Football Thread No. 9

[Winston Hughes]

I thought you were a Spurs fan?

No idea where you got that from. Tottenham are one of my least favourite clubs, along with Manchester United, Harlow Town, and any team with Neil Warnock in charge.

Edit: Incidentally, Bishop's Stortford have won more cup finals at Wembley than Harry Redknapp, the media-appointed savior of English football (seen this week wearing a freakin' crown on the cover of FourFourTwo - this will not end well). And Stortford's trophies were won without driving the club to the brink of bankruptcy, in contrast to 'King 'Arry's sole FA Cup win with Portsmouth.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Fifa is wholly incompetant, whilst Tennis and Rugby have used video technology to make the correct decison, they have been sitting on their arse doing nothing about it! Well lets keep video technology for the top leagues around the world, who cares if blue square league south doesn't have video tech?

But they're not doing nothing. They are finding lots of new ways to fight off unending pressure from powerful groups to make more use of video technology and thus retain more patronage and power available for themselves.

 

[Lambert Simnel]

No idea where you got that from. Tottenham are one of my least favourite clubs, along with Manchester United, Harlow Town, and any team with Neil Warnock in charge.

Edit: Incidentally, Bishop's Stortford have won more cup finals at Wembley than Harry Redknapp, the media-appointed savior of English football (seen this week wearing a freakin' crown on the cover of FourFourTwo - this will not end well). And Stortford's trophies were won without driving the club to the brink of bankruptcy, in contrast to 'King 'Arry's sole FA Cup win with Portsmouth.

My bad. I quite agree with you about 'Arry's cup triumph. Can't say I've ever particularly noticed Bishop's Stortford as a team or a town, but I'm sure it's perfectly lovely.

 

[Lambert Simnel]

Neil Lennon acts with dignity after his cup semi-final defeat... Oh, Neil...

No mention that the Celtic equaliser was actually a yard off-side. Ah well.

 

[holy king]

oh spurs. oh martin atkinson.

 

[MCdread]

Fifa is wholly incompetant, whilst Tennis and Rugby have used video technology to make the correct decison, they have been sitting on their arse doing nothing about it! Well lets keep video technology for the top leagues around the world, who cares if blue square league south doesn't have video tech?

But that's precisely the problem. They (outside the top leagues) care.

Or put in another way: Blatter et al. were elected and stay in power in large part thanks to the support and votes of smaller countries (national FAs). While it wouldn't make sense for every game in the 5th regional division of some random hellhole in the world to have video technology, there is a minimum level of competition where it would be demanded. And who would have to pay for it (outside the richer leagues)? That's right, FIFA.
And that is money flowing in the opposite direction of what FIFA is so accustomed to.

 

[Takhisis]

Everton 1 - 0 Liverpool



EDIT: We all dream of a team of Carraghers.

EDIT2: Cockmonkeys squared

...

Ppppffffttttt. It'd look like you can't beat Liverpool anywhere but at Goodison. Please make it stop, it's boring right now.

Aitch--eee--ayyyyyy!
Arrrr--teeee--esssss!

The Boys in Maroon are the Talk o' the Toon!

Hibernian being anywhere near glory sould be the talk of the town.

I thought you were a Spurs fan? Or are you keeping quiet about that since the turn of the year?

No idea where you got that from. Tottenham are one of my least favourite clubs, along with Manchester United, Harlow Town, and any team with Neil Warnock in charge.

Edit: Incidentally, Bishop's Stortford have won more cup finals at Wembley than Harry Redknapp, the media-appointed savior of English football (seen this week wearing a freakin' crown on the cover of FourFourTwo - this will not end well). And Stortford's trophies were won without driving the club to the brink of bankruptcy, in contrast to 'King 'Arry's sole FA Cup win with Portsmouth.

Hence my support for 'Arry for England.

Where is our real Spuds fan?

Neil Lennon acts with dignity after his cup semi-final defeat... Oh, Neil...

No mention that the Celtic equaliser was actually a yard off-side. Ah well.

