By Myles Palmer
England won a 0 – 0 draw in Turkey.
They were mature, solid, authoritative, confident-and they created more chances than Turkey.
The huge expectations paralysed the Turks, who have been on the slide since peaking at the World Cup
Six years to the day after Hoddle’s England got a thrilling 0-0 in Rome, Erikssons team ended their controversial week with a handsome success
They have never lost an away game under Sven and his record of eight consecutive wins and a 0-0 without Owen is impossible to criticise.
Sven has lost one competitive game, to Brazil, who went on to win the World Cup
I’ve never seen England link arms during the national anthem before. Never seen that.
Clearly the absurd mutiny threat, and the violent media reaction to that imbecilic idea, had given the boys something to talk about all week and it may even have bonded the squad more than usual.
IT’S A SQUAD THAT WILL DO WELL IN PORTUGAL.
David James looks good, Sol Campbell was not far behind the marvellous Terry, who didn’t put a foot wrong all night.
Ashley Cole blotted out Nihat, who has lost a yard since last season
FRANKLY,ENGLAND ARE BETTER WITHOUT RIO.
John Terry at last found his Chelsea form in a white shirt and that made a big difference.
As Ray Wilkins pointed out, this week’s events have been an insult to Terry, who should have been given far more encouragement by the Man United clique than a proposed mutiny to re-instate Rio, whose place he was taking.
John Terry was England’s best player in Istanbul -that is the story of tonight.
WAYNE ROONEY was excellent.
At 18 he will be five years younger than Gazza was in Italia 90, but he gave a 90-minute performance tonight.
Rooney was skilful,bold, imaginative, with only a few glimpses of immaturity.
He didn’t kick anybody, snarl at anybody, or give Collina a problem at any time.
He just played his football, as I always knew he would.
After 19, Alpay miskicked, Beckham split the defence with a killer pass, Rooney showed good pace and a perfect first touch.
Rustu came out, got in his face, and Rooney’s left-foot lob sailed just over the bar
Rooney, please note, is England’s most two-footed player.
Stevie Gerrard is good on the left and he beat Tugay in the box, a clear penalty in 36 minutes.
Beckham slipped and skied it 25 feet over the bar.But it didnt matter.
Becks didn’t slip because the penalty spot was marshy.
His left foot was too close to the ball. He has an unusual technique which requires a very precise stride-pattern.The pressure of the moment caused him to get his stride-pattern slightly wrong.
So he slipped and miskicked with his right foot. Then he turned to look at the grass that had betrayed him.
The fault was not in the pitch. It was in the measurement of his run-up.
England qualified on experience.
They got a draw because the 4 midfielders have 170 caps between them and because Sol Campbell has played in the last two World Cups and has become a big player for big games.
Each player did a job. Nicky Butt was as workmanlike and effective as ever.
Heskey held it up quite well.
Subs Vassell and Dyer stretched Turkey with their pace and almost won the game.
Rooney showed his sparky power and was close to being a 17- year old who scored in three consecutive games.
In the end, England qualified comfortably and James was rarely threatened.
Istanbul will be remembered as the best defensive performance by England under Sven’s management.
By far the best defensive performance !
THE TRUE FACTS of the Rio Ferdinand’s missed drugs test are still not known.
If the stories I have heard are true, and I had known those facts last week, I would have written different previews.
Why did Rio miss the test? Did he take it 2 days later or 3 days later?
What happened during those 2 or 3 days?
If the Man United players all knew he had missed the test, why did they think it was OK?
We know Giggs was one of the four players told to supply a urine sample that day after training. Who are the other two players? Why have they said nothing?
Why did England squad threaten to strike on his behalf? What planet are they on?
Who was advising them? Gordon Taylor? Maurice Watkins, the United director?
Who can find out the truth?
Should we re-convene the Hutton Inquiry?
11th October 2003.