Wally with a Brolly

As I rushed to the pub to catch the England-France game, I could easily tell that Euro 2012 had finally officially started. English flags and packed bars with screaming starting even before the game itself was under-way: no doubt England was about to enter the competition.

The mood in the England camp had been decidedly low-key, partly due to the fact the English public finally had no expectations, but also I suspect due to Roy (I refuse to call him Woy) Hodgson's approach which had worked so well at Fulham in the Europa League. People are often surprised by teams that apparently 'sneak in' when nobody expects them to, and these teams often outperform to their wildest expectations. Think Porto and (sigh) Chelsea in the Champions' League. This had also worked at the Euro, where unfortunately everyone woke up to Greece winning the damn thing in 2004, and an under-strength Germany making it all the way to the final in 2008.

France, on the other hand, were for once quietly confident in their ability. An injured M'Vila was a big loss prior to kick-off, and there were concerns about Mexes's fitness (i.e. he's too fat). But Laurent Blanc was able to field a full-strength squad riding on the wave of a 20 game unbeaten run which included impressive victories over Brazil and Germany.

The beers were flowing, and people were getting tense. Minutes before kick-off, and confirmation of the line-ups, and as usual groans and delight within the crowd.


          THE LINE-UPS

ENGLAND: Football fans are, by definition, fickle and lazy. Otherwise, how could they justify hours of sitting on the couch to insult/crown players? And, with the announcement of the line-ups, I was comforted in that view. Groans accompanied the inclusion of Milner, often sen as a willing workhorse with limited skill, especially on the wing. Whilst this view is often backed up by evidence, Roy had picked him for a reason.

Roy knew that, faced with a French 4-3-3, winning the midfield battle would be important. And whilst England started in what seemed like a 4-4-1-1 with Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain on the wings, this had the potential to morph into a quick counter-attacking or defensive 4-3-3 when needs be, with Young and Chamberlain occupying the wings and Milner helping out Parker and Gerrard in Central Midfield.

It therefore was extremely annoying to hear Alan Shearer, he of Newcastle's relegation and insightful analysis fame, call Hodgson's formation 'rigid'. Roy had come with a plan with the limited means at his disposal, and shouldn't that be what you ask of your manager and your team? Not only that, but Hodgson and England were proven right with the result, and would have been vindicated had Milner not missed that sitter. We're also guessing Downing would have managed to miss that, so the choice of player was the right one.

Finally, a word on Oxlade-Chamberlain. His inclusion was both bold and unsurprising. Having witnessed him in the Champions' League against AC Milan, there was clear evidence that the young Gunner is a willing runner, and would be more willing to listen to his manager's demands in terms of tracking back.

The right choice. If only he could score from 2 yards out

FRANCE: International managers often surprise you, whether in a positive or negative fashion.
Take Roy: The man often criticised for being too conservative included an 18-year-old and a novice 22-year-old striker in the line-up to face France at the first game of the Euros.

Laurent Blanc, on the other hand, was infuriating in his decisions.

Now don't get me wrong: Florent Malouda, on his day, was a great player. Notice anything in that sentence?
1. The use of the past tense: Florent has not shown anything remotely world-class for a good two years.
2. The use of "on his day". Again, it hasn't really been Florent's day too many times this year. You can tell by the fact he started a grant total of ZERO important games for arguably the worst Chelsea team of the last few years (Yes, I know they won the Champions' League. No, they're not the best Chelsea side of the last five years).

So it was puzzling to see an educated manager decide to play an unwanted winger as a central midfielder. This was especially so when combined with his decision to restrict Nasri to the right hand-side of midfield.

As men were quickly going for a last-minute piss (recommended with the amount of booze to be consumed), both teams walked onto the pitch and gave us...well, what exactly did they give us?

"Rubbish, moi?" A has-been winger playing centre midfield. Puzzling.

          THE GAME ITSELF

Everyone in England watched the game, so let's just jump straight to a few conclusions from the game:

* What a first half that was! Pace, tempo, invention from both sides, it was truly a pleasure to watch that game. Whilst the first 15 minutes were a bit tense, the rest of the half was full of vigour and a clear desire from both teams to have the upper hand, albeit in different styles. England were happy to hit France on the break, whilst France were constantly probing and testing England's tactical discipline with their neat passing.

* Steven Gerrard probably played the most disciplined game of his career. Roy evidently asked him to do so, as playing 4 across midfield, even with Milner helping out, left Parker and Gerrard potentially vulnerable to France's 3 men in midfield. And with Parker having Achilles' problems and being slow (no faster than Barry in my book), Gerrard was asked to give a disciplined performance, one he hasn't been asked to produce for Liverpool since 1999, when he was playing in the youth team. It truly was a captain's performance!

* Seriously, is anyone surprised that Parker has been found out at this level? He was out of his depth against Holland in a friendly, and again yesterday was slow and a bit cumbersome. You can't doubt his enthusiasm. I just doubt his quality.

* Malouda should never play for France. The man is just rubbish now, especially in the centre of midfield. Depressing.

* England not only showed courage, but also great discipline. France showed exactly the opposite. Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery are players of undoubtable talent, but it'd be great if they followed instructions. Boys, if you're playing on the wings, it'd be great if you provided any width. Instead they both kept cutting back inside, stepping on Cabaye's and Benzema's toes. Disappointing.

