Official Premiership 06/07 thread

[Liam]

Why would Wigan have had two players sent off?

I'm assuming you meant Hall (IIRC), who chopped down Clichy (again, IIRC) pretty savagely, but had to go off injured himself.

[Buford Ripley]

Baines had some rather unsightly tackles from behind on Walcott.

[Liam]

Had Hall already been booked?If so, he should have gone.

Baines, I don't think he should of, but I guess it depends on how harsh the ref wants to be with the cards.

[Buford Ripley]

Dowd did a horrendous job all round and Wigan probably should have left the game with a point at least.

EDIT: Plus there was blowing for full time when Ady B was about to score. >_>

Edited February 12, 2007 by Karlito Karibbean Kulex

[TMM]

If time-wasting is passing the ball around the pitch for five minutes, then yeah, we're time-wasters. However, that isn't time wasting. Sorry, it isn't. Time wasting is goalkeepers moving the ball to the other corner of the 6-yard box, wiping the ball with their shirts and then giving it to someone else to take the throw, taking about a minute over every corner and free-kick, all of which Wigan did in yesterday's game and Bolton did in the FA Cup, and both teams were doing it from early in the game. Yeah occasionally we time waste, but god are we NOWHERE near the worse. Lehmann time wastes a bit yeah, but not to the Kirkland/Jaaskelainen extent.

And the "poor little Wigan" thing is bollocks. Who gives a shit? Everybody gets shit decisions, don't say "oh because we're Wigan it goes against us". No, because the referee was beyond shite, that's why the decisions went against you, and decisions went against us almost as much. And if Henry should've been booked for his dive, Kirkland and half their players should've been booked for their constant time-wasting.

Oh, and had to post this:

Henry plays down altercation with Wigan keeper Kirkland

Thierry Henry has dismissed his altercation with Chris Kirkland as “funny”.

The Arsenal captain exchanged words with the Wigan keeper when Fitz Hall turned the ball into his own net with nine minutes to go at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

It brought the scores level at 1-1. Before that, Henry believed Kirkland had been time-wasting to protect his side’s one-goal lead. Tempers flared temporarily but, at full time, both players were happy to leave their argument on the pitch.

“Kirkland started to waste time from the first minute on,” said Henry. “I do not know if you can call that fair play or not.

“It was one of the games where I ran the most because I wanted to get the ball back from him.

“There was a funny side to it. We were laughing about it but, at the same time, it was a bit annoying aswell.

“He just said to me: `Come on Thierry what do you want me to do?’ and I said: 'Yes, but not from the first minute’.

“I don’t know how many times he went from right to left and left to right. Jens did it once and he took a yellow.

“However at the end of the game it was fine. I shook Kirkland’s hand and said ‘I’m sorry but I have to say you kind of

wasted time from the first minute’.”

[Guest Ringu]

Time-wasting doesn't excuse being a twat.

[TMM]

Time-wasting doesn't excuse being a twat.

So you're saying if you're a striker, and the opposition's goalkeeper is taking his time over every kick and every throw essentially from kick-off, and they've gone ahead against the run of play, and they seem the think that by time-wasting they'll manage to win. You're saying that if you just equalised against said goalkeeper, you wouldn't want to rub it in a little? Sorry, I can't see that happening to be honest.

[Guest Ringu]

Time-wasting doesn't excuse being a twat.

So you're saying if you're a striker, and the opposition's goalkeeper is taking his time over every kick and every throw essentially from kick-off, and they've gone ahead against the run of play, and they seem the think that by time-wasting they'll manage to win. You're saying that if you just equalised against said goalkeeper, you wouldn't want to rub it in a little? Sorry, I can't see that happening to be honest.

[Buford Ripley]

Whilst I don't condone Henry and Lehmann's antics in response to time wasting I will admit that I enjoyed seeing it.

[TMM]

There's a difference between "stalling" when the ball is in play and when it's not in play, which is what happened yesterday. I haven't seen any of the games you mentioned, but in any of those games were the teams wasting time on dead/balls/goal-kicks from minute one? Because that's what Wigan were doing.

And Phil Dowd is a shite referee, and he should be brought up for that, not for the swearing thing. Dowd didn't seem to know what he was doing throughout the whole game, and booked players when they shouldn't have been, and let players off when they should've been booked or sent-off (any of Flamini, Hall or Baines could've been red carded in that game).

[Farmer Reil]

Wow... when I'm praising Thierry Henry as the most sensible man in an argument, you know something must really be wrong.

Dave Whelan is just funny, though. Reminds me of Chelsea doing a similar thing a while back (or was it Liverpool?). I mean, sure, when you've spent umpteen million quid on a team, and they're this close to relegation, you're bound to be bricking it, but shit decisions happen in every game.

If anything comes of this (other than a fine for Whelan and Jewell), I'm going to be pissed. Because Andy D'Urso was at least fifty times worse in the FA Cup fiasco at Pride Park where we got utterly screwed a few weeks ago, and nothing came of that.

But I guess this is poor little Wigan. We should give them sympathy because they bought Emile Heskey.

Oh, and I totally forgot the "blowing the final whistle while a player is unmarked in the opposing area with the ball at his feet" thing, too. How is THAT fair? Reminds me of a Leicester City game in the FA Cup a few years ago when the referee blew the final whistle a fraction of a second before a shot crossed the goal line and Leicester lost.

Now, if that had happened to Wigan... fucking hell, Jewell would still be moaning about it, even though the camera crew had packed up and gone home days ago.

