I wonder how much say Antonio had in these incomings? Because we certainly need more of these types than the Bryan’s, Gollini’s, and Emerson’s.
Look at that gash down Hojbjerg's leg. I wonder who did that? Brings me on to a point I was going to make anyway. I am not afraid to give credit to the opposition for playing well. Indeed, under normal circumstances I would be praising Villa for their performance in the first half and the number of chances they created. However I'm not going to do that due to their unnecessary aggression. True it's only partly their fault, it's also the ref's fault for not getting it under control, but they were really getting stuck in from the start. This would have probably been the instruction, also followed by the instruction to ease off a bit after a couple of yellow cards were given. Except they weren't... so they carried on. I lost count how many yellows McGuinn could have had, and in the end I'm not sure he got booked at all. And the idea that you get the same punishment for what Hojbjerg did compared to what Young did is ridiculous.
This is exactly why I refused to criticise Spurs at halftime. Posters were claiming it was a poor performance by Spurs in that first half, I disagree because they were getting kicked off the park. In the past that was enough to cow Spurs into defeat. It's how Pullis's Stoke approached the game. Conte's Spurs just wiped Villa out in the second half, a very sweet victory for Spurs and a victory for football.
Did Romero get a yellow? Towards the end of the game he started to leave a few on the villa players , good to see a bit of payback , of late he has been a good boy , not gone soft just got smarter considering the teams we've played
No. Royal, Hojbjerg and Kane for us, Young and Ings for them. You don't get a ban for 10 yellows after 32 matches, either.
PL states that if you repeatedly speed thru the opposition final third with intent to score, you get a yellow card on your "iicence" . < many such cases >
Ally Gold has just said Matty Doherty is out for the season and possibly longer. Gutted he's been excellent recently for us. Our hopes rest with Emerson now.
FFS! That **** who took him out didn't even get booked! Wish him well and a full recovery. He was becoming an important part of the team.
****s. They were clearly under instruction to put it about a bit. It was down to the ref to recognise this and protect the players. Clearly didn't do that.
Doherty out until next season ... knee ligament damamage...12 weeks minimum. All from a "robust" tackle. Not even a yellow card ffs.
In the unlikely event of the Republic qualifying for the World Cup it means he would have missed out. That is a ****ty thing to do to another footballer. Not heard a single comment in the media since the match about the aggression of Villa in that game. Not sure they would have got away with kicking Liverpool all over the park though!
Hard lines for Doherty (I assume Nemesis has now ringed the date for Poool vs Spurs to repay Slippy G for the thuggery) . In terms of form, he was delivering on either flank for both goals and assists. Reg/Sess and Emerson need to be read the riot act by Conte on what is now expected.
Shows how far Doherty has come that he will be a big loss. Was interesting watching Reguilón on Saturday as he seemed far more focused than previously, so maybe he has understood what Conte is demanding. However , the lack of acknowledgement by and reporters, pundits, commentators and post match analysts that Villa set out to kick us off the park is a joke. Particularly when you look at all the analysis of the decisions in the city v Liverpool game. The ref was disgraceful as was the VAR official. The assault on Doherty was a red all day long but I have not seen that mentioned, other than it being discussed as "robust".
Sky ref watch with Dermot Gallagher showed Mings not getting a booking for a foul on Kulusevski and Young getting a yellow for kicking kane but doesn't show or mention Doherty
