Pickford a hero on penalties in Moscow

We missed a trick not getting Harry Maguire last summer, to think we got cargo ship Keane instead, the lad Maguire is immense.

However, this England team has to have changes for the Sweden game.

Quality from Pickford but I'm already worried he won't be here much longer. Bigger fish will be already circling.

Well done, Jordan, lad!

England could be saved by a Pope in a penalty shoot-out on Tuesday night as Gareth Southgate ponders a daring tactical switch of keepers.

The junk we get from the tabloids!

Liam Brady on commentary described Pickford's save near the end of normal time as "one of the best saves I have ever seen, up there with Gordon Banks."

It's interesting to see a somewhat different attitude to this English team from many people in Ireland this time round. There is a general feeling from a lot of people that they would like to see England doing well.

Maybe it's down to a more realistic, less cocky attitude from the British media.

11 out of 13 in his career and 6 this season.

Anyway, Jordan has done us proud; just hope he stays with us for the long term!

He's a grounded, intelligent articulate man and seems quite tactically astute.

That was some save off Pickford, and hopefully this England team will have learned something about themselves, the way they had to dig in.

They were shell-shocked for the first period of extra-time, but stayed in the game to regain their composure, which was lost when Southgate made his first real mistake of this tournament imo by bringing on Dier instead of just going for a second goal.

That said, I'm made up for many of the England players, who have been refreshing and honest, and are just one top midfielder away from being a fantastic side!

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When Ryan Giggs and I were watching at pitch level just before the equaliser, it looked as though the strike was going wide when Pickford made the save. Did it not look like that on replays?

If he should have left it and gone for goal kick, there wouldn't have been an equaliser! Just wondering!

That's seriously absurd! That actually pisses me off.

Great to see our Jordan save their Jordan. Everyone I was with (all neutrals when it comes to our thing) said Henderson was going to miss!

So pleased for Pickford.

What a dirty bunch of bastards the Colombians were! They deserved what they got!

Can we start to believe????

Amazed these knobs get a career in telly just because they played the game but more pleased that our midget keeper turned out to be a national hero; eat your heart out, Courtwat.

His post match interview was hilarious. He appeared to be bursting with excitement and was struggling to contain himself.

Well done, lad!

I hope we get to keep him for a very long time.

"England's, England's Number One, England's Number One!!!"

Loved how he said he's not the biggest keeper but he has "power and agility" and he states "he's very good at it."

Boy has a humble confidence that is entirely admirable.

Thrilled for him.

I didn't like Trippier's post-match interview saying that the England players have been going for the same spot in penalty practice. I hope Sweden weren't watching that interview.

What a great night though. Happy for the lads – and Jordan Pickford in particular.

Good to see an intelligent manager come good against those neanderthals who seem to mistrust intelligence, thinking and curiosity in football. And possibly life in general.

'Too soft' my arse!

Colombia were dreadful. England played well and again lacked that bit of creative magic in midfield. But we hung in there and won it deservedly.

I agree entirely with your summary, especially about Maguire, what a player.

But put Rashford in for Sterling, Loftus-Cheek for Alli (clearly not fit), and Rose in for Young.

What's with all this “we” business? Weren't you telling us a few days ago how you can't relate to the England team, the fans, the anthem, the history etc etc.

One shoot-out win and you're on the bandwagon.

Jim Bennings, Maguire was immense? He was beaten in the air by Mina for the goal, and Falcao was upfront on his own for most of the game.

What a save at the end of the game and what a penalty save — really pleased for him. We need to bring in Loftus-Cheek for Dele Alli who appears to be unfit to me.

I am surprised at how Trippier has played — brilliant as against Ashley Young, another who needs replacing on Saturday.

I thought Stones seemed to lose the plot second half but the balance of the England side is all wrong.

Sterling had another game to forget and his positioning takes away from Alli's game..

Trippier and Walker are too similar and Walker is at his best in Trippier's position.

