Grimnir
16 years ago
2 months ago
2,727
Return of the PL tomorrow, crunch game down the bottom with Ranieri's Fulham v Southampton. I'll always stick up for Hughes given the job he did here but yeah, if they have one or two more bad results he'll be in big trouble.....


Can't stand Hughes, even more so with what he is doing to Southampton.

Hope Fulham thrash Southampton, especially after the way Hughes left them.

Which is a shame, because Southampton is a team I generally like!
Number 1
16 years ago
10 months ago
3,650
3 straight wins, have more possession and shots against an injury hit West Ham side, lose 3-0...

Isn't football wonderful.
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
Tried to behave this season, but need to get today's 'performance' by Michael Oliver off my chest.

Comfortable, cruising without playing particularly well at 1-0. Innocuous 50-50 between Mounié and their no.8. Inexplicably, a red is produced. I've seen it again - it's a staggering decision. Mounié is pulling out of the challenge. There's no force behind it. His leg is bent as he tries to get out of the way. There's a still which doesn't look great, but it doesn't tell the whole story. It's a foul, no question, but it's not serious foul play - there's no excessive force, his leg isn't straight, it doesn't endanger the Brighton lad's safety in any way, shape or form. It's just a 50-50 for a bouncing ball that you see dozens of times a season. We'll be successful with the appeal, but that doesn't compensate us for the points it's cost us today.

That's bad enough, but you can get a duff one from any referee. Five minutes later, we get two in a pop. Pritchard, four yards out and about to get a clear shot away, is hauled down. Not sure who by if truth be told. But there's no doubt that it's a penalty and a red card for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity without an attempt to play the ball. There's a tremendous photo that just shows how blatant it was - the lad has an arm around Pritchard's throat and another pulling him down with a knee in his back. It's as stonewall as a penalty can get. Not given. To be honest, I'm more irritated about that - 10 v 10 with us 1-0 up (and probably 2-0) is a different game. It's an inexplicable decision.

Of course, he added just enough time for them to score. 4 minutes seemed long at the time to add. There are also questions about whether the ball had gone out of play before they recycled it for their corner - of course, the unfit linesman was 10 yards behind play and in no position to make a decision. We can't complain too much, though, as we switched off.

They then went ahead - can't say it wasn't coming, but at the same time the game was completely changed by earlier decisions. Brighton played against 10 well, and credit to them for that, but it can't be denied by anyone that they were fortunate to be in that position and we were desperately unlucky not to be more up as a result of the officials. Most Brighton fans have said they'd have got nowhere near us with 11, which is a fair enough reflection.

Oliver compounded his awful performance by failing to send off Leon Balogun late on for a dangerous challenge. As a challenge it was an order of magnitude worse than any other in the game (and most certainly a fair degree worse than the challenge which saw Mounié dismissed). It'd have been scant consolation, but it most certainly underlined just how awful and one-eyed Oliver's entire performance was.

We've not had a slice of luck at all this campaign. Generally officials have dropped a bollock against us once a game and it's been costing us. Oliver has taken us 3 times this season. The end outcome?

2 Town players sent off (one fairly);
No opposition players sent off (should be two);
No penalties awarded (should be two);
One perfectly good equaliser (v Liverpool) ruled out.

Total points he's cost us on his own: 6.

And the more I see the red, the more I just think about what an awful decision it is. He's gone to pass the ball - you can tell from the angle and the way he goes in. He actually gets to the ball, which hits the Brighton lad who is challenging at the same height. The follow-through scrapes the lad, but it's a shocker. It's an absolute shocker of a decision. Nobody could describe it as dangerous without having an agenda. Absolutely nobody.

Interesting stat, though (and one which questions should be asked about): Michael Oliver has refereed us 3 times this season. Chris Kavanagh has refereed us 3 times. Oliver has also been 4th official 3 times. Surely that's worth asking questions over. No referee should have a say over almost half of our fixtures this season unless it's the second game of the campaign.
BR.
17 years ago
2 years ago
1,896
Aye, thought the two red card decisions yesterday were both really poor. Mounié's where there was absolutely no malice or aggression in the challenge and also Capoue's where both players had a foot on the ball after both going in for the challenge, and his studs happened to roll over the ball, again no danger of injuring the opponent.

