Football

[75A]

They'd be 10 points ahead having played the same number of games. Good old Harry!

 

[Iskra]

After our 2-1 defeat to QPR at home today I can see Ipswich even possibly winning the Championship League as they now only 3 points below us.

It’s still far too early to be making any calls with how long is left to go and how close it is in my opinion. Personally, from what I’ve seen Leicester are a far better team than Ipswich.

 

[DannyMich2018]

It’s still far too early to be making any calls with how long is left to go and how close it is in my opinion. Personally, from what I’ve seen Leicester are a far better team than Ipswich.

Yes of course I want us to win the league and we are good but unfortunately they are catching us up now so we need to get a gap ahead now. Not easy for us as we have 4 away games now, 1 been the FA Cup Quarter Finals.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Yes of course I want us to win the league and we are good but unfortunately they are catching us up now so we need to get a gap ahead now. Not easy for us as we have 4 away games now, 1 been the FA Cup Quarter Finals.

Often harder for the leader than the chasing pack... I'm just disappointed that you've decided to go off the boil when facing our relegation rivals!

 

[SteveM70]

Yes of course I want us to win the league and we are good but unfortunately they are catching us up now so we need to get a gap ahead now. Not easy for us as we have 4 away games now, 1 been the FA Cup Quarter Finals.

Sunderland on Tuesday though to ease yourselves back into form

 

[75A]

Koln are 1-0 down to Leverkusen at half time... Kane might have jinxed Bayern because if Leverkusen win this I do not see them letting the title slip!

FInal score was 0-2, so their lead over Bayern is now 10 points, with 10 games left.

 

[JD2168]

In the Sunday games Bournemouth beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor in a largely poor match. Manchester City beat Manchester United 3-1 at the Etihad which featured a brilliant goal by Marcus Rashford & a very good finish from Phil Foden. Eirling Haaland missed from barely 2 yards out in the first half but did score towards the end.

Celtic failed to take advantage of Rangers losing to Motherwell on Saturday by losing 2-0 at Hearts.

 

[Bald Rick]

In the Sunday games Bournemouth beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor in a largely poor match. Manchester City beat Manchester United 3-1 at the Etihad which featured a brilliant goal by Marcus Rashford & a very good finish from Phil Foden. Eirling Haaland missed from barely 2 yards out in the first half but did score towards the end.

Celtic failed to take advantage of Rangers losing to Motherwell on Saturday by losing 2-0 at Hearts.

when was the last time Rangers and Celtic both lost on the same weekend?

 

[1D54]

And for the first time in six years, both halves of the Old Firm have suffered league defeats on the same weekend.

 

[Falcon1200]

Celtic failed to take advantage of Rangers losing to Motherwell on Saturday by losing 2-0 at Hearts.

Brendan Rodgers bemoaning VAR for costing Celtic the match, seemingly forgetting the saved penalty which would have put them 1-0 up and changed the whole game!

 

[THC]

Brendan Rodgers bemoaning VAR for costing Celtic the match, seemingly forgetting the saved penalty which would have put them 1-0 up and changed the whole game!

He wasn't wrong though. The way VAR is employed is ruining the game, in Scotland at least. We had a goal disallowed shortly after that penalty that was ruled out for a marginal offside some twenty seconds or so before the ball hit the net. Hearts too had a similar goal chalked off just before half time. Yang's booking for a high foot was upgraded to a red card following the interjection of the VAR official. Each stoppage led to a break in play of several minutes and in each case the VAR official overrode the actual referee's original decision. I'm not disputing the result, although playing for 75 minutes with ten men hardly helped our chances, but how is VAR benefitting the game? I just don't see it tbh.

THC

 

[Falcon1200]

Some of the decisions in the Hearts/Celtic game were certainly debatable, but in such cases I always try to imagine what the aggrieved manager would say if the situation was reversed; IMHO that manager would have been clamouring for a penalty, or sending off, if their player was the sinned against party.

 

[SteveM70]

Each stoppage led to a break in play of several minutes and in each case the VAR official overrode the actual referee's original decision

Bear in mind that the VAR will check dozens of things in each game, and only a small proportion progress to asking the match ref to take a second look. These should be the decisions that the VAR feels are either objectively wrong (offside) or where they feel the match ref has made a mistake (often because the angle they had didn’t give a clear view).

