Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ May 25 2012, 1:00 PM BST

Lovely touchy tappy passing by teams like Arselona and Barsenal may have become the vogue in top football and loved by the Platinis and Blatters who run the game

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Not just the Platinis and Blatters by everyone the world over. Don't get me wrong, there are aspects of the modern game that I find upsetting, particularly players urging the Ref to show a card and the play acting when tackled.

On the other hand, if I was a manager and I'd just blown £15 million on a star striker and during his first match, some dozy donkey from Stoke immediately broke his leg in a vicious and cynical tackle, then I'd be livid. Maybe that's why the game has gone this way.

For a lot of clubs, protecting their players is paramount and dropping out of the Premiership equates to immediate financial woe. 20 years ago, no one cared if Charlie Chipshop was stretchered off the pitch with three broken legs, but the pressure on clubs these days dictates looking after your investments.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ May 25 2012, 11:20 AM BST

As we've lost so many players over the last few of seasons due to broken legs - with Sagna being the latest casualty - you can stick your lower division, no skill, Sunday league, career ending, football up your bum.

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It's only the wimpy Arse players who seem to suffer. Why is that?

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ May 25 2012, 8:35 AM BST

Most beer drinkers. = Hundreds of millions.

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Just cos millions drink it it doesn't mean it's good. Millions read the Mail and the Sun - me included.

Millions like Eastenders!

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ May 25 2012, 8:35 AM BST

How often do you see a full blooded Stuart Pearce type sliding tackle in football now? It's virtually disappeared because the idiot governing bodies have refereed it out of the game. Now all you see is endless bactracking and blocking, and that's not really what football was supposed to be! Ban thugs by all means but please do not ban physical full blooded football, but ofcourse, it's too late, it almost already is.

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There's a massive difference between a strong Pearce tackle and a sneaky. cowardly little shoy like Barton. His record speaks for itself. He's dangerous and should be locked up.

Quote: Chappers @ May 25 2012, 1:19 AM BST

He didn't manage it with Keane, Cantona and Rooney did he!

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Rooney for United has drastically improved this year only conceding one yellow. He has pretty much stayed out of trouble altogether apart from that international madness.

Maybe he is a afraid of Fergie, or maybe he just respects him too much to pull that kind of stunt these days.

Quote: Chappers @ May 25 2012, 10:46 PM BST

There's a massive difference between a strong Pearce tackle and a sneaky. cowardly little shoy like Barton.

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What's a shoy?

Quote: Jamey @ May 25 2012, 11:42 PM BST

Maybe he is a afraid of Fergie, or maybe he just respects him too much to pull that kind of stunt these days.

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Do you really think he is capable of thinking like that?

I wouldn't be surprised if he has to have someone to dress him in the morning !

Quote: Oldrocker @ May 26 2012, 1:09 AM BST

I wouldn't be surprised if he has to have someone to dress him in the morning !

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I'm sure he can dress himself, Oldrocker. We're talking about Joey Barton here, not Joey Deacon.

I was talking about Rooney.

Mickey Rooney by the sound of it.

Was just watching the Women's FA Cup Final on Sky Sports 2. It ended 2-2 after extra time, and I went out the room in the ads. I come back and now they've changed to Huddersfield Town vs Sheffield United. What about the W FA Cup penalties!? I want to know who won ffs!

Meanwhile my club have just been put down 4 divisions, we must be the most hard done by fans in England.

I quite like Englands Kit but why not wear white.
There's no clash with that.

Last night's England performance was a total snooze-fest. Whenever you cram a midfield with Barry, Parker, Milner, etc., the ball is only going one way - back to the Keeper.

Speaking of Keepers, Rob Green has no concept of counter attacking. Every time he picked up the ball from a Norwegian corner, he kept hold of it for the full 11 seconds instead of chucking it out quickly to the few England players that went belting forward.

Despite my criticisms, there were a couple of positives to England's performance - Lescott, Baines and Downing put in admirable defensive duties and my estimation of Carroll has gone through the roof - he was attacking, defending, passing, finding space and was generally all over the pitch.

Roy needs to re-think his tactics and fast.

I was in the pub and a bloke said 'God, Norway are shit' and then realised that we weren't playing in red

I thought it was woeful.
Young's run at defence and eventual goal proved that the Norsemen were very fragile at the back - yet we never manged to penetrate again.
Very little will to go forward.
Slight glimmer of hope with Oxlade-Chamberlain, who seemed keen.
Not looking forward to seeing this lot agianst a team that actually managed to qualify.

After baking in Wembley stadium at what felt like 100C for 4/5 hours and watching a mind numbing game for over 2 hours, I was then subjected to the most thrilling penalty shoot-out I have ever witnessed.
6 of the first 8 penalties were missed then I think 13 on the trot were scored.
Champion division here we come