Big Sam Allardyce

[therock67]

I love these guys - such value for money when they fail:

Our failures are simply down to reffin' madness


Sport of the World by Sam Allardyce


YOU can get paranoid about these things, but you can't help wondering whether somebody has got it in for England.

It is impossible for one nation to have so much bad luck, so many poor decisions, so many obstacles thrown in their way in major competitions.

You begin to wonder whether there are instructions issued to officials to do everything they can to make sure England don't make it to semi-finals or finals.

Either that or some of the officials in charge of our matches during major tournaments should start thinking about changing careers.

Players have long complained about referees' needing glasses but I am now starting to believe they can see perfectly well — they just use different rules when it comes to England.

Honest

The refereeing in Germany has been a joke, but last night Horacio Elizondo took it to a new level.

He allowed himself to be conned, time and time again.

What is it about foreign teams being allowed to get away with play acting, feigning injury and so called ‘simulation'?

John Terry got booked for a brave, committed challenge, which actually ended up with him getting injured and then, of course, Wayne Rooney was sent off for, well, I still can't be certain.


He was actually fouled in trying to challenge for the ball but because he is so strong, so honest, so determined to win the ball, he stayed on his feet and was then penalised for it.


Had he been a Portuguese player he would have thrown himself to the floor at the first moment of contact and won a free-kick, long before the incident that earned him a red card.


What a pity. What a message it sends out to the world.


If you cheat, take a dive, go to ground and commit ‘simulation', then you win a free-kick. If you are really lucky you earn your opponent a card of some colour.


Cheats are supposed to never prosper but we are seeing at this World Cup that could not be further from the truth.


FIFA should be proud of themselves — and so too should those players.

Ricardo Carvalho is supposed to be a tough-tackling centre-half, yet how many times did he go to ground at the slightest contact?

England's proud reputation is stopping us from gaining the ultimate prize — and that can't be right. Our opponents, well, they are getting away with murder.

It also surely, finally, nails any argument about using technology to help referees. Sepp Blatter must learn from this tournament. We were robbed two years ago, again against Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-final when Sol Campbell scored a last-minute winner — only for ref Urs Meier to rule it out.

Yesterday, against all odds, England produced one of the greatest displays I've witnessed.

Sven Goran Eriksson can walk away a proud man. His players gave their all for him — they were magnificent.

Owen Hargreaves in particular stood out. He was one of those choices that so many criticised and yet he was magnificent.

The fans can also take some credit. They were unbelievable and provided that extra strength to help cope with the fact we lost Rooney.

As for the penalties, we know history has not been kind to us in shootouts.

We have practised and practised during the tournament, but nothing prepares you for what can happen on the day.

The players are sapped of strength, the adrenalin is pumping and the stress levels are through the roof and, of course, there is the weight of expectation.

Jamie Carragher has been dealt the cruelest blow of all.

He came on to take a penalty, scored it, and was then forced to re-take it. Why? Because the keeper wasn't ready? That is outrageous and another example of an unbelievable decision that has cost England.

I hope FIFA look at it. Did the ref blow his whistle? If so, you can't force him to re-take it!

The only thing I'd add about the penalties is I wouldn't have asked Frank Lampard to take one.

It hasn't been his tournament, he missed his last penalty, he looked anxious, nervous and wouldn't have been one of my five penalty takers.

In the end it was not to be. Another quarter-final heartbreak. The third of Sven's England career when we surely should have done so much better. It makes you wonder whether we will ever have such a chance again and is so hard to take as a proud Englishman.

Luck


Statistically, Sven's record is up there with the best of them having lost only four competitive games — but the reality is so very different.

Many England bosses fell at the same hurdle, yet Sven was given arguably the greatest squad of players this country has ever produced.

Now we have to hope that under Steve McClaren we can gain that extra bit of luck. The squad will be largely intact ahead of Euro 2008.

You just can't help but feel this was the year. Gary Neville, David Beckham, this was our best chance since 1966 and it is a shame to finish on such a low note.

Now can this group of players go on from here? How much confidence will they have at the next major tournament? Will they have the bottle to cope with another major heartbreak?

I love articles like that. No regard for the truth or anything just a good old foolish rant. My favourite lines are:

"What is it about foreign teams being allowed to get away with play acting, feigning injury and so called ‘simulation'?" I saw Joe Cole dive twice on Saturday and Ashley Cole is always at it. Pretend it doesn't happen though.

"John Terry got booked for a brave, committed challenge, which actually ended up with him getting injured and then, of course, Wayne Rooney was sent off for, well, I still can't be certain. "
- Terry, being Terry, jumped for a ball he couldn't win and hammered through an opponent to do so. Definite foul and a yellow card. Whether he was brave and committed is irrelevant to the fact that it was a foul.

"It also surely, finally, nails any argument about using technology to help referees. Sepp Blatter must learn from this tournament. We were robbed two years ago, again against Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-final when Sol Campbell scored a last-minute winner — only for ref Urs Meier to rule it out. "
- Classic! ;D Video evidence has proven Campbell's disallowed goal and Rooney's sending off to be correct. Neither would have been overturned by technology. I don't see anyone claiming England should be appealing the sending off. If it was such a mistake why aren't they campaigning against a suspension?

"Owen Hargreaves in particular stood out. He was one of those choices that so many criticised and yet he was magnificent.

The fans can also take some credit. They were unbelievable and provided that extra strength to help cope with the fact we lost Rooney. "
- the same fans who ridiculed Hargreaves for the last 4 years and in particular in the build up to this tournament?

"Jamie Carragher has been dealt the cruelest blow of all.

He came on to take a penalty, scored it, and was then forced to re-take it. Why? Because the keeper wasn't ready? That is outrageous and another example of an unbelievable decision that has cost England.

I hope FIFA look at it. Did the ref blow his whistle? If so, you can't force him to re-take it! "
- No the ref didn't blow his whistle. Ricardo dived the right way for every other kick because he wasn't guessing. Carragher took his kick too early, then bottled it.

[jimmyhillschin]

;D I really couldnt help myself from laughing out loud after reading that.
The one thing I cant believe he is giving out about is Carragher's penalty, the ref clearly didnt blow the whistle for it.
All in all the article is pure tripe but great for a laugh.

[bandage]

That really is an hilarious read. It's so biased it defies belief. Now I will admit that certain Portuguese players dive but like rock said the English players, particularly Joe Cole, have been doing exactly the same. It was fine when Gerrard cheated in the warm up game against Hungary - 'good play' according to Ian Wright and the boys on the BBC. Also the incidents that rile him were very clear cut imo. Terry, who I admit had his only decent game of the tournament, (but Pauleta, up on his own, has been very disappointing) was ridiculous diving into the back of the lad trying to head the ball - definite card - why does he have to try head everything? We speculated he might head a penalty in the shoot out. Thought Rooney had to go - the ball was in front of him and he almost searched for the player before stamping on him. There's no conspiracy against you - you just were patently not good enough.

[ironbar1690]

I think you would like to kiss him and marry him