I would drop Walker and Sterling, play Rashford up front with Kane and Alli, and bring Loftus-Cheek into midfield.

We have had the luck of the draw so far and Sweden gives us the perfect opportunity to get through to the next round.

I still think this is one of the worst England teams I have seen in 56 years but luck seems to be on their side.

Did you watch their game today? It was a game littered with slow ponderous play, woeful finishing, poor technique and very little guile.

Yes, they finished 2nd to France in their qualifying group, beating an extremely poor Holland to a play-off spot, but only on goal difference.

Yes, they then eliminated an aging Italy in a play-off to qualify for Russia. In Russia, they were beaten by the struggling Germans and beat a plodding Switzerland today.

Yes, they have a lot of big units in their side. Yes, historically over the past 50 years England has an appalling record against Sweden – two wins in 15. But those two wins came in our last 3 meetings with them.

But players of the quality of Colombia they don't have. Nor are they masters of the dark arts as the South Americans displayed today.

Colombia for me was THE major stumbling block in England's path to the final. Croatia is the other team in that side of the draw to be wary of.

But Sweden...? Nah! England has the players and the game to see them off.

Yes, it will be a tough game; Sweden have a real solid defence.

One thing about tonight is that there is a lack of craft and guile in midfield; having Vardy on is almost a waste as there's no-one who regularly plays defence-splitting balls or accurate balls over the top.

I don't think it will be an exciting game.

England should beat Sweden easily. There's no question who has the better players, it's just about being the better team. Sweden lack a player like Falcao to be a goal threat and it'll be a battle of set pieces I think, unless we can be a bit more creative in open play (Loftus-Cheek for the unfit and out of form Alli should help).

Onwards EFC!

Contrary to every social media post I've seen though, I didn't see anything in the game to make me think "it's coming home".

We have a severe lack of genuine cutting edge in the final third.

Alli and Kane are so effective for Spurs as they have an certain Dane behind them with incredible vision. Sterling has De Bruyne and Silva pulling the strings. Players like Eriksen or De Bruyne are what this team is missing before we can dare dream of becoming world beaters.

Lingard, Alli and Sterling are all tricky players, but there appear to be very few brain cells and very little vision between them.

Come on, you England.

I thought we desperately needed things changing up with 20 minutes to go and Southgate seemed unwilling to make a tactical switch. You could see the momentum draining away by the minute when we should have been able to exploit their increasing desperation and kill the game off.

From what I've seen in the previous games, Loftus-Cheek would have been my pick to put them on the back foot again.

I saw the Sweden game today and saw absolutely nothing to worry England.

Their greatest asset is a tall, strong defence who look very well organised.

We've only scored two goals from open play so far and I don't think our set-pieces will be quite as effective against Sweden.

With all that said, if we want to beat Sweden, I feel we're going to see a lot more drive and ambition than we've seen so far. Quick passes, players making clever runs, getting in-behind. Worryingly, I haven't seen England do that so far in this World Cup.

At the back I don't think Sweden can do much to worry us, but if they snatch one from a set piece or decide to play for penalties then they could pose a serious challenge.

I watched Sterling very closely tonight. He lost the ball 11 times in the first half alone. I'm not one of those people who mercilessly slags him off, but he's not offering the team anything, despite his excellent season for City. I fear he cooked his goose tonight. Rashford didn't take his chance against Belgium and so I'd replace Sterling with Vardy against Sweden. He's just got a better footballing brain than Sterling but still offers pace and guile.

Alli also looks a doubt for Saturday. Thigh injury or not, he too has struggled so far but then I don't think Loftus-Cheek or Delph have been brilliant either. For that reason I'd probably stick with Alli if he's fit.

Definitely a winnable game on Saturday, but I feel the result will be decided in training and in the tactics board before the match even kicks off. Get it right, and we'll do it. Get it wrong and Sweden will win by the odd hard-fought goal.

So pleased for the lad...

