KaKa

Silly thread.

Routledge would have offered far more help/support to Perch than Guthrie I would imagine, so from that point of view just not a great decision concerning Routledge on the bench really.

Gonna need Routledge on for Guthrie at HT here - at least to give us some pace down the right. Not really Guthrie's fault as he'll be well short of match practice.

 

Gonna be a long season I reckon.

 

No. Routledge on for Loven and Guthrie inside to join Tiote and Barton. Unless of course you want the team to concede even more goals, then yes, what you said.

 

Who is going to support Carroll then?

Guthrie and/or Barton of course. Why would you even ask? They're not defensive midfielders are they?

Gonna need Routledge on for Guthrie at HT here - at least to give us some pace down the right. Not really Guthrie's fault as he'll be well short of match practice.

 

Gonna be a long season I reckon.

No. Routledge on for Loven and Guthrie inside to join Tiote and Barton. Unless of course you want the team to concede even more goals, then yes, what you said.

Wow we are s***, I thought we could survive with ease due to the relative crap at the bottom but obviously we overachieved in the games against Villa and Everton. We just can't compete at the moment and are soft at home.

The team is just soft, period. Really wish Hughton had stuck with 4-5-1. We are not good enough or strong enough defensively to play two strikers upfront, partiularly when Loven isn't exactly the sort to get involved in play at all.Well, everyone was moaning about wanting 4-4-2 ... voila.

I'd rather we played Best than Shola or Nolan.

 

 

Agree 100%.

I have never been a betting man, but would be very interested in the odds of Liverpool being relegated. I want to put some money down on this. There i sjust this eerily similar vibe to our relegation season. Just in case a disaster happens i want to get rich off of it.

Elmander from Bolton?

thats the one

not sure on it tbh

 

Wasn't he Bolton's record signing at something like £10m.  They will want a profit on that especially as he is playing well now so it won't happen.

 

 

Elmander's contract is up next summer, and this is a bit of a specialty of ours it seems. Either this is true and we are trying to capitalise on his contract running out, or this rumour is being sent out in order to get him a new deal.

I remember getting into a massive argument with tooj over the ape who broke Wilshire's leg because I don't think it was the first Arsenal player to get his leg snapped in half, Eduarda had the same fate. Generally it's always the most skilful players who get taken out and I was honestly half expecting this. It happens far too often in our league and there's always c***s who defend it.

Have to agree with you Tron. I was just as disgusted with the tackles on Eduardo and Ramsey and was calling for those players to be banned for them also, and a lot of people on here did have a go and said it was part of the game, calm down etc. Unfortunately people only care when it happens to their players. Wenger has been complaining about this for yonks now. If he had been taken more seriously maybe Hatem wouldn't be in the state he is now.

But City’s assistant Brian Kidd jumped to De Jong’s defence. He said: “Everyone knows Nigel, and he’s as honest as the day is long. I didn’t think it was a rash challenge. There was no malice in it. He’s not that type of lad.”

It's always the same bullshit cliches rolled out everytime these types of players make such challenges. It's why they always continue to do so I guess. These managers etc need to take some freakin' responsibility and have a word with their players.

Someone needs to get a get well message from us all to him in hospital; he'll be incredible sad/ scared/ lonely tonight. Hope the club have left/ arranged for someone to be there for him. The club also need to make sure he feels wanted and supported during his recuperation.

 

People will say that it wasn't a foul, the point is that at the angle De Jong came in at and the manner in which he went in for the tackle he was always going to take the player. It was reckless to say the least and De Jong knew he was going to get player and ball and perhaps saw it as a freebie. I'm surprised that KK and Butt said it was ok, they're were both top players and will have known that De Jong went in harder and more dangerously than was needed.

It's so typical though. Everyone dismisses these kinds of tackles as not being that bad, or being mistimed or unlucky etc etc, when it doesn't affect them or their team. I actually remember after the Shawcross tackle on Ramsey there were a lot of people even on here saying the same sorts of things. It sucks when you have to deal with it though.

The obvious answer is all of them. They just rotate the level of their shiteness week by week.

Quote from Blefescu via Face-ache.

 

Martin Atkinson told Hatem Ben Arfa to get up today after De Jong's horror tackle which broke his leg. For that and the two blatant Newcastle pens that he missed he should never ref again.

 

 

anybody heard owt about this.

Wouldn't suprise me at all tbh. I'm sure even the refs carry that same biased attitude towards foreigners, believing they always dive and are always feigning injury. Ridiculously unproffesional. Even if he felt that way, why openly say that to a player who might well be hurt badly. Crazy.

Watching the Hughton interview on the BBC. Thinks it was a challenge that didn't need to be made.

Just a lack of respect for fellow professionals. They're just some people that get a kick out of injuring other players. Just cruel. At the end of the day this is the means by which they all provide for their families, but yet you go out and jeopardize someone's career? Why?

