Played much football have we COL? Must have been a lot of red cards if so. Assaulted, howay man grow a pair will you. You've made me chuckle anyway.
Whats me playing football got to do with it? I've never flown a plane but I know a ****ing crash when I see one. Grow a pair man, admit Barton was in the wrong and was very lucky not to be sent off. Even he has admitted that he dived.
Barton should not have grabbed Gervinho, he has admitted as much. He deserved a yellow, he got one. Its in the rules, he'd only get sent off if he actually tried to strike him which he didn't. The gamesmanship is part and parcel of football, like Song standing on his leg. You couldn't really book him for that because he was slapped even if not forceful enough to send him down. Of course its relevant if you've played football, you'd then understand that these kinds of things happen all the time up and down the country every week hundreds of times. It's always more relevant a comment if someone has actually played the game. It is not possible to fully understand the game in context if you've never played it. Its one of the reasons we such howlers from refs who haven't played the game.
So the first offence of grabbing the player deserves a yellow, what does the second offence of trying to con the ref deserve? It’s also blatant and admitted cheating. Are you just going to ignore that fact because it doesn't fit in with your blinkered argument? Like I said, grow a pair and admit he should have had a red. As for the second (I won't use the word point because it really isn't) paragraph, I played football at school but was never any good so didn't play after. However I have watched football for over 30 years. I know the rules of the game (obviously better than you because you don't know that diving is cheating) and I can see when they are being broken. Being unable to play the game at professional level does not invalidate my opinion. That is a ridiculous statement. Laughable, truly laughable. To follow your argument to its logical conclusion this message board and everyones opinion on it is wrong because we've never played in the premier league. Try again, or will you continue to defend the indefensible with ill thought out and specious clap trap.
All people want is some sort of consistency from refs.. I recall KJones being sent off (last season?) just for gently pushing a guy in the chest, then suspended of course, as you can't lift a hand against an opponent. Barton gets hold of the Arsenal guy by the scruff ofthe neck and verbalises him and is yellow carded. I don't like to see people being sent off, but let's have some consistency ...
of course have an opinion but thats a different subject, i was asking if anything was happening to him not how you viewed it...
Not at all, no where have I said that because someone has not played football, it invalidates their opinion. Of course it does not. Its like the clowns on these forums who claim you're not a true supporter unless you go to the match, and that somehow those of us lucky enough to go are some kind of super supporter. Absolute bollocks. But it stands to reason that to fully understand what happens on a pitch and the emotions involved, you need to have played. It doesn't need to be at professional level, just regular football at any level. The same stuff goes on with gamesmanship etc. You don't get booked twice for one incident, very rare in football. The ref has booked Barton for grabbing Gervinho. The reason he doesn't get booked for jumping on the floor is quite simple. He has been struck. Its the same with diving to be honest. Gervinho would not get booked for diving because there has been contact, just not enough to send him over. I don't like Bartons play acting but I'm also aware that this does go on in football and it wil never change. You say you know the rules and when they're being broken. That's all well and good, but we all know its how you apply those rules which makes a good referee. Common sense needs applied and every situation is different. You have to be able to understand the context and the intent. Just my opinion. Nothing indefensible and not about trying again. You seem to think my job is to change your opinion? It isn't I am merely giving a different opinion to your own. The bottom line is though with your reasoning, football matches would regularly be reduced to 9 or 10 men because of sticking to rigidly to the rules. I think KJ should not have been sent off either, I suppose their disctinction would be he has actually struck his opponent but for me are getting way too soft. Its a sport which involves high levels of adrenalin and physical contact. Now and again it will spill over. That's fine with grabbing and pushing and shoving, the unwritten rule is just don't raise your hands to strike an opponent. Consistency is a problem and I think it comes from some refs not understanding all the emotions involved with playing a match. Did KJ really cause any serious damage? No is the honest answer.
Both should have been sent off and Taylor should be retrospectively yellow carded for deliberately lying and trying to influence the referee. I think Saturday will be a tight affair and if it wasn't a derby and Newcastle weren't our rivals it'd be a home win but derbies are unpredictable.
Sorry, that isn't the bottom line at all. No amount of you trying to end the discussion by claiming to be more knowledgable because you've played more than me is going to make it the bottom line either. The real bottom line is Barton started a fight and then cheated the ref. He should have been red carded. You can dress it up as much as you want, you can claim that the opinion of people who haven't played isn't as valid as those who have, you can try to turn it into a debate about refs, you can even claim that its subjective and only your opinion. But we all watched the incident and we all know the facts. Barton started a fight and then play acted in front of the ref and got a player sent off. He is a cheat and should have been red carded for the assault on Gervinho.