I don’t see how anyone can argue the red card for Yang was wrong, but watching the video the ref’s view is impeded by both the back of the fouled Hearts player and another Hearts player in between, which probably explains why he didn’t send him off straight away

 

[THC]

Bear in mind that the VAR will check dozens of things in each game, and only a small proportion progress to asking the match ref to take a second look. These should be the decisions that the VAR feels are either objectively wrong (offside) or where they feel the match ref has made a mistake (often because the angle they had didn’t give a clear view).

I stand by my original assertion. The way VAR is used not only disrupts the flow of the match but compromises yet further the authority of the match officials, shaky enough in football for many reasons. It should IMO be for the referee to call upon VAR when doubt remains over a decision, as in rugby, rather than for the VAR officials to override those taken by their colleagues on the pitch. It is ruining the game as a spectacle.

I don’t see how anyone can argue the red card for Yang was wrong, but watching the video the ref’s view is impeded by both the back of the fouled Hearts player and another Hearts player in between, which probably explains why he didn’t send him off straight away

Yet the assistant referee had a clear and unimpeded view and did not flag for a sending off. Yang's high foot was dangerous play, no doubt, but contact with the Hearts player did not appear intentional. The yellow card seemed correct in light of that. Which comes back to my point above, that the way VAR is used further compromises the authority of the match officials.

THC

 

[SteveM70]

It should IMO be for the referee to call upon VAR when doubt remains over a decision, as in rugby, rather than for the VAR officials to override those taken by their colleagues on the pitch

Have you watched a rugby match lately? There are a lot of interventions from the TMO where the ref hasn't even seen any hint of foul play.

Where the ref does ask the TMO for help is generally with try / no try decisions (where the football equivalent is goal line technology and an automatic VAR check of the build up) or where the TMO is asked to help agree the sanction for foul play the ref has seen.

If the equivalent of the Yang incident had happened in a rugby match the yellow card would have meant a sin bin and then the TMO reviewing whether it should stay yellow or be upgraded to red, so a similar after the event intervention to a VAR

Yang's high foot was dangerous play

So a red card offence

contact with the Hearts player did not appear intentional

Utterly irrelevant. There is no mention of intent in the laws regarding foul play

Yet the assistant referee had a clear and unimpeded view and did not flag for a sending off

The lino was a few yards further down the touchline and was side on, so he'll have had a clear view that there was a high foot but not necessarily a clear view of the point of contact

 

[Lewisham2221]

The problem with the current implementation of VAR is that it is just another layer of subjectivity, inconsistency and inefficiency. How often do we see examples of virtually identical incidents being handled differently from one week to the next, or even in different games on the same day? Towards the beginning of the season (was it this season??) we even had Howard Webb coming out and apologising for the very howlers that VAR was supposed to eliminate. An apology doesn't actually change the outcome of the game though...

Every (???) goal in the PL is checked by VAR for offside. What, then, is the point of the linesman? Then there's all the inconsistencies around whether an offside player is involved/interfering with play, where to differentiate between different phases of play (same with fouls in the build up to a goal).

Then there's the nonsense of when VAR can and can't intervene. If the red team are attacking and get fouled in the penalty area, the VAR can intervene if the ref misses it. However, if it happens just outside the box, VAR cannot intervene and the blue team get away with one. But if the red team are attacking and foul the blue team outside the box, and go on to score, VAR can go on and disallow the goal for that foul. Same with red cards. VAR can intervene for a straight red, but their hands are tied when it comes to what should be a blatant second yellow.

Then there's the vastly subjective inconsistency surrounding what actually classes as a foul, or handball, or involved/interfering with play, or red card offence. It's all just a mess.

As for the use of VAR in cup games...

Edit - Apologies for potentially derailing the whole thread

 

[75A]

I think you've hit the stupidity of the whole of VAR very well.

 

[dangie]

If VAR is ever scrapped we’ll still be left with the slow motion freeze frame multi-view television replays from every angle of every incident. Refereeing decisions will still be analysed over & over & over. Match of the Day pundits will spend more time debating what should or shouldn’t have happened rather than what did happen.

