Rival watch

  • Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
  • Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!
humanbeingincroydon said:
Here's the problem: those refs have been releasing books that suggest that, actually, it turns out that what fans were saying about them for years wasn't far off the mark after all

Howard Webb casually admitted in his book that Alex Ferguson gifted him a £20,000 watch, while Clattenburg mentions the full-on goodie bags he got from Bayern and Barca. That's more than enough to call their impartiality into question

And then there's Jeff Winter mentioning that Alex Ferguson barged into the official's room after their 6-3 loss to Southampton saying he would never ref a Man Utd match again - which wasn't as empty a threat as it seems, considering Winter didn't officiate a single Man Utd match for over two years after that


So no, you cannot explain how it's irrelevant

Because it isn't
Click to expand...

I didn't include Webb as I was never that impressed, but I stand by my point that Clattenburg and Poll were better refs than the likes of Oliver & Taylor and I am sure that they get gratutities today as well. As for Winter that was hardly his fault we know that if Fergie told the FA he didn't like a ref he didn't get them at Old Trafford thats on the FA not Winter, who along with Halsey (who I dislike with a passion for invoking the play til City score rule in 99 play off final) were better refs than current batch.

I know we had issues with Clattenburg with the Battle of the Bridge and Nani scoring at OT from our free kick but in the main he was a very good ref.
 
The Changing Man said:
I didn't include Webb as I was never that impressed, but I stand by my point that Clattenburg and Poll were better refs than the likes of Oliver & Taylor and I am sure that they get gratutities today as well. As for Winter that was hardly his fault we know that if Fergie told the FA he didn't like a ref he didn't get them at Old Trafford thats on the FA not Winter, who along with Halsey (who I dislike with a passion for invoking the play til City score rule in 99 play off final) were better refs than current batch.

I know we had issues with Clattenburg with the Battle of the Bridge and Nani scoring at OT from our free kick but in the main he was a very good ref.
Click to expand...
This is the thing I don't get: there's stories of refs getting freebies, or being blacklisted on the orders of one manager or another, or Danny Simpson outright saying Clattenburgtold a Leicester player he wasn't going to send him off as he wanted them to win the league, and somehow it never gains traction

Obviously this is not even on the same planet as Calciopoli, but it certainly pokes some very large holes in any claim of PL refs not being influenced
 
humanbeingincroydon said:
This is the thing I don't get: there's stories of refs getting freebies, or being blacklisted on the orders of one manager or another, or Danny Simpson outright saying Clattenburgtold a Leicester player he wasn't going to send him off as he wanted them to win the league, and somehow it never gains traction

Obviously this is not even on the same planet as Calciopoli, but it certainly pokes some very large holes in any claim of PL refs not being influenced
Click to expand...
Nothing in life is free from undue influence or even corruption - and it is the most powerful who tend to benefit.
In football terms, Spurs are part of the elite. Big stadium, big crowd, high profile, a lot of exposure etc. I find it hard to accept that Spurs would be on the wrong end of “influenced” decisions, as some like to perceive.
And then there are the refs who want to be the star of the show; those who want to make sure everyone knows they are in charge and won’t be cowed by big names or reputations - in fact, they want to get one over on the big clubs.
But the reality for all teams is that refereeing decisions are a lottery - a combination of undue influence, conscious/unconscious bias, inconsistency and incompetence and badly drafted laws.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Changing Man
littleDinosaurLuke said:
Nothing in life is free from undue influence or even corruption - and it is the most powerful who tend to benefit.
In football terms, Spurs are part of the elite. Big stadium, big crowd, high profile, a lot of exposure etc. I find it hard to accept that Spurs would be on the wrong end of “influenced” decisions, as some like to perceive.
And then there are the refs who want to be the star of the show; those who want to make sure everyone knows they are in charge and won’t be cowed by big names or reputations - in fact, they want to get one over on the big clubs.
But the reality for all teams is that refereeing decisions are a lottery - a combination of undue influence, conscious/unconscious bias, inconsistency and incompetence and badly drafted laws.
Click to expand...
The obvious point is we're not an elite club, at best we're Tom Wambsgans compared to Roy dynasty that is Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and The Sheikh Mansour Team as we may stand near the elite but there's a very clear power imbalance - and there's plenty of times where Greg Hirsch is the fairer comparison, especially in the eyes of officials

