There were lots of controversial decisions. Luckily nothing at stake. We had two good penalty shouts, they were denied a cert penalty and Pritchard being sent off. Pritchard assaulted near the end and only a yellow given, etc etc. I think the ref's philosophy was "let the game flow".
Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray: "With respect, in my opinion we should be beating teams like Charlton here at our place. And the fans think so too." T*sser - what respect does that show exactly?
Sheffield Wednesday manager Dave Jones: "Staying in this league will be a far bigger achievement than winning promotion last season to get here." Very perceptive - couldn't agree more. And finishing ninth will be a massive achievement...
Well, I'd have taken a draw (just about, though it finished off the play-off dream) before the match, but at 2-0 up with half an hour to go, the taste is not so sweet. Still, another good point on the road, and nice to hear such a sporting comment from their manager. Maybe he should check the table before kick off, as the form book suggests that away from home, we're no push over.
Mowbray is an idiot- saying stupid things as he can't handle the pressure. They are in trouble next season, Gibson can't afford to outlay any more money and are being forced to dramatically cut costs. Outside bet for relegation IMO. Decent point, but it always leave a sour taste in your mouth when you lose a 2 goal lead. I really hope we can really turn it on against Bristol and finish 9th with one eye on next season and taking everything we've learnt in the last month and turning it in to a play off push. We don't need too much more- that's proven.
Buuuut, watching Alan pardew get hammered 0-6 afterwards was worth it. I often check the Newcastle page after their games- it was only 2 weeks ago they were singing his praises for him going crazy when cisse scored in the 90th minute. Reading their page this morning is a different story
He was left horribly exposed all game - when called on to make actual saves, he looked good. Pardew looked as if he was sucking on a lemon by the end.
Looking at the 'Boro highlights: Pritchard's tackle on Emnes was a stonewall penalty. Even if he touched the ball, tackles from behind that take the legs away are always penalties these days. But not a red card as he was not the last man and another defender might have got a block or deflection in. Stupid tackle from Pritchard and lucky to get away with it. Got to give him props for effort though. Fuller's goal looked definitely offside to me. There was daylight. Not sure why Powell is so insistent it was a good goal. Amazed that Kermit did not shoot then delayed his pass too long. They did not show Fuller's penalty claim. Hope to see that in a full video later this week. Emnes goal was an uncontrolled shin. Funny because he did the same thing earlier and missed. Their second was weird. We had plenty of men there but he was in yards of space. Looked like Devite was asleep but maybe not as I don't know their instructions.
Just watched the highlights- if you freeze-frame the moment of Kermit's pass you'll see Fuller was on-side, time his run perfectly, not that it matters.
