Petr Cech was what separated the Swiss from victory. And all are saying Cech had a great performance. Am I the only one who felt Cech was superb, but not upto his best. There was certainly something missing.
Bosingwa was pacy, but I'll wait for a few more matches to say something conclusive about him. He certainly kept Nihat and Tuncay quiet.
Ferreira played just like it was expected of him and so did Carvalho. The Portuguese defense looks very solid with him and Pepe at the center.
Ballack was majestic, marshaled the brilliant German midfield very ably.

I thought the Germans looked very average at the back, save for Lahm (Still think we should have bought him).

Metzelder and Mertesacker seem to have all the footballing ability of Peter Kay in the John Smiths ad. Every time is just 'hoof' it forward. They'll get found out soon enough, ditto Jansen at left back.

Looking forward to seeing the Dutch, sans injured Arjen Robben (quelle surprise), against Italy tonight. Hopefully it'll be a good game.

On the domestic front, exactly what the hell is going on regarding Sheva ??? How can we possibly not want to sell him but happily let AC Milan open talks with DD. Absolutely barmy.

The gospel that is the Sun claims we're after Eto'o AND Villa. That would be very interesting to see.

Frings and Gomez were most impressive. I remember the former having a good World Cup too. Excellent game, also -- in fact they've all been pretty good apart from the opener.

No pun intended, but the absence of any star strikers so far has been ... striking. Lots of goals from wingers and defenders, and teams seem to be playing either without a dominant penalty-box player (Portugal, Croatia), a useless one (Koller), or a good one (Klose) who still doesn't have much influence on the game.

Frings and Deco have both really impressed me. There was an interesting piece in the Observer yesterday about tactic and they both fit the bill as perfect modern players who can pretty much do everything,

Newsflash that we've sold DD for 18m. Any confirmation?

@ 3 LTB,

Did you really think Gomez was impressive ??

I was watching him for the first time, in the knowledge he's - apparently - a target for us. I really dont recall him contributing much other than the through ball for Klose. Missed a sitter (mind you DD, Sheva and Pizarro probably would have done the same) but drifted out of the game too much for me.

Was impressed by Podolski though, especially as he was playing out wide. Interesting to see Schweinsteiger on the bench, I thought he was the next big thing for Germany at one stage.

France on tonight - all eyes on supposed target Ribery then. We'll see if the quoted £31m looks like a bargain or not.

Peter - No confirmation as far as I can see. That's the figure that's been banded about in the mornings press.

Frings was absolutely top-notch; very impressive (and a bit of a Thomas Schaaf success story since his return to Bremen, whilst we're about it...) Always been a fan of Podolski - rather pleased at my 20-1 bet on him for the Golden Boot too :-) but didn't think a huge amount of Gomez, although it is only one game and the Germans tend to take a while to get into their stride at tournaments.

Bosingwa looked OK from what I saw of him (which wasn't a great deal).

Modric was impressive but he has that slightly Rosicky-esque "could do with a fish supper or two" look about him. Looked reasonably resilient but he could take a bit of a battering in the Premiership.

I suspect the Sheva "unsellable" comment could be construed as either Roman desperately wanting to hang on to him, or more likely that Milan's offer was so awful that we couldn't consider it - we loan him back and pay his wages, that type of thing.

Looking forward to the 'Group of Death' skirmishes today - nice to indulge in a few weeks of football without too much of a care who triumphs...!

Modric is a typical Spurs midfielder, very fancy, great technique and all that but will be bullied out of games very easily. He'll end up doing a Hleb.

I was impressed by Boswinga - strong, fast, tall: can see the attraction. Although Lahm looked very good as well. Gomez didn't do a great deal, did he?

Podolski's second goal deserved much better credit than it can, it was an absolutely sublime finish.

