Dr. Gonzo Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 6 minutes ago, RandoEFC said: Watch any Premier League game next weekend that doesn't involve Man City or Liverpool and you'll see ample evidence of how incompetent the officials are. I'm afraid you're peddling nothing short of a conspiracy theory here mate. If a bad decision against Liverpool is explained by this conflict of interest you're going on about then what's the explanation for every other bad decision that goes against a different team? The media angle is a bit odd as well to be honest. 10% of the discourse I saw about that Forest goal was from the media and 90% of it was Liverpool fans trying to "prove" there was nothing wrong with the goal. I also don't think officials give a fuck what gets said about them and not that many people are talking about these UAE trips. That's probably a better explanation as to why they've continued rather than the fact that there actually is a conflict of interest. I do agree that they should stop though. Yeah, it is a conspiracy theory. But a conspiracy theory doesn't mean something is bullshit, the word conspiracy just means there's a secret plot to do something & a theory is just having a theory about a possible conspiracy. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a conspiracy - people conspired to kill the king. It's not like I'm saying "Man City are the reason we all think this flat earth we live on is round." The fact that bad decisions are just now accepted as the norm just makes it all the more easy to get away with continually giving City benefits with bad decisions - so that's a pretty easy way to explain every other bad decision. The media angle's not that weird - when match of the day spends a significant amount of time bitching about one wrong decision while ignoring others to try to whip up a narrative into place and we're an easy club to whip a narrative up about - just ask Kelvin McKenzie, the Sun, and the Tories. Did match of the day do anything similar with this penalty decision as they did with the dissection of the drop ball? I genuinely don't know, but my guess is nah they didn't. My guess it was just the media wanking over how good of a match it was, because that's most of what I've seen in the media about it. Funnily enough, most Liverpool fans I know weren't trying to "prove" anything with the goal. About half said "yeah Tierney fucked up, but the cunt owes us for the last few years" and others said "yeah Tierney fucked up, he didn't notice Yates karate kick Konate in the head" - maybe twitter and reddit have different narratives, but that's social media not the actual media (and the actual media's more influential). I think officials do give a fuck about what's said about them, otherwise they wouldn't ask broadcasters to tone down the vitriol. And they probably wouldn't issue out statements where they say "whoopsy we fucked up, and we've apologised to the club in question." They want the respect of players, managers, and fans, simply because of their role as authority figures... regardless of whether or not they actually deserve any respect based off their performances in their jobs. I don't think there's any legitimate reason for them to continue the practice of allowing referees to moonlight for leagues owned by people who own clubs in our league. They either don't have any understanding of what a "conflict of interest" is - in which case, they probably shouldn't have any role in an industry worth billions and should be replaced by people who have bare understanding of wanting to appear transparent and ethical. Or they're simply lacking in ethics. Neither is really acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeKhrush Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 69 days left, can't end fast enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 16 hours ago, Stan said: Where would Chelsea be without Palmer?! Most goals/assists from U21 players in Europe Cole Palmer (19) Jude Bellingham (19) Florian Wirtz (18) This is his first full senior season and he's going to end it with Lampard esq numbers. Double digits in goals and assists in a massively underperforming side. He and Malo Gusto have been the best signings we have made in years. I almost wish James is somehow moved into midfield as Gusto has been un-droppable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 2 hours ago, Cicero said: Most goals/assists from U21 players in Europe Cole Palmer (19) Jude Bellingham (19) Florian Wirtz (18) This is his first full senior season and he's going to end it with Lampard esq numbers. Double digits in goals and assists in a massively underperforming side. He and Malo Gusto have been the best signings we have made in years. I almost wish James is somehow moved into midfield as Gusto has been un-droppable. Honestly I think James should have a squad role until he can demonstrate he’s not made of glass. If he’s hardly ever available, Chelsea are better off not having to rely on him regularly. Malo Gusto I think has been your most consistently good player (saying that based off whenever I watch Chelsea he’s usually the only player who looks like he gives a fuck) - I don’t see why James should immediately take his spot in the side. I don’t even think James should necessarily be given a role in midfield immediately - Caciedo will come good eventually & Enzo maybe too. I don’t think it matters how good you are as a player if you can’t regularly get matches for the club. So like us with Thiago, you’re better off planning for the future with him as a big question mark. And if he builds fitness up and wins his place back in the team, the manager should worry about where he fits in the team then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 6 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said: Honestly I think James should have a squad role until he can demonstrate he’s not made of glass. If he’s hardly ever available, Chelsea are better off not having to rely on him regularly. Malo Gusto I think has been your most consistently good player (saying that based off whenever I watch Chelsea he’s usually the only player who looks like he gives a fuck) - I don’t see why James should immediately take his spot in the side. I don’t even think James should necessarily be given a role in midfield immediately - Caciedo will come good eventually & Enzo maybe too. I don’t think it matters how good you are as a player if you can’t regularly get matches for the club. So like us with Thiago, you’re better off planning for the future with him as a big question mark. And if he builds fitness up and wins his place back in the team, the manager should worry about where he fits in the team then. To put it into context, James is three off the top in our squad for big chances created despite starting 5 times this season (4 of which were against big opposition). This is how influential he is. I think we will know more given James is coming back from finally having his hamstring surgery. This procedure seems to have done Kante a world of good as he is completing a full season without a hamstring injury since 2019. