The 24th Footy Thread

[Ratatoskr]

Could be worse. :lol:

This should be tagged NSFW, it makes you laugh so hard.

[polishgenius]

:lol: Arsenal got crushed in that second half.

[devotee]

:lol: Arsenal got crushed in that second half.

I root for about 10+ teams in the Premier League, but Tottenham is currently on the top of my list, so this was fun.

[The Iceman of the North]

Hah!

[Renasko]

I have the cold, so am feeling more tired than usual. Slept late and missed the game. What's worse, I had the score spoiled just before I could sit down to watch it. Balls!

And I only saw the last minutes of the first half of the Celtic game.

And Chelsea are getting beat and I didn't put a bet on.

Damnit!

(Expect a better post later)

Edir: Frak sake! Maybe not...

[Horza]

:cheers: :commie: Wahey, belted the Magpies into near-Earth orbit and we're 4th! :commie: :cheers:

[Calibandar]

What a good day for Man United.

Hard to believe Chelsea was beaten again. 4 straight big chances for Drogba in the first half alone. Surely they should have won this match, but they are simply down for the count now. Another match lost that, looking at the squad's players, should never have been lost at all. Chelsea had Drogba, Kalou and Anelka upfront, Mikel in midfield, Alex at the back, so not that much missing.

As for Arsenal, what a great game and man did they fall apart. Wenger was going crazy and it's clear why. They gave the game away with some downright poor secondhalf football. Van Persie looks like he's hardly played at all this year....... which is true. Both teams have loads of quality, I guess I was glad Spurs won, they deserved it.

[The Iceman of the North]

So, is Maradonna going to take over as City manager?

[Slick Mongoose]

I hope so.

[Maltaran]

Scottish referees vote to go on strike

[Calibandar]

Man City demolished Fulham though, well played. Poor Hughes, I'm sure he'd love to have had some revenge of some kind.

[Renasko]

Scottish referees vote to go on strike

They could try getting some fuckin' decisions right for a change. Another mistake yesterday, but it's not even worth discussing at this point, really.

[mormont]

Scottish referees vote to go on strike

Can't blame them. This season has been beyond a joke. Every manager in the division, with the notable exception of Walter Smith, has been lining up to slate referees for games the managers lost themselves.

They could try getting some fuckin' decisions right for a change.

I did point out earlier that the decisions in the Hearts game that Lennon was moaning about were 100% correct. As was MacDonald's decision to overturn the penalty, though he handled it disastrously. So actually, their record is pretty good on that point.

But I tell you what: when I see managers publicly admitting when they were wrong to criticise a ref and apologising for it, or better yet keeping their mouths shut, I'll be prepared to consider that maybe it's referees that are the problem here, not managers.

Personally, I'd make managers not only pass a refereeing course but actually do a season as an official before they get their coaching badge. Mostly, they have as shaky a grasp of the rules of the game as the fans do, with much less excuse.

[Slick Mongoose]

Does the SFA hand out bans to managers who attack refs?

[Renasko]

I did point out earlier that the decisions in the Hearts game that Lennon was moaning about were 100% correct.

I didn't want to go over it then, and I don't really like doing so now. I didn't agree with Lennon on the Ledley 'foul'. I felt it was a correct decision, in that sense, but would've expected a yellow card in most cases. At least in the British leagues. The player's exuberance when making the tackle went against him, unfortunately, as it can.

The handball, if I recall, wasn't much. It happens on a regular basis. Referees are afraid to award penalties.

And it's not something to argue about only if your side drops points. Take the St Johnstone game, for example. We won that one in the end, yet I lamented the poor referring in that fixture.

I didn't complain about the referee not seeing a blatant hand-ball in the penalty area, yesterday by Dundee United, as I felt we shouldn't have let the game get to that point. United were absymal.

[Black Wizard]

Does the SFA hand out bans to managers who attack refs?

Not to the Celtic manager. Peter Houston or Mixu Paaaaaaaaateleinen would probably get banned, but the Old Firm managers can do whatever they want.

I didn't complain about the referee not seeing a blatant hand-ball in the penalty area, yesterday by Dundee United, as I felt we shouldn't have let the game get to that point. United were absymal.

Hey, haven't you realized that there's always been a conspiracy in Scottish football out to get Celtic?

Anyway, that was all part of Peter Houston's master plan, culminating in Sean Dillon's late equalizer. ;)

[The Iceman of the North]

There's misses, and there's misses...

[Renasko]

Wouldn't have counted, anyway. The goalkeeper was fouled in the lead-up. ;)

[The Iceman of the North]

There's a foul on an attacking player prior to that on the keeper, so the ref have a choice between a free kick just outside the area, or give an advantage to Borussia. But, apart from the miss, it's hard to tell what the ref did based on this clip.

[mormont]

I didn't want to go over it then, and I don't really like doing so now.

Sure. But the point is, most of the serious pressure on refs this season has been from managers pissed off at losing games and declaring refereeing decisions to be the reason: and in contrast to what you were suggesting above, most of those decisions were either correct or (at worst) debatable. But the managers definitively declare that they were wrong. And when those managers are shown to be wrong themselves, they ignore it.

This is where the pressure on refs is coming from. It's not been helped by the likes of Pete Wishart, John Reid or Gary 'I've been in Scotland about five bloody minutes but I'm an expert on Scottish refereeing' Hooper opening their big mouths when a diplomatic silence is called for. But managers not knowing the rules, not respecting the right of the referee to make judgment calls, and effectively appointing themselves judge and jury on refereeing standards in the media is the root of the problem. If I was a ref, I would certainly be insisting that the SFA get tough on managers about now.