* Can we just agree that Glenn Johnson is and has been England's starting right-back for a reason all these years. The man has never put a foot wrong for England, and the criticism of Johnson stems from his supposed poor performances for his club. I'm pretty sure I've seen Terry having a few bad performances this season, and yet his place in the team is always assured. Double standards.

* Ashley Cole and Joe Hart are England's only true world-class players, and showed it yet again yesterdat. Nothing to add to this statement really. Simplest thing I'll have to write throughout the Euros.

* Lescott is actually really good. You can argue he's the one who actually bossed that England defeat. The continuation of a great season alongside Kompany for Man City.

* Did Debuchy earn himself a transfer to a big club or what? Whilst we at WwaB are not surprised by his performance, Debuchy will have been unknown to many outside France. Tnink Cabaye, but at right-back. And not because they both played for Lille. Debuchy is that good, as evidenced by the few frights he gave to Ashley Cole.

* Evra is past it. Whilst he didn't have too much to do, it has become common to see Evra jog back when caught out of position or supposed to cover. A disturbing trend that will only continue in the future as he becomes more and more of a liability.

* Welbeck led the line well. He was feeding off scraps yet still managed to turn Mexes (of AC Milan) a few times and held the ball up really well. Echoes of Bobby Zamora for Fulham when Roy was manager there, and this turned out to work out well, didn't it?

* France were disappointing in the second half. No desire, no energy, no tempo. We witnessed walking football, and this played right into England's hands, as the English boys must have gotten tired towards the end.

* Roy's substitutions made absolute sense. Whilst I'm no fan of Jordan Henderson, the boy is full of running and energy. Putting him on for a disappointing Parker made absolute sense. Similarly, switching Young back to LM and putting on Defoe gave ENgland a focal point for any counter-attacks, and Rami and Mexes must have been wary of his pace.

* Again, I must emphasise that this probably was the best result England could get considering the players missing and the circumstances of Hodgson's appointment.



         PLAYER RATINGS

ENGLAND

HART: Parried everything thrown at him. An incredible save in the first half, and held on to several good shots from Benzema in the second. A reassuring presence. 9/10

World Class

JOHNSON: Solid and had Ribery in his back-pocket all game long. Even tried to help out by providing width when England had the ball. A complete performance. 8/10

TERRY: Underrated and solid performance. Was happy to have all the French play in front of him though. 6/10

LESCOTT: Covered Cole the few times Debuchy provided width. Authoritative, simple and effective. Grew as the game went on. Cahill who? 8/10

COLE: The man just never puts a foot wrong. Mr Consistency, even if he found Debuchy to be a handful, especially in the first half. 7/10

MILNER: A willing worker, as usual. Provided width and help in midfield, and that's what he was asked to do. Shame that he missed that sitter. An unsung hero. 7/10

GERRARD: A great performance from the captain. Disciplined, kept things simple and helped Parker out. A commanding game, with a great assist to boot. 8/10

PARKER: Found the going tough, maybe hampered by his Achilles problem. Still seems to be too slow, and his touch was often poor. You can't doubt his commitment, but this might not be enough. 5/10

OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN: Did well considering the fact this was a competitive game at the Euros against France, and the lad is still 18. Worked hard and tried to provide support. 6/10

YOUNG: Enterprising, creative and a great outlet for Hodgson's time. Gave Diarra the runaround a few times. Was particularly impressive in the first half. Shame his decision-making wasn't as good as his dribbling, as he wasted a few good opportunities. 7/10

WELBECK: Had no support and no great service throughout the game. played the big-man-up-front role to perfection, and even gave Mexes and Rami a scare or two. Useful in relieving pressure. 7/10




FRANCE

LLORIS: Had nothing to do apart from pick the ball out of his net. Even then, didn't know what hit him. 5/10

DEBUCHY: A great performance from right-back. Was solid defensively and probably was France's most dangerous player in the first half, causing countless problems to Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Cole. A very good player full of good intentions. 8/10

Debuchy, a real threat

RAMI: Slow and cumbersome, his distribution was quite poor. Didn't have much to do though. But where was he on England's goal? 5/10

MEXES: Slow but managed to deal with Welbeck with authority every time the young Mancunian tried to turn him. grew a bit into the game. Didn't help France up the tempo by spending too much time exchaning passes with Rami. 5/10

EVRA: Only good contribution was being involved in France's goal by squaring it to Ribery. Was totally absent and provided no width in the second half when France needed it. A lazy performance, especially when compared with Debuchy's. 4/10

DIARRA: Found the going tough against Young, especially in the first half. At fault for the goal. Better in the second half as he nipped many England counters in the bud, whether legally or cynically. 5/10

CABAYE: Also found it tough out there. Enjoyed a good tussle with the England midfielders and had a few good shots, but his distribution was poor. Should have been booked. 6/10

MALOUDA: Didn't up the tempo one bit, no creativity. A useless addition to France's midfield, especially considering that meant playing Nasri on the right. Slow. 2/10

NASRI: Found more options when he drifted into the middle, and scored a great goal. Stepped on Benzema's toes by cutting too much inside. Was meant to play wide right for a reason, and didn't follow instructions, playing right into England's hands. A frustrating performance. 6/10

RIBERY: A wasteful performance. Laid on an assist but otherwise was anonymous, apart from trying to get Johnson sent off for an 'elbow'. Cut too much inside and provided no width. Disappointing. 4/10

BENZEMA: Flashes of brilliance, no serice. Should have played on Terry's shoulders a bit more, even though England defended deep. A few good shots. 6/10