England went down 1-0 to France in the Stade De France last night to a first half Ribery penalty. During the entire game England managed just one attempt on target. A look at the Sports pages of the Internet and the newspapers this morning paints a bleak picture:

England suffered their first defeat under coach Fabio Capello with a disappointing performance in France. - BBC

But while England were not without a modicum of threat the quality belonged to the men in blue. - Sky sports

Eiffel Shower - Sun headline

Capello's flops are given a French lesson as Becks' ton falls flat - The Mirror

It had been billed as a celebration of David Beckham's 100th appearance for England, but instead there was a familiar sense of gloom around the national team last night as a miserable 1-0 defeat by France brought Fabio Capello's honeymoon period to an abrupt conclusion. - The Times

The losers do have specific, professional reasons to brood on it. Barring a brief spell in the middle of the first half the side were tame in defeat.- The Guardian

Other writers have been quick to point out the negatives.

But was it really as bad as all that?

The facts are that we were playing one of the best sides in the world in their back yard. Remember, we are a nation that has hit such a low we have failed to qualify for Euro 2008. France must have been red hot favourites last night, and for periods in the first half they couldn't get the ball from England.

France played their strongest team and made few substitutions, yet they created very little. A penalty was the difference between the teams and I don't think the French public will be looking forward to the finals in the Summer with any great confidence after last night.

We have been crying out for England to play international football in a way that brings success. 4-4-2 regulation Premiership football doesn't work at the very top level. How often have we complained that the opposition have the ball for long periods and then when we get it back we give it straight back to them?

Last night we saw the first steps towards England playing a more flexible game and actually keeping possession of the ball. OK, so it wasn't pretty and it didn't bring a victory away to the World Cup runners up but it was a promising first step in many ways.

We have had several managers who have been enormously successful in friendlies. Even Graham Taylor won most of his early friendly internationals. I would rather Capello experimented with formation and style, and used the games to educate our players so that we become a real threat in the major tournaments in due course.

The media must get off his back and give him a chance. He is the best opportunity we have had to achieve some success for our national team for a very long time. Give him a chance!