The Sweden game will be difficult. To say it'll be easier than a Colombian team who completely forgot to play actual football, and instead decided to concentrate on Mark Geiger for 93 or so minutes, is certifiably insane.

I do think they match up better with Sweden than they do Colombia overall, but today England was given the gift of 11 Colombians losing the plot. So, in the end, I believe the Sweden game will be a more difficult one.

Be wary of English dismissive superiority. It's not your friend. Pray the players don't think that way and look beyond the Swedes!

Buckle down and focus. Colombia should have been arguably the toughest team they'll face on their side of the bracket. It won't work out that way at all because Colombia seriously shit the bed.

All credit to England though, taking nothing away from them.

I really don't like the formation, but I have always disliked a back 5, so I would say that. There's just too many defenders on the pitch.

I'd like to see Dier sit in front of a back 4, with Loftus-Cheek alongside him, and then an attacking midfield trio of Sterling, Alli, and Lingard. We can then make use of Rashford as an impact sub, and Vardy too. Without Barkley and Wilshere, there's no real creative player in the squad, so we really should be looking to play on the counter and breaking at speed.

But bollocks to all that, Southgate is doing alright so far, so let him do it his way.

And please no more about the red card that should have been. On another day, Stones could also have gotten one for raking Falcao's face with his studs. Both teams were playing with the same bad ref, and neither he nor so-called cheating was responsible for England's predicament. Fortunately for you, they had Pickford.

But please review England's dives before you accuse anyone else of cheating. Maguire's collapse was positively embarrassing, and Sterling's wasn't much better.

Wow!

And Colombia were very poor for me. Sure, they did play without their best player, but they were far from the levels of 4 years ago. They only stayed in the game by playing the ref not the game. A better ref would have stopped them.

England's dives, you mean Lingard? VAR should be used and players should be given a retrospective yellow card when the ball next goes out of play. That would soon stop it. Lingard was embarrassing in looking for a penalty every time he got into the box rather than trying to take a chance. But that's probably because he lacks top level quality.

Maguire had contact with his foot and clearly waved his finger at the ref whilst running back into position indicating that he was not claiming a penalty, so no, not a dive, he fell over. There is a difference.

Press report: England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford a target for both Liverpool and Manchester United, keeps England's World Cup hopes on track after Arsenal's David Ospina makes wondersave!! Lol

There were a few below par performances though: Alli seems intent on playing with a swagger that belies his actual performance and contribution. Sterling appears to have completely forgotten what to do and Lingard seemed to concentrate more on not getting hurt than doing what he's usually very good at.

When you have three influential players not at anywhere near 100%, you're going to struggle.

"They only stayed in the game by playing the ref not the game. A better ref would have stopped them."

Stopped them from what?

Please tell me how you play a ref to stay in the game. I'd like to learn to do that in my league. I'm pretty overmatched in some games.

And please review Stones's act and tell me why that isn't "violent conduct" as you put it. The ref missed two of those, one on each side.

I know you're viewing the game from a partisan perspective, and I understand your passion, but I'm sorry, some of this is a bit silly.

I actually think there was some contact for the Lingard tumble in the second half but he didn't deserve a penalty because he wasn't brave and forceful enough to make the most of the chance anyway.

And the ref should have got a grip of the Colombian players who were constantly swarming him by issuing cards. He let them swarm him time after time. He let them get away with murder.

Si, only Maguire knows. The commentator on British TV was adamant Maguire was telling the ref it wasn't a pen, and he was back on his feet quickly and running back into position. I couldn't see any effort by him to appeal for a pen, and the wagging of the finger was clear; what he meant by it, only he can say for certain.

Stones had a mistake in him but tonight he seemed to completely lose the plot in the closing stages.

Having said all that, poor sides can win cups given the luck of the drawer. I remember one club getting to an FA Cup Final without playing a Premier League side!!

Did anyone notice the back-of-the-head butt by the RS player?

