Barclays Premier League 2008-2009 Thread

[Dave A]

That was jammy, Lampard shouldn't have been sent off and Gerrard certainly should. Won the game that did. Of the two I'm happier Liverpool won over Chelsea because I tihnk Liverpool will draw more games between now and the end of the season than Chelsea and United but a draw would have been ideal.

Talking of bad refereeing decisions, why arn't referees publically accountable for thier actions. A referee should have to look at a questionable decision he's made and if he can't give a satifactory answer he should be punished for not doing his job properly and I'm not talking just about the game today. Overall the result doesn't concern me much but the standard of refereeing and of the linesmen, this season in particular has been abysmal.

 

[DQuaN]

I reckon Botswinga should have been sent off for kicking Benayoun in the back when he was protecting the ball by the corner.

 

[Alex.]

Yeah, linesman flagged frantically and nothing came of it.

 

[C-ZETA]

I reckon Botswinga should have been sent off for kicking Benayoun in the back when he was protecting the ball by the corner.

Totally agree. Lampard decision I'll admit was a bit controversial, like West Ham one year when he tackled one of their players (I'm not sure but it might have been Luis Boa Morte) with not a whole lot of force and got sent off, and also a bit like Benoit Assou-Ekotto against West Brom this year.

I'm a little worried about Liverpool taking the lead again. I mean, I SWEAR we came out of nowhere to lead.

 

[ASH32]

Lampard didn't deserve a red card, it wasn't even a foul, although I don't agree it changed the game all that much. Chelsea were not playing well at all, however if Gerrard was sent off, maybe the game would have been different. Gerrard, ( who never cheats) gets away with a lot in both the Premier league and in Europe. The certain red card however should have gone to Botswinga, what he did should be totally unacceptable on a football pitch. It was because he didn't like that he was getting beat and Liverpool were keeping it in the corner. Some advice for you Botswinga, try defending, you know like closing down people before they cross, then maybe you wouldn't be getting beat, thus have no need to act like that.

The Lampard red should be resinded and Botswinga suspended, with the FA though you never no what's going to happen. I also agree with the earlier post about the standard of refereeing and inparticular the linesmen, they are supposed to help the ref, yet so often they miss things right infront of them and ignore controversial decisions, putting the ref in the position of making a decision on an incident, which he has not seen or had a poor view of, which almost always results in a wrong outcome. The linemans favourite this year seems to be if you don't know if it's a dive or a penalty, the answer is a corner. I wonder if this will be addresed, but like I said earlier you can't predict what the FA do, right now the FA are not doing a good enough job in so many areas, it has gone well past being a joke by now.

 

[Touring Mars]

The Bosingwa incident was pretty silly, and I can't believe he didn't get sent off for it... not so sympathetic towards Lampard, though... a referee can still send a player off even if he gets the ball, if the tackle is uncontrolled and having studs showing, which is what happened. I don't think he will succeed in having the card resinded, but Bosingwa will be lucky to escape without a suspension for that ridiculous kick!

And apparently London is too expensive for Arshavin

 

[ASH32]

Lol, like he can't afford it, is that his way of saying he does not want to play there, or does he still want to go to Spain. After the fuss he made about wanting to leave Zenit, you think he would be happy to play for any major team, unless this is just a way of asking for more money.

Did anyone see Robinho's shot the other day, it nearly cleared the stand, any professional player shouldn't be hitting the ball that bad, it's just poor concentration because he certainly has plently of skill, it's what you would expect in the Sunday League and it is becoming far too common in the Premier League.

 

[Touring Mars]

Nooooo........ please don't say that Robinho is losing it... he's in my dream team and I can't afford to replace him!

Pretty uneventful transfer deadline so far - Man City have got Shay Given, though, which is not a surprise but is a good move for both of them... terrible for Newcastle, though - chucking a keeper of his quality at a time of crisis is almost beyond comprehension, but that said, it was clear that Given wanted to go, and to be fair to Newcastle, they didn't exactly stand in his way...

And Robbie Keane... whoop-de-do... would someone please take him away from Liverpool... for all our sakes... again, not a great move by the club losing him (and what's the betting that Torres twists his ankle while playing in the snow tonight in his back garden and is out for the rest of the season)

It also looks like Arshaving ( I just typed that by accident, but I have to leave it like that!!) is going to Arsenal after all...

 

[MagpieRacer]

Steve Harper is every bit as good as Given once he has a run of a few games.

 

[Smallhorses]

 

[ASH32]

Jo just gone to Everton on Loan, well they do need strikers I guess, from what I have seen though, he's a bit hit and miss.

 

[Dave A]

Totally agree. Lampard decision I'll admit was just plain wrong

I corrected that for you . And Gerrard should have gone.

