The 2011-2012 Football Thread

[Lord Blackadder]

He'll have a job. My live-in tax lady reckons that HMRC must be very confident they can pin things on him to take him to court.

I'll bet that, before this is over, 'Arry will wish Sandra was his live-in tax lady rather than a world-class striker. 😀

 

[Fizzoid]

Not really a surprise, but Pompey have been issued another winding up order:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16706372.stm

If only they had a £ for every winding up order they had 😉

 

[Jaffa Cake]

If only they had a £ for every winding up order they had 😉

Their creditors would only get 20p in every said Pound, that's how Portsmouth work.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Portsmouth is a mess. It's a miracle they are still around. Is a second miracle a bridge too far for them?

 

[pachyderm]

Scunthorpe 1 - 3 Sheff Wednesday

Chris O'Grady (1')
Chris O'Grady (18')
Jermaine Johnson (47')
Jordan Robertson (55')



...
GOALS
12 Madine
5 Marshall
5 Reda
4 Jones
4 Lowe
4 O'Grady
3 Lines
2 Bennett
2 Prutton
2 J.Johnson
1 Sedgwick
1 Morrison
1 Palmer
1 McGoldrick
1 O'Connor
1 Buxton
1 Semedo
1 Batth


ASSISTS
6 Marshall
6 Lines
4 Semedo
2 Bennett
2 Morrison
2 Buxton
2 Otsemobor
2 O'Grady
2 Palmer
1 Prutton
1 Madine
1 Jones
1 O'Connor
1 Bywater
1 Llera


....
4th: 1-5-6
......
O1/28/2O12
@

UP THE OWLS!


PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW VIA TWEETS: http://twitter.com/#!/swfc

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Thanks for reminding me how ugly the MK Dons' logo is. 😀

EDIT: Cardiff win on penalties, off to Wembley. City may be without Balotelli tomorrow, which gives me hope.

 

[pachyderm]

Thanks for reminding me how ugly the MK Dons' logo is. 😀

EDIT: Cardiff win on penalties, off to Wembley. City may be without Balotelli tomorrow, which gives me hope.

it really is...

 

[cambookpro]

Haven't really been following the thread so not sure if it's been mentioned, but has anyone heard about the billionaire Russian that's buying 51% of Reading?
Anton Zingarevich is his name.

29, went to school in Reading, watched them at Elm Park. And he's loaded. Seems the perfect fit for us 😎

Apparently he's aiming for Europa League and a stadium expansion. Even half of that in the next 5-10 years would be amazing.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Man City play without their best striker, but Liverpool are without any strikers. Dirk Kuyt leads the line against City. This isn't going to work, unless we are lucky.

Still, since this is a knockout competition Liverpool have a chance, especially if our defense holds, and Silva/Dzeko/Aguero have off-days. I hate to say it but a 0-0 is what I'm hoping for, though it would be a dull match.

Haven't really been following the thread so not sure if it's been mentioned, but has anyone heard about the billionaire Russian that's buying 51% of Reading?
Anton Zingarevich is his name.

Let's hope he sticks to his promises and doesn't end up turning Reading into another Portsmouth. 😱

 

[cambookpro]

Man City play without their best striker, but Liverpool are without any strikers. Dirk Kuyt leads the line against City. This isn't going to work, unless we are lucky.

Still, since this is a knockout competition Liverpool have a chance, especially if our defense holds, and Silva/Dzeko/Aguero have off-days. I hate to say it but a 0-0 is what I'm hoping for, though it would be a dull match.



Let's hope he sticks to his promises and doesn't end up turning Reading into another Portsmouth. 😱

Fingers crossed, eh!

 

[daneoni]

Liverpool worthy winners (yes it was a pen) in the end. Bellamy continues to prove to be the signing of the season.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

So, Liverpool have themselves a cup final. I'll need to watch the replays on the penalty - but City's goal was somewhat lucky as well and they didn't outplay Liverpool, so I think the result is deserved.

I think Liverpool's performance was a good one given the current (and serious) limitations of the side. The sad reality behind this is that we have to depend on pure diligence and luck for goals, rather than on adequate striking/finishing talent. Bellamy is incredibly crucial to us just now but he isn't enough by himself. We need an in-form Suarez badly. The midfield and defense played better here than against Bolton, so that is encouraging.

If there are any doubts over how useless Carroll is at the moment, the fact that Kuyt is preferred to him up top should dispel them. The evidence continues to mount that the story of Carroll in a Liverpool shirt may not have a happy ending unless something changes soon.

A Carling Cup victory will prove nothing nor paper over the problems Liverpool have faced this season. Nor is a victory even remotely assured against a good Cardiff side. It's hard to care about this cup run too much, but in the end I want to see Liverpool win.

EDIT: At the risk of putting the cart before the horse, I have to wonder: if (and it's a very big if) Liverpool were to take both cups, knocking out both Manchester teams in the process, how many Liverpool fans would consider the season a big success and speak of "doubles"? I suppose our final league position would be a major factor there. I would find it satisfying, but at the same time unless the performances get a lot better even two cups won't change for me the fact that Liverpool are no closer to mounting a top four challenge than they were last season. Improvement in the league is more important than cup wins, including the Europa League.

 

[daneoni]

Ref has cheated Madrid in that Classico. Sends Ramos off when it wasn't even a yellow card, awards a free kick to Madrid in the last minute of stoppage time but then decides to blow the final whistle instead.

Cheap and somewhat gifted win by Barca in the end, and Busquets continues to irritate me as an individual.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I think it was a pretty even and hard-fought match. The red card is pretty debatable but at least it was down to a ref's mistake rather than some cheating behavior on Barca's part. Barca wobbled a little defensively, I wonder if bringing Mascherano on earlier would have helped calm things down a bit after they were up 2-0. Ronaldo is in outstanding form. Barca just about deserved to take the tie. One wonders if Real would be out at this stage had they been less defensive in the first leg...