Without James, they seemed happy to let England have the ball and offered little going forward. Pickford only called into serious, but sensational action in stoppage time.

They had a couple of spells in both halves were they kept the ball but their first corner came in the 93rd minute.

Lingard/Sterling & Alli all looked off it today. Their movement still very good but their execution beyond that very poor.

Loftus-Cheek has definitely something to offer, he also carries the ball well. I think Alli makes way.

Stones excellent and all three defenders carried the ball out under pressure.

The standout was Kane, ice cold penalty and won numerous free kicks. Led by example.

Nice to be on the other side of a shoot-out. The last comment to Southgate who has handled the circus really well, got the team focused and playing together.

Roll on, Saturday!

I thought England handled it fairly well. Yes, it ruined the game but most managed to steer clear of the bother and focus on getting a win. Some couldn't help themselves. I thought Harry Kane was a giant... win the ball, keep it, get fouled, say nothing, jog back to position. Hopefully they've learnt a lesson from him in how to react to teams like Colombia.

Thrilled for Jordan. He's a good goalkeeper but more than anything else he's got some character – does anything faze him? I actually felt confident he'd stop one.

Mike: How to play the ref by a ref – obviously scroll down to the on the field bit.

They disrupted the flow of the game, knock England out of their stride. They contested every decision against them, they tried for fouls that weren't there. They were playing to win fouls and set-pieces. They were doing every trick in the book to get themselves back into a game that they couldn't do playing football.

Wimbledon were the masters of it in the old First Division, leaving the old long ball game to one side. I recall a few times Everton were just bullied out of games by Wimbledon when they were clearly the better side.

The Echo reviewed the concert and quoted Waters as saying, "I know Liverpool FC is the best football team in the world."

What he actually said was, "I know Liverpool is the best football city in the world."

Lazy journalism or deliberate misreporting? Who knows? I emailed the journalist and the online article was amended.

Or how it keeps you in the game.

Or how it affects the outcome – unless he changes his calls, which he clearly didn't.

Some refs issue yellows in those situations, some don't. This ref issued one, to Falcao for his over-the-top protest of Maguire's dive. But I'm also still not clear on how his handling of those situations impacted the game one way or the other.

"I'm also still not clear on how his handling of those situations impacted the game one way or the other."

It took four minutes for the referee to clear the penalty area of protesting Colombian players from the time he gave the spot kick to the time Harry Kane was finally free to score the penalty.

The referee played 5 minutes of injury time as a result, which included making up for the 4 minutes delay before England could take the penalty.

Colombia scored their equaliser in the 93rd minute of the game.

I suggest that kinda 'impacted on the game.'

The American referee was exceedingly weak at different times in the game, none more so when failing to take charge of Colombia's evident gamesmanship in delaying England's penalty and trying to unsettle Kane as much as possible.

I'm guessing on that performance the ref won't be getting any more gigs at the remaining games in this World Cup.

Of course they did everything possible to interrupt England's flow. Of course they were playing to win fouls and free kicks. That's what they were supposed to do in that situation. A good team knows how to deal with that.

As for falling down to win free-kicks, both teams were equally guilty of that, and you well know it.

Did you happen to check the author of that article you linked? Not sure you want to cite Graham "Phantom Whistle" Poll to an Evertonian. But I know all that stuff he wrote... I've been a ref for 40 years myself and encountered all of it and more. (I actually got stabbed once by a spectator – a 90-year-old lady with a very sharp umbrella.)

We'll just have to disagree on this one.

But come on, everybody played the same number of minutes, and the Colombians would have had to be clairvoyant to have foreseen their protest would add on just enough time for their equalizer. Just because B follows A doesn't mean A caused B. Besides, red-carding a Colombian or two would have taken the same amount of time.

Actually I was surprised that only five minutes were added on... expected more. And it's not the ref's fault that England couldn't see out those minutes.

Actually she was Portuguese. Much less deadly. I only needed four stitches.

Stoked for Pickers, especially after Henderson's effort, couldn't have scripted that shootout better myself!

