Praise for Parker and Carroll following England victory

We weren't in Kiev yesterday for England's triumph (looked good to me, apart from the two huge defensive lapses, plenty of pace, movement and above all commitment and discipline - I like what Parker is doing for us and Carroll did well too).

Instead we were part of the Great Storm of Donetsk, sharing the rain with 48,000 Ukrainians and a measly handful of Les Francais (not impressed by this lack of effort from Les Blues, don't they care about football?).

Sadly there was no happy ending and despite the vast roars of the crowds and our own efforts to show our respect by wearing Ukraine shirts, it was not to be. In the end France were too good or perhaps rather, Ukraine just weren't good enough.

But let's give Ukraine due credit. The stadium is just fantastic and the organisation superb - just look how quickly they got the game back on after the storm.

And Donetsk itself is both pleasant and fun. We spent the day sampling the Park of Forged Figures along with hundreds of other fans from Ukraine, Russia, Australia, Canada, England and the odd Frenchman.

And we ate and drank in cafes and bars with free wi-fi, good beer and excellent food. We even popped up to the station to sort our tickets to Kharkov and found an English speaking assistant who just got it all done for us! Easy.

Let's hear it for Ukraine then. Let's dump them out of the Euros on Tuesday but say thanks for a great event and be proud of your country!!!! And they are!