All ref's from all sports have made mistakes since time memorial, It is part and parcel of the game, We have all benefited and we all have lost out and that will never ever change im afraid, Linesmen make more mistaken calls than any ref anyway with their off side calls and that causes more frustration than anything and that is the area that needs technology to come into play,. The ref's job is very dificult to get spot on and does more running per game than most players.
That's my take too Phil. I don't dislike Dean because of mistakes. He's only human like everyone else and the game is played at such a pace these days.
Our record with Mike Dean as the Ref unbeaten in 2 years!! 2014 - 2016 Played 6 Won 2 (Man Utd twice at Old Trafford) Drawn 4 (Palace twice, Spurs and West Ham all at the Liberty) Since we have in PL Played 14 W4 L6 D5 We have lost to Man City, Chelsea and Man Utd (2011) Spurs 2012 Cardiff 2013 Southampton 2014 We have drawn with Reading (2012) Beat Stoke and West Brom (2014)
I think being analysed on TV doesn't make him the star of the show as this happens to refs in all games and just highlights his competence and as Baps stats shows he is not anti Swans.
Lawro forecasts a Swans victory "If Swansea do not beat Aston Villa, then I would be seriously worried about them, especially because of what the three points will do for their survival prospects. The trapdoor has opened a little more for Villa after their defeat by Tottenham, while Swansea will know they can move a big step closer to safety by winning this one. Lawro's prediction: 2-0"
I was actually scared and hoping this prediction wouldn't happen . I am afraid .....although , we may already be safe ... Stranger things have happened . Two seasons ago , we would be safe now .
Don't worry, the computer's injected some sense and balance into the debate... SAM's verdict Most probable score: 1-0 Probability of draw: 24% Probability of home win: 59% Probability of away win: 17% I'm not sure what to expect personally, I just hope we can be positive and go for this one. They're there to be beaten.
lowro has it about right for this game. We are not exactly a goal making team and will find it very hard to score, It wont come as any surprise to me if it ends 0-0 or a low scoring draw....hope we win though..
Just by waking up from a deep sleep we scored 2 against Bournemouth ,Villa have good players but are not playing as a team , we have that advantage so even if its not a stroll in the park I expect us to be able to score at least one goal , maybe thats all we'll need .
I can see us scoring 3 tomorrow just hope we only give away 1 3 points, a defeat for Palace and Norwich and a draw in Toon/Sunderland derby and I will be a happy man
I do agree with Lawro that if we can't beat Villa, especially given how much we need this win ourselves, then we have to look in the mirror. Villa are a poor, poor side - there's no two ways about it. If we approach this game in a defensive manner then management needs waking up. This is a game that the Swansea of 5 years ago would have thrived on. I think back to the days in the Championship - beating Leeds and Norwich 3-0 when we needed it; in League 1 beating Doncaster (our closest rivals) 4-0 away from home when the pressure was on; and then in the PL - our first win, a 3-0 win against West Brom when we went into the game badly needing a goal, not just a win. When the chips have been down in the past, we've usually come up trumps by going at teams and smashing them out of the ball park. Against VIlla we should be doing just that. We have the attacking talent to tear them a new one, and I wish I could do the team talk prior the match today to tell them exactly that!
If we don't beat Villa today then we deserve to go down. However, we will win this comfortably and I'm going for a 3-0 victory and PL safety secured
Hoping for 3 points from this game so we can move into an experimenting phase the remainder of the season in preparation for next season .
A bit worried about the ease most think we will win today , banana skin scenario in the making if we don't take the game serious and Villa play 10% better . If not for a goal 4 minutes from time last game against them , we would have had a draw . I'm sure Guido and Curtis will have them focused on the importance of the 3 points though ... still , I'm a bit nervous .