The only answer is to scrap VAR and scrap television replays. The referee’s decision is final. Yes of course there will be wrong decisions at times, but without the current micro analysis no one will ever know.

 

[Haywain]

What, then, is the point of the linesman?

Offsides also happen when there are not goals, that’s why there are assistant referees.

 

[75A]

Oh heck, Arsenal were 3-0 up at Sheffield Utd before 15 minutes had gone, gonna me a long night for the home fans

It's now 5-0 and it's not half time yet.
It's Arsenal's third consecutive away game when they've scored 5 or more. (Burnley 5, West Ham 6)

 

[AlterEgo]

I stand by my original assertion. The way VAR is used not only disrupts the flow of the match but compromises yet further the authority of the match officials, shaky enough in football for many reasons. It should IMO be for the referee to call upon VAR when doubt remains over a decision, as in rugby, rather than for the VAR officials to override those taken by their colleagues on the pitch. It is ruining the game as a spectacle.

I hate VAR as much as anyone else, more so in fact, but Celtic weren’t hard done by at the weekend.

Yet the assistant referee had a clear and unimpeded view and did not flag for a sending off.

Assistants do not recommend sanctions, they can only indicate fouls. As the assistant did, by flagging.

Yang's high foot was dangerous play, no doubt, but contact with the Hearts player did not appear intentional. The yellow card seemed correct in light of that.

That’s a red card offence. Very high foot, made contact. No need for intent for it to be a red under the Laws.

 

[1D54]

Has to be a good chance on the Saints 0-9 Leicester Prem record getting beaten tonight unless Arsenal take their foot off the gas.

 

[75A]

Has to be a good chance on the Saints 0-9 Leicester Prem record getting beaten tonight unless Arsenal take their foot off the gas.

As they've won the game, might be an idea to take off some of their 'main players'.

 

[THC]

I hate VAR as much as anyone else, more so in fact, but Celtic weren’t hard done by at the weekend.

Really? VAR indicated a penalty for this supposed handball by Tomoki Iwata, from which Hearts scored. The player was facing away from the ball and mid-leap when it hit him, yet the penalty was awarded.

THC

 

[AlterEgo]

Really? VAR indicated a penalty, for this supposed handball by Tomoki Iwata, from which Hearts scored. The player was facing away from the ball and mid-leap when it hit him, yet the penalty was awarded. Hardly fair.

THC

That’s a penalty for as well under the Laws and the interpretation of “the arm making the body silhouette unnaturally bigger”these days. Eye closed isn’t a defence. No intent is necessary for a handball offence. I don’t like it either, and think it’s a load of bull, but that’s how it is.

 

[75A]

Arsenal won 6-0 with each goal scored by a different player (all be it one played for Sheffield).
Arsenal's goal difference is now at least 6 better than anyone else in the division, who knows that might be important at the end of the season.
Sheffield United were just a clueless collection of 11 players in the same coloured shirts, totally outclassed.

 

[swt_passenger]

Arsenal won 6-0 with each goal scored by a different player (all be it one played for Sheffield).
Arsenal's goal difference is now at least 6 better than anyone else in the division, who knows that might be important at the end of the season.
Sheffield United were just a clueless collection of 11 players in the same coloured shirts, totally outclassed.

It’s odd how often games like tonight’s seem to ease off a bit in the second half, I was thinking 0-10 was likely at one point.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

North West Counties Football League...Premier Division

Bury 2 ... Lower Breck 1

Bury took the lead in the 36th minute, but Lower Breck equalized a minute before half-time. Bury regained the lead in the 69th minute and recorded yet another win. What is worth noting is the attendance of 2,934.
Bury's position at the head of the league table was helped by second-placed Wythenshawe Town losing 0-1 away at AFC Liverpool, so Bury are now three points clear of Wythenshawe Town, with two games in hand.

 

[dangie]

…The only answer is to scrap VAR and scrap television replays.…

Following on from my post above, the problem is that many football fans have only known football with television replays. They didn’t know football before the television replay. Watching a match without television replays would be unthinkable. They will never know how good football was before the television replay. In a few years time the same will apply to VAR.

 

[75A]

Good point.