Can't agree I think you're wrong. We'll have to agree to disagree. And no matter how much you may think you're right, it won't make it fact. It really doesn't bother me you think he's a cheat, that's your problem and misunderstanding. Same goes for trying to twist what I've said. To make it clear again so you understand, at no point have I said that one persons opinion counts for less than another. I have simply said that when applying the laws of football to the game, it helps to have actually played said game to understand the emotions involved and how they impact on the game. Happy to stand by that statement and believe it definetly gives you a better understanding of what goes on on a football pitch. It most certainly does. As for your royal "we all saw the incident", speak for yourself not for the masses. And a bit of advice for you too as I'm such a nice guy, if that's what constitutes a fight in your book, I'd suggest you steer clear of actual fights. They're not very nice and a wee bit more lively than the handbags of Saturday. Of course if he had started a fight we'd be having a different discussion but I suppose it highlights how warped your view is by who you support. Looking forward to the derby (Joey included)
And why the hell didn't the ref blow for a penalty when he dragged him off the floor by his shirt, because the whistle had not been blown so therefore the game was still in play?
I know what you mean but that would also have been a nonsensical application of the law. Common sense as I say, thought the ref had a really good game to be honest. Dealt well with a physical encounter.
The ref clearly didn't see it. He was twenty yards away and running in the opposite direction. I think if he saw it he would have gone. He got a yellow. Does that mean it can't be dealt with again? I think it does. If the ref didn't give anything the FA could have made a decision. I think thats right but prepared to be corrected.
Tiote wasn't himself against Arsenal, his passing is usually deadly accurate but it just wasn't there. Probably has something to do with him not training with the team because of his vise for a few weeks and general start of season rustiness, but imo it means we're really gonna need Barton in the derby
Well mr Warm Pouch, why did you write: "Of course its relevant if you've played football, you'd then understand that these kinds of things happen all the time up and down the country every week hundreds of times. It's always more relevant a comment if someone has actually played the game. It is not possible to fully understand the game in context if you've never played it." If you don't mean it? Is it some sort of Tourettes? Because that paragraph is saying that you need to play football to understand it. Then you back track and say you don't mean it. See, just like the incident itself, we can all see what really happened and no amount of rewriting history to suit yourself is going to change that. Now man up or shut up. You're wrong. Oh, and in regard to your "nice guy advice", I boxed for 12 years, 8 years heavy weight and 4 at super heavy, I need no advice on fighting thanks Mr nice guy; although I do allow those who have never boxed to have an opinion on it.
He'll play IMO. He went down easy but it isnt a dive if you were struck (yes, I know it was the most pathetic slap ever). What he actually said was he only went down to make sure the ref knew he hit him (if he didnt go down, Gervinho wouldnt have been sent off). Anything to gain an advantage in sport.
Boxing and fighting are two very different things. One has rules. Out of interest, would you say you have a better feeling of what it is like to be a boxer because you've actually done it as opposed to just watched it? I would certainly admit that I reckon I understand that nervous excitement/dread you get when you first step in the ring. The adrenalin is unreal. Again you are still misreading that sentence, I thought I'd cleared it up for you but to explain again. Just about any opinion on football is a valid one. Its just that in applying the laws of the game to the game itself, it is easier to empathise with a footballer if you've played also. You understand that playing football is an emotional rollercoaster at times, ranging from sheer delight, to pure anger. Therefore when assessing a situation you can judge better what the intention is. Like Song on Saturday. To the untrained eye his actions on Saturday would seem pretty nasty. When you play football and this is done to you, you understand it is not a particularly malicious act, more one designed to wind someone up. It doesn't really hurt but is bloody annoying. Fast forward a day and its being put about everywhere that he has stamped on him! Obviously the journalists just want a good story but the you then have some of those who never played the game, viewing the footage, reading the article and deciding he has indeed stamped on him. As I say we'll have to agree to disagree as I'm quite happy with my standpoint. It really doesn't matter whether you think I'm wrong, afterall your opinion carries no more credence than my own or anyone elses. Man up and accept that people have different opinions to your own.
I certainly know how it feels better than someone who has never boxed, but I don't necessarily have a better understanding of the rules. Which is what you implied in the first case. See I'm talking about Barton cheating and breaking the rules. You won't accept that what he did was a red card offence when it clearly was. He grabbed (assaulted) a player then exaggerated his fall in order to influence the refs’ decision. It’s a red card offence. Whether you think it’s not is irrelevant. It’s in the rules and that’s what counts. You keep trying to change what has happened, what you said and now change the debate altogether. It’s not a matter of stand points; it’s a matter of facts. I don't like lemon curd, my wife does, that’s two standpoints and opinions. The fact that it comes in jars and is yellow is fact. Joey Barton committed a red card offence. That is fact.
In my opinion there should be no room in the game for the likes of Barton and his ilk...He has been given more chances than the bloody Monopoly world champion, and yet he still hasn't learned any lessons...He is a representative of the dregs of society, and it saddens me that he is allowed to make a fantastic living out of football despite being nothing but a criminal thug..
