terriersmad - Comments

Well, neither side can say they got the worse side of a dreadful referee. Wednesday will argue - quite rightly - that they should have had a penalty in the dying seconds. We will argue that Wednesday were very lucky to have all their players on the field after a series of assaults by Stevie May on our goalkeeper and their captain decided it would be a bright idea to, after a blatant body-check which rightly earned a booking, boot the ball 40 yards towards the touchline. Draw probably about fair. Though quite when Bronn from Game of Thrones started playing for Wednesday I do not know.

Sean Scannell signs new contract

Evans will go abroad to resurrect his career, where his poisonous tag hasn't been heard. He'll pop up in Greece or Spain's Second Division or something.

Really disappointed to lose today. We gave a tremendous display and ultimately got punished for not taking our chances. Should have been very different - Bunn missed one at 0-0, we had one cleared off the line and a nailed-on penalty not given, and then they scored after our captain miscontrolled the ball and missed his tackle on the halfway line. From then on we just attacked in waves and deserved the (admittedly bizarre) equaliser, and we should have pushed on to win the game, but poor defending cost us within a minute - Fulham's first attack of the half after living a charmed life at the other end. The third just rubbed salt in the wounds when we went chasing the game again - it was their second attack of the half. Punished in the end by about £30m of striking talent.

Quite how the ref missed the penalty I don't know. Bunn was very clearly tripped - I could tell from the other end of the ground and the manager, having seen it again, says it was an absolute stonewaller. But then the ref was poor when it came to giving things. Quite a lot of fouls either way just weren't given, and it was our rotten luck to have that go against us. I think he was summed up when he gave Town a corner after being on the spot after a double deflection, before reversing his decision after running 90 yards to consult with the linesman, who disagreed with him despite the ref being perhaps five yards away. I have no idea whether it was the right or wrong decision, but the ref needed to be stronger. Needed to book more Fulham players, too, who took down Town players on the break half a dozen times without punishment - Scott Parker seemed to get off twice purely because he was Scott Parker.

Defensive lapses aside, to say how well we played we didn't test the keeper enough. In fairness to Fulham, they provided some great last-ditch defensive moments (two clearances off the line) and defended well in numbers, and Scott Parker doesn't half know how to just sit and cut off the angle for the snap shot. Although we still created half a dozen great chances, such as Bunn's shot wide, Hogg's scuffed effort after we cut through and the ball was just begging to be buried, I can't really remember the keeper having to make any flying saves, though he very nearly did let a Butterfield daisy cutter in (when he managed to defy the laws of physics by sending the ball off at an angle after letting it through his fingers, we should have taken the hint that it wasn't going to be our day).

We lost a game. Never mind, it was at Derby and we never get anything there (our record since our last win there: P21, W0, D2, L19).

On to Fulham.

Wow. Just... wow. Best performance in 15 years. Magnificent. What a turn around from August.

Some FFP predictions: http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/latest-news/which-championship-clubs-can-expect-to-receive-a-transfer-embargo-

Not sure how they work some of them out. I'm still not a fan of FFP, but I do think that if it's to work you need to enforce points deductions and prevent teams who don't comply from being promoted. Let's say Bournemouth went up this season with a massive FFP fine - they'll essentially be reaping the benefits of breaking the rules, and the only way to stop that is to dock them 20 points, just as an example, to make it a 'fair' competition for other clubs who do comply.

Texted a variant of that to my Leeds supporting mate. He waited a couple of hours then just texted 'Fuck off'.

Saw that and had a good giggle. And I'm delighted with a point after being 2-0 down at Ipswich. I reckon they'll make the play-offs this season, so to get something from there after being behind is a massive bonus. Roll on Forest!

We never get anything at Ipswich (2 wins in 106 years tells its own story). Predicting a 2-0 defeat.

Decent point last night against Brighton. I want to see their goal again because the team was convinced there was a handball by the lad who scored - I have to say I saw something but at the distance I was at I really couldn't tell and it was all over very quickly, so it might be nothing doing and we were just trying to stop the ref giving the goal after making a mess of defending a corner (and if we were it'll annoy me - just defend the damn thing better rather than looking at the officials to give things that haven't happened). But it had been coming after we invited pressure after going ahead, and Brighton deserved it.

Kazenga LuaLua deserves credit for being the most annoying footballer I've seen this season. He got booked for haranguing the linesman in the first half, then proceeded to moan and complain about every decision. The ref finally lost his tether in the 93rd minute when he sent him off for a pretty innocuous foul on the halfway line, presumably because he'd had enough. LuaLua tried to stay on the sidelines, had an argument with the fourth official, then sheepishly sloped back to the dressing rooms.

