PNP - I don't know what footage you have seen to be so adamant that Gibbs caught Bale, but I haven't seen any video that shows any contact whatsoever Any contact there may have been therefore should NOT have resulted on Bale falling over in a heap like he did !
There's no such thing as the last man rule, but he clearly was the last man. There was nobody behind him. He didn't commit a foul though, so it's rather academic.
Its not called the last man rule but it is preventing a goal scoring opportunity and because the keeper was not the last man, i.e. Gibbs was next to Bale, a goal scoring opportunity was not prevented.
TV resolution is not good enough to show that there wasn't contact. It is sometimes good enough to prove that there was. On this occasion its is not fully conclusive but Bale's feet get tangled at exactly the instant that Gibbs' foot passes him. That seems clear evidence of contact rather than cheating to me. He didn't 'hang out a leg' he was running normally. I've seen Bale dive twice and I'm ashamed he did it, but he shouldn't be wrongly accused.
Just to put you in the picture (literally and metaphorically) it was the away section after Walcott banged in the 5th
I'm sorry, but that's clearly a misinterpretation of the rule. If you reverse the situation, so that the last defender makes the foul with only the keeper between the attacker and the goal, then it's inarguably a red card. Having only an outfield player to beat, rather than a goalkeeper, actually makes it more of a clear goalscoring opportunity. I don't think that it was one though, because Bale took the ball well wide of the goal with his final touch. If he'd still had it under control, then it would've seen a dismissal, in my opinion.
But it was Gibbs who did the foul not the keeper! It was only 'not a goalscoring opportunity' if the goalie was sure to save it. Since everyone agrees that he didn't touch the ball at all the ref might easily have red carded Gibbs. I suspect the reason he didn't was because he didn't know who committed the foul. Many refs would have shown a red card and the discussion on here would be very different. As I said I think the ref got it right because it was a foul and there was not a certainty that Bale would have got a shooting chance. On such little things the whole match can be decided.
Given that your fans have a tendency to walk out after about 10 minutes if you're not winning, you're really not making a point. There's also nothing to back up your claim, unlike your mass exodus at WHL when you were 4-0 down a few years ago.
A NLD isn't a normal game. Your own AGM revealed that your ground is 15% empty for most games, didn't it?
Are you trying to claim that the picture is not of the away section? Where around 80% of your fans have turned their backs on your team. Do you mean in the same way that we cleared your ground after we won there 1-4 a couple of years later?
Oh God, Piskie's one of those annoying fans that spends the whole game taking photos Beating Tottenham seems to have gotten a little too much for him, it's a good job it won't be happening too often in the future. Have a cup of cocoa and a lie down, Pisk.
No, I'm claiming that you've not proven the time of the picture. You 'cleared our ground' after going 4-1 up in extra-time against our reserves. We cleared your end after an hour.
Of course he probably went down more easily than he would have done on another part of the pitch. So would 99% of players - including yours'! I really can't see what this ridiculous little squabble is about. Maybe there was some contact, maybe there wasn't. As I said earlier, there have been many, many, far more Dubious decisions that one given.
Just taking an opportune moment to capture your exodus and humiliation The record speaks for itself - Arsenal are the dominant force in North London
You're probably best sticking with it being after Walcott banged in the 5th mate. Any earlier and it would have been even more shameful for your lot to have walked out.
The league table begs to differ. I'm sure that all of the Spurs fans on here are taking note of your good graces following this game for further reference though, Piskie.
Let him have his little deluded gloat, PNP. As I say, he's not kidding anyone but himself. One day he might be able to see the world as it is, instead of through his red tinted specs
