11.9.12 England v Ukraine

What a load of sour grapes in the ITV studio.  We of course had absolutely no need of three 'pundits' to add to the drivel spewed by Adrian Chiles, but as ever, there was overload on pointless chat.  The supposed issues with the referee were rather accentuated, and for some reason there was a view that England had been 'hard done by'.

It is true that the referee got a couple of things wrong.  Glen Johnson's yellow card was a bit harsh considering his foot made contact with the ball first.  Do I have sympathy?  No.  The guy is forever out of position, and trying to either catch up a player, or challenge in desperation.  On this basis, sooner or later, you'll lose out in some way or other.  On other matters, I don't think there's much to moan about at all.  Defoe scored an excellent goal with a fantastic strike of the ball from outside the box.  It is indeed a shame that it was ruled out and a free kick awarded to Ukraine.  However, he had his right arm and hand out and in the air, level with his head, and managed to hold off the Ukraine player.  The fact that the Ukraine player went down and acted like a wailing Banshee that had just been garrotted does not mean that he was not in fact the recipient of a hand off to the face by Defoe.  Perhaps next time, Defoe will stop waving and holding off opponents.  Any claim that it was 'nothing' and accidental, or that the award of a free kick was 'soft' is complete shit.  Late in the game, when the Ukraine defender had his arm a bit high and the ball hit it, the penalty was apparently a no-brainer.  As ever, England seem to want it both ways.

Gerrard's sending off was totally appropriate.  If you were the one he managed to elbow in the face when challenging to head the ball, you'd soon know about it.  Any pundit's view that he "caught him on the way down" does not really address the fact that he jumped in the first place with his elbow level with the opponent's head, ready to be pulled sideways for a smack in the face.  There is no need to jump like that with such an obvious leading elbow; quite simply thuggish.  The desperate lung for the ball, through the opponent, with ten minutes to go was typical of a player trying to make good after a loss of possession; the over-eagerness had the consequence of a second yellow card, meaning a dismissal.  All very proper.

1-1 was okay in the end for both sides.  England should have won but failed to take the many chances.  As for Joe Hart, I will save him for another posting.  For the time being, I will simply confirm that he is nowhere near as good as people think, and his reputation (in some quarters) is not deserved.  There will be many opportunities for me to elaborate on his poor positioning, panicky flaps at the ball in the air, and his decisions to avoid catching the fucking thing.

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