West Ham, Newcastle, Villa and then Brighton again. Looks pretty likely, doesn't it? Brentford, Leicester and Liverpool the games that he could miss two of.
It would have improved our goal difference by +1 though, which could be vital in the final reckoning. It is disgraceful refereeing, the inconsistency is what drives people mad and you won`t see these kind of penalty calls waved away if it benefits a team in a red shirt. It`s not just the odd game either, remember the Saints away game when we were robbed of 2 perfectly good goals and 2 subsequent points. The only thing that has been improved is goal line technology and clear offsides, the rest is just as biased, incompetent, inconsistent and ridiculous as it ever was.
With *clear* offsides being the important part. For less clear I have yet to be convinced that (1) the same sort of bias toward certain teams doesn't apply (2) the same sort of incompetence doesn't apply and perhaps most importantly that (3) the system is technically capable of delivering an accurate determination.
Agreed, how do we know the clown in the studio is drawing those slip shod lines in entirely the correct place, with such fine margins of error it would be so easy to sway one way or another, and I`m not convinced the technology being used is even up to it. I`ve seen offside given when they look on and onside given when they look off.
For me one of the biggest problems is the camera angle used for offsides and how it varies significantly depending on the stadium size and distance from stands to the pitch. It is also bizarre that the camera angle is precisely the one that the linesman isn't seeing which apart from a bird's eye view is nominally the best angle to use: i.e. no angle at all, just a side profile shot just like they use in racing.
I love his commitment but he has to cut out these stupid lunges into tackles , he's starting to get a reputation and other teams and officials will use that against him and no doubt Sky will nail him on it , whoever it was commentating on the stream I watched last night was very eager to go on about it but ignored their left wing back who was a constant pain
The vid tech should be able to draw a reference line, which is the one that the linesman has going directly across the pitch from where he was at the time of incident. VAR should then show that line being moved dynamically to the point of the incident. The decision is then made on that basis.
The timing of the frame from when the ball is passed is also crucial now they are intent in measuring in mm for offside , one frame back and the man is OK , poor system badly managed killing the spontaneity of a goal
FWIW I believe they are, or will be next season, using AI to draw the lines. Which removes the human element from that system. Will try and dig up where I heard that.
NFL broadcast vid tech has long been able to draw a "1st down" line across the pitch, during live play, no matter where the main camera is positioned.
Pass map time please log in to view this image Right away you can see something that was missing from the Man Utd match: the midfield getting the ball forward, with plenty of traffic from all four of them towards Deki and Sonny, and there ball's pinging about around the midfield/defence axis pretty freely to allow us to rebuild moves - and also potentially give somebody a migraine if they look at those lines and the names of Bentancur and Hojbjerg all crashing into one another What also sticks out is how much more active we are on the right flanks, which might easily be handwaved due to Sonny having an off night but can also be explained by looking at Brighton's passmap please log in to view this image Romero gave Maupay and Cucurella a torrid time (in more ways than one...) which meant that Doherty and Hojbjerg were more likely to receive the ball, while Brighton were more effective on the opposite flank hence you see less passes sprayed around, for example Doherty plays it laterally to both Hojbjerg and Bentancur while Reguilon only plays it to Hojbjerg Also, it does seem to highlight Bentancur's importance as he's getting a lot of passes but is spraying them out to Son, Deki and Doherty as well as recycling it to Hojbjerg, Dier and Romero, so if he had somebody who passes or moves the ball more dynamically beside him you'd really notice the difference
Finding the right midfielder to partner Bentancur in the summer is going to be no mean task. I personally think Skipp (if we ever see him again) will do a better job than Højbjerg but we might need to look for an upgrade there too. We really need a strong all-rounder. Assuming Winks leaves then we’d have 4 midfielders all of whom could partner each other and be reasonably effective.
I think it could depend on the opposition as to who partners Bentancur. There were times yesterday I felt we were crying out for an Eriksen type (again!) as we couldn’t really seemingly create much but on the face of it, if Kane and Kulusevski bury their first half chances we go in at HT 3-0 up despite a seemingly lacklustre half from us, albeit both chances came from Brighton’s poor decision making. But in games like City I thought Bentancur and Hojbjerg were perfect for it and had we had an Eriksen in that two, we’d have likely been overrun, as they were brilliant at helping the defence and being combative in the middle, Skipp can likely offer similar/ better than Hojbjerg long term but the Dane’s influence at times shouldn’t be underestimated, I know he’s not the most glamorous of players but I think he’s been a really good addition, even if down the line he’ll be a squad player more so than a regular starter. This isn’t me Winks-bashing like usual but he’s the only midfielder we don’t need. Though the three we do need do lack what I consider “creative passing” that only an Eriksen or a Modric are capable of and it’s that type of passing we need to break stubborn teams down. Conte’s generally had that option to call upon too, whether they’d started games or been on the bench, Fabregas and Eriksen played their roles in title winning seasons under him, so hopefully we add one in the summer, whether that ends up being Eriksen himself, which both tactically and sentimentally I’m sure would go down well with fans.
Yeah for sure having the option of a passing midfielder would be great, especially if we look to dominate possession more. By which I mean an Eriksen type, albeit one that starts deeper. I don’t think we’re a million miles off the right combo with Skipp (assuming he comes back ok from his injury) and Bentancur for most games so it’s basically adding another midfielder who is more forward thinking. Bentancur is a great all rounder so it’s nice to have pairings where we can complement him with a more destructive figure (Skipp/Højbjerg) or a better passer (Winks at the moment, but this is where we need the upgrade). I’d rather have Skipp partner him in all situations right now so it’s about finding a different solution for when the situation demands it.
Both teams looked more dangerous when the other side had the ball. Brighton didn't manage to get a shot on target, admittedly.
It says a lot that I still see an opposition get a corner or a deep free kick and think of it as our best attacking opportunity. A better passer in midfield alongside Bentancur and for the whole team to move the ball with more pace consistently is needed if we’re to expand our ambitions beyond top 4.
