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2008-09 Football Thread - The Second Half
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Shocking, UEFA ****ed over the premier league and would not be surprised if it was on purpose. Drogba going mental at the camera in the end, and I can understand why lol
but they also do not deserve to have 2 nearly 3 clear penalty decisions, Two handballs in the second half and a foul in the first. Massive injustice! How on earth can the ref not give them, the ref was on the edge of the box for the first.
So what.
He's right.
I am not a Chelsea fan, but this was disgraceful. How many penalties do you have to win to actually be given one?
If I were a Chelsea fan, I would be LIVID!
Get a ref from a country where they have to make big decisions on a regular basis.
Get an Italian or German for these HUGE fixes (if an English and Spanish club are involved)
So what.
He's right.
I am not a Chelsea fan, but this was disgraceful. How many penalties do you have to win to actually be given one?
If I were a Chelsea fan, I would be LIVID!
Get a ref from a country where they have to make big decisions on a regular basis.
Get an Italian or German for these HUGE fixes (if an English and Spanish club are involved)
totally agree, and I am livid
The referee was poor tonight, but Chelsea had more than enough chances to win the game in their own right. And to say that a mere Norwegian shouldn't referee a big match – as Andy Gray was bleating throughout the game – is nonsense. Refereeing in a 'big' league is no guarantee of ability or quality, as England's officials often demonstrate. And let's not forget the referee in last night's game was Italian – does that mean his decision to red card Fletcher was correct?
Meanwhile, I see Tom Henning Ovrebo's Wikipedia page has been vandalised by disgruntled Chelsea fans already...
But half the time the chances were denied by a Barcelona foul in the box, the Pique hand ball was disgusting, how did the linesman not give it!?
The referee was poor tonight, but Chelsea had more than enough chances to win the game in their own right. And to say that a mere Norwegian shouldn't referee a big match – as Andy Gray was bleating throughout the game – is nonsense. Refereeing in a 'big' league is no guarantee of ability or quality, as England's officials often demonstrate. And let's not forget the referee in last night's game was Italian – does that mean his decision to red card Fletcher was correct?
Meanwhile, I see Tom Henning Ovrebo's Wikipedia page has been vandalised by disgruntled Chelsea fans already...
I agree having a ref who is used to a big league is no guarantee, but this guy looked more or less afraid to give a penalty. Every ref has his day, and likewise has an off-day.
But this fellow simply didn't look "up to it".
No, Fletcher's red card wasn't correct, and again: you can't get everything right. But looking as if you can't handle the pressure really is the worst thing.
Meanwhile, I see Tom Henning Ovrebo's Wikipedia page has been vandalised by disgruntled Chelsea fans already...
that's the spirit for some obviously
here they just after the game in the discussion they showed last years "not given penalty" on messi in the barca manchester semi final
and not that a german/italian would have been better for Chelsea .. it just would have led to Drogba going showering early with yellow-red in the first half for diving
Barca got a red card for Anelka falling over his own feet for christ sake
He's an incompetent, arrogant tool, and has always been so.
Here's from last year's football thread:
Would it be fair to say though that over the two legs, the better team got through?
Also conspiracy perhaps to prevent an all English final at all cost, personally i don't think so but what the heck...conspiracy theories are entertaining.
Drogba's reaction probably stems more from the sad realization that he should've killed off the game with the chances he had than anything else
Also conspiracy perhaps to prevent an all English final at all cost, personally i don't think so but what the heck...conspiracy theories are entertaining.
Drogba's reaction probably stems more from the sad realization that he should've killed off the game with the chances he had than anything else
Chelsea got the short end of the stick from the ref - although, 1 goal in the Champions League is not much of a margin for victory...Hiddink still has a pretty good chance of lifting the FA Cup, so he doesn't have time to cry over spilled milk.
I also agree that the nationality of the ref is irrelevant.
I'm happy to see Barca go through, but if Chelsea can hold them to one goal over two legs I can't see them scoring much against United - and in order to beat United they will need to score early and often. I do not want to see Ferguson lift another European trophy but his team must be the favorites for the win.
I also agree that the nationality of the ref is irrelevant.
I'm happy to see Barca go through, but if Chelsea can hold them to one goal over two legs I can't see them scoring much against United - and in order to beat United they will need to score early and often. I do not want to see Ferguson lift another European trophy but his team must be the favorites for the win.
Yes, Chelsea were unlucky. The media bleating does seem to ignore the stone wall penalty Barca should have had last week at the Nou Camp, and the fact Ballack should've been sent off. Also, the referee made a terrible decision to send Abidal off - if United want to appeal Fletchers red, Barcelona should want to appeal that red. So all in all - it balances out. Congratulations Barcelona, I thoroughly enjoyed that.