Football is too serious these days. Probably because there's far too much money being thrown around so there's far too much at stake for a sense of humour. But that's another arguement for another thread.

Edited February 12, 2007 by Farmer Reil

[AJ]

Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell has been charged with improper conduct by The Football Association.

Jewell's charge relates to his confrontation with referee Phil Dowd at the final whistle of The Latics' 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.

Dowd's performance infuriated the Wigan boss, who felt his side were denied a clear penalty when Emile Heskey was held back by Mathieu Flamini.

The decision not to allow Josip Skoko back onto the pitch in the build-up to Arsenal's equalising goal also angered Jewell.

An FA statement read: "Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell has been charged with improper conduct for his behaviour towards referee Phil Dowd following the final whistle of the match at Arsenal on Sunday, February 11.

"He has until February 28 to respond."

The FA is still investigating Jewell's post-match comments when he was heavily critical of Dowd's display, intimating he was the worst referee in the Premiership.

Jewell also claimed Dowd was swearing at his players, an accusation backed up by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan.

Well there you go. Teach him to whinge.

I had the Arsenal match on in the background when I was working at my computer but I can't have been watching very closely at all. What exactly did Henry do to Kirkland?

[Liam]

When the own goal went in, he grabbed the ball from inside the net, ran to Kirkland who was down on his knees, waved the ball in his face and said something (I'm not sure what, but others might know). He got booked for it.

He then went and tried to apologise to Kirkland once in the match, and once after the match, and Kirkland basically told him to stick it, which is what I'd have done.

And Reily, seriously, what are you on about? When a team has lost 9 in a row, only breaking that run last week, now only 5 points off the relegation zone because of this poor run, and you are 1-0 up against Arsenal at Arsenal and (at that point in the match) relatively comfortable, to get a very good penalty shout turned down, to then not have a player brought back on when he should have been done, and for the build up to the goal to have a player offside, of course you are going to be fucked off, and want to air your grievances over the decision. Just like you were whining about the referee when you got knocked out of the FA Cup, managers have every right to complain about poor decisions. Arsenal aren't making the most of potential things that went there way because, at the end of the day, they won.

And as for time wasting from minute one.....Wigan began taking thier time after the goal, weirdly enough...and even with that time wasting, they were still going out and playing football, coming close to scoring several times, so it wasn't like they weren't trying to play, they were just doing what practically all teams would against Arsenal if they were ahead.

Edited February 13, 2007 by Liam Byrne

[TMM]

Let's clear something up; Wigan were never "comfortable" in the game. They had some chances and went 1-0, but were never comfortable.

And Wigan were time wasting well before they went 1-0 up. Everyone I spoke to who went to the game said the same thing.

[Buford Ripley]

Actually Kirkland was taking his sweet time from the get-go and their fans even wasted time by refusing to give the ball back.

[IAceI]

Jewell should have learned by now that this happens though, he should just take it like a man. He's made no friends by whining and crying about it and just landed himself a fine and made himself look like a twat.

[Liam]

Let's clear something up; Wigan were never "comfortable" in the game. They had some chances and went 1-0, but were never comfortable.

And Wigan were time wasting well before they went 1-0 up. Everyone I spoke to who went to the game said the same thing.

Having watched the match, Arsenal's main pressure came before the Wigan goal. After that, Arsenal didn't have nearly as good a spell of possesion, and Wigan actually came a lot closer to scoring. Kirkland didn't have that much to do at all. There you go, thats as good as 'comfortable' as you can really get.

Actually Kirkland was taking his sweet time from the get-go and their fans even wasted time by refusing to give the ball back.

Meh, as has been said, other teams do it. No matter when they do it, you can't condone it in some circumstances (as Arsenal fans seem to be trying to do) and not in other circumstances. Why would Wigan want to hurry the game up and play into Arsenal's hands?

Jewell should have learned by now that this happens though, he should just take it like a man. He's made no friends by whining and crying about it and just landed himself a fine and made himself look like a twat.

Every manager complains when things go against them (pretty much), why are people singling out Jewell, who had every right to complain about things that went on in the match?

I find it funny that for the most part in the last few days, it is only the Arsenal fans who tried to condone what Henry did, or the fact that Wigan weren't as unlucky as people have made out, and even a lot of them have held thier hands up and admitted the contrary. Also, the fact that Henry actually came out and discussed what had happened shows to me that he felt it made him look like enough of a tit in some peoples eyes that he had to come out and say something about the incident.

Edited February 13, 2007 by Liam Byrne

[therockbox]

To me, there's no difference between a goalie taking time at a goal kick and an outfield player walking the ball into the corner at every opportunity, something that Henry is guilty of. The man's a hypocrite (I don't dive, I'm not a woman! *dive*).

[IAceI]

Jewell should have learned by now that this happens though, he should just take it like a man. He's made no friends by whining and crying about it and just landed himself a fine and made himself look like a twat.

Every manager complains when things go against them (pretty much), why are people singling out Jewell, who had every right to complain about things that went on in the match?

[TMM]

To me, there's no difference between a goalie taking time at a goal kick and an outfield player walking the ball into the corner at every opportunity, something that Henry is guilty of. The man's a hypocrite (I don't dive, I'm not a woman! *dive*).

But the ball is still in play when Henry does that. The opposition still has every chance to get the ball in that situation. Whereas a goalkick, the opposition has NO chance to get the ball. So how exactly is there no difference?