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This makes me really sad and angry.

 

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A second night of clashes between England football fans and local police in Portugal has ended with 20 people being arrested.

Mounted officers and riot police clashed with around 400 bottle-throwing supporters in Albufeira - the scene of similar ugly scenes the previous night.

 

Twelve fans who were arrested in the resort, in the Algarve, on Monday night are due to appear in court later.

 

They have been charged with public order offences and resisting arrest.

 

The English fans in custody reportedly include supporters from Barnsley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, Oxford, Cleveland, Dudley, Faversham in Kent, and Hertfordshire.

 

One Portuguese and one Russian fan were also arrested.

 

Albufeira, a resort packed with bars, is the base for the majority of England fans who have travelled to Portugal for Euro 2004.

 

In the first stand-off between fans and police, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, officers had moved into an area known as The Strip at around 0130 BST after fans spilled out of bars into the street.

 

More arrests 'possible'

 

Portuguese police spokesman Captain Manuel Jorge said of Wednesday morning's trouble: "At 2.15am the situation got hot, and the situation also involved 15 or 20 Portuguese people who were just passing by in the road.

 

"The police needed to go in with horses and dogs to defuse the situation.

 

"It is now under control and we are cleaning the street. At the moment we have 20 arrests but there may be more."

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I bet Roy Keane sings JUST like that. lol.gif

 

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Totti the idiot:

 

Italy's Francesco Totti has been banned for three games by Uefa after spitting at Denmark's Christian Poulsen.

Totti will miss his side's next two Group C qualifiers against Sweden and Bulgaria as well as the quarter-finals should the Italians qualify.

 

The 27-year-old was charged with gross unsporting misconduct after the incident during Italy's 0-0 draw with Denmark on Monday.

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nice one lads - job done.

 

owen is a bit of a worry, and Vassal always looks very dangerous when he comes on. Maybe its just a super sub thing though. I remember seeing him against sweden in the world cup and have been impressed ever since. I cant see them dropping Owen just yet though.

 

The france croatia result was good too, now we have a chance of winning the group. Croatia have also showed they can play a bit so hopefully england wont take them too lightly.

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bobby, you are easy on them. I thought they were shite.

 

This reporter agrees:

 

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Lucky, lucky England

 

Despite their 3-0 win, England were diabolical and given the runaround by a side whose incompetence everyone had taken as read after their match against Croatia, argues Rob Smyth

 

Thursday June 17, 2004

 

It's one of football cliches: never mind the performance, concentrate on the result. And it has rarely run truer than in Coimbra today.

Just as England were saved by the bigger picture after their Gallic ambush on Sunday, so they should be damned by it today. For the most part, England were diabolical: sluggish, nervous, and given the runaround by a side whose incompetence everyone had taken as read after their match against Croatia.

 

They won, so all will be well with the world in bars all over England and Portugal, but that display wouldn't scare Latvia. File this one alongside Nigeria 2002, Tunisia 1998 and Egypt 1990 - job done, but little to shout about.

 

For a team full of dynamic, thrusting midfield players, England's engine-room spluttered alarmingly. The heat may have been a factor, but that alone cannot explain it. As on Sunday they played without tempo going forward, and their passing was massively disappointing. They lack either the desire or the belief needed to truly express themselves.

 

If England are to make significant progress in this tournament, there is only one way they will do it - by playing like Gerard Houllier's Liverpool. Eriksson's England will never boss matches as a team of their talents should; the golden generation will never glitter while they have someone so conservative in charge.

 

Even when Bernt Haas was absurdly sent off - at almost exactly the same time as Ronaldinho in similarly sapping conditions in Shizuoka two years ago - England, as in that match against Brazil, were unable to retain possession. Hanging on against 10-man Switzerland: it doesn't get much more embarrassing.

 

Thank goodness, then, for Wayne Rooney, even if he has about as much of a claim on the second goal as Sir Alex Ferguson did on John Magnier's fortune. As ever, Rooney was an intoxicating mix of impish mischief and immature malevolence: his booking, for leaving his foot on the Swiss goalkeeper Joerg Stiel, was a carbon copy of a similar incident with Wolves' Paul Jones in May. One day he will really make contact, and the card will not be yellow.

 

Rooney's temperament is by no means England's most significant worry, however. Michael Owen looks startlingly pedestrian, David James was like a cat on a hit tin roof, and David Beckham was as peripheral as he had been in Japan two years ago. It was ostensibly down to fitness then; what is the excuse now? He and Owen are in the team on reputation alone at the moment.

 

And then there is the defensive midfielder conundrum. Hakan Yakin had far too much possession in an area that would normally be patrolled by Nicky Butt or Owen Hargreaves, and a player such as Juan Carlos Valeron or Francesco Totti (back just in time for the semi-finals, where Italy are scheduled to meet ... England) would make them pay.

 

There were some plus points. Sol Campbell was majestic, Ashley Cole's surging runs into wide open spaces showed the benefits of having a left-sided player like Paul Scholes who drifts infield, Darius Vassell was vibrant and penetrative. And then there was Rooney.

