No Giroud for Borussia Monchengladbach, they have had second thoughts about trying to sign him as they know they can’t compete with us when it comes to wages etc, so it seems it’s just us in the race to secure his services. Surely we can’t muck it up can we? Ok, he didn’t shine last night but he wasn’t on the pitch that long so let’s not be too harsh.

Yann M’Vila, well he showed just why he is rated so highly, we really need to pray that the rumours of a done deal are true!

What a night for England and especially Theo Walcott. With England 2-1 down to Sweden and looking like they were going to have to book an early flight home, Roy Hodgson played a master-stroke.

With 60 minutes on the clock, James Milner was replaced by Walcott, just three minutes later the ball landed at Theos feet and from 25 yards he fired home to bring the scores level. He played his part for the winner too, after a good break down the right, he crossed into the box for Danny Wellbeck to somehow back-heel the ball into the net.

Now that’s what I call an impact substitution!

3-2 and England just need a draw in their last game against Ukraine who were beaten 2-0 by France.

Steve Palmer is not impressed with the Euro’s though, here is his post for the day…

So, the Euros are in full swing, and transfer rumours are rife.

I have been watching the competition and I have to admit that I haven’t been overly impressed with what I have seen.

Much of the talent on display, one or two of which have been linked to Arsenal, are yet to shine.

So far I have not missed a game, much to the annoyance of my wife, but I intend to keep that up right through to the final.

One of the things I have noticed is how the officials must have been instructed to keep the play flowing at all times, many a time there has been a blatant foul committed on a player who makes a break away but nine times out of ten the referee waves play on.

I’d say that this has happened in nearly every game I have watched and I actually started to wonder if the laws had been changed…!

Another thing I have noticed, and it is happening in our own league and that’s when corners are being taken, many defenders slide their arms around the back of the attacker and grab a handful of his shirt. As soon a the corner is taken, defenders pull on the oppositions shirt as if their lives depend on it.

Not once as far as I know has a free kick/penalty been given for that foul, has that rule changed as well?

Has anybody noticed how many penalties there has been?

We have some of the best divers in the world out there and they have been performing very well but so far, this competition has only produced one penalty and that was awarded against our own club keeper Chesney and that had to be given after incompetent trip from a keeper that was having a bad night.

Even so, with teams like Italy and Spain and even our own England, who can dive as good as the rest, it appears that the officials have followed their instructions to the letter and not awarded a spot kick.

Surely these games are proving that football results can be manufactured by the officials as blatant fouls are not being penalised. Professional fouls are going unpunished and even when all the players have stopped the play, the ref still waves play on.

I have also noticed how offside’s are called early, sometimes it even seems that the decision is made before the pass, I’m sure I have seen two or three goals that I considered good goals adjudged to be offside.

Even the amount of free kicks awarded from the start of the game to around seventy minutes are down from normal, but I have noticed that from the latter point of the game, everything changes and the referee is less stringent.

Is this to ensure that Mr Stat Man doesn’t pick up on anything?

I believe the reason behind all of this is to keep everybody happy,Β  keep the football flowing which is more pleasing on the eye, but it could very well change the way you look at football in the future. You see a blatant professional foul and you won’t be surprised that your club/country has not been awarded a free-kick.

I’m wondering why there are any rules at all just let the referee decide who wins but that is happening now isn’t it?

Give me back the old days when it took a tank to stop a player, shoulder to shoulder and the toughest man won, where a player felt guilty if he went down and if a player had blood spurting from his body he would be up on his feet wanting to play on.

Nowadays a player gets brushed off the ball and he rolls over five or six times and he dives when there is no contact.

Footballers today are professional cheats and the refs are no better!

Who do we blame for this, well I blame John Terry. πŸ˜‰

Written by Steve Palmer.