra time. it was even more ironic that campbell's header at the death was once again strangely disallowed--reminiscent of world cup 98, when england lost out to argentina on penalties after also drawing 2-2. perhaps the biggest irony is how eriksson could make the same mistake he did against france by substitutting both his star midfielders scholes and gerrard before the game was effectively won.
i understand it was only 10 minutes to go, and that england were 1-0 up at that time, but from the game vs france, and from his hugely illustrious managerial career, i was annoyed by his shocking naivity at making the same mistake twice within a fortnight. the game is never over until the final whistle has been blown. if us fans can understand the simplicity of that statement, why can't an internationally reknowned manager like you understand it?? and boy was he punished for his over-confidence. postiga and not least of all a rui costa cracker put paid to england's hopes of winning the game. i wonder what eriksson must be thinking now. or beckham for that matter. he mentioned before the game that he will keep taking penalties for england even if he were to miss the next ten. i'm sure from now on everyone in the land will be on their knees and begging him to step aside when they next get one. it's another 2 more years till england get another chance to banish their international nightmare. in the meantime, it's pure frustration and heartache for the passionate and loyal contingent of england fans.
"Miss it like Beckham"
it was ironic that the much touted "feet of rooney" that were supposed to send the host nation packing weren't given much of a chance as the young boy wonder was to break a bone in his foot not long into the game, and that vassell who came on for him was to miss the decisive penalty in the shootout later on in the night. it was also ironic that postiga, who plies his trade in england with tottenham and was considered a failure in his first year, was to come on and grab the all important equaliser that sent the game into extra time. it was even more ironic that campbell's header at the death was once again strangely disallowed--reminiscent of world cup 98, when england lost out to argentina on penalties after also drawing 2-2. perhaps the biggest irony is how eriksson could make the same mistake he did against france by substitutting both his star midfielders scholes and gerrard before the game was effectively won.
i understand it was only 10 minutes to go, and that england were 1-0 up at that time, but from the game vs france, and from his hugely illustrious managerial career, i was annoyed by his shocking naivity at making the same mistake twice within a fortnight. the game is never over until the final whistle has been blown. if us fans can understand the simplicity of that statement, why can't an internationally reknowned manager like you understand it?? and boy was he punished for his over-confidence. postiga and not least of all a rui costa cracker put paid to england's hopes of winning the game. i wonder what eriksson must be thinking now. or beckham for that matter. he mentioned before the game that he will keep taking penalties for england even if he were to miss the next ten. i'm sure from now on everyone in the land will be on their knees and begging him to step aside when they next get one. it's another 2 more years till england get another chance to banish their international nightmare. in the meantime, it's pure frustration and heartache for the passionate and loyal contingent of england fans.
yeongest 8:30 am