Do you expect anything else from the man who claimed Sellik had been unfairly treated when we had a goal wrongly disallowed? His yardstick is 'Celtic win, the ref did a good job, Celtic lose, the ref is crap'.

Anyway, when's the final? I have to set up some streaming of sorts. And I need time to do that in advance.

Are you moving back north for this one?

oh spurs. oh martin atkinson.

The same Martin Atkinson who recently screwed up at Highbury the Emirates?

 

[Quackers]

But that's precisely the problem. They (outside the top leagues) care.

Or put in another way: Blatter et al. were elected and stay in power in large part thanks to the support and votes of smaller countries (national FAs). While it wouldn't make sense for every game in the 5th regional division of some random hellhole in the world to have video technology, there is a minimum level of competition where it would be demanded. And who would have to pay for it (outside the richer leagues)? That's right, FIFA.
And that is money flowing in the opposite direction of what FIFA is so accustomed to.

Those outside the top leagues can grin and bear it or either fund it themselves. I think getting the right decison in the world cup final is more important to more people then it is for the winner of the FA Trophy 2nd qualification round 3rd replay
As far as I know FIFA has banned the use of technology so even if the EPL decided tommorow to implement goal line tech it would break the rules and Sepp Blatter will have yet another excuse to hate England England thrown out of the world cup?
But idd another example of how FIFA isn't an organisation fit for purpose. Raze it and build it from the ground again. At the end of the day (to use a brilliant footballing term ) all the fans want is the ref. to make the right decison so you do not walk home every fortnight from the game cursing the ref's name!

I seem to remember the pay for a Premier League Ref is £70k/year whilst a linesman gets a one-off payment for each match of £375, so adding another ref or maybe use the guy who uselessly holds up the extra time sign at the interval could fill the role of video referee. I mean I've barely thought about it and I have half a dozen solutions to implement good tech without destroying the game; surely there is a man way smarter then me, decades older who can make the best decison here?!

 

[Josu]

btw which one are you, Josu?

None of them, there is a milestone in the project I am working for and we have arranged an important meeting on Thursday morning.

In any case everytime I see images like this I feel absolutelly ashamed. I can not belive that in XXI century our club still does not give option to buy tickets on Internet, or even better organization to sell tichets, and there are such kind of queues each time there is an important match. We will have same bizarre show in a few weeks when tickects against Real Madrid are offered

@pesgores, are you feeling nervous because of the match?

 

[BirraImperial]

I think I posted a while ago about how football should follow a similar system like in the NFL, for reviewing plays with video. Also the use of chips inside balls to detect whether they crossed the goal line or not, to avoid phantom goals.

 

[azzaman333]

At the very least, there should be a ref standing on the goal line whose primary role is to make sure shots at goal have fully crossed the line. Any league in the world can afford that, and it'd eliminate the blatant mistakes like Mata's.

 

[Takhisis]

Wigan, bloody hell!

So, Young's finally getting lambasted for his SCUBA practice. That's good.

At the very least, there should be a ref standing on the goal line whose primary role is to make sure shots at goal have fully crossed the line. Any league in the world can afford that, and it'd eliminate the blatant mistakes like Mata's.

The Champions League already has those, and it doesn't work that much.

 

[Winston Hughes]

It strikes me that the real problem is less the fallibility of officials, and more the childishness of players, coaches, journalists, and fans. So pathetic and ridiculous have things got, that we see a team who just took a fully-deserved 5-1 thrashing at Wembley being more-or-less completely excused for their abject performance because the referee made a wrong decision. If refereeing standards really are declining at the top-level, the reason is surely these insane levels of blame and pressure that officials are now subjected to.

 

[Dell19]

Redknapp can't be criticised, presumably because its more fun to write negative articles about him 6 months after he has been appointed so that he can then be sacked before his contract runs out for a nice pay out.

 

[kronic]

What a stupid goal to concede for Bayern. They were comfortable all game long and suddenly their defence decides to take a nap.

