Football – 2023/24 Season

It took 15 seconds instead of minutes because it was really clearly offside. No VAR even required 😂

This was the message my scouse mate sent me before kick off

Well get beat by spurs, the media are all over them to justify their stadium spend so they’ll have 12 men plus VAR today, well be down to 10 men before half time, betcha!

I think Liverpool just learnt what it feels like to visits  Anfield 🤣

Pots…. kettles…

VAR is no better than what we had before, it still falls foul of human error/bias.

I was in the car driving across London after visiting mum in hospital (knee replacement yesterday).  The live commentary on 5 live had an ex ‘pool player and no spurs for balance.  Tbf he was saying for all the second half and a good chunk of the first that spurs were better,  quicker to everything, playing through the press,  creating loads. Were it not for Alison spurs would have had more.

Son limped from the field after waving to the bench,  I hope its not serious.   We are wip, and still have glaring faults which I’m stunned neither Woolwich nor ‘pool managed to exploit (that says neither of them played well).  We also have a very thin squad, as dander says we looked weaker as we made changes.   The ange ball bubble will burst before January I reckon but its exciting, we ate moving forward!

However,  17points from 7 games,  4 away including arsenal,  3 home including ‘pool And manu, I’ll take that!

Maybe they should mic up the var ref at Stockley Park? Like rugby do – they seem to get the things the on field ref can’t make a call on, like a foot in touch or whether the ball was grounded for a try, consistently correct. Granted, the red cards they’re now dishing out are more subjective. The PGMOL statement advising of human error for the Diaz decision implies the bloke didn’t bother with the lines, just had a glance and said offside as he fired into another pack of crisps.

Tbf he was saying for all the second half and a good chunk of the first that spurs were better,  quicker to everything, playing through the press,  creating loads. Were it not for Alison spurs would have had more.

For half the first half and the second half Spurs were playing with a one then 2 man advantage and even then had the good fortune of VAR foul ups and a last minute OG. They could even have conceded more than one as looked vulnerable on the break.  They’re an improving team but I’d not be reading much into the eventual outcome of this match and outplaying a team at a disadvantage.

The PGMOL statement advising of human error for the Diaz decision implies the bloke didn’t bother with the lines, just had a glance and said offside as he fired into another pack of crisps.

There’s absolutely no excuse for that decision, it’s not a minor error, it’s a game changing clanger. And the red card for Jones, presenting the red with a still image at his arrival to the screen and playing the most incriminating angles but not the one which shows contact with the ball is also influencing a decision (but if the ref is called to the screen it’s pretty much nailed on the decision will be overturned anyway). The red card was subjective, the offside…..very very poor. Barcelona are currently being investigated for bribing officials, makes you think….

Is it just me, but every time they mention Stockley Park, in my head I see this…

I’m not. as I said we have glaring weaknesses and a very thin squad.

We won’t maintain this.   However the energy at spurs is different, something is changed and so much better.

My view currently,  City will be 15 points ahead of 2nd,  no one else is a prefect team.  About 8 teams are chasing 2 to 5th, spurs are far better than I expected but I doubt we will finish top 5….. unless we get some more luck and get some more good players in January.

And the red card for Jones, presenting the red with a still image at his arrival to the screen and playing the most incriminating angles but not the one which shows contact with the ball is also influencing a decision

You may disagree with the laws but ‘contact with the ball’ is irrelevant. Law 12:

SERIOUS FOUL PLAY

A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.

Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

– and in interpretations: A tackle may still be considered reckless (or even with excessive force) even though the ball is played. Where contact is made with the ball and opponent at speed and without consideration for the potential danger to the opponent, it should be punished appropriately.

It can even be serious foul play in a tackle which doesn’t contact the opponent (if they for example evade the tackle)

The slow mo or still ‘makes it look worse’ – no, just shows clear contact with an outstretched leg, studs up, halfway up the Spurs player’s leg – simple fact.

https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/law-12—fouls-and-misconduct

[edit] and Micah Richards doesn’t know either. Jones just shouldn’t have gone into the tackle, simple as.

and another thing – away kits. Should only be used in case of clashes. City should be in sky blue vs Wolves.

and another nother thing. Goalkeepers in leggings. In September and 18 degrees. WTAF

So… worst, most inexplicably overpriced buy of Chelsea rejects this season? Kai Havertz or Mason Mount?

