*Official* English Football Season 2013-14

[sledger]

Thought Martin Tyler was going OTT with his comments re: whether linesmen "assist or insist" today. Was beating it like a drum. Wish he had just stfu, comments like that don't help anyone.

 

[grecian]

Thing is whilst that is true, if they should have been fined heavily then so should all the other managers. Basically every manager does it, even Pellegrini - look at his rant after the Barcelona game, and he is one of the calmer ones.

Basically just stop interviewing managers directly after the games because if you do that then a load of slagging off officials is what you are going to get, whoever it is. The ones that are worse IMO are the ones where a manager will slag off the previous referee in their Friday press conference or whatever because that's far more considered obviously.

I hate reiterating my boring old time views, but the reason I hate(d) Ferguson was because he made everyone do this ****. Before him it didn't happen.

People kept on comparing Jose with Clough on his first time here, yet Clough's big thing was no dissension on or off the pitch with officials, he'd fine them if so.

Ferguson has made the English League toxic, made this childish **** normal. How many times do we get a new manager, like Pellegrini, come into the League, and we all think he's a breathe of fresh air, and then see him drawn into the mire.

It's why despite his incredible managerial abilities, and his unprecedented achievements I will never have any time for the bullying, vindictive nastiness of Ferguson. A force for evil if ever there was one in football.

and so yes, fine all the managers who digress heavily, even going to points penalties, stop them from this tiresome crap. Let what happens on the pitch be paramount.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I hate reiterating my boring old time views, but the reason I hate(d) Ferguson was because he made everyone do this ****. Before him it didn't happen.

This is not true.

I actually agree in that I don't think Ferguson was a force for good at all and putting all bias to one side I don't particularly like him, but this sentence just isn't true. He didn't make Pellegrini (for instance) suggest that the referee was not impartial, and slating referees was certainly around before Ferguson. It was heard less often, primarily in my view because there were less interviews with managers full stop, and those that there were were often not directly after the game. But it did happen.

 

[grecian]

This is not true.

I actually agree in that I don't think Ferguson was a force for good at all and putting all bias to one side I don't particularly like him, but this sentence just isn't true. He didn't make Pellegrini (for instance) suggest that the referee was not impartial, and slating referees was certainly around before Ferguson. It was heard less often, primarily in my view because there were less interviews with managers full stop, and those that there were were often not directly after the game. But it did happen.

My belief is he changed the way managers approached these interviews and have made them a self-serving everyone is against us, and the refs in particular. It's my opinion I'm not sure it can be announced as true or not.

No there wasn't the TV interviews, but there were constant Press interviews that would have been one right after the games for reasons of getting them in before deadlines.

Anyway many of Fergusons worse stuff was in pre-match conferences where he would put pressure on refs with their supposed poor record against Manu or talking about how he hoped the refs wouldn't bottle the big decisions. All utterly deplorable and quite frankly disgusting, any discussion about officials should be banished.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I'm not trying to defend Ferguson at all, as I said I don't particularly like him aside from what he did for us.

My contention is that this is in no way new, it's just more prevalent thanks to the complete change in the way football is covered now. A quick google search throws up some quotes from Bill Shankly criticising referees, and I have seen video footage of Sir Matt Busby criticising a referee in a post match TV interview. I just searched for Shankly because he was the first name that popped into my head, I'm sure you could search others and find similar results. It just isn't new.

As for Clough, he may never have criticised referees, but he certainly said (and allegedly did) some stuff that IMO was far worse than the pressuring/criticism of referees.

 

[Furball]

I hate reiterating my boring old time views, but the reason I hate(d) Ferguson was because he made everyone do this ****. Before him it didn't happen.

People kept on comparing Jose with Clough on his first time here, yet Clough's big thing was no dissension on or off the pitch with officials, he'd fine them if so.

Ferguson has made the English League toxic, made this childish **** normal. How many times do we get a new manager, like Pellegrini, come into the League, and we all think he's a breathe of fresh air, and then see him drawn into the mire.

It's why despite his incredible managerial abilities, and his unprecedented achievements I will never have any time for the bullying, vindictive nastiness of Ferguson. A force for evil if ever there was one in football.

and so yes, fine all the managers who digress heavily, even going to points penalties, stop them from this tiresome crap. Let what happens on the pitch be paramount.

Did it up here as well.

Was one of the reasons he was so successful tbh; managed to engineer a massive siege mentality at Aberdeen with regards to the Glasgow media.

 

[grecian]

I'm not trying to defend Ferguson at all, as I said I don't particularly like him aside from what he did for us.

