The sending off definitely changed the game because we were 1 nil in front with 11 men and then the ref stupidly sends off Ivanovic. That was not a red card it was a yellow for me. Chelsea didn't play too bad as we still scored 2 goals with 10 men against Man City. Looks like Torres is back I'm glad he scored a goal. It's good that there were several Englishman in Chelsea's XI Sturridge, Bertrand, Lampard, Terry and Cole. We will see a different Chelsea when Marin and Oscar are involved. What did you think of the game?
I agree . Carding now seems to run to giving an opponent a dirty look! For the sake of the game refs must allow the game to flow and only get involved when there has been a deliberate assault!
Your otulokk is everything I hate about the modern game. Tackling is a dying art and you can see players backing out of tackles because of the consequences if they do. Oh for the days of a good sliding tackle!
Not the best tackle, but in a charity match with several blatent fouls unpunished, ridiculously harsh from a piss poor referee. Someone needs to explain things to these refs, they destroy too many games. Still, we were very sluggish, way too slow , gave the ball away all day, especially Cole and Mikel who had awful games,and looked second best from the off. That said, City were no worldbeaters.No suprise at this early stage. Can't see anything different from last season with us, same faults, same strengths. Hope the new players bring some flair to our attack, we sure need some from a midfield devoid of ideas , with talented players not seeming to be in their correct positions. Go on all you like about right backs and forwards, for me we need a creative midfielder to orchestrate things. Wesley Sjneider anyone ???
yeah it's getting ridiculous now. Even perfect tackles get penalised. The ref even blew for a free kick against Lamps even though he won the ball fairly.
I'm pretty sure now it doesn't matter if you win the ball or not (as ridiculous as It sounds) it's now the ref's interpretation of "Intent" which is ****ing ridiculous.
I blame American society, you know the one the one the harps on about freedom and democracy, but in really is a cabal of autocrats and fiscal aristocracy. Today we all sue. We sue if your neighbour looks at you funny. OK now the serious bit. I can see the other side of not tackling. The sport is sold to children, financed by their parents. Marketing demands a wholesome and positive game with no nasty icky fighting, bad for sales. Back this up with numerous players having their (lucrative) careers ended by reckless challenges and you have a real drive to make soccer non contact. Now an acting maxim. Without conflict there is no drama. This is the heart of the dilemma for the marketing people. They want excitement, but they also want clean honest cola drinking fun in expensive footwear. Hence the ridiculous situation where a contact sport is inconsistently officiated, which increases given the importance of the match. At the moment it is a no win situation. There is the real concern for those odd time a player gets really injured. It has been decided to make the rules strict, but allow the officials interpret the letter of the law on a match to match basis to introduce flexibility. All football fans see with this approach is inconsistency.