Speaking of Mascherano, how Liverpool miss the presence he and Lucas have had in midfield. I knew Lucas' injury would hurt us, but I didn't realize exactly how. What has happened is not so much a weakening of our defense (as I first suspected) as a further loss in attacking power because our midfield (especially as a 4-man midfield) is less efficient without him.

 

[pivo6]

Liverpool worthy winners (yes it was a pen) in the end. Bellamy continues to prove to be the signing of the season.

It wasn't a penalty, but Liverpool were the better side over both legs.

 

[daneoni]

It wasn't a penalty, but Liverpool were the better side over both legs.

I think it was. I know Richards was instinctively protecting his face (or trying to make himself big) but you can't do that in the box. Hands should be close to chest/body, not up in mid-air, flailing like you just don't care.

Yes it wasn't intentional and ball hit his leg first thus awarding a penalty is harsh BUT hands anywhere outside your torso and you're just asking for it. Accidental or not. It was a penalty IMHO.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Yes it wasn't intentional and ball hit his leg first thus awarding a penalty is harsh BUT hands anywhere above your torso and you're just asking for it. Accidental or not. It was a penalty IMHO.

While it is impossible to prove/disprove intent, it was almost certainly not an intentional handling. With that being said, he did raise his arms in a reflexive motion in order to protect his face - effectively of blocking the shot. The initial contact with the leg is what makes it debatable but more often than not it's going to be a penalty.

 

[pivo6]

I think it was. I know Richards was instinctively protecting his face (or trying to make in self big) but you can't do that in the box. Hands should be close to chest/body, not up in mid-air, flailing like you just don't care.

Image

Yes it wasn't intentional and ball hit his leg first thus awarding a penalty is harsh BUT hands anywhere outside your torso and you're just asking for it. Accidental or not. It was a penalty IMHO.

While it is impossible to prove/disprove intent, it was almost certainly not an intentional handling. With that being said, he did raise his arms in a reflexive motion in order to protect his face - effectively of blocking the shot. The initial contact with the leg is what makes it debatable but more often than not it's going to be a penalty.

Well, Graham Poll agrees with me. Link

Of course his arms are away from his sides. He's lunging and blocking the ball with his leg. Then it comes and hits him in the arm. Not a penalty IMHO.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

And Phil Dowd agrees with me. 😀 Poll makes some good points though. I won't argue that it's a debatable call. I'm not sure I agree with Poll's 'natural position' argument.

 

[daneoni]

Well, Graham Poll agrees with me. Link

Of course his arms are away from his sides. He's lunging and blocking the ball with his leg. Then it comes and hits him in the arm. Not a penalty IMHO.

Graham Taylor agrees with me 😛

BBC Radio 5 live summariser Graham Taylor: "You cannot put your hands in the air. If the ball strikes them it's going to be a penalty. You can appeal forever. That's handball, that's a penalty."

...guess we're just gonna have to agree to disagree.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I think all of the opinions I'm seeing indicate a certain amount of subjectivity, so I don't think any of us are interpreting it wrongly. Different current Premier League refs would call that play differently.

My gut instinct is that most would call it a penalty, but some would agree with Graham Poll and deem it ball-to-hand.

 

[daneoni]

Thats the reality of it. Depends on the day and the ref. Some will give it whilst others will wave away. There are reasons to give/not give it.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Adam/Dzeko and Richards both looked penalties. Re Richards, he forms a block by sticking a leg and arm out. Who cares if it is close range, hits his leg first...? The arm is part of the movement to block and ends up 'rejecting'😱 the ball. Of course, if Evra does that at the weekend, no way it's a penalty!😀

On penalties, Pepe and Puyol got lucky in that nutty last 20 minutes.

Harry - a high profile example being made? Given the likely cost of the investigation/trial against the tax, is it possible HMRC might have done a deal if it was an average joe involved? Something like a fine of X times the tax due, an understanding of jail if it happens again, and presenting each year for the next 7 years to account for every penny?

Cheers,
OW

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Haven't really been following the thread so not sure if it's been mentioned, but has anyone heard about the billionaire Russian that's buying 51% of Reading?
Anton Zingarevich is his name...

Yep, I heard a bit about him with our match against Reading coinciding with the announcement. It all sounds positive enough, but as we all know you never know how these things are going to turn out. Hopefully his intentions are honourable and he knows what he's doing.

Incidentally I hope Brian has cheered up since the weekend, he was like a glum little egg post match. 😛

The Richards penalty struck me as a little harsh, it was definitely a case of deflected ball to hand rather than a premeditated attempt to handle the ball. But we've seen penalties given for much less, and you could argue the toss both ways I suppose.

EDIT: cambookpro – word is that Blackburn's Jason Roberts is currently having a medical at Reading...

 

[cambookpro]

Yep, I heard a bit about him with our match against Reading coinciding with the announcement. It all sounds positive enough, but as we all know you never know how these things are going to turn out. Hopefully his intentions are honourable and he knows what he's doing.

Incidentally I hope Brian has cheered up since the weekend, he was like a glum little egg post match. 😛

The Richards penalty struck me as a little harsh, it was definitely a case of deflected ball to hand rather than a premeditated attempt to handle the ball. But we've seen penalties given for much less, and you could argue the toss both ways I suppose.

EDIT: cambookpro – word is that Blackburn's Jason Roberts is currently having a medical at Reading...

Poor McDermott with his shiny egg head!
On another note, apparently Jason Roberts has signed along with some Polish player from Derby. Cywka I think. Hopefully has the potential to be a good player, plus he's an attacking midfielder which is what we're lacking at the moment.