Football 2010-2011

[chappiepunk]

Glad arsenal are out, COYS

[strummer77]

Yes RVP shouldn't have gone... but Barca should have had a pen today and a goal in the first leg. Fair result.

If Ref had been right in first game it would have been over long before today.

Edited March 9, 2011 by strummer77

[strummer77]

The fact is Van Persie was sent off for two yellow cards that should never have happened.

[eFestivals]

What could have been.....

One of the worst decisions in the history of football.

Yep, a dreadful dreadful decision.

But if we had an in-game review system for such decisions, should and would it have been over-turned? I very much doubt it, as the ref worked things strictly within the rules. There is no black & white over these things, just opinion, and while our opinions are different, how can the ref be said to be wrong when he's done things exactly as the rules say he should? If the ref is over-ruled then all of the rules become a joke.

It's for reasons such as these that I believe a review system of the refs decisions can't work for football.

[Jaybles]

Hang on he pushed him in the face on the first one?!

[ampersand]

Will need to watch it again as i had consumed a couple of beers when i first saw the incident. But i remember thinking it was harsh as it didn't look an intentional push to the face. Looked at the time like he barely touched him.

[Jaybles]

moments before, the player that he pushed had had his hand around his throat. and in the replay you could see van persie looking at him and only bothering about him, not the ball. blatant yellow in anyones book.

love that some are still talking about the ref though and not how inadequate arsenal are. spin spin spin.

[ampersand]

the ref didn't play a part though. as someone said, barca should have had a penalty in the first half, and had a goal wrongly chopped off in the first.

arsenal were nowhere near good enough for barca. end of story. men against boys!

[eFestivals]

love that some are still talking about the ref though and not how inadequate arsenal are. spin spin spin.

The refs decision was awful tho - there's no getting away from that.

Just as there's no getting away from the lack of attacking from Arsenal - but some of that can be rightly said to be down to the refs decision. After all, Arsenal managed to get forwards more in that last third of the game when they only had those 10 men.

I thought Barca started off looking and playing quite nervously - they didn't batter them from the off as happened in previous games, but as the 1st half went on, the place on the pitch where most of the play was moved nearer and nearer towards Arsenal's goal, so them scoring was obviously going to happen. A very stupid flick from Cesc to make it happen tho.

And a sending off was always very likely too (I said as much at half time) - the ref was card happy, handing out 4 in the first half. I don't think Arsenal took that on board in the way they should have, and that cost them too.

Arsenal did alright tho. It's not like anyone really expected them to win, and they made a proper game of it - and it was far more entertaining than a Moaniho bore. We watch footie to be entertained, after all.

[pink_triangle]

I personally think over the 2 legs the refereeing decisions probably evened themselves out. The RVP 2nd booking was ridiculous but in my opinion the 1st one correct and if you get yourself booked you are leaving yourself open to a bad decision ending your game. Im quite happy for my own team to be completely outplayed and win. However if I have no affilaiation to either side, I would like the better team to win if the gulf in class is so huge, barcelona were probably the better side for 160 out of the 180 minutes and arsenal 20 minutes. The end result was correct, even if its a pity how we got there. Maybe the media will have to find a new topic of discussion to replace the "messi cant do it against premiership sides argument.

Another point was I feel the media were putting too much pressure on Wilshire before the game. The likelyhood was he was in for a hard night and many better players have struggled just as much. I hope the media can be a bit more realistic and give him time, rather than expect him to be the best midfielder in the world tomorrw

[ampersand]

yeah neil, 31% possession and not a single shot on goal is alright. i'm sure you'd be saying the same for rangers against man utd. where the gulf is much bigger!

[eFestivals]

yeah neil, 31% possession and not a single shot on goal is alright. i'm sure you'd be saying the same for rangers against man utd. where the gulf is much bigger!

I was talking about over the two games with that comment.

As the first match got to prove - or as Scottish footie does continually - you can heavily outplayed but still come away with the result. It's the result that counts.

