Sad thing is that their manager came out and had a go at the linesman for disallowing their goal after thinking the ref got it wrong sending Power off - surely he has to realise that (and I have no idea whether he was onside), if Power hadn't been sent off, Chances are we'd have won that game comfortably as we were miles on top for the entirety until the sending off - why hasn't he said "I will have words with the players who contrived to get him sent off) by play acting and goading the ref!!
All referees do a proper job. I qualified as a referee in 1996 (I believe a few others on here have done it too) and it is a lot harder than it looks. It doesn't matter how well you think you know the rules, or how single-minded or decisive you think you are, in that split-second you have to make a decision a million different possibilities go through your mind and you don't always pick the right one. It's also amazing just how much self doubt can creep in when you're faced with even a small number of people screaming obscenities at you and telling you you're wrong. Referees (mostly) do a great job and they deserve more respect. I'd like to see them treated by players and fans more like Rugby Union referees are treated.
I see where coming from Norton, it's not an easy job and football can't work without them. Am I right in thinking it's only Prem Refs that are full time or has it gone through all four divisions now. We fans seem to think that they get it wrong more often than they get it right and consistency is another bugbear amongst fans. I've Refereed at a very low level and it's not an easy job, your view of an incident can be completely different to others, like on Saturday, but once you've blown your whistle you generally stick by your decision rightly or wrongly. There's no easy answer to it even VAR isn't perfect but since football started it's a game full of opinions and it's going to continue like that long after I'm gone.
I'm not sure to be honest. I would have thought they'd all have gone pro by now. Totally agree that it's about opinions and even VAR won't change that. As a fan, your bias is always going to fall on the side of your team and so we're all bound to think that referees have got it wrong from time to time. And no doubt they do. I was not cut out to be a referee to be honest but the experience has made me try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Even when that's difficult.
Everybody has a view except the ref who had a view of Honeymans arse. Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk
I said at the time it was pure guesswork from the referee. From our view we cringed when we saw the Walsall player go flying in. There was very little else Power could've done tbh. I was furious when he was sent off at Bradford but totally sympathetic at Walsall. He went in for a typical League One challenge and was sent off for nothing. Thankfully the appeal panel decided it wasn't even worth a yellow. P S. We won 5 points from 3 unbeaten games when he's been sent off and fought back from losing positions! Is this a plan from Ross
I was with Sid, and my son, at the game and we were totally confident we'd get a result at 2-0 down and 10 men ... ... under Moyes, etc we'd have been back in the pub by full time.
There's a good interview with Max on the ALS website if anyone's clever enough to put it on here it's worth a read. This sending off had a real effect on him mentally, interesting to hear what he's had to say about all three redcards this season.
This is it, Cumbrian . . . . SUNDERLAND’S Max Power has described how difficult it was to endure “the toughest few days" of his career following his third red card of the season, having felt that he had to hide away fearing that he would have to serve another lengthy ban. Such were Power’s frustrations and embarrassment after he was sent off at Walsall on Saturday for a strong challenge on Liam Kinsella, that the loan signing from Wigan did not even want to take his children to school at the beginning of the week. In the end the Football Association agreed with Sunderland’s appeal to have the red card rescinded and he was in the team that beat Barnsley on Tuesday night, which would have been the first of a five(or six)-match ban. Power had never been sent off before his move to Sunderland, which is set to become permanent in January, but that suspension would have meant that he had missed 15 games in the first half of the season for Sunderland courtesy of his three dismissals. While the 25-year-old played reasonably well against Barnsley, he definitely lacked some of his tenacity in the middle because he was desperate to avoid being sent off at the Stadium of Light, like he was against Oxford earlier in the campaign before his second at Bradford. “Someone asked me whether the pressure of playing for such a big club has got to me and I’d say no,” said Power. “After Saturday you’re starting