Euro 2008 Qualifying: Andorra 0 - 3 Steven Gerrard and some other guys

I meant to write about the England-Andorra game earlier, but immediately after watching it I came down with the Cold Of Doom, and I've been wacked out on decongestants ever since. It's quite possible that my sinuses are protesting against the horror of that match.

Andorra, despite their obvious status as minnows, are a nasty little team to play against -- constantly fouling, diving, whining to the ref and winding up their opponents (way to go, Rooney, you lummox). This is something that never fails to drive me crazy, whether it's in my rec league or in an international match: if you want to play a physical game, that's fine, but then keep your mouth shut when you get some of it back.

But it's no excuse for how badly England played, especially in the first half. Andorra may be a bunch of dirty assholes, who stuck 10 men behind the ball for 90 minutes, but they weren't also responsible for the England players forgetting how to put a decent cross in. Or to pass the ball forward to a teammate FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.

Ahem. Sorry. Got a bit worked up there. So I have a certain amount of sympathy for the England players who went to the game and booed the team relentlessly. And very little for John Terry, who it seems got his ickle feelings hurt. Because there's a very simple solution, if you want them to stop booing: STOP SUCKING.

I do realize that part of the reason they're sucking is because they're so scared of the consequences if they mess up. So it's a vicious circle. But I kind of wish that they'd stand up and say "Fuck it, we're going to ignore all this bullshit in the media and just go out there and play some good football." They might lose the odd game, but I suspect they'd also win more and draw less. They couldn't do any worse than they are now, surely?