Lampard didn't deserve a red card, it wasn't even a foul, although I don't agree it changed the game all that much.

I dissagree, if Lamaprd was still playing he'd have been marked. Liverpool wouldn't have been able to push. They were the better side but they still never looked like scoring until after the incident.

Gerrard, ( who never cheats) gets away with a lot in both the Premier league and in Europe. The certain red card however should have gone to Botswinga, what he did should be totally unacceptable on a football pitch.

There were two certain red cards, Gerrard either a straight red for his studs up over the ball tackle that he just got a talking to over or a yellow for that then his second yellow would have been for that dive he did get booked for. Boswinga should have gone too, definitely.



This Arshavin deal is worse than the Berbatov transfer. Arsenal claim everything has been done to sign him, paperwork was submitted in time etc, Zenit say a fee hasn't been agreed. Apparently Arshavin owes Zenit a percentage of his signing on fee.

 

[Smallhorses]

Having now downloaded the game highlights and had the benefit of slow-mo replays that I can watch over & over and rewind, I say that Gerrard should've received a yellow card for his challenge as he did catch the player, but it was never a red offence in a month of Sundays. His studs were never bared higher than the ball, (and never more than 45 degrees to the floor) and it wasn't two-footed (his left leg remains curled under him at all times during the slide.) He caught Kalou at ankle level. A straight red in that case would've been unwarranted.
A second yellow for the dive (and yes that was deserved, my glasses aren't tinted that red ) would've seen him off too, however, I doubt he'd've dived like that if he'd been on a yellow already.

Lampard's challenge deserved a yellow, it was high (although the ball was not on the turf) and his foot was at 90 degrees to the turf at impact clearly showing bared studs, way above ankle level. A straight red was harsh, however, given the player he took out, and his pre-game comments with regards to a " lingering feud with Alonso following an incident in January 2005 when the Spaniard suffered a broken ankle after a tackle from the Chelsea midfielder." the referee was probably taking this into consideration when Lampard appeared to attempt a repeat of the 2005 incident. Had Lampard taken down any other Liverpool player he'd probably have gotten away with a yellow and a stern lecture.

Bosingwa... well that spoke for itself, and quite how the FA are claiming that because the linesman, Mo Matadar, saw the incident it should go unpunished, I'm not sure. He waves the flag like a madman after seeing what happened, and Mike Riley (to further compound his shocking game) completely ignores it.

Studs up, above waist level and from behind. Absolutely disgraceful.

The only thing I can think of from seeing the incident again and again is that the linesman is directing his gaze at the position of the ball on the line to determine whether it is in / out of play, and who got the last touch. He gets the call right as far as it being Benayoun who touches the ball out of play, but the manner in which Benayoun is forced to make that touch is because Bosingwa has just raked his studs down his spine. Regardless, it's an abysmal piece of officiating. 👎

 

[daan]

Nice little bit of business for Spurs there. £8 million profit in 6 months!

 

[ASH32]

Nice little bit of business for Spurs there. £8 million profit in 6 months!

Yes it sure is, I guess £8 million is what it costs for a six month loan these days the transfer market really has gone stupid.

 

[C-ZETA]

Nicky Butt's signed a new contract at Newcastle. He's not that great, anyway...yeah, he's their vice-captain but now they've got Nolan, and Barton, Guthrie and Duff are in the squad. He's 34 now and he's lost a lot since joining Newcastle.

 

[ASH32]

Well it seems Botswinga won't be punished, so I guess it's ok to raise your studs, to someones back if you want, as long as the ref doesn't do anything about it. I have to say out of all the FA's stupid decision's this season, this one tops them all, how can you allow a player, to kick someone, even if it wasn't hard, in the back, not making a attempt at winning the ball at all. They ask for respect for the refs, but when they allow players to disrespect each other in this way, then obvioulsly this is a disrespect against the refs aswell, as it is against the RULES. Mind you I am not convinced the FA have a clue what they are anymore, tackles seem to be pretty much banned but rugby tackles, as seen by duff, and karate courtesy of Botswinga, are allowed.

 

[Touring Mars]

Lampard has had his red card resinded, so what do I know?

Also, although I think Bosingwa should have been sent off, I wouldn't describe his actions as a "kick" as such... it was more like a hefty push using his foot

 

[Dave A]

The FA are a bunch or morons who don't have a lcue how Football should be played or how to be consistent with decisions. They'll punish one player with a 4 match ban for they tyhemselves say was nothing more than a slight tap or soft slap in an incident out of a game and then they'll leave an incident alone where a player kicks another player in the back while he's stood up. Consistency isn't hard to do when you have time to mull over a decision like that.