to think 'something’s gone wrong here, have I upset someone?' I don’t know, but it was a really tough few days." “I’ve bought into the club, I live in the area, and as you can imagine, doing the school run has been tough at times, but that’s a decision that I’ve made." “First and foremost I’m a parent with two young kids who come first in everything. Monday and Tuesday I didn’t take them to school and that wasn’t a nice feeling knowing that I’ve had to, not hide from problems, but lock myself away. “I was really hit by the decision. It would have been tough to deal with if I hadn’t won the appeal. On Tuesday I didn’t feel like I could put my stamp on the game, but the manager put me in and I probably needed to get over a mental hurdle. I got through 90 minutes and hopefully now I can kick-start my career.” Sunderland manager Jack Ross leapt to Power’s defence immediately after the full-time whistle had been blown at Walsall, claiming that the challenge on Kinsella didn’t even warrant a caution never mind a red. Saddlers boss Dean Keates also suggested that Sunderland should appeal. Power said: “As a player that is really important. I’ve played under other managers who probably wouldn’t have dealt with it as this manager has. To know that I’ve had the support of the manager, the coaching staff, the lads have rallied around as well. It was a strange few days in terms of the emotions." “When the Barnsley game started I felt mentally drained. It didn’t help that they were a good side and we had a bit of a change of formation in the first half as well. That formation showed how devastating we can be, but when we get pinned back it can be quite tough." “Getting through the game was the biggest thing for me and I look forward to Walsall at the weekend now, so I can build up some match-fitness and get back to the performances I showed early in my Sunderland career.” Even if Power is able to build up his match fitness and return to the sort of form that he knows he can deliver by clearing his mind, he knows that he will never want a repeat of what he has encountered. “It’s probably been the toughest few days of my career to date, a roller-coaster of emotions as you can imagine,” he said. “It was disappointing for that to happen again and I was in shock more than anything." “When the ball broke loose on Saturday in a split second I actually thought, ‘stay on your feet,’ which I did. Their lad went in at some velocity and in real time it looked worse than it was, but luckily we had footage from different angles to show that I didn’t make contact with my foot, it was my trailing leg which caught him on his thigh." “I was disappointed with the Walsall players’ reactions, but I understand it. They’ll feel that they would have a better chance of winning the game against ten men. I know that it goes on and maybe that swayed the ref (Craig Hicks), but I’ve got no grudges against the ref, we all make mistakes. “I’m just delighted that I had a bit of justice because it’s been a tough few days mentally. I took a lot of criticism and it’s been tough.” He added: “I think anyone who knows me knows how bubbly I am around the training ground, and on Monday I barely said a word to anyone. It was tough. I had to train not knowing what was going to happen, but I’m just happy that I managed to get the decision in my favour this time." “I get the criticism from the fans. If you’re sat at home on Saturday watching the telly and it pops up that I’ve been sent off, I know that everyone’s going to jump to conclusions. I’m a committed player. Do I have to curb the way I play? Hopefully not." “The thought of being suspended again, until after Christmas, and the mental side of it, was tough. Tuesday was possibly the toughest game of my career to get through in terms of everything. I spoke to a referee that I know on Sunday evening who said that he’d be very surprised if the appeal was successful so as you’d imagine I didn’t sleep very well on Sunday night." “As much criticism as I’ve taken, I‘d like to say thanks to a lot of the fans who’ve stood by me as well. You get good and bad in football and I can deal with that – I’m a big boy, thick-skinned. It was just the thought of missing a lot more football and knowing that I’m not that type of player." “The Bradford red card was an act of silliness and not really in my character. The tackle against Oxford could possibly have been a yellow card, but on Saturday I knew that I hadn’t really made contact, the lad writhed around and the ref was surrounded by players." “Some people probably still think that it was a red, that’s football, everyone’s got an opinion. I’m just delighted that it’s been overturned.” Sunderland will head into Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Walsall confident after extending their unbeaten run to 14 games by defeating Barnsley. Power is expected to start again because he has missed so many this season.