As for referees being the star of the show, the interesting thing is that the reason why Pierluigi Collina was treated as a star when he was referee was because he was respected by the players as much as other officials as he called matches fairly, never backed out of having to make a big call, and most importantly when he wasn't having to get involved you wouldn't notice he was there

Compare this to Graeme Poll being such a self-important buffoon he expected his colleagues to call him by the nickname he invented for himself (which is irrelevant, apparently...) which is the clear sign of having an overly-inflated opinion of himself - which is the exact worst kind of person to have in a position where they can be the centre of attention a handful of times per match

If I want a referee who wants to be the centre of attention, I'll watch old episodes of Gladiators on Youtube
 
humanbeingincroydon said:
Here's the problem: those refs have been releasing books that suggest that, actually, it turns out that what fans were saying about them for years wasn't far off the mark after all

Howard Webb casually admitted in his book that Alex Ferguson gifted him a £20,000 watch, while Clattenburg mentions the full-on goodie bags he got from Bayern and Barca. That's more than enough to call their impartiality into question

And then there's Jeff Winter mentioning that Alex Ferguson barged into the official's room after their 6-3 loss to Southampton saying he would never ref a Man Utd match again - which wasn't as empty a threat as it seems, considering Winter didn't officiate a single Man Utd match for over two years after that


So no, you cannot explain how it's irrelevant

Because it isn't
Click to expand...

It clearly is. He retired in 2007. Not sure how that’s relevant to events happening in 2026

Nearly as bad as when someone mention Spurs poor transfers and you go back to Santini <laugh>

Let it goooooo
 
  • Like
Reactions: Diego
humanbeingincroydon said:
The obvious point is we're not an elite club, at best we're Tom Wambsgans compared to Roy dynasty that is Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and The Sheikh Mansour Team as we may stand near the elite but there's a very clear power imbalance - and there's plenty of times where Greg Hirsch is the fairer comparison, especially in the eyes of officials

As for referees being the star of the show, the interesting thing is that the reason why Pierluigi Collina was treated as a star when he was referee was because he was respected by the players as much as other officials as he called matches fairly, never backed out of having to make a big call, and most importantly when he wasn't having to get involved you wouldn't notice he was there

Compare this to Graeme Poll being such a self-important buffoon he expected his colleagues to call him by the nickname he invented for himself (which is irrelevant, apparently...) which is the clear sign of having an overly-inflated opinion of himself - which is the exact worst kind of person to have in a position where they can be the centre of attention a handful of times per match

If I want a referee who wants to be the centre of attention, I'll watch old episodes of Gladiators on Youtube
Click to expand...

Collina retired in 2005 btw

Let it goooooo
 
  • Like
Reactions: Diego
Citizen Kane. said:
0-0 FT

Better outcome than expected tbh. One slip up from them is all it needs.

Wolves down.
Click to expand...
Yeah worked out okay. Was adamant they were going to score from that corner at the end, last minute, foul not given before the corner, what could have gone wrong!
 
SarrMan said:
Wolves officially down. Time for them to turn into prime Barcelona!
Click to expand...
One thing I couldn't help notice was that they didn't get their annual care package from the oilfields last summer, unlike previous years where they got whacking great fees for Ruben Neves or Daniel Podence

Of all the various dodgy things about the Saudi Pro league, there's the noticeable pattern that clubs with ties to Jorge Mendes have made the GDP of a Central American nation in transfer fees in a very short time
 
I feel that the relegation battle is Spurs v West Ham.
West Ham have some tricky fixtures (on paper).
Spurs too, but Wolves might be a chance to level things up.
It may come down to that final day and who does best - Spurs at home to Everton; West Ham v Leeds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back