Chelsea 1-0 up v Fulham, just after HT.
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
Fucked by the officials again tonight for the first goal. Not a foul, and offside from the free-kick. Can't defend like we did for the second, but life is hard when the opposition are gifted a goal head start.

Still, should have won that. Enough chances to batter them 5 or 6. Bournemouth will feel incredibly lucky.
Carroll.
15 years ago
3 years ago
3,361
Had Bournemouth left on my acca and fuck me you battered them 2nd half.
Eric Portapotty
14 years ago
1 week ago
3,322
TORREIRA WOAH WOAH

But what an utter shithouse of a game, @terriersmad surely you cannot have any complaints about the refereeing performance?
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
TORREIRA WOAH WOAH

But what an utter shithouse of a game, @terriersmad surely you cannot have any complaints about the refereeing performance?

Best official of the season. Only complaint is that he missed the foul on Pritchard at 0-0 - penalty, 1-0, different game. But I thought live Pritchard slipped, so can't complain much there! Perhaps a little lucky with the offside by the modern abortion of a law, but at the same time he's a fair way off and pressing when the ball is played from his offside position, so the linesman deserves praise for being prepared to apply common sense - if Lacazette isn't offside in the first place, Zanka doesn't make the error. Rightly booked ours when we were over-zealous with tackles (minor quibble with the Pritchard booking, which did look soft if truth be told). 9 bookings tells its own story about the battle the game became, a proper scrap with a referee who was in charge and taking no shit. Loved that. First time I've felt coming out of a game with the top 6 that the officials weren't a bunch of blinkered idiots who were star-struck by the superstars on show and they were genuinely even-handed. I can deal with mistakes if it's clear they're honest oversights.

Incidentally, three bookings for diving for Arsenal. Never seen anything like it, to be honest. Not least because the ref, having seen them all again, was absolutely spot on each time. Shows how utterly desperate they were, against a side assembled for a fraction of the cost of the two strikers. The FA should be looking into that and severely disciplining Emery - clearly his tactics, clearly his instruction.
Eric Portapotty
14 years ago
1 week ago
3,322
The FA should be looking into that and severely disciplining Emery - clearly his tactics, clearly his instruction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUB-wjXUREE

Yeah I'm not even going to bother debating your other points mate
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
[quote name='Eric Portapotty' user_id='144206' id='457722' timestamp='1544346275']
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUB-wjXUREE

Yeah I'm not even going to bother debating your other points mate

Number 1
16 years ago
10 months ago
3,650
I do wonder if certain players in our team would get games at any other PL club. Surely we can aspire to better options in the full back slots than Yedlin and Manquillo at least.
bmg033
10 years ago
4 months ago
2,268
Shittest football we've played under Pochettino with no new signings in the summer, injuries to everyone apart from Kane and we're still 3rd. Only played 6 'home' games as well, it's a good job our away form is one of the best in Europe these days.
Number 1
16 years ago
10 months ago
3,650
Take what we can get really. There may be some questions asked about us being second best and having about 25% possession against a Huddersfield side missing several key players, but clearly, we made our game-plan work for us as we're 3 points better off. And Christ that was necessary after the slap in the face Wolves gave us.
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
Congratulations Newcastle. Took their chance when it came, which we didn't. No excuses for that second half performance. Insipid, dreary, heartless, gutless. Stat of the day: four of our players have now produced 273 crosses into the opposition penalty area. One goal has been produced - and after today it's clearly not the quality of the ball into the box, because we produced 4 or 5 beauties that were begging to be put away by a striker on the move in the box. But instead of Laurent Depoitre we now apparently have an overweight Hercule Poirot, who can fuck off for me. He's lost me completely with his recent performances.
Eric Portapotty
14 years ago
1 week ago
3,322
>Hercule Poirot

Who now?
VP.
13 years ago
1 week ago
25,271
Not a game goes by where Pickford doesn't make a mistake of some sort, the most overrated keeper in the league by a mile.
King Luis
17 years ago
1 month ago
3,111
I wonder if all the pundits still cant see City slipping up this season?
Number 1
16 years ago
10 months ago
3,650
Well... that didn't go well.
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
I wonder if all the pundits still cant see City slipping up this season?

