Match Day Thread Reading v Hull City

Even the Police are taking the piss!

 

Are Reading scrutinising the goal Wilkes scored in the 8th minute which was mysteriously ruled out for offside ? Or the one Tyler Smith scored in the 80 min. which was as debatable a decision as both of these ridiculous penalty shouts they are whinging about ?

 

I hate penalties me.

Obviously I'm not going to complain when we get one, let's get that out of the way. And I'm not talking about shootouts here, just penalties awarded in play.

I really don't like how they have such a decisive impact on a game, but are awarded, or denied based on such subjective criteria. I don't like how a lot of the time, a whole game comes down to someone's interpretation of whether or not a guy on the corner of the area was 'clipped' or whether a defender naturally or unnaturally touched the ball with his arm, again usually in the corner of the area where there isn't really any danger of a goal. To me, in those situations, the precise, split-second verdict on what happened isn't really the point; the point is that either way, a free shot at goal from 12 yards, which is probably going to result in a match-deciding goal, is way over the top. Those two Reading ones are perfect examples. They're nothing incidents but could easily have been penalties. It'd have been really harsh on us because they were nowhere near scoring either time, but I can also totally understand their frustration because penalties like that are given quite often.

I don't know how I'd change it, but I wish the game could move away from penalties being so important. So many games are decided by a penalty award or lack of. So much analysis and debate is about the minutiae of who brushed up against who, and then there's all the diving and playing for penalties. I think it's really tacky that the most useful thing to do when you're on the edge of the box out wide like Swift was, is to try and be fouled. It'd be great if that incentive to appear to have been fouled was removed.

 

Totally agree, when you listen to ex professionals giving their so called expert advice and they say “ he felt him near so went down “ or that “ he played for that penalty “ as if it’s the right thing to do.. mate it’s just ****ing cheating and you should hang your head in shame for thinking anything other…. Alan ****ing shearer is the worst.. nob ed !!!!

 

I agree, you should never 'win' a penalty, or a free kick. To describe it as such taints the sport.

I also get irritated by the different standards applied inside and outside of the box. The rules don't differentiate, so why should the officials?

 

Have a look at last weekends Bayern vs Dortmund game, Jude Bellingham in bother for criticising the referee over two penalty decisions. A referee who has a questionable past according to him.

 

It wasn't according to him, he did in fact have a dodgy past. He was banned for 6 months in 2005 for his part in a match fixing scandal.

 

I think that's another symptom of the penalties issue. Referees know that a penalty is a huge thing to give, so they're more reluctant to give them than any other offence. Which gives us this double standard where a foul outside the area isn't a foul inside the area.

 

Hated the way the Watney Cup semi final with Man Utd was decided by them in 1970. We had matched them man for man over the full 90 mins and extra time then we threw it away by allowing our goal keeper, Ian McKechnie to take one. Don't think anyone had ever seen a keeper take a penalty before then. It reduced a nail biting cup tie into a bit of side show, especially when he smacked it against the bar and the ball shot into the South Stand seats ( or so it seemed) I thought at the time, and can still feel the disappointment now, that we had thrown a rare chance of silverware away.

 

Waggy regarded it all as a joke. One of my first football idols, and favourite non City player, Denis Law became the first to miss a penalty. 34,000 there. Two weeks later I was one of less than 40 City fans at Swindon to see Terry Neill's first league game.

 

I see the lawman(fantastic player) was up in Aberdeen unveiling his statue with Alex Ferguson last week(maybe the week before). I think he's 81 now? As an aside,he looked very frail...

 

Mentioned it before but when he was 14 Curtis Woodhouse had scouts from a lot of teams watching him. His dad told me went he went to Manchester City 20 or so young lads were amazed to see their dad's leave them and rush off to surround someone who had come out of the office at the training ground. It was Denis Law, who meant nothing to them, who was working for them at the time.

 

The fish and chip shop in Torry, I used to use has a letter from Dennis Law on the wall who always stopped there whenever he was in Aberdeen giving his praises of the establishment.