England were unlucky last night . .

"Weren't they Vicar?"

These were the first words I heard this morning as I went to get something from the boot of my car! Looking around I can see no evidence of the many England flags that fl;uttered so proudly last night as I came back in.

Unlucky? Were we really unlucky?

Actually I think last night's result was fair and to be honest, had the Italians gone out it would have been the greatest footballing injustice since 'Arry left Spurs (still seventeen consecutive seasons of finishing below the Arsenal can do that I guess).

Here's the Vicar assessment of the match:

Joe Hart - made some great stops and had a generally solid game between the posts. (6)

Glen Johnson - Would fare better if he just kept it simple but still managed to be of use and shows great potential. (5)

Ashley Cole - was largely ineffective and the penalty he took would make an eight-year old blush. (3)

John Terry - was intermittently effective in defence and got himself in the right places at times. (6)

Joleon Lescott - Can't remember him being on the pitch! (2)

Steven Gerrard - A great first half but then that's all he appears to have these days. Should have been subbed by 70 mins as he effectively vanished from the game by then! (5)

Ashley Young - showed some of his now trademark diving (got a yellow for Italy with it) and managed to lose the ball at just about every opportunity. (2)

James Milner - looked a yard short on just about every occasion and would have been subbed within first third of the match had I been the England manager. No invention and little to make him an international player on last night's showing. (2)

Scott Parker - another player I hadn't realised had started the match until he was substituted. Tackled a few times, won the ball and passed it to a blue shirted player. Woeful! (1 1/2)

Wayne Rooney - the man who probably did the most damage last night. Sadly it was to the England side and his running around trying to look industrious as he (once again) showed that he's lost it was second only to his 'let's hit a satellite' bicycle kick - Balotelli he ain't (still, great hair). (4)

Danny Welbeck - missed a goal and ran around a bit. Another future member of the England team but did little last night. (5)

Subs:

Jordan Henderson - well they said he'd come on a substitute but he didn't seem to be visible on my television! (2)

Andy (elbows) Carroll - Lucky not to get a booking as he combined rubgy union and association football. The man has height and a pony tail - not enough for international selection and his ability to have incomplete passes and give the ball away last night makes him another question mark for me. (3)

Theo Walcott - didn't do much but perhaps the overweighted passes and the fact they kept mainly to the other wing helped to make him ineffective. Another strong contender for the future England team though if his goal and assist is anything to go by). (4)

Last night we put our hope in Rooney, who has apparently lost his va va voom despite that wonderfully crafted deep-play goal on his return to the side. He was largely ineffective and lacklustre and Roy should have had the courage to sub him at half-time. The Captain is shot and though he's been a great servant of the game now needs to hang up his boots.

All in all we played a long ball, kick and rush, kick it anywhere in defence, Championship side (and I know that's an insult to the Championship!) and deserved all we got. Milner and Carroll are definitely not England quality and the two Ashleys defy anything other than a 'goodbye and thanks for all the fish' letter.

Nope - We deserved to lose last night. I only wish it had been the by the ball that came off the post with minutes to go. Would have been a proper defeat (I hate penalties) and spared me that awful extra-time.

Well done Roy - England went further than we expected. Now sort out your team and have the courage to say goodbye to the old guard and prepare for the World's in 2014.

Pax

ps. Man of the Match has to be the goalie - he at least kept a clean sheet for the 120 minutes and did what he was supposed to do!

pps. Did I mention that I had a 'von' in front of my name as as my normal substitute side (Holland) have gone home I guess that it's bratwurst for lunch today! Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles . . . :-)