Euro 2004

The magnitude of Gerrard’s mistake cannot be explained away, but too great a focus on it can only be detrimental. In the build-up to this tournament he was considered even more talismanic than Beckham and Owen. Is he now the country’s enemy? Will he be treated like Beckham was in 1998? Of course it was an horrendous blunder in the grudge match against the old enemy, but let’s not panic, it was only the first game. Taking into consideration the dismal spectacle of Croatia v Switzerland, we should not worry.

We have to draw on the positives from what was a disciplined and promising England performance. Gerrard and Lampard operated well together and it looks as though the much maligned diamond formation can be finally consigned to the scrap heap. Lampard had another great game. They subdued Vieira, and Makelele’s only accomplishment was winding up Rooney, who unsurprisingly took the bait.

The French were very lucky. Heskey’s wild hack was just as brainless as Gerrard’s back-pass and Zidane, who proved the difference between the two sides but wasn’t as masterful as has been suggested, was checked and restricted for much of the game.

If we are to meet France again — in the final — I hope Beckham will be all the keener to make amends and Gerrard all the more determined to avenge the demons of Sunday night.

Phil Cowin, Nottingham

Hype and hot air

I WAS looking forward to watching Gerrard enhance his burgeoning reputation for England. How disappointed I was. Not only did he suffer by comparison with Vieira and Zidane, but I rated him a poor third in England’s midfield.

Great players perform on the big occasions. Gerrard must improve dramatically if he is to be one of the world’s top ten midfielders. Furthermore, he must do it at this tournament; battling performances for Liverpool against, for example, Birmingham City, though creditable, do not bear the hallmark of greatness.

I suspect that the hyperbole surrounding Gerrard is similar to that for the Premiership (best league in the world, etc) — largely hot air. I hope he proves me wrong.

Chris Mahon, Scarborough

Better home than away

YEAR after year we evaluate English players in the depths of an English winter on English pitches and conclude that we have world-class players.

When the big summer tournaments arrive our gallant lads walk out on to the bowling greens of Portugal, or wherever, in at least an English summer climate, although often much warmer. We attempt to play a suitable game for these conditions when the ball must do the work. This is achievable only with the highest level of passing, control and confidence on the ball. In our case, this inevitably breaks down against the top sides and we resort to “run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run” interspersed with the ubiquitous long ball.

Tournaments like this are more akin to gym football and our history is littered with the best gym players being on the bench if they are lucky, although it is more likely that they are left at home with the tortilla dip.

To be regarded as world class, a player must be a candidate for selection in a World 22. I do not think there is a single English player who would make such a list unless international tournaments are played in the middle of an English winter at the old baseball ground in Derby.

Mark Littlewood, Leicester

Working alone

PLAYERS such as Zidane and Vieira benefit from the luxury of playing alongside ten other reasonably elite players who occasionally aid their individual causes. This is not true of Gerrard who, for the past few seasons, has single-handedly inspired (carried?) those around him to achieve moderate success for a supposedly top European club. His unfortunate and uncharacteristic error against the French was probably due to the shock of, yet again, trying to defend an unconvincing 1-0 lead against ultimately superior opposition.

Ally Robinson, Manchester

Chess challenge

WE DO not have to be reminded that the last and only time England has won an international trophy was at home in 1966, and we have not taken part in another final before or since.

The team gave its all against France; one hopes that they have left something for the “walkovers” against Switzerland and Croatia. Pride, in the shape of the England flags, has its place, but we will win nothing until we can play chess on the pitch instead of our present “fast draughts”. That great chess master, Zidane, would rather be subbed than commit such a sin. Let us learn from him before the flags are flying at half-mast.

Michael Fishman, London N2

On the defensive

A FEW more years are needed before we can judge whether Gerrard is a world-class midfield talent. He is a very, very good player, has great energy, is a top passer with a formidable range, a good tackler and a born winner. But he is an instinct player; if he is forced to choose options because of the slow pace of the game or poor marking by his team mates, he is not as productive.

The blood and thunder of an English Premiership game with its unforgiving pace is a real opportunity to see the effectiveness of Gerrard, but in this slower-paced tournament we will see a more defensive player where instinct is not important. His impact on the game will, therefore, often be marginal.

Brian Outhwaite, Pontefract

In the know

I QUESTION the wisdom of having any one player as the nominated penalty-taker and, particularly, David Beckham against Fabian Barthez. I am sure Barthez will have studied Beckham’s penalties — after all they were at Manchester United together — and perhaps that little extra knowledge swung the odds in his favour.

Tony Flynn, Great Budworth, Cheshire

Wayne’s game

DAVID BECKHAM’S penalty-taking skills and Gerrard’s affection for the long-ball game — mainly trying to lob his own goalkeeper — both pale into insignificance compared to the selfishness on the ball of Wayne Rooney.

“Unfazed by the occasion and running like a dervish” is a poor excuse for a highly-paid professional sportsman who demonstrated on more than one occasion against France that all he wanted to be was a one-man Roy of the Rovers.

On his most significant breakaway of the night, head down and having drawn two French defenders away from the central line, he appeared to be utterly oblivious to Darius Vassell standing in acres of space a few yards to his right, screaming for the pass which would probably have put the result beyond all doubt.

Trevor Chenery, Chalfont St Giles

Low marks

I BELIEVE that the wearing of a tattoo is directly linked to self-esteem. It is no coincidence that the rise of David Beckham as a tattooist’s sandwich-board is inversely proportional to his decline as a footballing magic man.

Huw Beynon, Llandeilo

Seeing it through

THE true great would not have made that back-pass to lose England the game. One of the reasons that England won the Rugby World Cup was because, to a man, they concentrated until the final whistle. That made the difference. That is when you win international tournaments — in the dying minutes of a game.

Jon Beaman, jon.v.beaman@pfizer.com

World-class let down

WHEN the lesser team plays in a spoiling manner against the better team at top level they usually come unstuck. It doesn’t matter how late or how unlucky it was, England lost because they did not have the ambition or quality to finish France off. This was compounded by Eriksson replacing the excellent Rooney with Heskey — with dire consequences. Our so-called world-class players let us down. Beckham, as usual in big tournaments, did not deliver; Scholes managed to get himself booked; Owen was anonymous; the excellent Gerrard made a mistake that a Sunday league player wouldn’t make. On the other hand, King and Rooney demonstrated that there are top-quality players outside the Premiership’s “Big Four”, even though we are often led to believe that this is not the case.

Mark Frost, mark10frost@yahoo.com

Dunkirk spirit

ALTHOUGH England scored only one very good goal against the two very well-taken goals by France, according to the media it seems that England still more or less won. The Dunkirk spirit is not dead.

Peter Rayner, Sandy Lane, Bedfordshire