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, Cicero said: To put it into context, James is three off the top in our squad for big chances created despite starting 5 times this season (4 of which were against big opposition). This is how influential he is. I think we will know more given James is coming back from finally having his hamstring surgery. This procedure seems to have done Kante a world of good as he is completing a full season without a hamstring injury since 2019. Wasn't Kante out for a while with a hamstring injury last season? And now he's playing in the Saudi league - which is basically just league one with a few big name players sprinkled in, so I'm not sure it's the same physicality as expected of the premier league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 42 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said: Wasn't Kante out for a while with a hamstring injury last season? And now he's playing in the Saudi league - which is basically just league one with a few big name players sprinkled in, so I'm not sure it's the same physicality as expected of the premier league. Kante has had reoccurring hamstring injuries since 2020. Same as James. Given the nature of Kante's game is covering ground, I'd say its moot as to what league he's playing in if he's still doing what he's best at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted March 13 Author Administrator Share Posted March 13 Luton 2 up at Bournemouth. The pressure of the FPL double game week getting to Bournemouth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted March 13 Author Administrator Share Posted March 13 3-0! Luton vs Forest on Saturday too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted March 13 Author Administrator Share Posted March 13 Okay Luton don't screw this up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted March 13 Author Administrator Share Posted March 13 Yep, they screwed it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted March 13 Subscriber Share Posted March 13 That has to be a body blow for Luton. Don't care how much of an underdog you are or how much credit you get for playing bravely, surrendering a three goal lead on the road is absolutely criminal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 That’s a joke of a second half from Luton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6666 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 How many times have Luton come away with nothing after getting themselves in a good position? Not a one off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted March 14 Subscriber Share Posted March 14 On 11/03/2024 at 23:47, RandoEFC said: I'm sorry but are we seriously doing this again? I can't for the life of me understand how people see how many decisions, many of them obviously wrong, go for and against every team in the league every weekend and think that referees are in the pay of one team or another. Referees can't control the outcomes of matches lads. Why would somebody waste their time and money and risk paying off a set of officials to favour them in marginal calls when, if Luis Diaz puts one or two of his chances away for example, Liverpool win the match anyway? They definitely have their unconscious biases. Like I said originally, I'm sure the VAR and referee were reluctant to give Liverpool two penalties in one potentially title-deciding match, no matter how clear and obvious, because they know that that's all that people will talk about afterwards. The officiating in the league is consistently terrible and the way accountability works between the on-pitch referee and the VAR doesn't lend itself to correct outcomes being achieved. It's also not right that teams of officials are flying across to the Middle East or wherever to officiate a midweek game to make extra money when they've got a league depending on them to do their main job properly at the weekend. They're not getting paid off to favour one team or the other, though, I'm afraid. They're just not. When you consider your last point about them flying to other countries to referee matches and the fact that they are being paid by those associations for their work coupled with the fact that they have zero accountability other than "sorry" it's not really a far stretch to assume that some if not many matches are subject to being paid off for outcomes. Our match certainly gets most of the highlights considering the fact that there is a country who has a history of infractions in football and will do anything to generate revenue by any means possible. Am I saying it is an absolute fact? No, and my post may come off that way and if it does it's not my intention but to think that there isn't a financial operating factor in referee decision making now that you really have zero visibility into what the man in the box is doing or how those decisions are being made you certainly can't rule out that they have bias - external influenced or just plain incompetence, I lean towards influence because no one can be that stupid/incompetent. Wherever there is large scores of money you can 100% assume there is a level of cheating going on that isn't blatantly obvious and will never present itself unless you see a pattern whether its teams cheating, or the managing system being corrupted. To fix this the league and the FA have to really just find a way to introduce penalties post review to ANY game that is deemed to have the ambiguity associated with decisions. But we both know that is never going to happen because the last thing they'll do is call one of their own incompetent and it opens a can of worms no one wants to deal with so you get refs getting away with whatever decision they make because no one can challenge them. If I was a corrupt business wanting to gain leverage that looks rather ripe an opportunity. P.S. Apologies for the late reply but the last two days have been busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Subtle as ever Tim Sherwood . I thought Cole Palmer handled that really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 I saw Cucurella getting a lot of grief for this but it also shows how little Sterling helps out defensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted March 14 Author Administrator Share Posted March 14 58 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said: Subtle as ever Tim Sherwood . Such an arse licker as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 9 hours ago, The Palace Fan said: Subtle as ever Tim Sherwood . I thought Cole Palmer handled that really well. Tim Sherwood, Paul Merson, in the same bracket of pundits where you wonder how theyve got a job 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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