An England fans view

The history between England and Argentina meant this was never going to be just another friendly. Going back 39 years to when the Argentina captain, Antonio Rattin refused to leave the field for 10 minutes after being sent off at Wembley, England v Argentina has always been special. It's not just on a sporting level, in 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands and after a war, British rule was reinstated. Just 4 years later, Maradona showed both sides of his character in the space of a few minutes. First he cheated by punching the ball into the net and then he scored a fantastic individual goal. In France 98, Beckham was sent off in a fiery encounter which England lost on penalties. He laid his ghosts to rest in Japan 2002 with the penalty that won the game 1-0 as the Argies crashed out in the group stage.

So off we all went to Geneva for the latest episode. For years now, England friendlies have been a joke. Multiple substitutions and a lack of passion have lead to some pretty bad performances and results but for once, the players all seemed 'up for the game'. There were 8,000 official England tickets but as normal, thousands of others got their hands on tickets all over the stadium. In total, I would say about half the 29,000 was England fans. Around 6,000 were supporting Argentina with the rest being neutral.....or as neutral as you could be in the cauldron. The atmosphere was like a tournament match. Both sides at were at full strength, the players didn't want to miss this either. For some reason, unknown to anyone with an IQ above 37, the United Nations had chosen this game to represent friendship. Are they mad ?? I think we all know the answer to that one.

The UN friendship game started off well with the Argie players being filmed singing and chanting some some which dates back a few years and questions the England players sexuality. No England fans I know were particularly offended by this, it's all part of it. England fans were singing songs about the Falklands conflict. These are the reasons the atmosphere was so fierce and the game was played with the passion that was shown by everyone on the field.

Still, the UN hadn't got anything more important to worry about and after the game, still reeling from their 3-2 defeat to England, Argentina were reprimanded by The United Nations Peace Envoy for Sport. The UN had selected the match as a vehicle to promote good sportsmanship but have been angered by Argentina's reported behaviour prior to kick off in Geneva. Jose Pekerman's squad are alleged to have engaged in anti-English chanting in a bid to bate their opponents; actions which have drawn an angry rebuke from Adolf Ogi.
"It is totally unacceptable," said Adolf Ogi.
"I can only apologise to the English people for what has happened."
And Ogi is determined to seek answers from the Argentinean FA after the UN were left with egg on their face.
"I will be looking into the incidents and asking the Argentinean authorities for an explanation," added Ogi.
"We have tried to use this game as to promote peace through football.
"It is not the sort of behaviour you expect."

Lets look at that last quote again "It is not the sort of behaviour you expect". Yes, it is you moron. There is a long history between the sides. Do you think it's going to subside because the UN earmark this game in yet another one of their stupid campaigns !!!!

Anyway, I digress. Onto the action. For once, an England friendly wasn't going to be a dull, drab affair. There was skill and aggression on display, it was clear we were in for a good afternoons entertainment. Michael Owen had the ball in the net early on but it was ruled out of offside (never!!!). Then the Argies took the lead. Wayne Bridge was easily beaten and as the cross came in Crespo was given the freedom of the penalty area by John Terry and Rio Ferdinand to score. The lead didn't last long and the White Pele (Wayne Rooney) calmly finished to level the scores. He also hit the post with a stunning piece of control and chip that beat the keeper but not the woodwork.

There were chances at both ends with Robinson looking assured and the Argie keeper looking like David James. The second half continued in the same vein but it was the Argies who took the lead again from a set piece. More comedy defending allowed Walter Samuel a close range header (how embarrassing cos he is a donkey) and the Argies tried to break up the game with their trademark diving and cheating.

Ironically, this was to be their downfall. With just 3 minutes left, own found space at the back post to head home Gerrards deep cross. We were jubilant having saved ourselves from defeat but the drama wasn't over. Beckham rattled the crossbar and then with seconds left, sub Joe Cole put a cross into the area and Owen headed home again to give England the victory the traveling army of fans craved. We had scored the winner in the injury time added on when the Argies were faking injury. Talk about poetic justice.

The final whistle brought huge celebrations on the pitch and in the stands. Songs were song as loudly as possible. This is what it means to support England....and it was only a friendly. God knows what will happen if we meet them again next summer.

Peter Crouch, David James - Sven is an idiot !!!

Why do we bother going to watch friendlies, paying ridiculous prices for tickets only to have to put up with these 2 in an England shirt. They simply are not good enough (and they aren't the only ones). I'm not blaming the players, far from it. Most England fans will back anyone wearing the shirt BUT in addition, most England fans also agree that these 2 players are simply not up to it. James has a history of mistakes for England and is also getting on a bit so why not take a younger keeper along instead ?? And as for Crouch, mathematic laws mean he doesn't have a goals per game ratio for either club or country this season. He is a 6' 7" (2.01m) striker who can't head the ball. I wonder how many of the strikers in the Brazil, Holland, Italian or Argentinian squads haven't scored a goal this season.

The frustration is mounting amongst the supporters. We have the best collection of players for well over 30 years, coupled with the fact, the tournament is being played in Europe, this gives England's is most realistic chance of winning the World Cup that we've had since that great day at Wembley back in 1966. The problem is we have a manager who continually makes baffling tactical and player selection decisions.

Bar one or two teams in the world, England should go into every game looking to impose themselves on the opposition knowing if we play to even 80% of our ability, we will win the game. I, and others, had hoped the Poland match in Manchester last month had marked a turning point as England played exciting, skillful, attacking football. Hopefully, our fears of a return to the boring, dull, tactically inpet performances we've witnessed in friendlies for the last 3 years, will not be realised in Geneva on Saturday. We fans expect England to use this game to put down a marker to the rest of the world. Beating Argetina with a convincing display would make people sit up as we start the build-up for the finals in Germany.

£30 to watch Peter Crouch against Walter Samuel. I can't wait !!!!

Welcome to the World Cup 2006 blog of an England fan. Having set up a website (www.2006-worldcup.biz seeing as you asked) to provide information for supporters planning to travel to Germany for the World Cup next summer, I though it only fair to give an insight into the ordeals that football supporters go through leading up to a tournament.

Having made harder work of qualifying that we should have done, England finally topped Group 6 ahead of Poland who also qualified. Several England fans have been less than satisfied with the performance of the manager and many of the players. The strange tactics and player selection coupled with endless inept performances going back nearly 4 years have severly tested the limits of many fans with some simply refusing to attend home friendly matches.

The final qualifier against Poland was probably England's best performance for over a year, in fact I'm struggling to think of the last time the team played so well....possible the 0-0 draw in Turkey to qualify for Euro 2004. Now we will have 5 or 6 friendlies in preparation for the finals in Germany. The first game is against old rivals, Argentina, in Geneva on Saturday 12th November. As ever, England will take a large following with over 7,000 official tickets sold and many, many more in other parts of the stadium.

Hopefully, both teams will treat the game seriously and we'll witness a great game between two of the favourites to win the World Cup next summer. For those of you who don't know, England away matches are a great social event, it's not just a football match. The group of lads I meet up with come from Sunderland, London, North West, Midlands and other places. Flights and hotels are always booked up as soon as a fixture is rumoured, never mind confirmed. So we're all set for the trip to Geneva. Flying in on Friday evening for 2 nights in the Swiss city before heading home again on Sunday morning. Thankfully for once, an away match means that we don't need to book time off work.

Next update will be when the squad for the game is announced. Check back to read the reaction