 

England ended with a flourish, putting the boot in ruthlessly as an emotional crowd launched proudly and triumphantly into their usual repertoire. The upper lips were stiff, the chests puffed out - but in reality, this was not something to be proud about.

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Job done as in a win, but they're not going to get anywhere decent with performances like that are they. (Well they dont deserve to anyway)

 

I was REALLY BORED watching the thing and wanted to go to bed, which surprised even myself.

 

It wasn't very good now, was it? \:\(

 

I havent seen the French game, but by all accounts Croatia could easily shock us out on Monday.

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Hmmmm.

Hmmm.

Hmm.

 

Found this on a Utd forum I read, sums it up well I think.

 

>>>>

 

Can someone enlighten me as to what the **** is going on?

 

Our two best players have been on-lookers so far. No leadership from Becks against France, Michael was invisible, and not much better today, although they worked well for the first goal.

 

Beckham is just stationary on that right/centre midfield position. He seems to think he's some sort of playmaker. He should get back to basics and do what he's best at - getting up and down the touchline, hassling people and putting in crosses. He's been a bit lazy to be honest, a complete turnaround from his old form. I was reading an old article yesterday and some Madrid players said Real barely do any real work on the training ground - I wonder if Becks is letting his fitness drop.

 

Owen to be fair hasn't had much service but he should at least look for the ball like Rooney does. I wonder if his confidence is low having not had a great year for Liverpool - subbed off twice now and Vassell has looked better. I would persist with Mike because he is proven quality and will pop up with a goal when we need it, like Scholes.

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I dont think England were all that bad. We sucked for the first 20 mins or so, but apart from that it was OK. We won 3-0 what more do you want?

 

I agree that Owen and Scholes will perform when needed, and I think Erikson will stick with them. I thought Scholesey had a good one anyway yesterday.

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What more do we want? eek.gif Can't believe you're asking that, bobby12 dude.

 

How about this for starters....A decent performance that shows some class and potential. One that might make us think we have a chance of getting further than the quarter finals, if that.

 

That, we did not get. Far from it. Face it, they were shite.

 

(You seemed to have been watching a different game to the one I saw last night.)

 

 Quote:
I would persist with Mike because he is proven quality and will pop up with a goal when we need it, like Scholes.
Well they didn't look like doing that in the last 2 games now did they? The more I see them, the less likely they look like scoring, not the other way round.

 

 Quote:
I agree that Owen and Scholes will perform when needed
Hold on a sec. When needed???? eek.gif eek.gif

They are needed NOW. In the last 2 games. In this tournament. We lost the game last Sunday. We could have done with goals then, don't you reckon?? I think they were "neeeded" then.

 

3-0 way flatters England as a scoreline it could EASILY have been very different right up to the last 15 minutes or so...... (And remember France came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 in extra time)

 

Sorry, but sorry excuses like that are just not acceptable. mad.gif

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We won, so they're off the hook, but considering that there are supposed to be four attacking midfielders in there, we look very static indeed. We've got Rooney coming to get it ten yards inside our half. He's really going to do a lot of damage there :rolleyes: . The fullbacks get more crosses in from meaningless deep positions than our midfield do from advanced ones. The reason we lose the ball so much is that the players aren't mobile enough to give each other easy options. All we get is "Nothing's on, so hopeful punt to young Michael. Oh, lost it again".

 

Vassell and Rooney look good because they're full of running, the thing that underpins the English game. Lampard, Scholes, etc. are only getting in their box twice or three times a game. They talk of Scholes not scoring as some kind of mystery, but he's simply not getting in goalscoring situations.

 

I blame Spin Gordon and his tactics. \:\( The French lads in the Prem have long seasons too and the heat yesterday was just as bad for the Swiss, who played half the game with ten men.

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What do we want? A bit of style and a convincing win. Sorry, but it was a boring game - and we were playing against Switzerland (no offence, swissites, honest).

 

Seems theres some sort of revolt over formation (or more) going on.

 

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FOOTBALL: EURO 2004: ROW OVER DIAMOND EXPOSES A FLAW IN OUR CAMP GROUP B QUALIFIER: ENGLAND 3 SWITZERLAND 0, COIMBRA

 

Oliver Holt

 

 

AFTER the despair of the defeat to France, we had imagined that victory here against the Swiss would bring an explosion of relief and renewed optimism. Sorry. Not even close.

 

Instead, this flattering 3-0 win over 10 men sent Sven Goran Eriksson and his England side back to their base outside Lisbon pursued by questions. A great big battalion of questions.

 

It would be nice to know who is running the team, for a start. After 24 hours of confusion and talk of a successful player mutiny over tactics, that is no longer clear.

 

Eriksson wanted to play a diamond formation. The players wanted to line up as a flat four. So they lined up as a flat four. But they still played like strangers, regardless of David Beckham's assertion after the game that player power was the catalyst of the victory.

 

They stared at each other in irritation every time they wasted possession. Which was almost every time they had it. And in this stifling heat and cloying humidity, that was criminal.

 

In midfield, in particular, confusion and much shrugging of shoulders reigned supreme. It stopped short of finger-pointing and recrimination but it wasn't far off.