Bad news for Jaffa about Ian Ashbee, possibly out for the rest of the season with the dreaded knee-ligament injury that seems so common these days.
Whatever happens to Hull City, I think Ashbee is still one of the interesting stories of the season. Few players out there have captained their team through as much as he has.
Henry possibly out for the CL final with an injury similar to Ashbee's. I hope he at least makes the bench.
Whatever happens to Hull City, I think Ashbee is still one of the interesting stories of the season. Few players out there have captained their team through as much as he has.
Henry possibly out for the CL final with an injury similar to Ashbee's. I hope he at least makes the bench.
Indeed your Lordship, this injury couldn't have come at a worse time really. We'll miss Ashbee, not so much for his skills but for his leadership whenever he's missing we seem to lack direction.
It's another huge game for us tomorrow, and one we simply cannot afford to lose especially as Newcastle and Middlesbrough play each other on Monday night. If things go wrong, come Monday evening we could be in the bottom three the perfect set of results would be for us to thump Stoke City and our north-east rivals to play out a tepid, dour goalless draw. Mind, so long as we get the three points I don't particularly care what happens in our game we can win 1-0 after an injury time deflection off Delap's backside, it might not be pretty but it'd be three points we desperately need.
We need to play Barmby from the start, and give him the armband I say.
It's another huge game for us tomorrow, and one we simply cannot afford to lose especially as Newcastle and Middlesbrough play each other on Monday night. If things go wrong, come Monday evening we could be in the bottom three the perfect set of results would be for us to thump Stoke City and our north-east rivals to play out a tepid, dour goalless draw. Mind, so long as we get the three points I don't particularly care what happens in our game we can win 1-0 after an injury time deflection off Delap's backside, it might not be pretty but it'd be three points we desperately need.
Let's break it down.
As far as I can see it is 3 from 5:
16 Sunderland 35 -17 35
17 Hull 35 -23 34
18 Newcastle 35 -19 31
19 Middlesbrough 35 -26 31
20 West Brom 35 -31 28
Sunderland:
Bolton A
Portsmouth A
Chelsea H
Hull:
Stoke H
Bolton A
Man U H
Newcastle:
Middlesbrough H
Fulham H
Villa A
Middlesbrough:
Newcastle A
Villa H
West Ham H
West Brom:
Wigan H
Liverpool H
Blackburn A
I would say that West Brom are almost certainly down. Even if Hull don't pick up another point, and Newcastle and Middlesbrough only pick up a single point then West Brom would need 7 points from 9 to get out of the relegation zone. Liverpool should beat them, so that's that.
So, realistically it's 2 from 4.
While Sunderland are currently in the best position they have a pretty tough run-in, they could quite easily lose all 3 games.
Hull will fancy their chances at home against Stoke who has woeful away form. I guess they'll also be hoping for the title to be wrapped up before the last day of the season so that Man U have nothing to play for and have one eye on the cup final.
Vila will play a big role in the fates of Newcastle and Middlesbrough. If the rampant attacking Villa shows up then I think they win both those games. In fact, I think Middlesbrough have a very tough last 2 games even though both are at home.
I think Hull defeats Stoke tomorrow essentially making them safe.
It's a tight battle at the bottom, to be sure. Stoke will not be an easy opponent, but they are weak on the road as swiftaw says. United may put out a B-side on the last day, but as we have seen this season a Man Utd B-team can still overpower most anyone outside the top four. They may just steal a draw...
It seems Drogba may be dropped for the league match against Arsenal for abusing the ref in the Barca match. I think Hiddink would be right to do it. Put Anelka in there and let Drogba sit in the stands and think about calling refs a "****ing disgrace" on live TV.
It seems Drogba may be dropped for the league match against Arsenal for abusing the ref in the Barca match. I think Hiddink would be right to do it. Put Anelka in there and let Drogba sit in the stands and think about calling refs a "****ing disgrace" on live TV.
If we win tomorrow and it's a draw on Monday, then we'll have a five point cushion with two games remaining. You can't take anything for granted of course, but that should be enough I hope.
Hopefully everything will be sorted by the time Manchester United pop over. I've heard a few people say it'd be good from our point of view if they've got thetitle by then and field a reserve side, but let's be honest their reserves aren't exactly shoddy, are they? I think a side of young, hungry and very talented players looking to stake their claim for consideration next season would be a tough proposition...
I agree. It will be a very tough match regardless of the side Fergie puts out, and you don't want to be in a position where you need to take points from United. But, as you said, there are other, more winnable matches to get points from. Plus, Middlesbrough and Newcastle will probably help you out by continuing to be horrible.
"title decider*" in Scotland today and it is chucking it down! And I'm going to miss it beacause I am currently on a golf course.
* unless you support the losing team, then the league is still very much alive.
* unless you support the losing team, then the league is still very much alive.
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