Saw the chat on the other blog was about the ludicrious praise give to Ronaldo: the epitome of that was when the commentator insisted that even though they hadn't actually got out their own half since the substitution, Portugal looked much better as an attacking force when Ronny replaced Nuno Gomez as the lead striker. Deco was easily their best player.

I fear the prime-time for signing players from Bayern was last summer with them unable to offer Champions League football.

I can't see Podolski, Lahm or Ribery really wanting to leave now, and their performances in the coming weeks will only serve to increase their value. It's interesting to hear the press report that we're happy to continue the pursuit of all these 'supposed' targets despite having no manager. What that means when we actually put someone in charge is anyones guess.

Modric did look good, albeit 'only' against Austria. Spurs must now be able to field a team that is just midfielders, they've got so many.

Peter - There was an interesting piece in the Observer yesterday about tactic

The Jonathan Wilson article? Really interesting - will be searching out the book at some point; always interesting when anyone gets to talk to the likes of Sacchi about tactics etc. - if only he were a few years younger and keen to come here and take the reins at the Bridge...

Portugal all the way, the best team in Euros only followed by Spain.

I was quite impressed by Portugal's performance overall though hard to judge Bosingwa yet. Thought Deco looked a lot better than the "spent force" stories earlier in the season would have suggested though I'd much rather we keep Lamps -and I see rumours Jose is after Deco again anyway.

I've been enjoying seeing PurpleNose get some of his own medicine over Real's tap-up attempts on Ronaldo - but felt really down reading somewhere at the weekend the suggestion that a deal between Madrid and ManUre for him could founder because it would stymie a planned personal shirt sponsor deal for "CR7" because United are Nike and Madrid an Adidas club -or it might be vice-versa I don't take much notice of that sort of thing usually, but if major transfer deals are now dependent on the 2 clubs sharing the same shirt manufacturer then football really has sold its soul to the devil even more than I'd realised.

I see the most predictable headline at international tournaments has arrived already before they even get to their first game:

"Dutch camp hit by rift" - see link below if you want to read dull details:

LINK

10, So you are Portuguese?

“Dutch camp hit by rift”

Almost 48 hours into the tournament - they took their time.

hey footy, La Capana in Cobham.

A very fine restaurant...

This obesession with Ancellotti... and now the news Sheva will be staying. Cant help but think Roman has the silly idea in his head that re-uniting the pair could see Sheva recapturing his form.

You only have to remember the celebrations by Roman when Shevs scored against Bolton to know what it means to him to have the Ukranian do well.

On the Euros' front I was a little disappointed with Gomez. Frings has looked great every time I've seen him. At least the game was a little more enjoyable than the rest.

Stand back now though, and watch Romania pull off a surprise victory over France...

@16 Cashif - I was wondering about the Ancelotti - Sheva link being Roman's obsession too - or more broadly with all the rumours of non-English speaking Italians being touted perhaps he sees Sheva as Assistant Player/Manager with Translation Duties?

This bit in todays Times is interesting :

LINK

When you look at those who played under Sacchi at AC Milan and see what they've gone on to do as managers themselves, it hits home just how influential he must have been.

Maybe Sheva's being kept on to guide Ancelotti through the treacheous back 9 at Carnoustie........

Cheers for that Fifty - hadn't seen it. Sacchi's influence on modern football can't be overstated; hugely important figure. And he's just a spring chicken at 62 - come on Kenyon, give him a call...!

(Ecclesiastes 1:9-14 NIV) "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
Robben just injured again.

LINK

the longer our manager farce continues the more i feel scolari will be with us in a matter of months, unless they dont make it past the group stages! I feel we are going after his targets and that those we are signing will be told he is the manager but that it is confidential - no doubt signing a piece of paper saying the same.

i dont think he is right for us but hey - keep on trucking.

Did anyone else think podolski looked v v good and at 22 a potentially great signing?

Come on the spags - we can do it - outta group "death"

I'm trying to avoid watching the Euros because, a bit like wine, if I take in one I'll likely take in another and then another ...