You asked for evidence of " how [the ref's] handling of [certain] situations impacted the game one way or the other."

I gave it to you.

The rest of your post introduces other details completely unrelated to that single point, although in a weird way they kinda contradict your original claim.

G'night!

Worst England side you have seen in 56years????? You are kidding aren't you? Don't you remember the dreadful 70s? The ordinary 80s? The pathetic performances from our so called 'world class' players in the 2000s??

This group of players for me are at last performing for each other and playing as a unit. We may lack some quality, but I think Southgate has us playing as one and it's the most positive performance at a major tournament for years. We may not win the World Cup, but this young group can grow from here and we will be much better for this experience.

Southgate needs a lot of credit – I dread to think what we would be saying about England if Big Sam had still been in charge!!

Sleep well.

Your assessment of Colombia's performance is way off the mark.

Pretty sure that isn't within the laws and strategy of the game!!!

I am talking about the way they are set up every bit as much as the lack of quality in individuals. We have played nobody yet apart from Belgium's second string and lost that one.

We seem incapable of creating chances from open play. We have conceded in every game even against the worst side in the competition.

All judgments are relative and based on memory and I know we've had some bad sides historically but, for me, this is the most anaemic side I have seen.

Got a bulletin for you... all footballers are cheats. Every damned one of us. You should have seen the handball I snuck in a couple of weeks ago. Took it down clean, right onto my foot. Thing of beauty.

Mind you, when it comes to not managing to close-out the game 1 - 0, it just had to be England, didn't it? But no thanks to Henderson and a big thank you to Pickford, to win on penalties is so not England. Great composure by Dier as well. Just maybe the monkey is off the back!

I think the ref got nearly all the calls right. However, he didn't manage the match well. All that being surrounded by the players – I'd just start carding them. To be fair to the ref, if he/she ref destroys the match with too many cards then he gets dropped from future games, so it's hard for them. But once you have a no-nonsense reputation, I think the players would leave you alone. This American ref appears to have a reputation for allowing the talking back – he needs to change that.

In rugby it doesn't happen because the culture is different but also because the ref has more weapons at his disposal that are damaging to the offending team but not as cataclysmic as a red card – ie, penalties, 10 yards, sin bin etc. Football should look into alternative remedies for dissent. Losing 10 yards for arguing too much about a free kick for one (although the Columbians were stealing that kind of yardage anyway).

Can anyone tell me the height of Gordon Banks compared to Pickford? Courtois has made a lot of mistakes as he can not get down quick enough to save low shots in the corner.

England lack a bit of quality in an area of the pitch where it is possibly needed the most but they have a great intensity which only the best teams can really live with.

Colombia resorted to the dark arts because it was their best way of staying in the game. WhIlst England lack a bit of quality, their work-rate is not easy to play against unless you have loads of quality yourselves.

We have the winner of Man Utd v Spurs playing the winner of Burnley v Watford in one semi final and then you have the winner of Bournemouth v Aston Villa playing Rochdale v West Brom in the other

And the final will be in Rochdale. If this was England, we would not be able to contain our excitement.

Remind me not to play snakes and ladders with you... especially if there's money involved.

All games are extremely competitive – Sweden will be no different. Anyone can go out to anyone – ask Germany, Portugal or Argentina, let alone Italy and Holland. It will be a tough game.

Second, we lose huge amounts of movement and pace when Sterling is not on the pitch. Rashford and others touted are not in the same league – ask Pep!

How about Belgium v England final?

At 6ft-1in, he is not small for a goalkeeper and he is plenty agile and powerful. Did anyone mention playing out from the back? Courtois panics and cannot kick a ball!

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
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Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am a Yankee Doodle boy

Consequently it's great to be able to read and occasionally participate in ToffeeWeb threads which are generally more reasoned, informative and all encompassing than the shite spouted by overpaid, has been pundits.

