Everything is relative I guess. Although I agree with the penalty (not clear, but understandable) the balance of the initial calls were definitely home-biased. He booked Dembele early on for a pretty innocuous first challenge, but not several Spammers for similar or worse until later on. That he didn't send Dembele off after that is the only surprise for me....
Ronaldo having a bit of a stormer tonight apparently. Presumably hoping to draw comparisons with Bale
On a sombre note, Tony Parks our keeper coach is still away from the club caring for his son. Perry Suckling continues to deputise.
How's his son doing, SC? All that I've heard is that he was in a car crash and was seriously injured. Hope he's on the way back to recovery and my best wishes are with him and his family.
I don't know PNP. All I know is that Parks is still away from the club. From what I understand, the accident happened on the M6 up in the north somewhere and the car went down an embankment. Parks's son needed emergency brain surgery. Don't know his age, but I think he's under 30. .
Carew signed for Inter today on a free. Would he have been a better option than Ade? I don't remember him being mentioned as a free agent, and no one seemed in much of a rush to sign him... Last resort stuff from Inter? You'd think they could find a superior alternative...
There is no way a penalty can ever be given for winning the ball (as shown by it moving away from Carroll, in a similar way to Gomes winning the ball against Carrick) Webb should be sacked and told to seek professional help
Thoughts on promotions from Championship? Everyone has their favourites. I'd like the league to stay as it is with Cardiff and Watford going up automatically, then my third promoted side would be either Palace or Brighton - both entertaining sides and I still have a soft spot for Poyet. Leicester, Hull and Leeds would be my nightmare trio of promotions even though I wish Kane well on loan.
Read the rules, contact with the ball does not mean no penalty, the rest of the challenge and follow through was a foul. However, the very mention of this ref does boil you...you didn't used to call yourself Webb of Deceit for nothing I suppose!
I have a bit of an issue about Watford possible coming up mainly because of their ridiculous abuse of the loan system. I don't think it's common knowledge on here, but at the beginning of the season they had applied for UEFA Elite grading of their academy. On the eve of this season they withdrew that application because they announced their youth structure development was being put on hold and the new club policy would be to recruit international players on a loan deal arrangement. Watford may feel that decision has been justified as they currently sit in an automatic promotion spot, but for me that policy is morally wrong and so I would prefer they didn't come up. As for the others, well Cardiff have been knocking on the door for a while so they probably deserve it more than some others and I would be ok with Palace coming up. Not Brighton, the thought of Poyet in the PL feels me with horror.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...am-mates-they-help-lift-him-to-greatness.html Tottenham forward Gareth Bale isn't carrying his Spurs team-mates, they help lift him to greatness Gareth Bale is the shining jewel of the Premier League and driving Tottenham Hotspur towards a top four place in what appears a personal crusade. So many times this season Bale has inspired Spurs towards three points with a magical swing of his left boot and his price tag is now conservatively estimated at £60 million. He is the man of the moment, a player admired by all the glamour clubs in Europe and securing Champions League football next season is surely the only way Spurs will manage to keep him. But the question of whether Tottenham are a one-man team is disrespectful to the other players and one that Andre Villas-Boas' dressing room would certainly take umbrage with. It would be churlish to try and downplay Bale's achievements in any way this season, such is his vast influence to the team but he would not have the time and space to weave wonders without his supporting cast. Eric Cantona once famously dismissed Didier Deschamps as a "water carrier", the implication being that the midfielder did all the dirty work to enable him to perform miracles with a football. And while the likes of Scott Parker and Lewis Holtby's qualities are without question, they perform the similar role that allows Bale such freedom to wreak havoc on the Premier League. The performances of Moussa Dembele cannot be ignored either, for he has provided crucial protection for Bale in the absence of the injured Sandro. Villas-Boas also deserves credit for constructing a game plan that allows Bale the platform and free role to terrorise at will. The Wales international's magnificent winner against West Ham on Monday night lifted Spurs up into third and Bale is now being mentioned in the same company as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Real Madrid are expected to chance their arm with a bid this summer whatever the outcome of Spurs's top four hopes though chairman Daniel Levy is a notoriously tough negotiator and the prospects of a transfer will be like pushing water uphill. Levy certainly has Bale to thank, for the midfielder's recent performances have eased the scrutiny on the Spurs boardroom. The pressure on Bale to score more goals only increased after Levy's failure to sign Internacional striker Leandro Damiao in January, with Jermain Defoe's injury at West Brom earlier this month only serving to illustrate how badly stocked they are with forwards. Emmanuel Adebayor is arguably the only specialist striker on the books and less said about his input at Upton Park the better. But when Villas-Boas has a player with the brilliance of Bale any potential problem can be overcome. It could have all been so different, too. Three years ago Bale was targeted by Nottingham Forest in an audacious attempt to take him on loan, with Harry Redknapp apparently quite happy to let him go. Bale was not prepared to drop down to the Championship, though, and the move was aborted. Alex McLeish, then at Birmingham City, also considered a £3 million bid for Bale as Redknapp initially struggled to know what to do with him. Now, however, Bale has emerged as the most outstanding player in the land of cash and controversy and is odds on to win the Player of the Year award. But just don't call Spurs a one-man team.
Let's hope Ade starts finding the net now,I have a feeling that he might. I suppose now we have all come to revere Bale because we forgive him when he misses sitters etc. There are times he goes missing in matches which is something about which we should all be cautious. I am a little and only a little concerned about his ability to perform throughout the season.
agree with this TMT. I posted in the Arsenal match thread that this match could see his season do a 180 degree u turn for the better. if there's 1 game where he could change things and get the fans on side again, it's this one.
ROO,I still try and see Ade as the man for the big occasion and I hope as you do it will be this Sunday. My faith in him was never really there from the start but I'm hoping the fact that he knows Spurs were saved by Bale when he could have won it for us might change things. Thanks.
He did pretty good in the away fixture vs them.....for 17mins or so. Scored didn't he? Can't remember, blocked it out
yeah, he worked very hard in the little time he was on the pitch for. Wasn't it one of his first games this season as well? Well TMT, he can't be much worse in this fixture can he? Maybe after all the moaning from many of us, he'll do something Magical and take the headlines away from bale?
Living in Upton Park (yes, i know, although the other night was pretty fun) i am dreading Cardiff getting promoted. Unless of course West Ham can manage to relegate themselves.
I used to live in Watford and your comments dont tell the whole story. Watford were almost put into administration by the previous owner who had grandiose plans but was a bankrupt who never could deliver. Watford had applied to upgrade their academy at a cost of millions. The new owners could not justify this and withdrew the application so the academy has continued at the level it was already at. Watford now field as many youngsters from their academy as they ever have done and more than most other Championship sides. Also now they are owned by the owners of Udinese they have been "loaned" players from them instead of buying them - but as both clubs are owned by the same owners it makes no real difference. Better cheap loans than what Cardiff, Leicester amd Portsmouth have done and spend millions going into debt and future trouble - and in Cardiff's case the owners care so little for the fans they changed their colours from the traditional blue to "lucky" red. Imagine if we got bought by a Chinese consortium who insisted we play in RED !!!! Gianfranco Zola is an exponenet of football as it should be played and I would like to see him get promoted - odds are of course that one day he will return to Chelsea
Ouch! [video=youtube;oIPO05yHe0g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIPO05yHe0g&feature=player_embedded[/video]
