Ethel The Tree

France 4-2 Croatia ... 1-0 Own goal from a free kick that should never have been given Zees could only appen to Frahnce! 1-1 Top strike and that feeling that justice has been done 2-1 Seriously.. wtf? Ball to hand from a distance of about a foot After studying VAR for an eternity, ref decides to award a penalty - FIX How France went in at half time ahead is one of those mysteries that will always cast doubt on the integrity of international competition - they'd barely been out of their own half and their one shot at goal was the 'penalty' 3-1 'Against the run of play' being an understatement, the goal was perhaps less surprising than the glowing praise heaped on Pogba by the BBC commentary team - "Cometh the man" excuse me? He'd done nothing all game 4-1 Six minutes later and now it's Mbappe's turn to have his bottom kissed 4-1!! Two good strikes but how did it come to this? 4-2 Lloris provides a moment of pure comedy - just surprised the ref didn't find a reason to disallow it Apart from Croatia tiring badly, Mbappe falling over his own feet and Pogba missing an absolute sitter - that was it I'd already decided long before the final whistle that I didn't care who won, but the best side on the day lost ... IMO

Just waiting to see if the ref gets struck down by a bolt of lightning

I'd imagine Croatia are the underdogs - so I have an obligation to root for them Don't think I've ever wanted France to win ANYTHING, not even "It's A Knockout" << especially that But if Croatia DO win, they'd better have a right old moan that everybody in France underrated them - or else I'll take their pop at us personally

Were the details of our offer to the player ever made public?

That was some 'tackle' on Baker around 1' 58" Ref didn't seem all that bothered though Two fine crosses, one for the goal and one following some spellbinding footwork at 6' 20" by our new no.16 (looks a bit like Palmer but dribbles like Hazard)

Said at the beginning that I have a tendency to root for the underdog, and those are the games I'll remember from this tournament: Germany losing to Mexico and S Korea Argentina being held by Iceland and then losing to Croatia Brazil drawing with Switzerland and then going out to Belgium Spain going out to Russia on pens ... and England progressing further than any of us expected There have been some stand-out games too, so for me the overall score is either seven or eight out of 10 - depending on today's final It's ironic but aside from their 4-3 win over Argentina, games involving France have been grim to watch And aside from that 3-0 win over Argentina, Croatia's mardiness has left a bigger impression on me than their scintillating football So if entertainment is the main consideration, then perhaps I should've been rooting for Argentina?

This is my own view of the situation (for what it's worth) ... Clare's loan expired in January and Gillingham announced their wish to keep him The player also expressed his desire to return Throughout the transfer window, reports from down there claimed both clubs were unable to reach an agreement Wednesday offered Clare fresh terms, which he refused - presumably because he preferred regular football in League 1 That refusal to sign also ruled out any possible extension to his loan So Gillingham stepped aside - perhaps thinking a better deal may be struck once his contract had run down? Shortly afterwards, Clare impresses during a handful of 1st team appearances for us Apparently (if you believe 'reports') catching the eye of clubs in the PL as well as the Championship This means his tribunal valuation may well have increased to the point where Gillingham are no longer in the running Then he picks up an injury that rules him out for the season, and until that clears up no-one is interested I personally think that if he was fit he'd probably be down in Gillingham right now preparing for a season in League 1 That Wednesday would've reached an agreement with them (modest fee + add-ons) without the need of a tribunal Also, this reported 'interest' from elsewhere probably raised the player's/agent's demands - ruling out ANY chance of him staying at S6 *A move to Scotland would be more lucrative for player/agent because a tribunal settlement wouldn't apply But his fitness is sure to be a deciding factor, and I'm still unsure whether the deal would need to be done within this transfer window *similar to a move to Belgium - only less crooked

Belgium 2-0 England ... The difference between the sides in the end was purely down to quality and experience BBC stats: Possession Home42% Away58% Shots Home12 Away15 Shots on Target Home4 Away6 Corners Home4 Away5 Fouls Home11 Away4 Typically, I thought our best performances came from players who haven't reached this level yet So maybe that gives cause for optimism Just a shame we couldn't get that first goal today, I think they deserved that much

Anyroad up Belgium v England - the sequel ... kick off in less than an hour Start of last week, I wanted this to be the final That both managers would pick their strongest sides this time around, and we'd get the kind of game we'd normally associate with the finest traditions of English football (given the amount of Belgian players who earn their crust in the PL) Unfortunately, it's being played for the bronze medal and in England's case we seem likely to field a side weakened by injury (?) Still - hoping for the best, there's nothing like going out on a high ... then I can sit and watch tomorrow's final with a right face on

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5794331/What-really-happened-Ronaldo-France-98.html ... enter Blatter as corrupt despot/pantomime villain and everything else falls into place

I don't think we can ever rule out the idea of any FIFA conspiracy anymore Anyone else see the article the other day (Daily Mail) about the 'mysteries' surrounding the 1998 World Cup final? I might have laughed those suggestions off ten years ago but that level of corruption seems perfectly plausible now

Dunno really The Croatians MIGHT have heard or read something that got their backs up, it's not impossible For me though, that's no excuse to come out with a load of ******* comments afterwards You could forgive Colombia for their reaction, they got beat and it wouldn't go down well back home Croatia won the game - most would agree they won it on merit - so there's no need to stick a spike in and give it an extra twist

To wash or not to wash, that is the question

White shorts at that - probably got a boatload of them