Probly cos of the blue shirt on your avatar. And the fact you're a bit of a **** The handball wasn't a pen yesterday, and the tackle by Carrick was imo. But as was pointed out, we should have had a blatant pen at Craven Cottage for a foul by Senderos on Welbeck. No one cared as we still won 5-0. We do get a fair few dubious decisions in our favour, as do all the big clubs, but the focus is skewed a lot by the fact that when decisions go for us we win, and when they go against us we generally also win.
http://www.thefa.com/GetIntoFootbal.../ApplicationofLaws.ashx/ApplicationofLaws.pdf "Fair tackling (e.g. making direct contact with the ball) is permitted as it is a skill similar to passing the ball, shooting for goal, etc. However, if a player makes contact with an opponent before touching the ball, then this must be punished by the award of a direct free kick."
You show me where it says it should not be a penalty? Even Fergie has said Fulham were unlucky not to get the pen.
Of course but you are hardly Barca. Teams do get in the box at Old T. The reason why teams got few pens at Old T in that period is that SAF banned them, as JM did at SB, and Franco at the Bernabeu. Out of interest why did SAF reinstate the penalty rule for both sides in 2004? And v Liverpool too
You can't blame the referee for making that decision. Let me give you two examples of why that have gone against us in recent years, one decision proved to be massive and the other may yet still turn out to be massive. Fletcher on Fabregas, CL semi final 2009, Rio on Ba (think it was Ba), earlier this season at OT. What do those tackles have in common? Both were fair tackles that won the ball coming from the side. Furthermore, both times, Rio and Fletcher had come in from the attackers left hand side and the ball went towards the right hand side. Physics should dictate that the vast majority of times, there has to be a force to make the ball change direction like that. The vast majority of times, that force is by the defender making the tackle. You watch how the ball changes direction from the path Murphy is running along (which is straight) and the ball deviates towards the left where Smalling was. This isn't me being biased, but my first though was that Carrick must have got a touch in order to make the ball change path like that, and this wasn't the case. Carrick hit Murphy's foot which in turn knocked the ball to the left. It was a penalty, but I don't think you can blame the referee for that. Far, far too much is being made of this.
Ummm, they've conceded fewer goals than you in recent seasons in la liga (21/24 v 28/37) and in Europe this season too. I doubt teams have more shots on goals and get in the box more v Barca than they do v United. How many times did you get in the box v them in 09 and 2011?
Ummmm, lets not forget that Barca and Real have a monopoly on TV rights meaning they share over 70% between them, La Liga is unfair and biased so how many shots they had agaisnt them in La LIga should be discounted on the rules their opposition have to abide too... At least United play on a level playing field in many ways in the premiership. You can't compare LA Liga stats to the premiership for this reason alone
My name is Yid Vicious, the shirt is purple and clearly has the Spurs badge on it. Anyone that doesn't spot that needs to take Younes' advice and put their glasses on. I've never claimed referees never make mistakes that go against United and I said that referees show bias to most bigger teams. The bias is there and it's obvious why, as I've already pointed out. You might think I'm a **** but I actually enjoy reading your posts and respect your opinion. In this case however, I wish you'd addressed more of what I said and less of what you think I've said.
Not a great photo lad. Most people would think that was a Chelsea shirt at first glance. I'd change it to stop confusion.
Another weak homer ref to the collection. If United win the league by two points or less then you can look back at last night and say thats where the weak homer ref handed the title to them.
Ah I'm only playing with you As for responding to what you said, I agree with you that the handball wasn't a penalty and that bigger teams do tend to get more decisions. Tho' whether that is concious bias, or simply bigger teams having better and more experienced players who are more able to con the ref is up for debate. The penalty conceded by Berbatov against Blackburn at OT is an ideal example of that - players have been dragged down like that by experienced international CBS like Rio, Terry and Carragher and not got a penalty. Berb was just too clumsy when he did it, much like many less experienced defenders would be at smaller clubs. Why do you think Titus Bramble, Vinnie Jones, Joey Barton and Kevin Davies were never signed by a top side? The big clubs don't want liabilities like that on their books, they'd much rather have players like Terry, Rio and Carragher who are able to foul and get away with it.
What is skewed is your logic, the period in time you are talking about (93-04) is a period where United were THE dominant force in the English game picking up 7 league titles, 4 FA cups and winning the Champions League, teams coming to Old Trafford during that period usually parked the bus leading to United dominating possession, visiting teams rarely spent much time in United's box at all which makes it pretty tough to win a penalty.