During the season I watch more football than is good for me. If I'm at home and the rest of the family are out I normally end up watching any match that's on, even if it's Wales Ladies reserves against a herd of sheep (speciality channels cost an extra subscription).

Anyhow what's the point of watching out for Chelsea players because with the current state of flux only Bosingwa is a definite for our squad next season.

Would it be appropriate to lift my boycott of the Megastore now that the desired effect has been reached (i.e AG now gone)?

Maybe no. AG is gone, his ghost remains till a new manager is appointed. :P

Re this Orlando Engelaar chap in the Dutch midfield - what on earth do they feed him on? He's absolutely fecking massive!

The Italians were peeled like oranges.

25- JD
Had quite a game, Engelaar. Apparently rated quite highly in Holland and has joined Schalke from Twente. Shame he's already 28.

Remind me again why Roman has it in his head that an Italian coach would be a good idea!

Watching Euro 2004 as a Chelsea fan was great. Looking on at our new signings, Cech, Carvalho, Ferreira, Robben all playing well gave me huge optimism ahead of a new season, under a new manager. How times have changed...

Watching Euro 2008, i had the same sense of optimism as 2004. A new era on the horizon after a manager had been sacked. Then i saw some Chelsea boys excel with Cech not putting a foot wrong, Ricky, Paulo and Bosingwa anchoring Portugal's defence and Ballack lauding it as captain for ze germans. And then onto tonight and 'the group of death.' I had high hopes, but after two contrasting games in terms of entertainment and quality, my optimism has been drained.

Firstly, France vs Romania. After seeing Chelsea boys representing the club with distinction, to turn on and watch Malouda and Anelka was embarrassing. At least Maka did alright, but he's on the verge of retirement anyway. Both Malouda and Anelka were beyond useless. The game may have verged on being worse than our 0-0 with Liverpool last season, but both of these players seemed to fit in well with the general level of shitness. Neither of them had any effect on the game, Malouda for a winger can't run, cross or shoot let alone beat his man and Anelka seems to drift around all game until being taken off. For everyone saying we should give him another chance next year to play as our Centre Forward, well watch today's game as confirmation that he must go. He's not prolific, can't hold the ball up, can't head the ball and seems permanantly uninterested. It was embarrassing to think that we had paid £28.5m for the pair. In my mind they are definitely on the list to go: Belletti, Boulahrouz, TBH, Maka (retire), Sidwell, SWP, Malouda, Sheva, Anelka, Pizarro and Drogba. One positive was seeing Raymond Domenech. He must be one of the worst managers in the world. Negative tactics and negative subs, i think he may even be worse than Avram.

Then it was Holland vs Italy. This game definitely gave me mixed feelings. On the positive side, there was the fact that Boulahrouz must go and that we MUST sign Van der Vaart. Van der Vaart with Sneijder ran the game and VDV could play the Zola role to perfection as next year i think we'll be playing a 4-4-1-1 formation. However there were many negatives for me. Firstly was the football. On some occassions it was total football being run by Van Basten on the sidelines and it was the beautiful game Roman and us as fans love. However it just brought back regrets. I remember when Roman was sitting next to Van Basten at Old Trafford on day 1 of Avram's reign. We fucked it hugely by not appointing Van Basten and now him and his football will be revolutionising Ajax. Secondly it emphasised the players that should be at Chelsea but the type of players we never seem to sign. Seeing Sneijder run the show made me wonder why we didn't sign him last year, and how if we don't sign Van Der Vaart we'll be the biggest idiots in Europe. If we want total football why didn't we appoint Van Basten and why don't we sign the likes of Sneijder and Van der Vaart. It also reminded me, despite him not playing, of how idiotic it was to sell one of my favourite Chelsea player of recent times: Arjen Robben. Against Romania, Robben in tandem with Van Der Vaart will tear them apart and yet we replaced him with Malouda. I think that sums up the imcompetence of Chelsea recently.

