If Holland lose to Italy in the final now....

Bad luck to France. Especially the second goal. The first one, I don't see how the ref had any choice even if it was a weak penalty.

daniel robert chapman wrote:I think Alan Hansen just said that, "before the game, the big talking point was Thuram; has he gone mental, or was he left out?"

Funny as it would be, I think he said "mentally'. Mental is better though.

tommydski wrote:If Holland lose to Italy in the final now....

Bad luck to France. Especially the second goal. The first one, I don't see how the ref had any choice even if it was a weak penalty.

Tommy, you're right. It wasn't a full bloodied tackle, but the defender was trying to get to the ball through the back of Toni (who has been pish all night) with no sight whatsoever of the ball. Last man too. So the sending off was correct.

I'm not sure about bad luck on the second goal. Henry shat it and turned his back. He had no idea what was happening when the ball struck him. If he had been facing it he may have been able to move his feet more effectively.

I don't agree with Motson and Lawro but their comment of "one tournament too many for some of the French players" is spot on. A tired team indeed.

Mind you Italy are not much better.

Toni has just had another shot off target. He couldn't score in a barrel of fannies.

Josef K wrote:

daniel robert chapman wrote:I think Alan Hansen just said that, "before the game, the big talking point was Thuram; has he gone mental, or was he left out?"

Funny as it would be, I think he said "mentally'. Mental is better though.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah. See I was walking out the living room when I heard that. 'm going to walk out again now, and go watch Melt Banana. Pas de mal!

My flatmate's boyfriend called her at half time and declared that he "will never eat pasta again!"

And spaghetti is one of his favourite dishes. Deutsche humour!

Were there actually 10 French players vs 11 Italians. I didn't realise.

Losing Ribéry at the very beginning was a nightmare.

I was amazed how bad that ref was. There was penalty/red card, sure, that's the rule.
Apart from that, the only good thing he did was the final whistle.
De Rossi should have been sent off just before half time for his tackle on Evra. He scored the second goal instead.

Sly Bug wrote:Were there actually 10 French players vs 11 Italians. I didn't realise.

Losing Ribéry at the very beginning was a nightmare.

I was amazed how bad that ref was. There was penalty/red card, sure, that's the rule.
Apart from that, the only good thing he did was the final whistle.

Yeah Sly, Ribbery going off was a real blow.

I feel your pain, Sylvain. It's clear that the French national team are in need of a complete overhaul. A new manager, a new squad, and a new attitude.

By the time the 2010 World Cup Finals begin Henry will be 33. Thuram will be 38, Makele will be 37, as will Coupet; Viera will be 34, Sagnol will be 33, Gallas will be 33, Anelka will be 32, and even Malouda will have hit 30. All of these players were regular first choices during this tournament - will any of them be first choices in two year's time?

The French team will need rebuilding from the very core. I can't see French national football enjoying halcyon days again any time soon. Just like England, they need a new manager with a four or six year plan.

Bonne chance...

simmo wrote:I feel your pain, Sylvain. It's clear that the French national team are in need of a complete overhaul. A new manager, a new squad, and a new attitude.

By the time the 2010 World Cup Finals begin Henry will be 33. Thuram will be 38, Makele will be 37, as will Coupet; Viera will be 34, Sagnol will be 33, Gallas will be 33, Anelka will be 32, and even Malouda will have hit 30. All of these players were regular first choices during this tournament - will any of them be first choices in two year's time?

The French team will need rebuilding from the very core. I can't see French national football enjoying halcyon days again any time soon. Just like England, they need a new manager with a four or six year plan.

Bonne chance...

I really hope Domenech will quit but I doubt he'll have the dignity to do so.

We need Deschamps as a new manager.
I agree it's time to renew the team. Those players were great: World cup winners, runners-up, Euro winners but it's over now.

Lloris has signed with Lyon. He will be playing with the biggest French team. He's only 21. I hope he'll be the goalkeeper of France soon. All niçois will be so proud.

I just read this on another forum, it made me chuckle:

What was Gallas on about to the ref? Domenech too, mind you by the look of confusion on his face at the final whistle perhaps he was asking the result of the game and if they've qualified.

Sly Bug wrote:I really hope Domenech will quit but I doubt he'll have the dignity to do so.

We need Deschamps as a new manager.
I agree it's time to renew the team. Those players were great: World cup winners, runners-up, Euro winners but it's over now.

Lloris has signed with Lyon. He will be playing with the biggest French team. He's only 21. I hope he'll be the goalkeeper of France soon. All niçois will be so proud.

Apparently Domenech has already cited the young players coming through as a reason why he won't quit. Ouch.