The choice of pubs was dramatically limited to those who had the capability to show the game or were willing to pay it on top of their many other TV licences. This meant that the usual atmosphere generated in pubs all over the country was widely lost.
Saturday's arrangement meant the cinema was the best big screen option, but who wants to watch football in a darkened room with popcorn?
Finally, and this appears to have been a common scenario, people were reduced to sitting at home alone watching the game on a small screen shouting furiously whenever the picture jumped.
For the few that managed to watch the game in good quality on a decent screen, the next issue was Sven Goran-Eriksson. As a pundit the Swede made Alan Shearer look opinionated and exciting.
He refused to be drawn into giving an opinion or verdict and instead decided to just drone on and wrongly pronounce the names of players he himself once coached.
As an event, Kentaro and Perform can call it a success if they wish, although it simply shows how low their expectations must have been.
For every England fan, if internet streaming is the way football broadcasting is going, the future is bleak.
