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This has NOTHING to do with Diabetes......

I'll have one for both of you (like I needed an excuse!), and yes I do normally talk gibberish but it's worse when I've been to the pub
 
I think my overriding feeling at the moment about the group stage is some anger at the amount of absolutely disgraceful fouls. There is an intention to kill the opponent. These are the best players in the world and they don't display a very good attitude, but they show great skill at fouling and gamesmanship.

Some of the goals have been excellent, one or two matches have been brilliant and exciting, but mostly I have found it a bit of a bore and I watched every match!!!! Okay when really boring I was tapping away on this forum.

I think I recall feeling the same about the last world cup too.

Oh well, knockout stages, here we go here we go ...
 
Really? I think it has been the best World Cup yet....so far anyway
 
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It has been good but I know what you mean Gordon, and it's not specific to the World Cup. I would love to see a proper crackdown using all the technology available to get rid of diving, shirt pulling, professional fouls and the rest. A few instant red cards would make some of them stop and think, even the whole team forfeiting the match if necessary. Watching all the fouls going on at every corner it's disgraceful. But nothing will be done about it.
 

I agree with you sanguine, nothing will be done about it. I particularly hate shirt pulling and would like to see more done about this. Also holding other players back with both arms round them. I remember an incident at a match I went to a while back. A corner was taken and a player from the attacking team held the keeper (Jens Lehmann) with both arms wrapped around him. Lehmann tried to get free and elbowed the player holding him as he tried to dive to get the ball. The ball went in the back of the net, Lehmann was booked for elbowing and the goal stood! So, the thing is, I haven't noticed anything worse in this World Cup than what you see every week in the Premier League. Maybe I have become used to it, but to me, years ago the World Cup was really ill-disciplined, so there's an improvement.

The problem is it's up to the refs to act on these issues. I haven't read the rules for some years now, so if they have changed and what I am going to say next is wrong, I apologize. When I did read the rules 2 things stuck in my mind. One was that it was often stated ....'the ref may give a yellow card for ......' and very often they don't. The other was that 'the spirit of the law' was important too rather than merely sticking to the 'letter of the law'. This is why it's fouls with the hands/arms which annoy me the most......this is supposed to be football!

Professional fouls - yes I would like to see tougher penalties for these. They can be much more damaging than a bite! I'm not saying the bite was right, but one or two fouls in the Premiership could have resulted in players losing a leg.

Diving - the worst dive I have ever seen was done by Batistuta. when Arsenal played Fiorentina at Wembley. He looked back to see where the ref was, 'tripped' and did a roly-poly and was awarded a free-kick. We were right there. There was no-one within 5 yards of him. This was made even worse by the fact that he should have already been sent off within a minute of kick-off for a nasty foul on Lee Dixon. (Well I think it was Lee Dixon).

So I agree with all you say here and I also agree that nothing will be done about it, it happens at all levels in football, not just the World Cup.
 
The problem that referees have is that at set pieces, defenders have to prevent attackers getting in the danger zones, depending wether there is a right or left kicker taking it, the defender has the ground and the attacker is trying to muscle in into that space. The attackers 'block' defenders by grouping making it impossible to 'mark' attackers. The holding is done by both teams, so unless it is blatant, and one sided, refs tend to ignore.
A lot of work goes into set pieces and who is marking who during the week before a game.
The diving and simulation is now being taught at pro clubs, to get an advantage for the team, there is no ethics in football, so almost anything goes! Most coaches persuade players that the team ethic is more important than the individual. When I see a player screaming in agony and he hasn't been hardly touched, it makes me annoyed! It is only us Brits that have a problem with this!
The real thing that annoys me, is when a ref is a homer (when your team is away) or when the superstars get preferential treatment! Our top ref, Howard Webb is so guilty of this, and he is reffing Brazils game against Chile, the Chile coach has already remarked that Brazil seem to be getting all the decisions in the World Cup! I wonder who he was having a go at!
I hate the constant ear bashing the fourth official gets from coaches! I hate the way players surround officials and constantly swear at them! In the amateur game a player wouldn't last five minutes!
There is a lot to admire, but a lot that needs changing!
This is what Wayne Rooney was talking about, game management, it is probably more important than tactics, formations and technical skills in modern football, sad but true!
 
We are going South American tonight, all the four teams are playing tonight, my bets on Brazil & Colombia.
Watch out for our own ref giving a big decision tonight!
Cannot see Uruguay winning without Suarez, can they take a chunk out Colombias defence with a toothless attack?
 
Howard Webb - I can't even begin to say what I think about some of his decisions. I would be banned from this forum if I tried
 
zand said:
Howard Webb - I can't even begin to say what I think about some of his decisions. I would be banned from this forum if I tried
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I am sure the mods would be sympathetic, if they have seen him ref!
 
The one for me was Liverpool and Stevie G.
There was another one against Villa that my brain is flashing. Another is a Chelsea game, and another concerning the Gooners, is that the one you're referring to?

Favourite ref is Mike Dean, fellow Rovers supporter and can be seen with his daughter at most games if he is officiating on a Sunday.
Stands no nonsense and doesn't give a s...... Monkeys About what the players or managers say.
A decent chap for a ref. met him on a few occasions.
 
nosher8355 said:
The one for me was Liverpool and Stevie G.
There was another one against Villa that my brain is flashing. Another is a Chelsea game, and another concerning the Gooners, is that the one you're referring to?
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Possibly....there have been so many....but the absolutely worst one was when....as usual at Old Trafford they water the two ends of the ground separately, so that the end they are attacking is always more slippery...or that's the way I see it anyway......possibly there's a bit of bias here.

Dec 2010. Gael Clichy slipped, Nani who had the ball and was turning towards goal with it, noticed Clichy slip and turned away from goal and deliberately kicked the ball at Clichy's arm which was supporting his weight on the ground at the time. Webb gives a penalty....HOW ON EARTH is that a penalty? Clichy couldn't move his arm, it was supporting him on the ground. Clichy couldn't control the ball with his arm....he couldn't move his arm. The only 'deliberate' bit came from Nani! Justice was done when they missed the penalty. This was another one of those occasions when we stayed in the ground singing long after the final whistle

I have just watched the clip on you tube of Arsenal fans staying behind at Old Trafford for 20+ minutes after the game (2008) we were there then too. The stewards had to remove us one by one.....most of the Man Utd fans would have been well on their way back to London by the time we left.

PS I have removed all the swear words from my original version of this (I hope)
 
What we say at Rovers about watering the pitch, is the reason why they bother, because the ball is only on the ground for set pieces, we don't even need grass!
 
Brazil 1 up. David Louis . Set piece!

Watch out for the dubious ref decision,
 
1-1 alexia Sanchez, cat among the pigeons!








All set up for Howard now!
 
Chile are losing possession too much in their own half - if they can sort that out in the second half ...
 
sanguine said:
Chile are losing possession too much in their own half - if they can sort that out in the second half ...
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Great game though and the atmosphere is electric.

I have noticed that 'Big Phil' has introduced the long diagonal ball to the forwards in this World Cup!

Don't tell the purists!
 
The game is stretched, very open, very fast, great closing down, great quality!



Hulk disallowed!


That's a huge call!



Keep watching!
 
Extra time, was that Howard's controversial moment? Was it for the wrong team? Or will it happen at the death?


The energy out there? Unbelievable Rio just said, as it was writing
 
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