Ridiculous. Referees are making the game a complete farce with the decisions like that. Football is a contact sport.
And we didn't play like that when we played against Everton. Teams have different performances on different days! We weren't bad against Arsenal, just as we weren't bad today. We were bad against Palace.
That’s exactly my point. Arsenal were **** when we played them so being happy with a point in that game I don’t understand
Because we weren't on top form either, and they just stuck their remaining ten men behind the ball. That's always been tough, and especially for us when we're going through a run of not playing badly, but struggling to create. People are talking at the moment like we're suddenly awful. We're not. We're just having a very mildly sticky patch, and (bar against City), not losing.
I would imagine that the likes of Pepe and Willian could be spending a while out of the team now. With a bunch of young forwards, headed by Saka and Martinelli, the result today makes it difficult for Arteta not to play them more. And from a personal point of view, it could help him get the fans back on side - which will never happen whilst the highly paid experienced guys are walking around the pitch half-arsed.
What do Newcastle bring to the Premier league? I do feel sorry for the Geordies that follow them, but I would not shed a tear, if they go down!
I’d knock them for playing Andy Carroll but we are still playing Long so I feel like I’m in a glass house. (Readies for incoming fire)
There’s a difference between “being happy with” and “taking a point” I end up defending the team when I read things like “Arsenal were ****, how couldn’t we beat them” or “How we can’t beat a team in 18th”.... we haven’t got the depth of squad to be able to expect To being do that and football is one of the least black and white games out there, especially if a top level (PL) team digs in. Even if a team is ****, at this level you can’t throw caution to the wind entirely as you’ll be unstuck for the record I was disappointed we didn’t beat Arsenal for the way we held off in the first half, but accepted the last half hour as we didn’t have the personnel to get through two buses. Once the game was over, I could “take the point” Libby for example made the point that if were to really challenge we need to find a way to win those games. That’s a fair comment, put well, rather than a dig at the team or a whine.
You can tell that this referee is new to the PL (I think it's his 4th or 5th match?), and in particular is inexperienced with VAR, because he's having a shocker. Dyche will be fuming.