aye, maclean was poor today, head down running and simpson played well, he dealt with him comfortably - i rate the lad, but not to the extent as some on here, and today he showcased a lot of his poorer qualities. he was made to look worse by there being no sessegnon next to him second half mind, as sess keeps the ball when we break and allows maclean space - with no sess we had no game plan and there was only one team in it.
Disagree - I feel he showcased alot of his good qualities, hes a willing runner, works hard, not the most skillful but he'll do everything for the team which I think he did 2day. Ben Arfa was unbelievable 2day tho, skill personified.
Yes. Gervinho slapped Barton in the face. Violent conduct, Barton made a meal out of it to make sure the referee saw it. Simple as that. These arent cheat situations where the violent conduct didn't actually occur but it was made out to be. The violent conduct DID happen, and it was a red card offence whether the victim of it play acted or not. Obviously if someone acted to get a violent conduct offence when it wasn't really one, then that would be unacceptable.
hmmmmm, i just feel he can play head down football at times and today, when we needed to keep the ball, he was trying to tear off on a run on his own. with the extra man, newcastle were doubling up, taking the ball off him and coming at us again. he's still the bargain of the season imo. and ben arfa was the best player on the pitch, by a looonng way.
very good point chappaz, i daresay there's few football the fans the world over who would endorse the sort of play acting we saw today if there was a cast-iron guarantee the referee would see everything. fact is, sessegnon elbowed tiote in the face, a red card offence, and tiote was making absolutely certain the ref had to deal with it. it's not exactly chivalrous but that's the way the game is.
I'd be very happy to see all of this play-acting gone from the game if it was possible, but the unfortunate fact is that teams can't afford to do that yet, as the referee is only human and is capable of missing clear-cut offences. I don't think Tiote needed to do it today as the referee was about 6 foot away and saw exactly what Sessegnon did, but I think players just do it by default to play it safe at all times. You're right when you say that it's just how the game is these days.
Dissapointing. So McClean on Simpson/Cabaye on Bardsley in the 1st game/Catts on Tiote (none of which I think r reds) are only yellows but Gervinho on Joey is a red?
tiote plays the game with his elbows caught gardner 3 times and got away with it,and for simpson he had to have hlep to contain mclean.
Tote raked his studs down cattermoles heel. Which in itself is a red card. But we never got a free kick. In the incident leading up to sessegnon red he kicked sessegnon 3 times with no punishment. So, although I don't condone what sessegnon did and agree he had to go for it, had the ref done his job earlier it would never have happened. Tiote should've been sent off for that rake down the back of cattermoles ankle long before anything else. Mcclean got booked for winning the ball and Tim Krul raised his hands to Mcclean in that incident but didn't even get spoken to. If "raising your hands" constitutes a red then Krul should've gone for pushing McLean in the chest and neck. Although McLean stood up to him instead of rolling around like a girl after the push
Difference is McClean can handle himself lad, its part of the honesty he shows whilst playing the game and although a good quality he will learn with time how to be cuter/craftier as it seems to be the way the game is going.
Tiote got a pussy slap - it deserved a red card, so Tiote made sure he was fairly dealt with. But it gives me no pleasure to see any of our players roll around like that. Re Cattermole's red, how long will he be suspended?
You just completely answered your own question there mate. Sess caught Tiote in the face - red card offence. However...if Tiote hadn't reacted the ref wouldn't have given it and that could have been detrimental to our final result. So all this chat that Tiote is soft, Tiote is a pathetic girl is just laughable from you lot, as clearly it was a delayed simulation (which I do not condone btw) rather than genuine pain. Either he cheated or he is soft (most likely the former judging by the huge delayed reaction). NOT BOTH.
but thats ok because Tiote whacked Cattermole in the face 30 seconds earlier and "held his hands up to say it was accidental" (btw thats a BBC quote not mine)