Brighton have changed. They still pass it aimlessly and are about as interesting in possession as watching paint dry, but, with the exception of LuaLua, they're not a side which surrounds officials this season, nor do they dive around and try to con the ref. I suspect the manager has something to do with that.

You are.

But you're still 24 off our record

Delivered a bit of a dicking to Blackpool. 4-2 doesn't really reflect the game, it could and probably should have been 7 or 8-0. Joe Lewis has played a blinder, we've missed sitters, and Blackpool generally looked a total mess. Of course, we decided to make it interesting and conceded twice in two minutes just before half time (first completely self-inflicted - silly foul and then getting the wall completely wrong on the free-kick - second a pretty blatant foul by Miller on Robinson, who still should have been stronger to be fair) to make the second half fraught until Butterfield twatted in a volley from 25 yards to secure the points.

Sean Scannell managed destroy the left-back who started to the point he went off after 15 minutes suffering from a breakdown and deserved a goal for his brilliant performance. Bunn was impressive again and scored twice (though I suspect his first will be taken from him by the dubious goals panel - it looked suspiciously like the defender got there ahead of him and put it into his own net). Holt is a big, bullying, hard bastard and I love him and he was very unlucky not to get a penalty after he scored after being hauled down on a free-kick after the ref had already had a word with the defender for holding. Defensively we were a bit shaky, but going forward we were exhilarating.

Sadly I'm being dragged round Leeds by the mrs, so my first away league game of the season won't be til we play Fulham next month. Think we've made big strides, but I'm not expecting anything on Saturday - we never get anything at Ewood Park, it's the anti-Molineux

3 points off Wolves. As normal. I think that's 7 wins in a row against them and only one defeat in 16 at their hands. 4 wins in a row at their place as well.

We won.

What am I meant to do now? Bloody hell, I like complaining. First half was tepid, so I'll complain about that and the way our defence decided to stand still when a ball came across it, gifting their lad pretty much their only shot of the game. Again, architects of the goals we concede. Nearly gifted another one when Butterfield got caught arsing around and we had to scramble it away off the line from the resulting corner. But in truth, that's all Millwall did and even Hollway admitted that his team wasn't at the races and deserved cock all.

Wells took his first goal brilliantly and takes a good penalty. Holt came on and bullied the centre-halves. Hogg looked fit again (at last). Lynch was solid after a shaky first few minutes when he couldn't pass water. And Harry Bunn was a handful for the Millwall defence in the first half when he played up front and a complete menace in the second when he was pushed wider - Holloway actually brought on a player to double up on him, such were the problems he caused when he ran at them. It was he who was brought down for the penalty after cutting inside. If he had a left foot he'd be terrifyingly good.

Not so say we were fluent, but we deserved the overdue win. First home win in 211 days.

Note to our players: aim at this:



Play OK (from an objective standpoint 'performance', not including goals, better than last two games and better than Leeds), have 15 shots... get none on target. And don't make defensive cock-ups after taking control of the game that gift the initiative to a side that will take their bloody chances.

Point, clean sheet, not conceded a goal from open play with Hudson at the back and Powell in charge. Point about right, Wigan never really threatened and neither did we. Rosler will no doubt complain about a handball that wasn't given (bounced up onto his arm - seen them given, but it's one of those which might be given 3 times out of 10), but in truth Town were good value for a point and had the best chance to nick it.

I don't look at the table for at least 8 games. Used to be 10, but I have all the discipline of a gnat.

We're not so much owed 'a bit' of luck as a deluge of it. Three more points robbed by a bastard ref. Boro had two real chances - both given them by a very poor referee. One was a 35-yard free-kick twatted in the top corner in frankly stunning fashion, the other a 92nd minute penalty given for a 'tug'. If that's a tug then I'm going to go to Weston-Super-Mare and run through the town centre naked. It's especially hard to take after the penalty we weren't given against Charlton 3 weeks ago - to say they're on the opposite ends of the spectrum is putting it mildly.

With the exception of the Newcastle, Chesterfield and Forest games, every game has had a shocking referee giving decisions against Town. By my reckoning we've conceded 6 goals as a direct result of refereeing decisions wrongly going against us, costing us 5 points. Then again, I'm no believer that luck evens itself out. I fully expect a triple somersault with pike by a Wigan man to be given as a penalty on Tuesday night in a decision which will cost us.

