They went; they saw, they came back. Islanders Robbie Merriman and Andy Hutchinson flew the Sheppey flag in South Africa. Here's a round-up of their travels.

Gutted football fan Robbie Merriman has flown back from the World Cup declaring: “If I had a magic wand I’d bring back Sir Bobby Robson from the dead – that’s my wish for England.”

The prison officer, who saved so hard to go to South Africa with his partner Norma Dakamella to watch England, is furious over the way they played.

“They were absolutely dismal,” he said. “Our press over here built up such high expectations of the top quality of our players. But they’re so rich they don’t think about the thousands of ordinary fans who scrimped and saved to go over there and watch them.

“The England team should never have gone in the first place. There was no passion in their play – I think they left their heart at Heathrow.

“While out there I pleaded England’s case after every game, saying things would get better. But by the time we got through to Slovenia I ran out of excuses.”

So what did he think of coach Fabio Capello? “I’ve never been a fan of foreign coaches but if I had a magic wand I’d bring back Sir Bobby Robson from the dead.

“Apart from leading England to the semi-finals in the 1990 World Cup, the man had passion, style and the heart of a lion.”

The 39-year-old Minster resident said many South Africans were willing England to succeed, honking their car horns as they passed by a beach bar draped in the cross of St George colours in Port Elizabeth where England played their third game.

His happiest memories of South Africa are watching the opening ceremony and the friendliness of local people.

He said: “At the beginning I had to keep pinching myself that I was there, but all this was spoilt by my worse moments watching England on the pitch.

“I was not alone with this view. Gerrard was continually played out of position and the defence was awful.

“Some of our fans out there told me they would never follow England again.”

OUR fellow guests at the lodge we were staying in were mostly BBC soundmen who sensibly, but rather more expensively, had a hut each, and included pundit Mark Lawrenson in their number, writes Andy Hutchinson.

The great advantage of the lodge was that it was located next to the park and ride transfer zone to the stadium, and the following day, confident and expectant, we boarded the familiar white minibus for the short journey to the Free State Stadium.

It was right next to The Bloemfontein Waterfront, whose bars and restaurants were already full to overflowing with English and German fans mixing, drinking and chatting in the sun.

The team news had filtered through and most saw it as positive that the starting line-up was to be the same as for the 1-0 win against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth.

This time, however, the promise they had shown there was shattered by the first German goal that revealed the leaden-footed nature of our defence. A goal kick not dealt with, the pace of the young attacker and it was in.

The German tactic was simple – hold and break, exposing John Terry and Matthew Upson, good, no-nonsense defenders, but rhino-like compared with the fleet-footed cheetahs in white.

Chasing the game, our full-backs were frequently too far forward and this opened the door to three further goals of a similar nature, using nothing more than sheer pace.

For all the controversy about Lampard’s goal that never was – had England gone in at half-time at 2-2 the scoreline might have been different –

I suspect the Germans would still have won.

When the final whistle blew our World Cup adventure was over; the Germans were heading south to Cape Town and we were going home. We spent most of Monday making our arrangements and changing flights for our unwelcome return.

The football from England was generally poor and clearly not good enough, and if following the team had been our sole purpose in making the trip I would have regretted the waste of time, money and effort.

But that has only been part of our experience here and my real regret is that our time in this wonderful country is over.

I will remember it warmly; its scenery, its animals, its weather, but above all I will remember its people, their welcome, warmth and generosity.

For previous installments, click and here