I'm sure....but still a poor game and poor outcome.....really can't get that excited about this competition.
So 2 of last years Premiership relegated teams re-gain promotion whilst the other languished in 12th.
Can't stand Ronaldo, he should get a Lifetime Achievement Award for being a career swanker. Think l'll go and rip my shirt off and flex my pecs just for the sake of it.
I thought Clattenburg should have sent off Pepe for that repeated play acting like he'd been hit by Mike Tyson today. He looked like he was thinking about it and bottled it. Football education for all the kids around the world watching that would have benifted by an immediate red for that sh*te. Ramos should have got the same for that cynical potential leg breaker.
Well said. In an age where every game is televised from 57 different angles, the FA still churns out the same old cobblers about interfering with the referee's control and the time it would take to have TV replays. FIFA and EUFA are even worse. They do nothing at all. If it had been a minnow you can bet that the ref would have been persuaded to send the actor off. Pepe should face a charge of bringing the game into disrepute and his club should be punished retrospectively. More importantly refs have the power to book for dissent and for diving. The rule should be changed to make it clear that where a player feigns that he has been seriously injured by foul play that he must be sent off. It should not be in the ref's discretion. In such a situation, the ref should have the power to call for an instant video replay which is displayed in the stadium on the big screens and a ruling from a video referee. I would love to see Real's galactico lawyers try to wangle their way out of that one. Just as we have here, an unsuccessful appeal should lead to a big increase in the original ban. It will only take one or two examples preferably the bigger the better and the football world ie the fans will be all the better for it. Just a thought. Then again they could spend all their time concentrating on how to ensure that only Real Madid and Barcelona can ever win the biggest trophies and access to the European competitions can be restricted simply to the Spanish, English and German teams. Sky will then have its wish of being able to televise Real v Barca v Man Utd v Chelsea all the time. That single step would have the effect of cleaning up the game instantly
I just rather enjoyed a game where most of the players could pass the ball first time and were keen to try and beat the player in front of them. It wasn't a classic but it wasn't bad either. Some behaviour was bad but nothing out of the ordinary. Until FIFA/UEFA/the FA/PL say we are actually going to punish you for play acting, wrestling at corners etc the referees are screwed, they could send off 5 players in the first 20 minutes and would never ref again.
Agree the football authorities need to make the consequences of play acting, diving, all simulation, wrestling at corners more clear and for all clear simulation like Pepe's the result a direct red card. But still Clattenburg should have sent him off yesterday for repeated serious unsporting behaviour. Pepe like Emlyn Hughes some forty something years ago does this repeatedly at great cost to football's image and to millions of stomachs.
Now that match will have to be the highlight of my footballing weekend. I missed all the action yesterday as I was out of town for my daughters graduation - a Masters in Health Management and Administration, following a BA (Psychology), much more employable credentials - really glad that she was head-hunted at a job fair and gained employment in the healthcare sector following end of classes, otherwise with $58,000 of accumulated student debt she was threatening to move back home to her old basement bedroom.
Good on Barnsley - an early goal bodes well for a good match - no dragging out a 0-0 scoreline, Millwall will have to come out and play.