My twopenneth:

Management: when the Columbians were on the verge of imploding Southgate should have been barking at the England lads to continue playing footie and not indulge the Columbians and he should have kept on barking until the soft tw*ts followed his instruction. Southgate knows that the likes of Henderson don't need any encouragement to indulge the ugly side of the game and it came as no surprise when he got in a snide butt booked. The similarly intellectually challenged Lingaard 'pulls a Neymar' when it would have been easier to get a shot in and put the game to bed. Trippier and Maguire were amongst others guilty of silly antics. Collectively the England team need to learn from this, grow up and focus on playing fast paced footie.

Walker: is off his game / a liability (if we insist on playing 3). He needs to be replaced, Cahill in the middle, Stones to the right ? Or revert to a '4' and get more guile in midfield. '4' would bring an element of surprise too.

Sterling is another who has been ineffective. I accept that he's got blistering pace but they're not playing in a way that allows him to use it even so he still couldn't hit the barn door.

England's main chance of winning this is to utilize its best assets attack at pace why not adopt a formation that utilizes Kane, Vardy & Rashford ? simply keep on knocking the ball into areas of the pitch where they could run onto it / run with it and terrify the life out of any defence.

England got through without exciting most people and they had to thank the stupidity of the Colombian players for their penalty, never really looked like scoring from open play, Sweden won't be so daft in giving penalties away,might be in for another long night / afternoon.

Columbia definitely set out to disrupt and get under the skin of the England players, including the fitness coach who barged into Sterling deliberately. That served to put them off their own game and make it easier for us. If we hadn't conceded that stupid late goal then it would have been a routine win. We do need the rest of the team to contribute more offensively if we are going to ease past Sweden as they always cause us difficulties.

Dramatic but not exciting, tense and nerve shredding in the same way that as watching the mighty Blues. I would honestly find it more exciting seeing Everton winning the Carabao Cup than England winning the World Cup. It would just mean a lot more to me.

In a head to head match it would be close between Sweden vs Columbia . In my book Columbia have more about them, a marginally better team. I think that Sweden's slow euro style football will suit England far better than Columbia's dark arts performance. I think England will win in normal time.

I've lost count of the times England have gone out to a side winning ugly, so it's great to see us do it for a change.

If you make one big mistake, many will not forgive you as it can be so costly.

Outfield players make mistakes all the time and get away with it.

Pickford has proved he is one of the best available at the moment and may, in time, prove to be a Banks or a Shilton.

His penalty save proved to be the game winner despite the Dier conversion.

However, it's difficult to see this England team winning the trophy after this performance.

They started well in the first 20 minutes but lacked punch with Alli and Sterling showing very little.
After that the Colombians came into it and despite some dubious tactics looked very dangerous but lacked passing astuteness.

Some changes need to be made for the Sweden game but I doubt idiot Southgate will make any.

Such a pity they scored from the resulting corner, otherwise that save would have been talked about for generations.
I've been critical of him for not moving his feet enough for long rage efforts, but he certainly moves them now.
The good news is, he still has lots to learn and although he's fantastic now, we still haven't seen anywhere near the best of him

Mike Gaynes @ various.

Let me walk you through your claim @ 87 that you are not clear on how the ref's handling of [key] situations impacted on the game one way or the other.

As you have done so before on TW Mike, in this very thread you flag up you are a referee of 40 years standing, as well as performing 'on t'other side' as a player.

As such, you should be keenly aware that any referee, no matter at what level he whistles at, needs to stamp his authority on the game from the first whistle if he is to retain control and gain the respect of the two teams and players.

Anything less and he (or she) leaves themselves open to manipulation and even scorn.

In profiling the US ref Geiger you yourself describe him as "never having any concept of player management." We certainly saw evidence of that last night.

Two key situations - one in each half - led to the escalation of hostilities. Both situations got out of hand because of weak - or rather, non-existent - intervention by the referee. A direct consequence of both was an increasingly fractious affair, as well as the added minutes in injury time, which gave Colombia the opportunity to equalise. That, as previously stated, most definitely 'impacted on the game'.

