Yeah, he’s treading a fine line at the moment.

Sunderland and Boro down (obvs) with Swansea I think.

As a swans fan i hope man utd go into sunday completely knackered after a busy week,swansea will do an escape act,2-1 swans

Going down, defo Sunderland and Middlesbrough, would kind of be a shame to see either Swansea or Hull go down. A couple of years ago Swansea seemed to be doing everything right, playing good football on a tight budget, Then they lost their way a bit and started to suffer, they could get back to that but need to do some rebuilding.

Hull have been fantastic since Silva came in, the relationship between the fans and the owner is weird though, he has obviously done a lot for the club getting into the PL is punching above their weight, but then he has this silly idea about renaming them to Hull tigers and they turn on him, and when the PL don’t let him rename he has a hissy fit.

Ive got tickets for the Arsenal Man U game next week…..which when I bought them I thought it might be an important battle for the title….not an unimportant game for 5th place! 🙁

Gaby Logan on Sanchez 🙂

https://mobile.twitter.com/GabbyLogan/status/857339683373805570

7 semi final defeats in a row. Spursey

Clincial from Chelsea who had so few shots on goal. So all credit to them.

Concentrating on PL and CL qualification for next season, and you ? 😉

Tonight? Who knows? Its a derby, so anything could happen. It usually does. I wasn’t expecting us to get anything out of the Chelski game, but they never turned up. Who knows which City squad will show up?

I also don’t get what Jose is playing at publicly criticising his players, but then Pep isn’t showing Aguaro any love either. Which is just bizarre as he’s a proper world class striker!

Whats going to be interesting is to see if he starts with the same Lingard/Rashford combo up front that was so effective against Chelski?

@jambalaya I’ll take the occasional one blip year for another 21 years in a row of utter domination 😆

I reckon he will Binners with a solid midfield to protect the centre halves. Expect quite a few balls over the top for Rashford and Lingard.

but then Pep isn’t showing Aguaro any love either

Pep has been completely different towards Aguero, publicly it all been “he’s a great guy” “I want to help him become the best” etc etc. Reading between the lines it looks like he doesn’t think he delivers what he wants, and hard to argue that the front line did move up a gear with Jesus in rather than Aguero, but he has not publicly dressed him down the way Jose has turned on half his team at some point through the season.

Whats going to be interesting is to see if he starts with the same Lingard/Rashford combo up front that was so effective against Chelski?

Does he have any choice? Until the end of the season its the chance for Lingard, Rashford and Martial to show what they can do, it has been a shame Rashford and Martial haven’t been brought on more and developed this season.

I hope you’re right SF. Its getting a whiff of the Yorke/Cole link up with those two. Here’s hoping. Herrera was immense in the Chelski game, so if he can perform like that again tonight…. who knows?

Its a derby, so I expect he’ll start hair’n’elbows to barge into everyone*, break everything up, and it’ll all get a bit handbags. I’m not expecting a display of silky fluent skill from either team. It’ll be the usual war of attrition. Always good fun! 😀

* I’ll be having my usual bet on him getting booked

@howsyour, tide has turned …. 😉

This is disgraceful, darker side of football, Spurs very much included

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-39729568

Good call re the midfield but Martial instead of Lingard. The French Theo Walcott!

WTF does Pep persist with Bravo? Caballero has shown himself to be far more capable every time he is on the pitch.

Well only one team had a real go at winning that one.

Brainless from Fellaini!

Manyoo have become a true Mourinho team. Playing football way down the list of priorities. Surely most manyoo fans are embarrassed by these displays after spending so much? It really could have been Pullis’s Stoke team out there tonight.

City may have their flaws but at least they approach the game in the right way and play positively.

As for Fellaini he is stealing a living and deserves a long ban for refusing to leave the field. That would probably benefit his team though.

boring game mainly due to Jose tactics

Fellani was stupid – aguero went down easy for the tackle and the head but

As for refusing to leave the field he seemed relatively calm though also annoyed as he probably felt Augero “induced” the “headbut” but he can have no excuses for doing that as you will always get sent off

Ignoring that god it was dull

Jose has always played that way. Sit back, sit back, goal on the break. Add that to the huge budgets he has enjoyed at Chelski in particular when other where spending far less and he is a winner 😐

EDIT: IMO Jose didn’t get the job first or second time round as the club knew he’d play dull football. Then the results where so far below expactations they said what the hell and hired him.

