Rachel in Sussex

Who said this to the BBC, via text, during the Portugal North Korea game.

I'd better start this message by saying I know next to nothing about football and am therefore happy to be shot down, but could the England players be suffering from - what I think is called - paradise syndrome? I imagine that players are cosseted and protected for much of their working lives by agents and others from being totally immersed in poverty, but in SA, what with some WAGS taking part in documentaries on poverty and the word being spread by the BBC's coverage, combined with hours to sit and think about the disparities between nations, maybe players have begun to wonder how important it all is? I certainly have at times during the competition. Paraphrasing Leonardo Da Vinci, 'inaction saps the vigour of the mind' - maybe the camp could organise something that got the players more involved on a practical level and give the players something to feel proud of and satisfied by?

Firstly, respect to anyone who's prepared to type Paraphrasing Leonardo Da Vinci on their mobile phone. I'm just guessing predictive text doesn't help all that much.

As far as paradise syndrome is concerned, I think I'm living it now. I'm on leave and there's hours and hours of football, every day. I'm looking out the window, and the brightness of the walls opposite suggests the sun is shining. I'm not sure if inaction is sapping the vigour of my mind or not. On the one hand I could describe the career history of the Ivory Coast back four in some detail, on the other hand I can't quite remember how many toes I've got. I would bend down and count them, but my back's gone. Never mind, I can still reach the phone and the pizza people are on speed dial.

I have to say, though, I'm a little sceptical that Wayne Rooney's off his game because Colleen's been raising his consciousness about the high incidence of waterborne disease vectors in the townships. I also note that according to Wikipedia, paradise syndrome only affects people who feel they have nothing in life left to accomplish. If there's anyone in the England team feeling like that, the media storm waiting to engulf them if tomorrow goes the wrong way will surely straighten them out.

And if any of them are really wondering how important football is, let me reassure them that it's very important indeed, and honestly, there's definitely no need for them to be concerning themselves with social issues.