Pundits struggled to see Fabian Delph's challenge as a red card. So they probably can't see them slipping up...

Useless stat of the day: we're the first top-flight team to lose 6 games in the month of December since ourselves (1950). Special level of useless, that. Can't say we deserved to lose all of them but even so. We have lost all of them. Saturday v Fulham is a biggie. Winner... probably goes down, let's be honest.
Dawg1
5 years ago
1 year ago
38
Well... that didn't go well.

Not from Rafa's point of view.
BR.
17 years ago
2 years ago
1,896
I wonder if all the pundits still cant see City slipping up this season?


3 defeats out of 4, never thought they'd go on a run like that this season. Next Thursday's game will be interesting. Win that and you should start to believe...
Carroll.
15 years ago
3 years ago
3,361
RIP Tottenham's title challenge 26/12/2018 - 29/12/2018.
terriersmad
16 years ago
3 years ago
744
Rallying cry from the chairman.

The thing is, I can accept going down if we make a real fight of it. Performances and set-up v Newcastle, Southampton and Fulham were just plain wrong. There was nothing there where we got in the opposition's faces, made it a battle, played with any kind of belief. We sat 8 defensive players into a 5-3-1-1 and it was so restrictive. We go to Manchester United, revert to 4-2-3-1 and play well despite the 3-1 defeat. We attacked them and looked dangerous for most of the game - we actually deserved a point from it, just couldn't finish in good positions. Then we go into a must-win and go all defensive. We're adrift. We have to attack, so to just sit and seemingly accept our fate isn't on.

Dean has come out (which will have cost him something - I'm certain that part of our current funk is because he's been in hospital, very ill, for the past 3 months) and fired a rocket up the club's collective arse with his New Year's message. If we perform and go down - then we perform and go down and I couldn't ask for more. If we continue to put in lacksadaisical, defensive, negative displays then I'll be annoyed and I could ask for more from them.

Current situation (it isn't a predicament - there's more to life than league position) is down to a number of factors:

Poor sales in summer;
Poor signings in summer;
Lack of attacking ambition and faith in attacking players;
Lack of variety in attacking play;
Appalling luck with injuries;
Some poor refereeing at key points.

Some in our control, some - such as losing Mooy, Williams, Sabiri, Löwe, Hogg, Smith to injury for extended periods - out of it. The point is that we can only do what is within our control - attack teams, have a go, be brave and keep going even in the face of adversity. If we go down, then we go down. We expected it last season, we expected it this.

There was actually a brilliant article in the Independent the other day about Town, Fulham and the rest of the top flight. Well worth a read.
Number 1
16 years ago
10 months ago
3,650
Well that was tedious.
VP.
13 years ago
1 week ago
25,271
How did that not go in ffs.
Eric Portapotty
14 years ago
1 week ago
3,322
Smfh

This Ozil farce... Oh smfh

Why does this have to be the hill that Emery wants to die on, this and Ramsey

Also, FUCK GAZIDIS AND KROENKE, twats
hammer9
16 years ago
1 month ago
94,628
FANTASTIC! ⚒⚒⚒⚒
King Luis
17 years ago
1 month ago
3,111
Happy with todays win, it's weird being more satisfied when we grind out wins than when we hammer teams. Managed to stop Brighton scoring at home as well which hasn't been done for 10 months, all round a good day. Pressure's back on City now against Wolves
BR.
17 years ago
2 years ago
1,896
United 1-0 up at Spurs after an hour. Great ball from Pogba for the goal.

King Luis
17 years ago
1 month ago
3,111
That game must have done De Gea's confidence the world of good, Spurs just doing a bit of warming up for him. such poor finishing

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