A better referee would have extinguished the flames at the first spark of trouble.

In the first half, Colombia conceded a free kick close and central to their penalty area. As both a player and a referee Mike, you will recognize what Colombia engaged in: out and out gamesmanship to delay and disrupt the taking of the free kick as much as possible; provocation of the opposition players; ungentlemanly conduct towards the referee.

England players had every legitimate right to place themselves in and alongside the Colombian wall at that situation. The referee totally failed to intervene and defuse the resulting jostling and Bairros clearly puts his head into Henderson's chest which rides up and smacks him under his jaw. Yes, Henderson - rather than holding his jaw, the point of contact - covers his face. Twattish simulation. But the biggest 'crime' was clearly Bairros' 'violent conduct', because that is what it was. He was very lucky to escape a straight red card.

Not content with that, even after Bairros was shown a yellow card, because Colombia had delayed the taking of the free kick so long, the ref had to count out anew the distance of the wall. And once again Colombia displayed their complete contempt for the referee by PHYSICALLY wiping away the line he drew on the pitch, insisting he moved it forward some centimetres...and then clearly, the Colombian players move at least one shoe size forward from THAT line. The England players protest that the wall's distance was not correctly positioned, but the ref - intimidated and manipulated by the Colombians - again failed to assert himself and move the wall back.

That is one very clear example of how the referee's performance impacted on the mood of the match.

At halftime, a Colombian coach clearly barges - totally unnecessarily - into Sterling as he leaves the pitch. Clear provocation and seen by the referee, who meekly wags a finger at the coach, but takes no further action.

Then we have the penalty situation, which was like the first half scenario times two. Once again, you have Colombia engaging in out and out gamesmanship to delay and disrupt the taking of the penalty as much as possible. Indeed, evidence has emerged of Colombian players doing some 'gardening' on the penalty spot as confusion reigns.

Once again, they are allowed to do so en bloc because of a weak referee. What have you posted on TW before about a referee stepping back from a situation and making judgement Mike? Geiger compounded matters by not walking OUT of the penalty area, away from where the spot kick was to be taken. Staying where he did ensured Colombia would delay the taking of the penalty as long as they did.

By walking outside of the area, the Colombian players would have had to follow him to pursue their protests. A good referee would then have told them: "Right now you have two choices: shut up and walk away, or stay here and continuing arguing in which case I will book you."

That Sanchez was the only Colombian booked in that scenario for his blatant rugby tackle on Kane to concede the pen, and that Henderson was the only other player booked for (gently) pushing back against a head to the back of his own head, made a complete mockery of things.

In total on the night, Colombia had 6 players booked - a record at this world cup. A stronger referee: 1) wouldn't have allowed the melee to continue as long as it did; 2) in quicker time would have started issuing yellow cards to diffuse the situation.

Furthermore, the flourishing of yellow cards to the Colombians would have also restrained some of their more physical play in the remaining 30 minutes of the game for fear of picking up a second yellow card.

As previously stated, it took 4 minutes between awarding the penalty to the actual scoring of the penalty. There were 5 minutes of injury time added at the end of 90 minutes. Colombia scored their equaliser in the 93rd minute. So the nonsense of the delay in the taking of the penalty AND failing to book any Colombian player for his part in the delay most definitely impacted on the game.

To claim as you do @ 92 that: "...everybody played the same number of minutes, and the Colombians would have had to be clairvoyant to have foreseen their protest would add on just enough time for their equalizer. Just because B follows A doesn't mean A caused B. Besides, red-carding a Colombian or two would have taken the same amount of time" totally misses the point.

Firstly, attributing Colombians with clairvoyance is an absurd hypothetical invented by you. Nobody else is making that claim. I have given you 2 very clear examples of how the referee's performance directly impacted on the game and the 90 minute result.