Not saying we deserved to win, but neither did Boro. We had the better of the opening exchanges, they then scored (assisted ably by the ref) and started to control it. We huffed, puffed, and finally got an equaliser with 4 minutes to play - maybe a little undeserved, but then Boro didn't deserve their goal either. Then the ref decided to fuck up the game more than he'd previously managed and Boro took 3 thoroughly undeserved points.

I've also lost all track of what constitutes a yellow card these days after too many baffling decisions. How Butterfield was booked for a mistimed challenge on their winger I don't know, and how Leadbitter didn't get carded after half a dozen niggly ones is also beyond me. I assume it's done on a wheel of fortune basis, or possibly on an ITV call-in line which results in weird decisions and no consistency.

Another one to annoy me - Vaughan was booked for a foul on the keeper after sliding in to try and retrieve a poor touch. Fair enough. The foul took place on the penalty spot, or near enough, after the keeper went to ground to gather and Vaughan slid in a split second late. Their captain, prior to scoring the worldie, decides to stick his oar in to what is a straightforward decision before, after the booking, deliberately flattening Wells off the ball. Peltier gets involved. Ref - rather than get his cards out for Leadbitter (see above) decides to have a chat with him and Peltier, who is presumably stand by while his players get assaulted. By this time, the ball has migrated to the edge of the D, where the keeper takes the free kick from. One, this is a good ten yards further forward. Two, if he's handled it there then it's a red for the keeper and our free-kick. So why wasn't he told to get it back into his box for the free-kick, at least? Or do refs get paid by the idiotic moment? There's being such a thing as too pernickety about free-kick positions, but you can't let them do that.

And one of my ex-girlfriends who I actually really liked got married this afternoon. I can't blame the ref for the break-up, but if I could I would.

In defence of the first two, they always had 'development squad' written all over them. Carroll is now in the SPFL, and might make it.

Could be top-notch. Got the technique, just needs to learn where to actually play. Which is a big if, I have to say.


Very pleased with the appointment. I think he's someone who'll fit in to the club's ethos and has the ability to take us to the top end of the league. We have a good squad - better than the Charlton squad which finished 9th under him a year back, imo - and a good man to bring the best out of it. (Watch us fail spectacularly and get relegated by March now I've said that).

Going forward: good.

Defending: not sure where to start. Sure, players were missing, but that's no excuse for not picking up on set-pieces and generally being a mess at the back. Doesn't help to have four left-sided defenders in the back four in terms of balance in open play, but we need to bring in someone to sort them out, and fast.

Red card overturned. And quite rightly!

Can we have the two points the ref mugged from us back as well, please?

It was a shocking decision. Never thought I'd see such a clear two-handed push in the chest eight yards out when we're about to score go unpunished. Then for them to go up the other end and score immediately was just... There aren't words for it, to be honest. The red card is ludicrously harsh as well.

Right, he's the 'last man' and he gives the lad a tug on the arm. But the same player is slowing up. The incident is 35-40 yards out. He doesn't have the ball under control. Two defenders are coming across to cover and, because he's slowing up to control the ball, will be goal side of him within perhaps two seconds and blocking a direct path to goal. The tug is a foul but is not enough to bring him down (player's choice to go down, quite clearly; he'd seen all the above and obviously thought he'd take his chances).

Here are two videos which show the decisions. The 'foul' on the goalkeeper is an absolute joke as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ5AZyMeWaM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tilv82gWyyU

Also, watch Bikey, Charlton's number 6, on the actual red card clip. He applauds. Whether that's the ref, himself, or whatever, I don't care. If it's in response to the red card and is a 'job done' reaction, he needs banning. I hate conduct like that. He's charged right down the pitch to remonstrate about it and then does that. Disgusting, quite frankly. Quite what his hands are in the air for I don't know either.

Gutted. Absolutely gutted. Superb performance in the face of adversity. We've battled and fought and played as a team and been far better than Charlton for the whole 90 minutes.

In the first half we forced their keeper into a string of fine saves and had one wrongly ruled out after the keeper came charging out, made a mess of it, tried to retrieve the situation and found Nahki Wells had nipped in front of him so promptly fell over. Wells put it in the net but the ref, deciding no Huddersfield Town goal could happen if he could do anything about it, had already blown for a free-kick. It wasn't. It was just shit goalkeeping (with a hint of handball outside the box when he was under pressure).

