England could have been playing Holland in the World Cup quarterfinal if David Batty had studied the laws of physics.

That is the view of retired nuclear physicist Derek Fairbanks-Law, 62, who has written to coach Glenn Hoddle saying that the England team should have studied the dynamics of spot-kicks before the game.

"Obviously a goalkeeper's feet and legs are able to propel him quickly up or sideways," he said. "But a downward motion of the hands is largely down to gravity (just 32 feet per second) plus whatever twisting motion there might be from the arms relative to the body.