At no point have I claimed it was 'inevitable' Colombia would equalise in injury time that their gamesmanship created. I have merely pointed out that it was a consequence of them having the opportunity to do so, thanks to the extra minutes added by the referee due to Colombia's undeniable gamesmanship and ungentlemanly conduct following the giving of the penalty.

Secondly, posting as you did "Besides, red-carding a Colombian or two would have taken the same amount of time" is just bizarre.

Doncha think Colombia playing with 9 or 10 men might just have 'impacted' on the game a tad, Mike?

George, Paul and Brent, thanks for the Independence Day wishes. Would you mind maybe taking us back, just for a little while? Things have gone batshit crazy over here. (And George, I loved that scene too. James Garner's expression when he first tastes the moonshine is priceless.)

1. Yes, Colombia exercised lots and lots of gamesmanship. No modern referee, American or otherwise, is going to send off a player for that in a WC elimination game, much as you may wish for it. Ain't happening.

2. Mina's goal went in at 92:32. Halfway through stoppage time. You keep going on (and on and on) about the delay before the pen, but you have absolutely no way of knowing whether the ref actually added time on for that. The fact is that the second half also included five substitutions, six yellow cards, two injury delays and a goal celebration, which together accounted for much more than the 2-and-a-half minutes of stoppage time at which the the tying goal occurred. Your insistence that the pen debate was the reason for the TAO required for Mina's goal is simply -- to use your own word -- bizarre.

I'm off on a day out with the family, so this field is all yours.

Each to their own style of posting, Mike.

I chose brevity last night, you chose to 'go on and on' about a moot point challenged by myself and others.

1) Glad you can acknowledge Colombia engaged in lots (and lots! - your repeated words) of gamemanship. Why and how? Because they were given licence to do so by the referee. Thus, his management of proceedings DID impact on the game. Never claimed a player should be sent off for gamemanship, so don't slyly try and hang that one on me Mike.

2) I have made no claims as to how the stoppage time was calculated, so again, you are slyly trying to hang something on me I haven't stated. I actually agree with you, that five minutes was a lot less than I anticipated for the reasons you list. I merely flagged up to you - correctly, factually - the time taken up between the ref awarding the penalty and the penalty being scored, together with the - correct, factual - time added on at the end and the timing of Colombia's goal.

It wasn't me who offered bizarre hypotheticals.

Hope you have a good day out with the family, Mike.

This comes after it emerged that Bayern Munich have been watching Pickford for months and have identified the England international as their top choice to replace Manuel Neuer.

Sorry, but Don's post made me chuckle... I'm often too long-winded myself, but I seldom have as insightful posts as you write. But they can take up some space! Keep it up! :)

The Spanish media are just not impressed by him, and so Real are unlikely to cough up the big bucks needed to sign him. Therefore, why would they come in for Pickford?

Bayern were supposedly interested in Pickford over doubts about Neuer recovering from injury. He may not have been at his best, but Neuer is fit enough to play every game for Germany, and so should be fit for the new season. He's only 32 as well, so hardly ready for retirement. So will Bayern really cough up what we'd demand, and do Bayern ever spend massive money on players? Sure compared to the rest of Germany, but not compared to England.

You can relax Paul, he's not going anywhere.

Obviously our best players moving on is one of the reasons why we keep struggling to break that blasted glass ceiling.

Approaching 160 posts on this thread on a hot topic in which an Everton player became a global trend on social media...and your sole contribution to the thread is to have a pop at me.

No wonder you have no mirror to take a good look at yourself. You are so insipid there would be no reflection.

Wanted to say thank you.

Good day at the Crowley house. Beach, fireworks, and fired up the grill for dinner with some burgers, dogs, and went with some bratwurst too (ya, German, but SOOOO good!). Oh, and beer. Can't not have a beer on the 4th.

Only thing missing was shooting some guns! ;0) 'MERICA!

Link

Now bring on the World Cup games tomorrow! Can't wait. What a tournament it's been!

Cheers.