English football 2024-25

[Gingerfinch]

right at the end. the keeper tried to launch the ball for one last attack and Joelinton pulled him back as the keeper ran past him, but the pull back was high over one shoulder and across at the neck. Keeper spun right around onto the floor, but unlike last week there was nothing simulated or exaggerated about it. Definitely red. Joe knew he was lucky only getting a yellow

Cheers. I've only seen the you tube highlights. Will take a look on MOTD

[Durhamfootman]

it made me laugh when the BBC pundits tried to argue that the ball was level with the shoulder for the disallowed goal. Of course it was.... it's a football, not a marble. You smack the ball in with the middle of your upper arm and the top of the ball is likely to be up near the shoulder, he still put it in with his arm.

The ref gave the goal, but in real time it looked like he'd headed it in, or it did to me, at least, so I reckon the ref thought the same

Apart from anything else the attacker was clambering over Burn like he would a wall on an assault course. The argument that somehow that was a goal has virtually no merit..... other than that they do get given sometimes

[Gingerfinch]

right at the end. the keeper tried to launch the ball for one last attack and Joelinton pulled him back as the keeper ran past him, but the pull back was high over one shoulder and across at the neck. Keeper spun right around onto the floor, but unlike last week there was nothing simulated or exaggerated about it. Definitely red. Joe knew he was lucky only getting a yellow

Just seen it. Oh dear, that was naughty.

[Gingerfinch]

Well every pundit I've heard has said the Bournemouth goal should have stood but the ball didn't come off his shoulder, it was his upper arm. I would say 'am I going mad' but the Footman also agrees.

[Durhamfootman]

ah yes, but I'm very definitely mad

barking

[sussexpob]

This is a classic case of where bad or biased officiating ends up with unusable rules.

Last year, Brighton played Spurs away in a game with about 6 horrendous VAR calls all going in favour of Spurs. PGMOL ended up apologising for a number of errors, including not awarding two clear penalties, and a red card that was given to Brighton by mistake.

The most contentious of the decisions was Mitoma having a goal disallowed where he brought a high ball under control with his chest/shoulder, then slotted it home. The rule was very clear; if the ball is above the shirt sleeve, it is not a handball but part of the shoulder. The ball clear as day hit him above the shirt sleeve, there was no doubt, no debate, 100% clear. The referee then disallowed it saying it was a handball. Rather than say a referee made 6 clear errors in favour of the same side and conclude he was either very incompetent or was being bunged by Spurs, PGMOL went into the "the rule isn't clear" defence. The rule was very clear. The referee just chose not to apply it.

And so this year we get the "bottom of the armpit" rule as a result to correct the perfectly adequate sleeve rule. Fancy telling me where the bottom of the armpit is??? Because medically the Axilla goes all the way down to the ribcage/abdomen.

[sussexpob]

Well every pundit I've heard has said the Bournemouth goal should have stood but the ball didn't come off his shoulder, it was his upper arm. I would say 'am I going mad' but the Footman also agrees.

The guidance from the FA when they made this new rule shows that the bottom of the armpit is basically the point where the shoulder separates into the arm, which means it doesn't actually include any of the hollow that is commonly considered the armpit. Clear as mud...... The rules state two different positions.

I sympathise for the referee in this game because you can argue both ways. Is the ball level with the bottom of the armpit? Its impossible to tell.... and so it needs to default to the original decision which was a goal. I think under the old rules its a goal too, because its impossible to rule the ball under the sleeve.

Then again, following the diagram and not the worded rules, its a handball......

Good luck trying to navigate this s*itstorm rulebook. I have no idea who makes these things up expecting them to be applied correctly.

Happy with the goal not given, personally, simply because I dont want to see strikers credited with throwing an arm into random places and benefitting from it.

All this is immaterial also, because a hand over the shoulder from behind with downward force is a foul for me. The defender is being physically taken out the game

[Gingerfinch]

I asked about this on the referee's group on Facebook and from about 20 responses it was 50/50 on handball or not.

[Durhamfootman]

It looks like Newcastle are going to end the transfer period without strengthening the squad at all. They've had to sell 2 promising young players that they didn't want to sell, brought in a couple of goalkeepers, meaning they now have 5 ( ) and brought in a couple of squad players, one of which was on a free. They've failed to secure the signings of any of their targets and I don't think they even managed to send any of the youngsters/unwanteds out on loan or get rid of the players they don't want to keep, but who still pick up wages every week. They are trying to sell it to the fans as being successful in keeping Guimaraes, Isak and Gordon, but it strikes me that the bean counters have looked at the squad, looked at the lack of European football and decided to try and manage with what they have, knowing that they can strengthen in January if the season isn't going well. Botman is out for the foreseeable, Lascelles too. Wilson is out, they've just lost Willock again

Would this have been allowed to happen under Staveley? I don't think so

[Durhamfootman]

Sunderland have made a flying start to the season. An injury time OG in this match is the first goal they've conceded in 4 matches, with 10 in the 'for' column. They even beat Burnley 1-0 last week and Burnley must surely have been one of the pre-season favourites to win the title. I'm not sure when their new manager came in, but he's got them playing like champions. It's good to see. Sunderland have been fast asleep for too many years

[sussexpob]

Newcastle got lucky yesterday, as Spurs dominated large parts of the match.

I guess this is Ange ball in its finest.... Spurs have 8 attackers on the pitch, and are always vulnerable to the counter attack.

The winner is a perfect example. Joelinton wins the ball not that far outside his own box, and its a simple ball straight through the canyon gap in defence for Murphy to run onto. Spurs really are bad at defending, especially when Porro or Udogie go up to join the attack. Constantly leave 2 men covering half the pitch.

Since Ange went 11 games unbeaten to start, Spurs have not been good.

[sussexpob]

As for United, have to love them recommitting to Ten Hag by offering him an extra 3 years, and then them looking absolutely pants for the first 3 games of the season.

I never understand PL teams and why they do that. Why offer a manager an extension for so long, when the reality is he's a 5 match disaster run from being sacked after????

[Durhamfootman]

Newcastle were lucky, in that Spurs couldn't have hit a barn door yesterday, but Howe clearly set Newcastle up to hit them on the counter, perhaps with the Spurs high line in mind. If you have whippets like Isak, Gordon and Murphy in the side, you'd be daft not to draw Spurs forward at every opportunity. It isn't a tactic Howe generally employs at home, but I think with half of our defenders out and Spurs being such an attacking team, he probably felt that was the way to go.

First time I've seen Lloyd Kelly play and he looked like a good player from the bits I was able to watch. I had assumed he was going to be a squad player, but maybe not

[Durhamfootman]

As for United, have to love them recommitting to Ten Hag by offering him an extra 3 years, and then them looking absolutely pants for the first 3 games of the season.

I never understand PL teams and why they do that. Why offer a manager an extension for so long, when the reality is he's a 5 match disaster run from being sacked after????

I just don't get the whole ten Hag thing. He just seems clueless to me, and yet he beat us in the League cup final in '23 and then Man C in the FA cup in May. If Howe did that he'd have a stand named after him, the keys to the city and cattle grazing rights on the Leazes park

[Durhamfootman]

Forest stun Liverpool at Anfield

Brentford push Man City all the way at the Etihad

Ipswich hold Brighton at the Amex

Everton throw away a 2 goal lead at Villa Pk

quite an eventful day in the Prem