Maybe a straight red for Gerrard would have been harsh, I haven't seen the incident over and over which is why I mentioned the possiblity of him going off for two yellows. I don't think Lampard should have been boked at all though, at the time his foot was high he was a few feet away from Alonso. By the time Alonso kicked Lampard his leg was bent and his boot was pointing away from alonso and to the ground. there was clearly no intent, if anything Alsonso clearly kicked Lampard. That is my opinion on the scale of the offense anyway and I could be wrong, but it was a game changing decision that the ref got wrong. It's happening too often lately. That Stoke player who was sent off against us, poor decision, the ref seeing Delap kick the ball into Richards but not seeing Richards lash out in retaliation. too much poor refereeing and linesman decisions.

 

[Smallhorses]

By the time Alonso kicked Lampard his leg was bent and his boot was pointing away from alonso and to the ground.

Watch the slo-mo at about 45s in. There's no way you can say that his leg was bent and his studs point to the ground. His leg is straight, boot is still at about 75 degrees to the ground, and at about knee height when impact occurs! I think the difference between this and Gerrard's challenge, which may have lead to the spur-of-the-moment red card (bear in mind the ref saw this without the benefit of slo-mo) is that Lampard's follow-through is with 2 feet in front of him. Although he won the ball, the challenge is dangerous, especially given the history of Lampard and Alonso.

Fair enough that the FA has reviewed it and rescinded the straight red, but I still think it deserved a yellow.
Bosingwa on the other hand should've received a straight red and 3 month (not match) ban. Mo Matadar ought to be ashamed of himself, there's better linesman than that in the Blue Square Premier league. (Although not many! )

 

[Dave A]

No your right, he bent his knee on impact not before, I was thinking of that angle from behind Alonso it looked like his bent his leg first the last time I saw it, obviousely he didn't though and his leg stayed high until after. So a yellow would have been right, you hath swayed me.

 

[ASH32]

Well apparently walking out on a club and then going back and begging the fans for forgiveness, is just what you need in a captain, as Robbie Keane has just replaced Ledley King as the captain of Tottenham.

What effect will this have on the rest of the team, that Keane is made captain ahead of everyone else, who didn't walk out. Now I realise, that when King is always injured, he's not a good choice of captain and Tottenham have not been doing well, but this just increases the pressure on Keane and we all know Keane can't handle pressure, well Mr Benitez thinks he can't, I guess we are going to find out now.

By the way, does anyone understand why strikers are given the captaincy, surely they can't do the job properly, as in comunicate with all the players, while the game is in progress.

 

[Touring Mars]

Personally, I'm quite perplexed by the decision to make Keane the captain of Spurs, not least because he's a striker, but also because it seems very odd to give the captaincy to someone you just brought in, especially someone who quit on you already... bizarre. I suspect that the captaincy was part of the "deal" (indeed, Harry Redknapp said as much on the news last night) - he told Keane that he wanted him back "to lead the club". He is a very talented player, but you can't help thinking that he is a misfit, and just ever so slightly egotistical (that's my entry for the "Understatement of 2009" competition, by the way), and perhaps Redknapp's appeal to that ego will prove to be unwise. I can't see him being a very effective captain - but as you say, I guess we are going to find out!

 

[C-ZETA]

But Keane had already as such 'been' at Spurs less than a year ago, so it might seem right to make him the captain of Spurs.

 

[Alex.]

Damn we were lucky today

 

[Smallhorses]

Damn we were lucky today

No, we were persistent, that's what Liverpool teams over the past few years have lacked.
We're now playing the full 90 minutes like Man U always do, and how many times have you seen them sneak a goal in the last 2 or 3 minutes of a game this year and in previous seasons. When it's the difference between 1 point and 3 points, it's important to fight to the end, especially if we want to maintain our slender grip on title aspirations for this year.
Beating Man U at Old Trafford would be a great boost though... we'll have to wait and see about that though.

 

[C-ZETA]

Top 4 before:

1. Man Utd (53 pts)
2. Liverpool (51 pts)
3. Chelsea (48 pts)
4. Aston Villa (48 pts)

After:

1. Liverpool (54 pts)
2. Man Utd (53 pts)
3. Aston Villa (51 pts)
4. Chelsea (49 pts)

It's amazing how so much can change in a day sometimes.

 

[Alex.]

However, Man Utd do have two wins in hand over us, I believe.

 

[C-ZETA]

However, Man Utd do have two wins in hand over us, I believe.

Correct, but we're facing West Ham today, who, while they are my favorite London team, did the double on us last year. Or was that 2 years ago? I can't remember.

 

[Dave A]

It was 2 years ago, Tevez scored a great free kick in the final game of the season.

Going back to Alex's comment about Liverpool being lucky, well yes and no, yes because Porstmouth defended woefully and David James was shocking. But like I've always said about United, you create your own luck in football.

I'm expecting us to win today, but I wouldn't be suprised if West Ham ended our run of clean sheets.