 

I admire Eriksson for his calmness and his ability to remove his ego from the job of managing a side but surely this was a step too far in bowing to player power. Unfairly blamed for handing victory to France on Sunday night, there are bound to be questions now about exactly what the manager does for his £3.5m salary if he does not even dictate team tactics.

 

Before Wayne Rooney became the youngest ever player to score in the finals of the European Championship, England were in disarray.

 

They scored against the run of play and then they restored a measure of order. But until Rooney grabbed his second goal 15 minutes from the final whistle, the outcome of the game was still in doubt.

 

England go forward to Monday's game against Croatia probably needing only a draw to qualify for the quarter-finals and of course that is a reason to be cheerful.

 

But Eriksson needs to restore direction to the side and the formation if they are to have a real shot at beating one of Spain, Greece or Portugal in the last eight.

 

Of course, it is worth pointing out that one of Eriksson's strengths is that he listens to his players. That is one of the reasons they respect him.

 

And if he had allowed himself to be overruled by them and their suggestions had proved an outstanding success, then he would have deserved to be praised for his wisdom.

 

But last night was not an outstanding success. In honesty, it was closer to a shambles.

 

Against a better team, against 11 men, you shudder to think what might have happened. Eriksson needs to re-assert his authority. He also needs to sort out his midfield.

 

He needs to work out a better way of fitting Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes into it because, at the moment, they are just not gelling.

 

Of course, players who gave everything in heat that sucked the breath out of them deserve plenty of credit for squeezing past the Swiss and picking themselves up after Sunday's crushing setback in the Estadio da Luz. But let's be honest.

 

This was a nervous, unconvincing victory over a desperately ordinary Switzerland side and England needed to ride their luck to achieve it.

 

Most of all, though, it gave more credence to conspiracy theories that the influence of Eriksson in deciding the tactics of the side is not what it should be.

 

It had been accepted for some time that the England manager was determined to play his midfield diamond system against the Swiss and that is how England lined up in training here in the Estadio Cidade de Coimbra on Wednesday evening.

 

But yesterday morning, it emerged that the players had sent David Beckham and Gerrard to speak to coach Steve McClaren on Wednesday night.

 

Eriksson had already gone to bed but they told McClaren they were not comfortable playing the diamond and asked if he would persuade Eriksson to revert to a flat back four. Eriksson listened to what McClaren had to say and England duly lined up with four across the middle and Scholes wide on the left rather than just behind the front two.

 

But there are also concerns within the squad that playing a flat four across the midfield will quickly exhaust the quartet who have to press and chase throughout the game.

 

Crucially, those concerns are being expressed by players considerably less influential than Beckham and Gerrard and appear to have been ignored.

 

Beckham denied on Tuesday that he exerted any influence over tactics or team selection but the events of Wednesday night appear to disprove that yet again. Perhaps, between them, the senior players and Eriksson are edging towards a system that will suit all of them just as Bobby Robson and his squad did in Italy in 1990 when they disagreed about the shape of the back four.

 

The players won that particular argument and the players appear to have won this one 14 years on, as well.

 

But if player-power is to survive this tournament in the England camp, the players need to start flexing their muscles on the pitch as well as off it.

 

Otherwise, the potential of a side from whom so much is still expected will disappear in the confusion of indecision that dominated this game last night.

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I disagree with that article. From what I could see I didnt see anyone staring in irritation or whatever whenever we lost the ball. I heard about the diamond formation problem but from the quotes I read (beckham and eriksson), it didnt seem to be that big a deal. Maybe that reporter was privy to some dressing room arguments but I doubt it.

 

Fair enough we didnt tear the Swiss apart, but we looked decent and we got a good result. We looked even better against France, and just got 'mugged' (Owen) at the end. I dont think you can expect them to dominate every game and win by 6 goals. Brazil didnt do that in the World Cup, they only just scraped by us remember.

 

My only complaint with England so far has been, apart from Heskey's existence, that we got too defensive after scoring against France instead of going for a second goal. I know it sounds like some kind of naive Kevin Keegan thing to say, but I just think its lame to put everyone behind the ball as soon as we take a lead. I think we need to show more confidence and try to whoop teams, even big teams like France, rather than skanking a goal and then clinging desperately onto it (like we did against the argies too). I really think out main problem is confidence - you can see it in Owen, Beckham and Gerrards (lack of) running particularly. I think its a decent strategy to grab a goal and then cling to it, and we are very good at it, but its not what I want to see and I think it cost us the game against France (if not against the Argies in 2002).

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 Quote:
but we looked decent
You did see a different game, mate. Sure you weren't under the influence or wearing some special glasses or summat? ;\)

As for their quotes - if there are any underlying problems, they're hardly likely to bring out that discontent into the public are they now?

Anyhow, I want them to play well. And hope we do get better with each game and things do get better.
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The Holland game last night was good. Commentator said the last few days have been cooler, and you can tell.... nice fast paced game.

 

Czech Republic - not a bad team indeed..... Nice to see some "Liverpool goals" too cool.gif

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