The ref then proceeded to get in the way of our attacks and proved a capable holding midfielder whilst being directed what to do by Charlton's central defensive pairing of Tal Ben Haim and Andre Bikey. He made 3 outstanding interceptions in the game.

His next telling contribution was to send Town defender Murray Wallace off for a tug on whoever the fuck the Charlton number 14 was. He'd knocked the ball ahead (into the path of Joel Lynch, who wellied it away) when he got a tug on his arm and fell over. He was 30 yards out and wasn't in possession of the ball. Two defenders were covering. He was, however, bearing down on goal, if the direction of your run when an opposition player is about to welly it clear matters. When Wallace looked like going unpunished with nothing but a free-kick for a foul which warranted nothing but a free-kick, Bikey and half the Charlton team decided to charge downfield and bully Mr Robinson, who did as he was told and sent Wallace packing, presumably because he'd denied the Charlton player a chance to run into Joel Lynch, a serious offence around these parts.

This was in the second minute of the one added on. There hadn't been any stoppages, but Mr Robinson, listening to Bikey (who's a big, scary bloke when you see him up close) had decided to let the Charlton man ref the game by this point and he hadn't said the first half could stop. The free-kick came to sod all.

Town took the lead with a wonderful bit of play five minutes into the second half. Scannell showed a bit of skill to release Smith, who underlapped and put in a perfect cross for Wells to tap in his fourth goal of the season. The ref looked at Bikey, but even he couldn't find anything wrong with it, and he instead chose to berate his left-back for not doing his job despite the fact he'd lost his man.

An incident which led to nothing but which pretty much summed Mr Robinson and Bikey up came when sub James Vaughan was pulled up for a foul on Charlton's number 20, who had a hissy fit at being closed down. It was a foul, but hardly a serious one, but the number 20 started to demand that Vaughan be booked. Mr Robinson spoke to Vaughan on the number 20's instructions, which the number 20 didn't like and he promptly refused to take the free-kick from where he was directed to do so. Rather than book the twat, Mr Robinson instead called over Charlton captain Jackson to warn him that his team-mates were in danger of getting into trouble if they didn't do as they were told. Bikey, being the referee, also came over to tell Mr Robinson what to do. The free-kick wasn't moved on Bikey's instructions.

After denying Town a goal in the first half, it was only right that Mr Robinson should deny Town the sort of stonewall penalty that makes you think that the only way you're getting something out of this bastard is if one of the defenders sinks an axe into your striker's head, and even then it depends on if the linesman was paying attention. James Vaughan took the ball down as the game entered five minutes of stoppage time, turned inside Tal Ben Haim, and, poised to stick the ball in the net from eight yards out, got wrestled to the ground. It was clear and blatant. There are no excuses for missing it beyond being registered blind, and even then I'm pretty certain Stevie Wonder would have given it. Mr Robinson, who was 10 yards away (you couldn't say he missed anything because he was behind play, he was right up to speed all match), waved it away. Charlton went up the other end and promptly scored.

The last one, more than any other, has to go down as one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. There isn't a decision to make. It's a penalty and a red card. Vaughan is about to score and Ben Haim pushes him over when off-balance. We might miss the penalty, but this is the crux: that is the decision that has cost us the points we deserved. If he gives it they don't go down the other end and score. If he does his job we have three points. If he had a backbone Charlton would have seen their own players dismissed.

His 'performance', bullied my men in black, is the only downer. We were magnificent. Better from first to last. Even with 10 we should have scored more than we did. Charlton created one chance against ten men and took it.

Worth mentioning that prior to the penalty, Mr Robinson had fallen out with Vaughan. If that was his reason for not giving a penalty he should be sacked and banned from football for a long time. Because it's cheating. It's favouring one side over the other because of personal biases. Bad enough that he was from 20 miles away from Charlton, but that makes it worse.

3 points and £1.2m off Reading inside a week. And the one they've signed is Oliver Norwood. We really have mugged them this week.

Oh, fuck. Attwell. I'd rather have a blind three-legged dog with dementia reffing than this tosser.

Bit unfortunate to lose 3-1 to Cardiff. Didn't expect anything different, but decent performance. Get in to find Patrick Kluivert being touted as the front-runner for the job. How did that happen?

Frontrunners at present:

Jackie McNamara
Neil Lennon
Steven Pressley
Chris Hughton
Chris Powell
Billy Davies
Neil Warnock.

Of those, my preferences, in order, would be Lennon (unlikely to say the least), Hughton, Powell and possibly Warnock.