I suppose all we can do in response to Martinez's accusations that we had made some kind of club/team decision to 'take out' his key player is maintain a dignified silence. Mud sticks, though, and he shouldn't be able to spread this kind of lie. Yes, it was a very bad tackle and Johnson was rightfully booked, but I couldn't see any proof whatsoever that there was any deliberate targeting of the Wigan midfielder. Martinez would spend his time more productively if he started looking at his team. He claims that they controlled the second half. No, they controlled 10-15 minutes of the second half and, apart from that brief spell, they were pretty awful.
Sorry but I have no sympathy, we lost Ruddy - our key player...and it didn't stop us from winning or performing!
perhaps we should talk about how his club consistently pulled shirts, tried to dive and feigned injury at every possible opportunity to gain an advantage... honestly, his interview after the match was embarrassing - i like the way he gets his team playing football but he seriously needs a reality check cos everything he said was wrong.
Trouble is, nowadays, they are interviewed virtually as they step off the pitch and they say things that if they reflected on them for 24 hours, they wouldn't say. I have never really understood the "we wuz robbed" attitude of managers when its quite clearly 6 of one and two threes the other. Bit like the Shawcross/Fellaini at the weekend. Yes, Fellaini was out of order but it was his way of telling Shawcross "only one of us can wear this shirt at any one time". But to his credit Moyes didn't inflame it, he reprimanded his own player.
Went some way to him only getting a 3 match ban. IMO, officials need to stamp out the holding/shirt pulling etc that goes on in the box nearly every time there's a corner/free kick or award a penalty each time it happens - it would soon stop then!!! If they can't stamp it out, then at least be consistent - Swansea got a penalty when Holt just slightly tugged an oppopnent's shirt last season, yet we've been denied at least one penalty when a similar (or worse) thing has ahppened to one of our players this season.
Moyes came out of the weekend with total credit but redruth is right, being interviewed immediately after a game is inviting a heap of trouble. Martinez's comments were poor, you would have thought Wigan had lost! Oh hang on.......
The thing that amused me was his comment ' the ref issued a yellow card - that is all he could do ' Really bad tackles are red card offences so if Martinez accepts that it was only a yellow card offence he defeats his own arguement that the tackle was horendous and a planned attempt to take his player out of the game.
Hi bors, methinks he doth protest too much. Compare our disciplinary record with Wigans. "Figueroa is set to miss Saturday's clash with bottom side Queens Park Rangers, as will centre-half Gary Caldwell, who is suspended after a picking up a fifth yellow card of the season" (BBC) Figueroa got a red card for handing a Christmas greeting to the opposition. Not bloody likely. We know this is the pantomime season but for Martinez to claim we targeted his players is farcical. He would fare better on the field of play if he learnt to control his own players. The respect I had for that bloke has disappeared down the toilet.
This is the second serious accusation that has been unfairly level at Johnson, Sanga ridiculous statement that bradley was trying to break his leg last season was just plain wrong. I hope people don't start to believe he is trying to injure players because he clearly isn't.
For me, Martinez ranting could result in Johnson developing some kind of reputation is my only concern. Arsenal's Sagna and QPR's Barton provided Bradley with some unwanted publicity in this regard last season. We need Bradley to continue his current style of play. He's no dirty player.