EDIT: IMO Jose didn’t get the job first or second time round as the club knew he’d play dull football. Then the results where so far below expactations they said what the hell and hired him.

Not just the dull football but the Pantomime Character Moany has become over the years. Man U had high principles, until reality dawned and then they sold their soul to the devil!

I’d love to see Arsenal beat Chelsea to win the Cup and pack Le Prof off into retirement, but sadly the opposite of both scenarios is more likely! 🙁

watching MotD, why do they let people commentate on games where they don’t have knowledge of the rules / how it works.

Jonathan Pearce ranting about ‘the linesman didn’t flag’ (but he had a much better view) about the Burnley handball disallowed goal.

If he flags he creates a situation to manage, where the players expect it to be given. The referee will almost certainly have told his assts in their briefing to take decisions that happen in front of them, or where they’re certain about them. But otherwise keep the flag down and use their throat mics to communicate.

So the ref will have said ‘what do you think?’ the asst says ‘It looked like it was upper arm rather than shoulder’ the ref says ‘yes that’s what I thought too’ and a decision is made without creating a situation where everyone runs at the asst. Good refereeing, totally mised by that muppet.

And no, this isn’t inside info despite me being qualified…. Sky Sports had a brilliant documentary on this with Pierluigi Collina that Pearce either hasn’t even watched, or it’s gone straight in one ear and out the other.

awful first half for Man U and terrible to see Rashford dive like that

The authorities need to use video replay to see that sort of stuff and ban players and deduct points

Horrible aspect of the game

greatest tackle in history! 😆

Wins ball but clearly dangerous getting a foul and a booking from this prod

you’re just biased! 😆 😉

a tackle endangering the safety of his opponent? Just possibly.

If he’d hit him harder at least he’d have returned from his low orbit feet first.

thing is though, it’s a 50:50 ball, and he doesn’t go in 2 footed or even straight legged with one foot, nor studs showing, he times his swing perfectly and takes the ball cleanly. don’t really see how it can be classed as an illegal tackle at all.

Yes, I’m completely biased, but still, really don’t see anything wrong going by the letter of the law. 🙂

bloody marvellous tackle from my view point! 🙂

Theatre Of Draws.

don’t really see how it can be classed as an illegal tackle at all.

endagered the opponent
Its one of those we want to keep tackles in the game but a split second late and he breaks a leg or worse and the impact on the player was pretty harsh Its a physcal game but it is not rugby

As for Man U story of the season another draw at home and injuroes all over the park
Great free kick shit penalty and still lacking creativity and a player [ rashford aside] who will actually be inventive and try and take on a player its just pass pass pass with no end product not so much tika taka as tika crappa

We do not deserve a CL place playing like this

but he isn’t late. you can’t give a foul on what ifs.

The epic unbeaten run rumbles on! Can anyone recall a more underwhelming one?

They are so solid though Unitd, even with all the defensive injuries. Bodes well for them if they get some attacking players in this summer.

its still dangerous play – I assume the player careering through the air is indication enough for you – you might need to put him in another top to understand though.

One of those it is a great clean tackle but the effect and danger cannot be ignored.

Ally mccoist even agrees it wasn’t a foul..

the yardstick by which all bhoys agree and measure their views 😉

I can see the argument for either case but do think he endangered the player with the tackle.

Junkyard – lazarus
the yardstick by which all bhoys agree and measure their views

haha 🙂

don’t see anything wrong going by the letter of the law

neither you nor Ally McCoist seem aware of the IB decisions on the laws then.

Careless is when a player shows a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or acts without precaution. No disciplinary sanction is needed
•?Reckless is when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or
consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned
•?Using excessive force is when a player exceeds the necessary use of force and endangers the safety of an opponent and must be sent off

Does not comment on the legality of the tackle, whether they got ball, or man, or both together, or one first and then the other, or whether there was intent, or….. Just simply if a player tackles without taking into account the safety of his opponent.

Should have been at least yellow, and given the player went round 180 degrees and landed on his head I can very easily see a justification for red, given that he endangered the safety.

And people will disagree because in their day you could put man and ball into row E with impunity. And you can also argue that times were ‘better’ then, without feigning injury and diving, and in some respects I agree.

