Interesting comment on MotD about Saints not rushing to harass the ref to get Matic sent off after his challenge on Mane. If Gary Neville is to be believed, following his comments during the Chelsea v PSG match, this is something we should add to our game if we are to be successful in a European campaign....umm. Interesting to see Keown and Phil Neville commending Saints for NOT surrounding the ref waiving imaginary cards
To be fair the contact on Ivanovic was really difficult to see live and Ivanovic didn't do himself any favours with the way he went down.
As I said on another thread, I don't like players trying to get another sent off. It also shows how calm our team is generally. Perhaps our good behaviour helps us win a few decisions as well. Refs are human...perhaps they get intimidated by being surrounded by players, but in contrast our 'innocence' may also have helped when we foul known divers.
Almost impossibly to see live, yet you though that one at the other poster I watched MOTD last night and the 2nd Matic foul is a nailed on yellow. He knew just what he was doing when he swept his leg out knowing Mane had beaten him. Despite him having an excellent game yesterday, Dean got that one wrong. I didn't need a replay either. I don't believe you when you say you don't think it was a yellow. I think you are on "auto defend" which actually slightly discredits you Tom, because you do that every week.
Another mention for Forster...such strong hands and wrists. If a ball hits his hand it rebounds, rather than bending and allowing the ball to get past. I know some would say basic quality for a keeper, but I have seen other keepers in the past with wrists like wet lettuce. Also I think Fonte coming out with the ball rather than letting it roll back to Forster (who was bending down to receive it) may have further convinced the ref not to give a penalty against him...perception can be so important.
Fair comment. If I said it wasn't a yellow I didn't mean it. It was one of those where if Matic wasn't already booked Dean would have got his yellow out without hesitation. I've been in this position before. Sometimes you do doubt a previous decision you made and I reckon Dean was doing that for Matic's first yellow which would then make it very very hard for him to dismiss Matic for his next offence unless it was so blatant he had no choice. Maybe I do defend referees too much sometimes but when I see comments like TinTin's: "He was a disgrace, he's not fit to referee" I will defend them because that comment was not justified.
Ivanovic's dive right at the end when he was 3 yards in front of Pelle summed the guy up. Cheating bastard. Which is a shame because he is some player.
I'm just glad it isn't part of Saints DNA. Not saying that a Saints player wouldn't ever dive, but it is not a regular thing. Not sure about Mauricio, but I remember both Adkins and Koeman saying they didn't like it.
Special mention for Toby's free kick...could have gone in on another occasion. We have to keep this guy....so versatile.
That free kick reminded me of another great central defender also known for his attacking ability and lethal free kicks. Some Dutch guy used to play for Barca...
Totally 100%. I know we're not perfect with harangueing the ref but if there was a league table we'd be near the top, meaning best not to. Chelsea, MU, WHU near bottom.
Funny thing is I think that the Chelsea goalkeeper had to play equally as well as Forster to keep us out. He made 2 or 3 excellent saves and looked solid. Forster seems to rely on his quick reactions and still doesn't totally fill me with 100% confidence. When Fonte expected him to come and collect, it was hard to tell who was 'at fault' as you couldn't really see what Forster was up to on the TV, so he gets the benefit of any doubt on that one. However I think he should be a tad more dominant on crosses and use his height and physique better. Please note, I am being picky but by making him Mom it implies that we were totally under the cosh whereas we had a number of really good chances saved by Courtois.
No keeper since Niemi has filled me with 100% confidence. Forster is the best shot stopper we've had for a long time though. It's when he has time to think that his decision making isn't always the best, but he'll be working hard on that (with Kelvin Davis, whose reading of situations always struck me as being excellent). The lad can only get better.
Exactly that. Even the commentators were surprised when they saw it in slow motion. Its actually hard to remember when a player last fell 'naturally'. I would like to see a situation where every time there is any exaggeration then the free kick is not given. Of course that would mean that free kicks would have to be given even if players stay on their feet and referees generally aren't good at that. That said, I read somewhere that referees make correct decisions 95% of the time. If our players were 95% 'perfect' I suspect we'd be pretty happy!
One thing that Kelvin was superb at was his starting position. He was great with angles. I hope he gets a coaching role somewhere (here preferably).
Of course the 2nd one isn't. I'm saying the 1st one could be with a super strict ref. The 2nd one is a nailed on yellow. What you don't seem to understand is that a referee that you think is good can have a bad game. You don't have to defend any referee you like like your life depends on it. Ivanovic didn't deserve the penalty for being such a drama queen. There was not enough contact to bring him to ground so he had to dive like a salmon. The guy is a joke. It's best to leave it at that whilst picturing Pelle's reaction to him at the end of the match. Ivanovic is a baby for such a big guy.
I think we can see that Tintin's views are coming from a partisan standpoint, rather than an objective one...