Both?

Havertz did actually score today. Granted, it was a sympathy vote from his team mates who gave him a penalty to take when the game was already won, but I can’t help feeling we’ve bought our next Harry Maguire

He’ll be shit – he’s been woeful so far – and because he’s now on a squillion quid a week, he’ll just sit there being rubbish and being paid the GDP of Poland every week

The offside decision is realy realy bad, and it isn’t even that tight anyone even glancing at that can tell it at least needs checking, and obviously a check should reveal that he is onside.

The red card, it is funny how the commentators favour certain players and teams, that is the kind of tackle that to me looks totally accidental and the commentators usually say “he knows exactly what he is doing there” but every now and then for certain players (Scholes, Mane etc) or teams (Liverpool) it is an “injustice” for the player to be held responsible for their recklessness, and they create a totally unjustified narrative and media furor that the culprit is the real “victim” (the Mane head hight studs first tackle on Ederson being the prime example).

Unlike others, I still think VAR has been a good thing, I think the number of decisions that they get right (that they previously got wrong) are too easily washed away by the outrage when they make a horrendous mistake like today. In fact it isn’t VAR that is ruining the game so much as the hours and hours of over analysis and ill thought out comments by dim witted ex players trying to garner clicks and likes.

Also I am quite enjoying the current regime of honesty from the PGMOL, a few years ago they would have just brushed this under the carpet and told a lie to justify the decision. IMO being honest about mistakes and having open discussions about the more interpretive decisions is a good thing that will in time improve the quality of refereeing and help the fans understand the decision making process. I just hope the industrialized outrage doesn’t cause a revert back to the old style.

As stated earlier, the red was a red for me, i just see a leg breaker challenge and no matter how genuine the player is, or how it’s out of character, it’s still dangerous and reckless, 99% of players don’t go into a challenge to do anything other than win the ball, i’m not even sure how Neville and Redknapp were doing the defending of it,, they stated there was no intent to injure, but almost nobody goes in to injure in a tackle, they just mistime the challenge, it was studs up and over the ball, yes the ball deflected his foot, but the whole reason this challenge became a red card challenge was to get this type of tackle out the game.

Anyway, i’m just enjoying the misery that will be the Sky Sports analysts and Liverpool fans over the next week 😂

In the cold light of day I can’t disagree with MSP – Var has overall been beneficial and there are less obvious errors. Agree Jones was a red card, Jota’s was just daft although the first yellow was questionable, but that makes the second challenge even stupider. Liverpool would probably have got a point if he’d stayed on, at least, but one point dropped and the burning feeling of injustice may galvanise Klopp and co further! They’ve got much more energy again, Fabinho and Henderson being replaced by younger legs has worked out well.

Liverpool are challengers this year, they’ve shown that, i think at 10 men they became harder for Spurs to play against, Spurs front three work through spaces, those spaces disappeared at 10 men, and even 9, Liverpool just put up a wall of 3 centre backs and midfield cover, it does show Spurs aren’t going to do much this year if they don’t get some more players in, Liverpool will be fine, a bad result, but it’s an away game in London to a form team, they lost no ground on City and they have a decent team and squad that’ll run City to the wire this season i think.

the first yellow was questionable,

For me that is another intentional “professional” foul, players do it all the time, running across the back of another player hoping a small contact will knock them off their stride, I would like to see it carded more often (even as a city fan and knowing it is a Rodri special). But it is a bit more of a interpretive moment, the ref has to make a decision on not just the incident itself, but the quality of the attack opportunity that is opening up, the number of little niggly fouls that are being committed etc. It is a just one that will always be disputed by the team that receives it.

