Premier League 2019/20

[Lineker]

6 hours ago, Benjamin said:

I was honestly thinking how these people have free time to go their favorite football's team training facility just to make a complaint smack dab in the middle of the week. Are these all retired fans or something?

No, just gammons.

[FLiam]

Harry Kane out until April following hamstring injury. 

Just in time to play us. 

[Lineker]

The season that just keep on giving.

[Adam]

This seems to happen to Kane every season, maybe I'm wrong. He's an unbelievable player but he does have the odd injury lay-off and Spurs now need to commit to having a proper alternative option to him when this happens. It's happened in early January so will they bring a striker in for the rest of the season? Or persist with Son as a makeshift 9? Seems any hopes of the top 4 will be tougher to realise if the only available forwards are Son, Moura and Troy Parrott.

[Lineker]

The problem the proper alternative theory is that any striker we might want to be that player, would know that they're just going to be second fiddle to Kane and be on the bench most of the time. We need Parrott to pan out, really.

It'll be Son up top until then, though. We have far bigger issues this window.

[Colly]

Troy Parrott can't be real surely?

[TCO]

21 hours ago, Colly said:

Troy Parrott can't be real surely?

He's a Robbie Keane regen.

[Naitch]

Another joke of a VAR decision against West Ham. On top of that, wasn't there a Liverpool goal shortly after the ball hit VVD on the arm which counted a week or two ago?

[Adam]

Not VARs fault though is it, it's down to the ridiculous handball rule they changed before the season. Probably the most egregious issue that has arisen from those rule changes.

[Colly]

I think VAR contributes though. Without it a ref is either unlikely to see it or might give the benefit of the doubt. With the "is there any reason not to give a goal?" VAR rationale in mind you rule it out quickly.

Agreed though, they've used a sledgehammer to crack a barely existent nut with the "attacking" handball rule. I can think of about three goals in Newcastle games (one for, two against) in the last 2 decades which probably went in off a hand, and those are the ones you want rid of. Something that bounces off someone 40 yards from goal that they then still control and play in another player should not be ruled out for something so pathetic.

[TCO]

It was handball and West Ham wouldn't have scored unless he slapped the ball ahead of himself. I don't understand what the problem is and this whole "fuck VAR" for getting decisions right thing I really don't get. 

The only issue I'd have with it is the human error of placing the lines for offside and and when the ball was struck. Other than that I haven't seen a problem in it's application at all and now we have Declan Rice in tears on TV because his little assist didn't count. 😥

[Colly]

I was shocked there for a moment as I thought I'd found the only person in favour of the universally panned new handball rule, then I saw the reference to Declan Rice and understood.

[Liam]

The handball rule is now a pain in the arse...but that was a handball. He may not have meant it, it may have been from short range, but if it doesn't hit his hand, he doesn't get the ball.

15 hours ago, Naitch said:

Another joke of a VAR decision against West Ham. On top of that, wasn't there a Liverpool goal shortly after the ball hit VVD on the arm which counted a week or two ago?

If it is the one that I've seen people posting on Twitter in response to this (where it appears to roll up his arm), it didn't hit his arm.

[Liam]

Red card was right for me. Could have broken his ankle.

[Colly]

29 minutes ago, Liam said:

The handball rule is now a pain in the arse...but that was a handball. He may not have meant it, it may have been from short range, but if it doesn't hit his hand, he doesn't get the ball.

That's never been the handball rule though, until this new revision. It's an accidental handball, which isn't a handball, unless your team scores a bit later. How are you supposed to coach that? If you accidentally touch the ball with your hand just put it out of play because you can't score anyway? How long do you have to keep possession before it's struck off and you can attack again? It's yet more ambiguous nonsense.

[TCO]

5 hours ago, Colly said:

I was shocked there for a moment as I thought I'd found the only person in favour of the universally panned new handball rule, then I saw the reference to Declan Rice and understood.

To be fair, I am in agreement with the new rule! I was last year when Boly slapped the ball in against Man City and Llorente's Champions League goal too. You shouldn't be allowed score when you handle it. I'm pretty sure I said I wanted the rule change here.

But also yeah fuck Declan Rice, the treacherous little cunt.

[Liam]

14 minutes ago, Colly said:

That's never been the handball rule though, until this new revision. It's an accidental handball, which isn't a handball, unless your team scores a bit later. How are you supposed to coach that? If you accidentally touch the ball with your hand just put it out of play because you can't score anyway? How long do you have to keep possession before it's struck off and you can attack again? It's yet more ambiguous nonsense.

How can you give a goal that couldn't have happened if a handball hadn't occurred? Like...it was likely to go away from him if it didn't hit his hand.

I've always hated the idea of 'accidental handball' anyway. If it hits your hand and you benefit in some capacity, that's a handball.

[Colly]

The only to remove accidental handballs from football is to remove all outfield players arms.

9 minutes ago, TCO said:

To be fair, I am in agreement with the new rule! I was last year when Boly slapped the ball in against Man City and Llorente's Champions League goal too. You shouldn't be allowed score when you handle it. I'm pretty sure I said I wanted the rule change here.

But also yeah fuck Declan Rice, the treacherous little cunt.

There's an enormous difference between putting a goal in with your hand and the nonsense that saw Jesus' goal against Spurs disallowed early in the season, or the one Wolves had against Leicester. Like I said, sledgehammer to crack a nut. VAR is trying to make football binary and it just doesn't work, referees need to have discretion.

[Adam]

Also, Declan Rice is from Kingston-upon-Thames.

[Liam]

4 minutes ago, Colly said:

The only to remove accidental handballs from football is to remove all outfield players arms.

Yeah, but handballs that are accidental and directly benefit that person (or their team) should still be pulled up as fouls, which is my point. The simple thing of that goal was that the goal doesn't even come close to happening if he doesn't handball it at the start of the move.