The only way that a team does better against Barca than Arsenal did is to bore everyone rigid. And I'm very glad there's at least one team in England that tries not to do that.

[ampersand]

if only they were a bit better at it then. attacking but still coming away with those stats.

i'm trying to find the stats of rangers 2-0 loss at the nou camp in 2007. anyone able to help?

[The Nal]

Yep, a dreadful dreadful decision.

But if we had an in-game review system for such decisions, should and would it have been over-turned? I very much doubt it, as the ref worked things strictly within the rules. There is no black & white over these things, just opinion, and while our opinions are different, how can the ref be said to be wrong when he's done things exactly as the rules say he should? If the ref is over-ruled then all of the rules become a joke.

It's for reasons such as these that I believe a review system of the refs decisions can't work for football.

[eFestivals]

if only they were a bit better at it then. attacking but still coming away with those stats.

i'm trying to find the stats of rangers 2-0 loss at the nou camp in 2007. anyone able to help?

if you really think that playing the Rangers way where they have absolutely no chance of winning is better, enjoy your boredom.

It didn't work out for Arsenal - and few will have thought it would, particularly over two legs - but at least they tried to win. Rangers only tried to not have an embarrassing scoreline against them.

[ampersand]

if you really think that playing the Rangers way where they have absolutely no chance of winning is better, enjoy your boredom.

It didn't work out for Arsenal - and few will have thought it would, particularly over two legs - but at least they tried to win. Rangers only tried to not have an embarrassing scoreline against them.

Edited March 9, 2011 by ampersand

[worm]

But if we had an in-game review system for such decisions, should and would it have been over-turned?

[eFestivals]

yeah well when you don't have arsenal's resources, what more can you do?

0-0 and 2-0 wasn't bad for rangers. arsenal seem to think they're the greatest team the world as ever seen (i'm sure they've some fantastically original song with that) and lost by the same margin.

did arsenal really do any entertaining last night though? no shots and 31% possession. or was it the 69% possession and 19? shots on goal from barca that entertained you? doesn't take a genius to work that one out.

Arsenal tried to play football, and not boreball. The result of them doing that was what we saw. The match was entertaining, even if Arsenal mostly weren't.

I'd rather watch last night's match a million times than just one from Rangers from when they made the UEFA Cup final a few years ago.

[ampersand]

I'd rather watch last night's match a million times than just one from Rangers from when they made the UEFA Cup final a few years ago.

[eFestivals]

of course you would. the reasons for that are purely down to barca.

Nope, not at all.

It's down to two teams who go out on the pitch to try and win.

I've no interest in watching any match where at least one of the teams goes out with a game plan that is about minimising their possible embarrassment rather than trying to win.

[ampersand]

Nope, not at all.

It's down to two teams who go out on the pitch to try and win.

I've no interest in watching any match where at least one of the teams goes out with a game plan that is about minimising their possible embarrassment rather than trying to win.

[The Nal]

Nope, not at all.

It's down to two teams who go out on the pitch to try and win.

I've no interest in watching any match where at least one of the teams goes out with a game plan that is about minimising their possible embarrassment rather than trying to win.

[eFestivals]

well then you can't watch too many games. and certainly very little at the emirates if that's the case.

embarrassment is a silly way to put it. many set up to defend and catch on the break. but whatever.

I was specifically referring to Rangers with those lines. They set out only to defend.

[ampersand]

I don’t think Arsenal went out to win last night at all. They didn’t get men forward and camped 7 men on the edge of their box foe the entire game in the hope of grabbing a goal on the break. They didn’t get men in the box and didn’t string 4 passes together for the entire game. No shots on target.

Not saying that’s not the way to go about, if RVP stayed on or if Bendtner wasn’t such a donkey they could have nicked a goal as planned. But the game was played in Arsenals half.

[ampersand]

I was specifically referring to Rangers with those lines. They set out only to defend.