Jota’s was just daft although the first yellow was questionable

He’d already put a couple of challenges in that could easily have been yellows. I think the ref had cut him enough slack already and had simply had enough. The second yellow was just rank stupidity. I doubt he won himself many friends in the dressing room there

argee I agree spurs need more players,  although the brief glimpse of brennan johnson I saw had me excited,  I think he will do very well.   We do need more squad though.

City legend Frannie Lee has passed today. Iconic fisticuffs with Norman Hunter will no doubt be shown.

City legend Frannie Lee has passed today

Foul play by Death, bet Frannie’s stepping up to stick away the penalty as we speak. RIP.

How’s your blood pressure Binners? This is great entertainment!

Paging @Binners we want a binneRant!

In other news…..oops

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66998252

I didn’t even watch it

It’s taken years of watching this dross, but I’ve finally reached my tipping point. Went out for a beer with Mrs Binners to a pub without the football on as this seemed an infinitely more enjoyable way to spend the evening.

I knew full well we’d lose tonight and couldn’t be arsed watching another disastrous spectacle

I really have just reached the point where I just can’t be arsed with it any more. The club and everything about it is a total ****ing shambles

I heard Varane’s comments this afternoon about us challenging for the champions league and I laughed out loud

So Mrs B paid with her winnings?

Hojlund looks to have a lot of potential and to be fair United looked decent going forward. Defensively a mess though, hard on Amrabat having to play at left back, surely won’t play there again. Varane well past his best, we know already Maguire and Lindelof aren’t good enough either. Centre midfield they seem easy to play through, maybe when Amrabat moves there it’ll help. Glazers fault ultimately 😀

So Mrs B paid with her winnings?

Obviously. I think they were 6/1. God only knows why. Have the bookies not watched us play?

Every cloud though…

Nearly stuck a fiver on them myself

In other news…..oops

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66998252

Full credit to the ‘Replay operator’ who clearly has a grip of the situation, but must be the lowliest in that situation. Him trying to get through to that group of backslappers deserves respect; he’s the only one with any integrity there.

It looks like UK & RoI will get 2028 Euros

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67003581

It’s done, they need to be a lot clearer with their communication going from the audio, which will be fixed i’m sure.

Reality is if VAR didn’t exist, that would have been flagged offside anyway, these were the kind of errors VAR came in to fix, and they do it 99.9% of the time, so can’t see all the complaining about VAR, it does a good job, it’s not perfect, but they made it plain and simple that they want the games to flow and minimal stoppages, so it’s all a bit rushed by the sounds of it.

And of course, ManU, its actually going past being funny now, we all like taking the mick out of clubs like ManU when they’re having a tough period, but they’re taking this way too far now, it’s mental on and off the pitch!

Conversely, there are plenty of people who are enjoying the decline of Man Utd. I find it hilarious and given how horrible the fans were in the 90s/00s and up to Ferguson’s departure, it’s like karma

United are the gift that keeps giving. I keep anticipating and fearing their return to the top and feared it would happen under Jose, being a serial trophy winner and all; then it all looked good under Ole before it imploded; now there are signs of the same under ETH after a decent ish season last year. If it goes on much longer I may even feel sorry for them……

I totally get why everyone is loving this. I grew up as a United fan amongst scousers, in the 80’s, where they just won everything and we were shite! so I savoured every second of their subsequent decades of mid-table obscurity.

I’d be laughing too instead of having my head in my hands watching what appears to be the worst United squad I’ve ever seen. They spend more money and it just keeps getting worse and worse. There was some hope at the end of last season (and we all know its the hope that kills you) but we’ve just gone backwards at a rate of knots. The club has just been totally rudderless for ten years+ now and its difficult to see any potential for improvement. Its a total ****ing shitshow!

I think we got found out, not for the first time this season, against Lens last night.

I’ve slipped my bet on for this year, to finish 5th and no trophy. We lack squad depth and enough top class players.

Are any of our resident Toon lot going to St James’s tonight. I can imagine the atmosphere there is going to be absolutely off-the-chart bonkers!

Should be a blinding game!