Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:52 pm  

Arsenal fans celebrating like they have won the premier league, champions league and world cup all in one.

After beating a championship team.......on penalties..............to make the final.

It's laughable.

Still, it looks like the fa cup final will be an unwelcome distraction to wengers main goal of winning the 'finish in the top 4' trophy.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:59 pm  

The Arsenal keeper giving the cupped ear to the Wigan fans. Arsenal FC should be embarrassed, but they really won't be.

Wenger needs to leave, no matter what. I want him to stay because they are stuck with him, but he needs to win the FA Cup "vindicated", take over at Barca and prove himself as a top manager.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Apr 12, 2014 7:07 pm  

duke street 10 wrote:

Think Chelsea are in for two uncomfortable ties against Atletico.

Seen them a couple of times this season on Sky, tremendous work ethic ( they remind me of Dortmund a couple of seasons ago) and are very difficult to break down.

Plus side for Chelsea is the goalkeeper won't be playing against them...he is superb.

They'd have been in for 2 uncomfortable ties against either bayern or real.

Bayern and real both have tremendous work ethic, and both have tremendous threat in attack. I think chelsea definitly got the best of the draw on offer. Hose Mourinho, deep deep down probably thinks the same IMO.

Chelsea defensive record this season is excellent, they'll shut atletico out.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:05 pm  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

The Arsenal keeper giving the cupped ear to the Wigan fans. Arsenal FC should be embarrassed, but they really won't be.

Why was the Arsenal keeper allowed to stand on the edge of his six yard box for the penalty shoot-out??....

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:55 pm  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Why was the Arsenal keeper allowed to stand on the edge of his six yard box for the penalty shoot-out??....

The ref looked to be giving both keepers a firm outline of the rules before the shoot out.

But judging by the way the keepers acted I guess he was ordering the Wigan keeper to make a complete div of himself by running side to side on the line and telling the Arsenal keeper that the rules saying he had to stay on the line weren't applying to him today.

In normal time refs pay no attention whatsoever to encroachment, apart from the stupid incident where Frank Lampard was forced to retake his pen 3 times at West Ham. Arteta against Everton in the FA Cup earlier this season is the only one I remember. But pretty much every penalty that's taken nowadays has half the players already chasing the penalty taker when he kicks the ball.

I think referees are pretty average right now, with the odd howler thrown in every now and again. But I think the way that the rules are applied or ignored is spectacularly bad as a group from the refs/the FA.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Apr 12, 2014 10:00 pm  

Only 6 West Brom players were encroaching when Adebayor struck his pen, which was saved by the keeper.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Apr 13, 2014 12:58 pm  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

Only 6 West Brom players were encroaching when Adebayor struck his pen, which was saved by the keeper.

I don't doubt it, though, to be fair, it makes little difference if the penalty is converted. By all means though, have it retaken if the keeper saves it and any rebound is scrambled away by the encroaching defenders.

My point in the shoot out though (and any penalty), is that keepers are blatantly breaking the rules and creating an unfair advantage, by coming off their line and narrowing the angle - With this in mind, wouldn't it be fairer to do away with the penalty and allow the 'penalty-taker' to have an unchallenged one on one with the keeper, with the keeper allowed out no further than the penalty spot??

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Apr 13, 2014 1:21 pm  

The keeper held Adebayor's pen. But if he parried it there's 6 defenders who have an advantage in getting the ball because they're in the area illegally. For that pen I'd have ordered a retake.

The ref for the Arsenal game should have ordered the Wigan pens to be retaken when the keeper saved them after he'd stepped off his line.

But this is the problem. The laws are clear and the refs just don't apply them. The you get the games like West Ham Chelsea where the ref made Lampard retake the pen 3 times. He scored each time. But IMO it was the West Ham players who were the main players encroaching in the area. The ref was rewarding West Ham players even though they were the ones benefiting. And the 4th pen there was still a few players from both sides in the area when the ball was struck. Even the ref got bored with hoping Lampard would miss so just gave up and let it stand.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Apr 13, 2014 2:38 pm  

All chelsea needs to do now is win their remaining games and have city draw one of their remaining games, and they take the title from under liverpool's noses!

Hose Mourinho, Hose Mourinho!

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Apr 13, 2014 2:47 pm  

Personally I don't really blame Clattenburg for not booking Suarez for either of those dives he did. In real time he couldn't tell.

Everyone watching on telly knows that Suarez is a diving cheat though and should have got a yellow.

Am still very bitter though that he gave a second yellow to Torres though for being fouled when Suarez dives and gets away with it.

Skyrtyl. What a joke that he gets away with pulling the shirt at every corner and refs just let him do it.

He feels so invincible with refs he's even punching the ball away at corners now.

Down to us now to stop them. Liverpool cannot win the league.

Vincent Kompany - best defender in the Premier League by miles says every football fan in England. Title deciding game and he puts in a performance like that. Demichaelis gets all the stick, but he's not been anywhere near as bad as that.