So the optimism i felt at the start whilst watching Bosingwa, Ricky, Paulo and Ballack has drifted. We need to sell the shit that are our French players, Malouda and Anelka. They don't deserve another chance simply because of their lack of effort. I felt envy seeing Van Basten and a missed opportunity at what could have been if he was managing us. After seeing Spain tomorrow, i think i'll have settled on a replacement for Anelka, as being David Villa and the fact we need a whole new style under our new manager. All the rumours linking us with Van der Vaart, Kaka, Ribery and Aguero seems to suggest that we're looking for a 'no. 10' player and that's why i think we'll be playing a 4-4-1-1. Our defence seems pretty formidable, but ahead of that we need many new signings. Wingers of real quality are a must and being linked with Quaresma, Young and Robinho would be a huge improvement on Malouda and SWP. Then for up front. All 4 of our strikers SHOULD be shipped out. I think we'll need 3 in. A choice of 3 between Villa, Huntelaar, Benzema, Berbatov and Eto'o seem like our options. Then there is our new manager. Portugal's performance under Scolari did impress me, but he's too old and can't speak English. The best performance has undoubtedly been Van Basten's Holland, but our incompetence has made him a non-starter. Joachim Low of Germany could be an outside bet as another up and coming coach, but for me it'll still be Laudrup. Seeing the rewards of placing faith in young managers who were great players, like Klinsmann and Van Basten, only reinforces this. So after all this, for me next season:

Manager: Laudrup
GK: Cech, Carlo, Hilario
DF: Bosingwa, Paulo, Ricky, Alex, JT, Ivanovic, Cole, Bridge
MD: Lamps, Mikel, Essien, Ballack, Van der Vaart
WINGERS: Cole, Kalou, Robinho, Quaresma
FORWARDS: Aguero, Villa, Di Santo, Sheva

This will leave us with 24 younger and more hungry players. I know i've left out Ribery, Kaka, Benzema, Bentley and other potential signings and that i've included Sheva and Di Santo. But even though i wish for Kaka, it seems impossible and it also seems that Sheva will see out his contract at Chelsea for another 2 years (i know it's laughable but Roman will not let him go). This is what i believe could be our squad, not for what i wish for the squad. I just hope that Kenyon gets on with getting in a new manager and signing up some players. Waiting will only inflate prices and lose us players. We've lost Modric and i fear we'll lose Villa and especially Van der Vaart after Euro 2008. Time is ticking away and i hope for good news from Chelsea, although i expect to be disappointed with yet more missed opportunities.

KTBFFH

@ Habs,
You made some fine points that I have to agree with, especially getting rid of Anelka because he's worthless but there were some things I have to disagree with. How are you so sure that Van Der Vaart and Robben will tear it up against Romania when in their Euro qualifying group Romania beat them 1-0, and tied them 0-0 the two times they played, they didn't exactly tear them apart did they. Being the proud Romanian that I just had to point that out.

Just wanted to add my two penneth on the games last night.

I dont think the Romanians are getting the credit they deserve. Yeah, it was a bad game, but France weren't undoing themselves, I thought the Romanians stifled them well.

Holland looked nothing short of awesome. RVN was a revelation in the lone striker role (and he was WELL alone to shin in the first). Sneijder is absolute class, hence his move to Real. I really wanted Van Der Vaart to be a revelation as he's another we're linked with. I thought he played well, but didn't really shine. I was trying to picture him playing for us, but if the role behind the striker is where he flourishes, I guess the new manager would be looking at a different system to get the best out of him. Were he to sign of course.

Nice to see a team combined to utilise their strengths as a unit, and not stick 11 names on the team-sheet. I'll admit to not having heard of a few of the Dutch players, but they work amazingly well together. And that Engelaar is one big unit.

Oh, and anyone know who that guy was at right back for Holland? He had a pretty memorable game.........