Barclays Premier League 2014/15

Was having this discussion with my Sunderland supporting friend this morning - if they had came out and supported him from the start on the 'innocent till found guilty' line of reasoning then I would understand but it seems ridiculous to do it after he's been suspended for a bit.

He's bound to score against us isn't he.

Dick Advocaat is exactly what Andy Johnson needs now.

Given all the mayhem that happened over the weekend with them I'd forgotten Johnson was still banned. I doubt he'll be let back tbh, but then I'm a woeful second-guesser.

DOUBLE POST

BREAKING: Adam Johnson returns to training with @SunderlandAFC. #SSNHQ

— skysportsnewshq (@skysportsnewshq) Permalink

Big move.

If he gets found guilty now

Huge call from Sunderland, risky.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have posted an article about how few penalties they've been rewarded this season.

Embarrassing.

Poorly written too

I read half of it and took it to mean the finishing position in the league is proportionate to the amount of penalties they get. Didn't bother finishing the whole article lol.

Haven't read the article, probably won't bother either. What I am aware of is that we've drawn the short straw on a number of clear penalties this season which haven't been given. Like, some have been utterly bewildering as to how they couldn't have been given. Kinda hard to fathom how we've only received 2 spot kicks all season when you see what hasn't been given.

Will make winning the league a little sweeter though.

That article is an absolute fucking joke

I don't think it's really wise posting it on their official website but it holds truth.

But there'll be seasons in the past/future where Chelsea will lave got loads of daft penalties - happens to every club.

I think what's clear from the stats is that if Chelsea's argument is 'better teams get more penalties' we've been shafted virtually every year since the Premier League began on the amount of penalties we've been given.

http://www.myfootballfacts.com/Premier_League_Penalty_Statistics.html

Man Utd have always got favourable decisions until the last few years though.

But better teams always get the most penalties, Chelsea's website said it so it must be true.

Well according to the link you put up it is true as Arsenal, Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and City have had more penalties given to them than any other team. Though there are only 3 other clubs who have been in the Prem since 2002 plus the 'better' sides are more likely to have more penalties due to them creating more chances than the opposition.

Yeah, I was joking.

I was going to say, the link you posted shows the opposite if anything

To be honest it looked more like Ninja was being sarcastic towards Chelsea when in fact they were correct in what they were saying.

Correct or not, it's foolish stuff to post on your official website.

This.

Two against Burnley very recently that were bizarrely not given, but I don't think it's a Chelsea only issue. The referees are fucking absolutely horrid most of the time and seem to bottle making decisions.

Wouldn't better teams get more penalties because they attack more?

Didn't Spurs finish 5th a few years ago after getting no penalties in the entire season?

Sure, Chelsea could have had some penalties that weren't given, but previously they've had some that shouldn't have been given. Mourinho's just behaving like a fucking baby over the whole thing, and clearly so are his mob's website editors.

There's a difference between 50/50 calls and clear as day penalties turned down, on what has been a regular basis, that's the issue.

Do you think the referees are in cohorts with the rest of the Premier League against Chelsea?

Yeah we had 0 penalties 2 seasons ago. Some of them were so blatant it was unreal.

One thing that doesn't help is the fact that there is still confusion over handballs. Some refs will give every one, some only if its deliberate and others ignore them all.

Yeah that's the one. I seem to recall Bale getting frequently booked for diving when he'd been chopped down.

It's a strange one. I know referees have been going down in standards for a couple of years and there are a shitload of penalties that could have been given but haven't been - not just for Chelsea. It's Chelsea that seem to be doing their best to make it an issue of conspiracy and all that bullshit.

Bale also got frequently booked for diving, for diving. He managed to accumulate enough yellows through diving to get himself a ban too, which is quite an achievement.

Sunderland apparently after Tiago Illori on a free in the Summer.

Why on Earth would Liverpool sign a young player for £7m and give him a 2 year deal?

Naturally, you'd like to think not. However, having watched some of the decisions that haven't been called do make you wonder, purely on the basis of just how blatant they are- in relation to the penalty situation. While it's not a hidden secret that the FA and Chelsea haven't always been on the same page. 50/50 calls in general are the nature of the beast, we've certainly gotten our rub of the green a few times this season with the likes of Costa and Cahill not being sent off when they should have at times. While also getting some not go our way like Tim Howard handling outside the box early in the season, Costa, Fabregas, Willian booked for diving when clearly fouled. Those you take on the chin because you know they'll come back around eventually.

The non penalties though, somethings gotta give. For this sort of thing to happen as often as it has this season, it seems a little rich. One or two calls, I can understand. Officials make mistakes, miss things, etc. But not when it's been this often and clear;
- Costa vs Burnley (No penalty called, resulted in Costa being booked for diving)
- Terry & Ivanovic vs Man Utd (Both being held at the same time by Smalling and Rojo at a corner, both penalties, neither called)
- Fabregas vs Southampton (Cesc clearly fouled while controlling the ball, no penalty, booked for diving)
- Costa vs Liverpool (Costa does Skrtel who makes a challenge and gets all man and no ball, no penalty given)
- Ivanovic & Costa vs Burnley (Ivanovic's strike hand balled by defender who was a considerable distance away and had his hands up in a non-natural position after jumping to block the shot, penalty waved away. Costa cuts back inside and the defender shoves him in the back once he's beaten, no penalty given)

About a month ago the average time it took Chelsea to win a penalty (EPL) was 13 games, compared to Man City who were getting one every 3.7 games. Martin Samuel had a interesting piece here which highlights it a bit more. I could understand a low count if we weren't an attacking side but we've currently kicked 58 goals in the league, 1 behind Man City and 3 ahead of Arsenal. History and stats show that with that sort of output the number of penalties this season have been considerably low.

I suppose to sum up what you originally asked. While unlikely, I wouldn't be surprised.

Edit: spelling