England v Italy

It's a few days late, granted. I took this after about an hour of the game when England were still at 0-0 and in with a shout. Sadly the rest of the match saw us completely battered and deservedly eliminated on penalties. I suppose I can stand the fact we've been knocked out without losing a game in normal time, something of an achievement. However it was obvious towards the end of the match that we fall some way short in terms of being one of the best sides on the planet. An average Italy side, devoid of talents from the past such as Zola or Maldini, managed to make our team look less than capable. Ashley Young was disapointing all tournament, here is a player who wears the colours of Man Utd but when he pulls on an England shirt he looks more Man Overboard.

There were bright spots though. The introduction of Alex Oxlade Chamberlain (featuring in a blip of mine last October) was a big plus, as was the performances of Stevie G. I know the country are clamouring for us to bin off the over 30's and go with the youth, but in truth a team needs a balance to be succesful and someone of Gerrards experience and ability is sufficient.

In other news I don't care who wins now and for the record the Olympics doesn't interest me either. As far as sport goes, roll on August and the new season.