But those, in black and white, are the instructions for how to interpret the laws, and as such they are fact, not opinion.

[edit] https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/footballdevelopment/refereeing/02/79/92/44/laws.of.the.game.2016.2017_neutral.pdf

Youse are trying to outlaw 50/50 tackles, nonsense. I’m well aware. There was no use of excessive force, he got the ball, very cleanly, miller went flying cause he was also committed and clipped the side of siminovic and went flying, could understand if he was kicked and went flying, but he wasn’t, it was simple the consequence of 2 players committed to getting the ball..

fastforward to 59mins for another angle. contact is actually made by simunovics arse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkIQYt5dzmQ&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

I’m unaware of any rule in fitba that stipulates excessive use of yer arse! 😆

It goes wrong, yes, it could be a red, but it didn’t.

Think this is similar to the situation where people think it’s illegal to tackle from behind, it’s not, but it is if you do it wrong.

Youse are trying to outlaw 50/50 tackles, nonsense.

I’m not. I didn’t write the laws and I’m not on the IB. I’m just telling you in black and white what they say.

The rest is opinion, but to me hitting someone’s arse with your shoulder hard enough to flip them onto their head meets my definition of excessive force, and if I’d been reffing that game I’d have to seriously consider a red card and then probably settle for a yellow on the basis there was no serious injury, it is a derby game and both players committed. And the assessor would probably mark me down for it.

Again, whether you hanker for the days of proper caser footballs and nail in studs played on ploughed fields or not, those days are gone. The Laws/IBD were written to ‘encourage’ players not to fly into tackles that endanger safety, and he had that option and didn’t take it. And generally it’s worked, with players given more time and protection to play the game rather than get rid of the ball before Wor Jackie or Mickey Droy cripples you.

Not saying it’s right or not, but that’s how it is.

Think this is similar to the situation where people think it’s illegal to tackle from behind, it’s not, but it is if you do it wrong.

Agree. The difficulty there, as explained to me by an ex-National list ref is that the back of players legs are a/ unprotected (no shinpads) and b/ vulnerable, particularly the achilles area. Hence almost any tackle making contact ‘endangers’ safety. So the only way really to be sure you don’t endanger safety is to stay on your feet and try to toe poke it away.

Tony Adams would be sent off every week……

Would be interested to hear a few high level refs opinion on it, anyhow. I think in Europe you’d never get away it. In an old firm derby, a different thing. Tbh another ref would have stopped play atleast on another day.

Guess that the thing about the rules of the game, they are subject to a refs interpretation of events at a particular time in the context of a particular game. Refs do have some leeway.

Yes, and no. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The Laws haven’t changed actually that much in their basic nature – which is one of the great things about the game (contrast to rugby that revises frequently); however the Intl Board decisions on how to interpret are a relatively recent thing but were brought in to try to bring consistency to decision making, and they do change season to season.

Which is why when a ref makes a decision like that ^ in the heat of an old firm derby it’s very understandable by fans and the old pros etc., who see it as sensible refereeing. But the same tackle in a boring mid table clash that hasn’t even started to fizzle let along explode would be totally out of context and probably result in sanction, which would also be right (because if you let it go, then everyone’s allowed a go at a tackle like that). And a player gets a three match ban, etc. But so-and-so got away with it yesterday everyone screams….

So on one hand you want referees to ‘interpret’ and on the other you want consistency which means ‘no interpretation, just base it on facts’…. and then you get all the problems of whether they meant it or misjudged it with no malice or whatever. “I know the lad and he’s not like that”

An alternative explanation for me is a player jumping for a header when then elbows his opponent in the head. The old pros in the studio on Saturday night say ‘he only had eyes for the ball’ or ‘he didn’t swing the arm’ and so on. Simple solution is that if he didn’t have his elbow up then he wouldn’t run the risk of elbowing his opponent in the head and intent or malice or whatever doesn’t become an issue. By having an elbow up he’s endangering, ergo he gets sanctioned. Period. And to those who say you can’t jump without an elbow, that’s balls. Rugby players jump for high balls without leading with elbows. Goalkeepers have their arms above their heads, not elbows out. You can use arms to jump without elbows having to stick out like weapons, and if you continually get sanctioned for it then WHY NOT LEARN TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY!!

[would cost Binners a fortune in bet winnings though]