So, you have just gone 3-1 down with half an hour remaining. The opposition scents blood and have just had a five minute spell that threatens to overwhelm you, what do you do? You could shore up the defence with a couple of substitutions and try to ensure that the damage to your goal difference isn't exacerbated. But wait, is it a bird, is it a plane? No,in these circumstances you can't get better than a Kwik-fit fitter. It's time for Grant to gauge the pressure and attempt to lever a point from our friends from The North and, on balance, it's the best chance we have although admittedly, unlike the man himself, a slim one. The commentators scoff. City have lost their width now and despite the Big Man's reputation he won't get the opportunities to crack this one. Then Lady Luck reveals a big row of pearly teeth. Robinson is rooted to the spot as the ball balloons over him into the net, it's 2-3 with eight minutes remaining. The fourth official holds up a "5".Not quite Torville and Dean, but it will have to do, there is hope. Steve Kean thinks it's a load of Bolero. Two minutes left and the Lady laughs out loud. The English Hero goes down thirty yards out. The free kick curls into the box and the ball hits an outstretched hand in a blue and white shirt. Unbelievably the Man in Black points to THEIR spot, not ours. Well it is nearly Halloween but this really is spooky, we don't do penalties, well not this way round. Deep into injury time, a spot kick to save the game and 26,000 watching, no pressure then. A tricky question, who would you trust in such a situation? Step up Grant Holt. The kick has power and it has direction. The keeper launches himself the right way and he nearly gets to the ball but in the next fraction of a second, a blink of an eye, the net bulges and The English Hero is off on that mad, ecstatic run that tells us just one thing. He's done it again!!!
Holt and Morrison need to play together. They will be shot hot, make no mistake. Lambert just has to sort the type of midfield he needs to support them. He has enough quality players, he just needs to figure out how best to use them. Saying that, Jackson looked good too. **** it, let's have the three of em up front. Go for a 4-2-4 formation with pilkington, Jackson, holt and Morrison up front. Fox and Johnson holding midfielders lol
Let's not carried away here guys, we where lucky to make that comeback, prior to hitting the Blackburn player Johnson's shot was going nowhere near the back of the net, and we'd of been upset to concede that penalty. But at the same time, have to praise Holt for producing a finish like that, anything less and it would have been saved.
Yes, we were lucky to get the pen. Paul Merson said it was the worst decision he'd seen all season. He obviously didn't see the horror penalty given against us vs Stoke! It wasn't even in the box!!!!!!
As I said in an earlier post over the course of the season the luck tends to balance itself out. We were very unlucky against Stoke and Chelsea with some very bad decisions going against us, but then in our last two matches it has swung back the other way... we played great at Anfield, but on another day could have been beat 7 - 2! and we were very, very lucky yesterday to come away with a point imo. I'd say all in all we are about even now. Lambo has a lot of problems to sort out though, I'm a bit worried that teams are starting to work us out a bit and we are in danger of getting badly stung before long on a day when we dont get so lucky.
Although i am exceedingly happy we are in 8th position in the Premier League, it is worrying to see how our defence has been carved up and exposed in the last 2 games. We don't have any problems going forward (well our finishing could be little better) but at the back we look a little frail. We have great attacking defenders, they just need to be much tighter at the back. If we don't correct this quickly , i can see Arsenal and Man City scoring a hatful. Don't want to see all this great work undone so easily. We are much better defensively then we have shown in the last 2 games, I really hope they get them selves together on Saturday against Villa................as ever can't wait OTBC
I don't understand why anyone would see the penalty as hard. Questions to ask, Did the ball hit his hand? Yes. Was it in the penalty area? Yes. Whether he meant to do it or not is irrelevant. For a deliberate handball he would have been booked or sent off depending on severity. It is not like it was a point blank shot which struck him and he had no way of avoiding. He took his eye off the ball, that is not our fault. As a result of taking his eye off the ball the ball hit him in the hand and went away from out strikers. My honest opinion is that it is the defenders responsibility to be aware of where the ball s, if they lose it then that is their own fault and cannot be used as an excuse for not awarding a pen. That handball elsewhere on the pitch would have been a free-kick. Bing in the penalty area should make no difference. Intention should also make no difference.
Further to above, there is nothing in the rules of the game to say that for a handball to be given a player must intentionally handle the ball to gain an advantage. If the ball is struck at a defender with power leaving him helpless to avoid contact then I can understand it, but if a player loses sight of the ball and it hits him then it is his own fault. He should have been more aware. This kind of pen is often not given, IMO players are protected too much from this kind of error these days. The only question really is was he fouled in the moments immediately before? and I don't think he was.
Kenny. My view on it is if the ref would have given a free kick in the middle of the pitch, then he must surely give a penalty in the area. Simple!! Far too many people, in my eyes, think that to be a penalty, the offence should be serious. All a penalty is, is a direct free kick in the box. If a free kick would be given anywhere else on the pitch, then it surely must be a penalty if in the box.
It's one of those grey areas where we were happy to get the decision.I am guessing if it was reversed we would all be pretty unhappy.Yes it was unintentional,yes he brought it on himself by putting his hands above his head for no reason other than to try to get a free kick his way,which IMO it wasn't anyway.The ref gave it,in 75% of cases I think he would not have done.
what i would say is that although i felt it was harsh, some of the pundits labelling it as 'the worst decision ever' and 'an astonishingly bad decision' need their heads examining! any fool can see why the ref gave it - the bloke bloody handled it!! was their intent? no, not to handle it. what was he doing? god knows - i've watched it a few times and he is appealing for a completely non-existent foul - he gets slightly sandwiched but it wasn't enough for him to throw his limbs up in the air!! play to the whistle lad. just for the record the worst penalty decision i've ever seen was when i went to a match at bury where a player, hands down by his side, got the ball square in the face... it knocked him out! ref gave a penalty for handball they lost 1-0 thanks to that penalty!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4524354.stm Kenny, I think you might be stretching the rules a wee bit. Handball does have to be deliberate, the problem is what is deliberate.
And I guess one of points made in the article, is the extent to which a hand/arm is not in a usual position, thereby potentially gaining an advantage, which is exactly what happened.
longsight, do you think the way nzonzi flung his arms about made it look more deliberate from the refs point of view? its possible. either way it was probably the wrong decision but i can totally see why it was given - it was a blatant handball, it just wasn't deliberate
I think that is exactly the point,and the one the ref will make to justify his decision.As Pyjamas points out what the hell was he doing throwing his hands up in the air inside the box? That is asking for trouble.I think his reaction after the spot kick was given says it all,he was walking away rubbing his eyes on his shirt.I think if you really thought that you had done nothing wrong your reaction would be anger not to have a blub.He lost his head in the heat of the moment and he realised afterwards what he had done.
It seems that a lot of refs interpret hands in unusual positions as a way of gaining advantage, therefore deliberate. It's not well operationalised. My main point is that according the rules handball has to be viewed as deliberate, which is why we get all the debates, unless someone catches the ball!
Most of all, I'm bloody glad he gave it and even more impressed with the penalty. I think it is pretty crucial not to lose games against teams from the lower half, so it was a great point after not playing that well in the second half
It was without doubt one of the best taken penalties I have ever seen, just absolutely perfect particularly under the circumstances.
