Happy Castlefield friends with Defoe

Last Friday I didn’t watch the England match. There was a game of something taking place on the screen but it didn’t look much like football.

ust as Wednesday became an ordeal when the second goal wouldn’t go in, so Sunday will be traumatic. It’ll be nerve-wracking and thrilling. It’ll be what sport’s all about - the great unscripted entertainment.

There were some players in green and some players in white apparently re-enacting Brownian Motion. It looked like this:

Click here to watch the video

Brownian Motion, or as it’s also, known England v Algeria, is where smoke cells randomly bounce of each other when heated. I remember this from my old physics classes although I have no idea what it proved, other than the dreariness of watching witless energy.

Yesterday afternoon, England were faster and slicker, they passed to each other rather than to the opposition and occasionally they played attractive football. Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson looked exceptional fullbacks, Gerrard played well, Lampard played well and David James was a comforting presence in goal.

Click here to watch the video

The key lay with the Beckham-esque whipped crosses from Milner and the interplay between Rooney and Defoe. Rooney, the more skilful of the two dropped back, Defoe hugged the front line and suddenly England looked potent rather than impotent. If it hadn’t been for Slovenia’s best player, the goalie Handanovic (great name for a goalie,) England would have scored a bag full of goals.

If they had then they wouldn’t be playing Germany in the last sixteen.

Some might regret this, but come on folks it’s great.

England in tournaments are the mirror team. They reflect who they are playing. Play one of the poorer teams and we’ll play like them, play the better teams and we play better. Germany will bring out the best from us. The midfielder Mesut Ozil looks terrifying but him aside there aren’t many players you’d swap for England ones. We should win.

And in any case, playing Germany makes a drama out of the occasion.

Just as Wednesday became an ordeal when the second goal wouldn’t go in, so Sunday will be traumatic. It’ll be nerve-wracking and thrilling. It’ll be what sport’s all about - great unscripted entertainment.

Either team could win, the score could be anything, the whole game could completely change in the last two minutes.

Oh the painful joyous miserable glory of it all. Football bloody hell.

Charlie watched the match at the Hyundai Fan Park at Castlefield. To watch the next game free of charge tickets are available from www.quaytickets.com and are limited to four tickets per household. Tickets are free of charge but there will be a booking and postal fee of £1.50 per order to cover costs. Tickets will be posted first class, or can be picked up from the Fan Park.

To book, click here.