 

[Takhisis]

Sorry Winston, but after Webb's dismal performance today I do believe the refs take much of the blame. As well as the players for considering it 'hip' to dive all over the place.
But Marcelo's last-minute kick from behind was a near-criminal action that should have meant a red, even though I usually like marcelo (unlike Pepe and Ramos). And Ribéry, oh Ribéry! I wonder how he could stand up after colliding with thin air so many times!

Players shouldn't be deified and allowed to do anything. It was bad enough with the excesses in the '90s by maradona, Gazza et al with Sunday's horrible happenings at Avellaneda where a player actually got a BB gun into the dressing room and started threatening his teammates.

I half-expect some of the Real Mandril players will blame everything on their shoes being stolen.

(Yes, I'm in a bit of a bad mood today. But still rooting for the Hibees to win the Cup )

 

[pesgores]

@pesgores, are you feeling nervous because of the match?

I was more nervous before the 2nd leg against Man City What's an Athletic going to do to our campaign? You don't stand a chance in Alvalade, we come from a victory against our eternal rivals, we've been nearly undefeated at our home ground. Hopefully the team won't be complacent when the clock starts ticking.

Sadly I didn't get a ticket for the match because no one else I knew was willing to pay and I don't like going alone to football.

Here's how it's going down: we win 2-1 here and lose 3-2 at San Mamés, our 2nd goal being scored by our GK on the 93rd minute. The whistle is blown and we're on the 2nd European final of our history.

 

[Josu]

I was more nervous before the 2nd leg against Man City What's an Athletic going to do to our campaign? You don't stand a chance in Alvalade, we come from a victory against our eternal rivals, we've been nearly undefeated at our home ground. Hopefully the team won't be complacent when the clock starts ticking.

Sadly I didn't get a ticket for the match because no one else I knew was willing to pay and I don't like going alone to football.

Here's how it's going down: we win 2-1 here and lose 3-2 at San Mamés, our 2nd goal being scored by our GK on the 93rd minute. The whistle is blown and we're on the 2nd European final of our history.

You want me dying due to heart attack?
I think this leg is going to be more difficult for us than the one against Mancheser United and Schalke. I think that if there is a draw or victory from our side in first match I think we will be in final, if leastwise we are defeated by just one goal, we will see an open match in San Mames.
I think that the play off is 50-50 rigth now.

BTW in the almost impossible case of being on the final, which rival are you prefering?

 

[MCdread]

Here's how it's going down: we win 2-1 here and lose 3-2 at San Mamés, our 2nd goal being scored by our GK on the 93rd minute. The whistle is blown and we're on the 2nd European final of our history.

3rd! Know your club's history.

 

[Winston Hughes]

Sorry Winston, but after Webb's dismal performance today I do believe the refs take much of the blame.

Refs making mistakes is nothing new, and there have always been fans willing to crucify them for doing so. The difference now is that the entire football 'community' seems ready to vilify referees (both individually and collectively) at the drop of a hat, to the point where they stand accused of 'ruining football'.

Thanks to television, officials are now judged with the benefit of repeated, slow-motion replays taken from multiple angles, setting standards that they cannot hope to match. They also face ever-growing calls to display more 'common-sense' and more 'consistency', despite these often being mutually exclusive (the former demanding situational interpretations, while the latter requires strict adherence to the letter of the law). Meanwhile, commentators, journalists and managers now give massively disproportionate attention to refereeing decisions when analysing matches, frequently placing near-total responsibility for a result on the ref's shoulders.

Aside from the insane pressure that now gets piled on the shoulders of those officiating big games, the growing obsession with their decisions is part of a more generally negative shift in attitudes to the game. An inflated sense of moral outrage pervades so many opinions on top-level football that the whole point of watching it - drama, entertainment, and excitement - often seems to get lost.

I have no doubt that by applying technological checks, and by fixing the rules to allow no room for interpretation, it would be possible to remove much 'unfairness' from the game. It would also make it far more boring to watch.