My contention is that this is in no way new, it's just more prevalent thanks to the complete change in the way football is covered now. A quick google search throws up some quotes from Bill Shankly criticising referees, and I have seen video footage of Sir Matt Busby criticising a referee in a post match TV interview. I just searched for Shankly because he was the first name that popped into my head, I'm sure you could search others and find similar results. It just isn't new.

As for Clough, he may never have criticised referees, but he certainly said (and allegedly did) some stuff that IMO was far worse than the pressuring/criticism of referees.

and again it's my perception that things have changed, it may well be just that these criticisms have become bigger news in the multi-media world we live in. Yet I believe Ferguson was an instigator of a lot of what is going on now, and I wish that the FA would do something about it, it's all in the rule-book.

 

[Furball]

My belief is he changed the way managers approached these interviews and have made them a self-serving everyone is against us, and the refs in particular. It's my opinion I'm not sure it can be announced as true or not.

No there wasn't the TV interviews, but there were constant Press interviews that would have been one right after the games for reasons of getting them in before deadlines.

Anyway many of Fergusons worse stuff was in pre-match conferences where he would put pressure on refs with their supposed poor record against Manu or talking about how he hoped the refs wouldn't bottle the big decisions. All utterly deplorable and quite frankly disgusting, any discussion about officials should be banished.

I think there's a fine line when it comes to officials.

If you're criticising them for bad decisions then I think that's fair game.

If you're implying they have some sort of bias against you personally or your club then that's crossing a line and anyone who does so should be hammered.

 

[sledger]

Am I alone in thinking that Sebastian Larsson smashing Ramires in the back when he was about to head into an empty net was almost certainly a pen? I can't believe more wasn't made of it.

 

[grecian]

I think there's a fine line when it comes to officials.

If you're criticising them for bad decisions then I think that's fair game.

If you're implying they have some sort of bias against you personally or your club then that's crossing a line and anyone who does so should be hammered.

There is a fine line, I'll admit, but the problem is where that line is. For instance "that was a poor penalty decision" is perhaps alright but "that was a poorpenalty decision, all refs are biased against us, it's fraudulent" isn't alright.

So possibly good if they don't just talk about it.

 

[grecian]

Watching MOTD, Shearer and Hansen sure it's a pen, not sure myself, Altidore has put a lazy leg out so there's contact, but anyway the clearest decision in the World from every angle is Ramires' sending-off, looks worse everytime you see it. So Jose should genuinely thank the ref for keeping his raggedy outfit in it.

 

[sledger]

I think it was a definite pen tbh. Azpilicueta doing his best Clichy impression.

Was amazed they said that the Larsson incident I mentioned above was "astounding defending" though; I thought it was an obvious body-check.

 

[grecian]

I think it was a definite pen tbh. Azpilicueta doing his best Clichy impression.

Was amazed they said that the Larsson incident I mentioned above was "astounding defending" though; I thought it was an obvious body-check.

I dunno it's one where if it was my team I'd be gutted if it was given against, but shouting for, I think Altidore wasn't looking for anything other than the pen.

Maybe about Larsson, but they are never ever giving.

 

[grecian]

Some really crap pens being scored from BTW.

 

[sledger]

Yeah, that Borini one was an absolute shocker.

 

[sledger]

I dunno it's one where if it was my team I'd be gutted if it was given against, but shouting for, I think Altidore wasn't looking for anything other than the pen.

Maybe about Larsson, but they are never ever giving.

I think you could clearly see his standing leg being taken away tbh. He may have slipped a bit, which made it look like he was playing for it, but there was definitely some contact there.

The Larsson one is one of those ones that will be given as a foul 99 times out of a 100 anywhere else on the pitch. And ironically if it hadn't been an open goal I suspect it'd probably have been given as a pen too.

 

[sledger]

Lol Tiote. What a ****ing dumbass.

 

[grecian]

Well that was a clear pen, and well taken too. Pardew is a funny guy.

 

[grecian]

I think you could clearly see his standing leg being taken away tbh. He may have slipped a bit, which made it look like he was playing for it, but there was definitely some contact there.

The Larsson one is one of those ones that will be given as a foul 99 times out of a 100 anywhere else on the pitch. And ironically if it hadn't been an open goal I suspect it'd probably have been given as a pen too.

Yeah fair enough on both points, but I disagree.

Gordon Cowans on the bench, blimey that's a name from the Villa glory days.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Why is the penalty area the shape it is?

EDIT: Obviously, 18 yards from the goal... but should it be? Where would you redraw it if you had the chance?