I just watched a dismal performance by the ever insipid England football team. Needing only a draw to qualify for Euro 2008, they lurched to a 3-2 defeat at home to an impressive Croatian team. McClaren opted for a change in goal and Carson promptly threw one in with his first touch of the game. They never got going after that and conceded another soon after. Shell shocked at half time, the hard working Peter Crouch was the only player who had looked interested. Could McClaren turn it around? He wheeled out Beckham and also brought on Defoe after the break. Say what you will about Beckham as he drifts into the winter of his career, but he did lift the crowd and he sprinted to take each free kick and corner. Defoe then won a lucky penalty. He was pulled back in a pretty innocuous position by, Canberra born Simunic, he of the three yellow cards. Next, Beckham hit an inch perfect ball into Crouch who shoed it in. 2-2, the fairytale recovery looks on. Not for long though. More than a few of the England team were shaking hands with the queen when Croatia notched a third. Ten minutes of route one football came to nothing and England were left hoping that Andorra would grab a last minute equalizer against Russia. Of course this didn't happen. Meanwhile, Sven's Manchester City sit third in the table above Chelsea and Liverpool. He suddenly seems like a genius...