Everytime Wenger complains about tackling, so many people have a go at him about it. Whinging Frenchman etc etc etc. Today we have experienced it for ourselves and it really sucks. Imagine how often Wenger and Arsenal have had to deal with this sort of thing. It's terrible. It's why I have always been a huge supporter of Wengers stance. As much as they all deny it, a lot of managers send out players to do this sort of thing.

Zamora, Dembele and Ben Arfa already this season.

Could we get some official news on this or what?

West brom and Blackpool are gone ... we need to wake up asap. I try really hard to see who the likely relegation candidates are and none come to mind. There just aren't any obviously rubbish teams. It's going to be a scary ride.

 

...he says seven games into the season.

 

I know, I know. It's just that West Brom and Blackpool are both improving if anything! They're not achieving their success via corny/brutish tactics either. They're also not overly reliant on any single player. I believe both will consistently get results.

 

Remember Hull a season or two ago? It's too early to tell, the league doesn't really settle down until November time. We're not exactly playing that badly ourselves.

Yeah, you're probably right. It's just all quite nerve-wracking.

West brom and Blackpool are gone ... we need to wake up asap. I try really hard to see who the likely relegation candidates are and none come to mind. There just aren't any obviously rubbish teams. It's going to be a scary ride.

 

...he says seven games into the season.

I know, I know. It's just that West Brom and Blackpool are both improving if anything! They're not achieving their success via corny/brutish tactics either. They're also not overly reliant on any single player. I believe both will consistently get results.

Quite annoying that Liverpool are doing so poorly, as there's little chance that they'll actually be in the relegation battle. They have too much actual talent for that. Everton might actually be in a bit of trouble with an injury or two, but it's unlikely they'll finish down there either. It's worrying as someone has to be relegated.

Liverpool's season so far reminds me of Newcastle's relegation season. Turmoil everywhere, both on and off the pitch. Fans already turning on the manager. Their goalscorer has seemingly checked out already, and is flat out uninterested at this point. A long term injury to Gerrard and/or Torres and they could completely crumble. The January window will be huge for them.

West brom and Blackpool are gone ... we need to wake up asap. I try really hard to see who the likely relegation candidates are and none come to mind. There just aren't any obviously rubbish teams. It's going to be a scary ride.

Still not a Premiership player like.

He's palying in the premiership isn't he?

Hughton on ESPN:

 

'Upset' with the challenge and 'incredible' decisions against us.

 

So much for unloading with a Wenger-esque rage.

 

Nice guy.

 

Hughton's never gonna go skitty on national TV. There'd be nowt to gain from it anyway, i'd rather he maintained his dignity - every man and his dog knows the decisions were absolutely ridiculous, he needn't inform anyone. The only thing to gain from coming out and lambasting a referee is a hefty fine. Brings the game into disripute doesn't it liiiiike.

 

Nah, disagree with that.

 

Like it or not, we're in a league where if you scream the loudest, you are heard. Look at Wenger and Fergie and how they moan and whinge when things don't go their way, then in the next match the ref has that in the back of his mind when a 50/50 challenge happens. Hughton should have gone ape s*** at the corrupt ref today, maybe he could have accused City of paying the ref off, which would have made sure everyone saw a replay of the s**** decisions today and i bet you we wouldn't get that treatment from referees any more.

I think you're right, unfortunately. The FA want to harp on about respecting the refs etc. But they're undeserving of this respect because they are not good enough at what they do, and can't be relied upon to make sound decisions the majority of the time.

I think these refs do give poor decisions far more often against teams and/or managers who do stay dignified and take it on the chin. Definitely something Hughton has to think seriously about. It really shouldn't be this way, but the refs are so spineless it's untrue. Hughton has to pick his spots and let rip with an almighty whinge when it's necessary.

At times I just feel terrible that I'm so devoted to a game that can be very easily decided by the whims (or corruption, or incompetence, or whatever) of one man who has nothing to do with events on the pitch.

I kind of know what you mean. As soon as I start getting too annoyed I instantly go into recovery mode i.e. "Oh well these people are all very wealthy and well off, and sure as hell aren't paying my bills. F*** them all"

They're not corrupt, they're just rubbish.

End of thread.

In addition to this it is also clear that the refs are swayed by reactions from home crowds, are scared of making decisions against bigger teams and are scared of managers with bigger profiles. It's embarrassing really. They're just all such spineless, feeble exampleas of the male species. No authority, no backbone, just so limp. Howard Webb for example, isn't perfect, but he at least exudes some confidence and authority. The majority are just so lame, and it's why they get pushed around and abused so often.

We really should consider starting with both Carroll and Shola. Carroll is actually better at tracking back than Nolan, the supposed midfield stalwart, and doesn't link up with the midfield any worse than Nolan does. Carroll will also cause far more problems as a goal threat. Nolan has had two really bad games in a row now and hasn't got his customary "bail out" goal. His time will soon be up for sure.