You've probably already read a lot about the events of yesterday, so I'll try and keep mine short and sweet. Just a few pointers about the quarter final yesterday and our performance in the tournament as a whole.
The Portugal Game
I thought we started off well, getting some early crosses in although we didn't really trouble the Portugese defence too much. They got back into it and once again we showed how negative we were as a team by allowing them to attack us.
Then came Wayne Rooney's sending off in the second half, after intervention from Christiano Ronaldo. I thought Rooney was stupid to react the way he did after his supposed "deliberate" stamp on Carvalho's groin, this was despite Rooney trying to protect himself after virtually being manhandled by two Portugese players. I think the stamp was accidental but once Ronaldo came into it and wound up Rooney (which worked a treat) and once again his temperament got the better of him as he pushed Ronaldo, everyone knows that Ronaldo is the master of gamesmanship (i.e: a cheat) and he certainly played his part in the sending off. After his antics during this game, I think he has fast-tracked his way to Real Madrid!
Funnily enough we seemed to play much better with ten men, I thought Crouch did his job well when trying to hold the ball up and Owen Hargreaves has certainly proved me, and many other doubters wrong no doubt with a truly world class display on his part, breaking up virtually every passing move Portugal tried to create. The defence were solid and Robinson only had one real save to make all game. Of course, it was obvious we were going to play for penalties, which I thought was a mistake in itself given our abysmal record in shootouts and the fact that if we had shown more enterprise and kept hold of the ball better, we might have actually scored...
The Tournament
On the whole, England certainly don't deserve to win the World Cup based on their performance through the tournament. If you want to play the blame game, Sven would probably take most of it for not taking more than four strikers, making the controversial selection of Theo Walcott for the squad, and then not even playing him! Negative formations, players being played out of position, wrong substitutions etc. Some of the players also certainly didn't live up to their "World Class" billing either, mainly Frank Lampard who bases his whole game around strikes from distance, had so many chances and failed to bury even one of them. Steven Gerrard was pretty average and the man who was supposed to be the key to our World Cup victory, has possibly cost us instead. I don't think Beckham was as bad as people made out, he delivered plenty of quality balls and his distribution was quality for the majority of the tournament which is what he has always been about, not to mention his assist and his goal which took us to the quarter finals anway.
There are a few positives to take of course, the aforementioned Owen Hargreaves has certainly done himself justice, Carrick did well when required and Aaron Lennon is certainly shaping up to be one for the future, Tottenham only paid a million for him too. I can't really think of much else though, it's doubtful we will see Beckham in another World Cup having already stepped down as captain of the squad. I doubt Gary Neville will play in another World Cup and who knows? Maybe this is the end for Michael Owen too?
I guess we're going to have to change the lyrics of "Three Lions" to "44 years of hurt" now....
Next Season
On to more domestic things now, and our club is beginning to shape up for the coming season. Avraham (or Abraham) Grant has been added to the staff as technical director of Portsmouth FC. Shades of Zajec? (Oh no, he was "executive director" wasn't he? What's the difference?) Grant has had plenty of managerial experience, having successfully managed Israeli clubs as well as the national team and he is believed to be setting up a scouting network over there. "Why do we want dodgy players from Israel!?" I hear you cry, well Yakubu certainly wasn't a flop was he? Yossi Benayoun has been a big hit in the Premiership too, so it's not as "bad" as you might think. Ian Broomfield has also been brought in as head of scouting also after he left a similar role at Aston Villa to join us.
The structure at the club now looks slightly more professional in my opinion. With Grant and Broomfield coming in we now have two guys who have got good reputations and should extend the resources of this club. Mix this with the blend of "Old Skool" that Jordan, Adams and Redknapp bring us and it doesn't look bad at all does it? Let's face it, we have always been pretty much an "Old Skool" club, especially with Harry in charge but it has always got us results on the pitch and now with the new guys in place, hopefully the club can progress off the pitch as well.
Still, I'd love to know what is happening with the new stadium now!