Premiership 2007/08

[Dan]

When Joey Barton scores I want him to celebrate by pretending to take an axe to the back of Oba Martins' head.

Because axe Murder is the same as GBH.

[therockbox]

So that makes GBH okay

[Dan]

So that makes GBH okay

Not at all, but it's like comparing stealing a snickers with mass internet fraud.

[ONO]

His brother is locked up for 6 years for blinding a man, after savagely booting him twice in the side of the head. That is what is controversial about it. Leave all that jail shit out of football.

Oh I'm not doubting what his brother did was wrong, but that's the thing...it is his brother. So whatever happens he's going to stand by him, isn't he?

[therockbox]

So that makes GBH okay

Not at all, but it's like comparing stealing a snickers with mass internet fraud.

[IAceI]

Not to mention incredibly blown out of proportion.

[therockbox]

Fernando Torres is a legend.

[FireDoughnut]

Fernando Torres is a legend.

Liverpool fans have had to say that too much this season.

Apparently, he was pretty good tonight.

[TMM]

Has anybody heard/read what Sepp Blatter has said about Martin Taylor's tackle (and dangerous tackles in general). While he is usually an idiot and utterly ridiculous in nearly all of his comments (and in fact, most of the ones today) I agree with his statement about three games being to short. He says he should be banned for life, which is ridiculous, but some part of what he was saying makes sense.

[R.W.]

I didn't see anything about the Taylor tackle, only dangerous tackles in general, but from what I saw I kind of agree. For truly dangerous tackles (i.e. two feet off the ground studs up) longer bans should be bought in - but anything else is left far too open to interpretation.

Have just found the bit on Taylor now - good to see Blatter has the ability to read minds and could tell Taylor's intent

That poor lad is being vilified for a tackle that was no different than you'll see up and down the country every week.

See, Adebayor has the right idea.

Eduardo's injury is expected to keep him out of football until the end of the year - but his fellow Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor is prepared to accept that Taylor had no intention of inflicting such a serious injury.

"We have to forgive him," he said.

"Whatever happened, I cannot believe he had it in his mind to turn the ankle of another player.

"He did not do it on purpose," Adebayor told Sky Sports News.

[TMM]

No doubt Blatter is a moron, and he wants to make Taylor an example for all dangerous challenges, but Taylor's challenge WAS dangerous. Intent to injure? God no. Intent to 'let Eduardo know he was there'? Clearly. Clearly.

That's the problem with football, we see it "up and down the country" but the whole way the Eduardo/Taylor thing has been reported is that, 'Eduardo's career may be over, but think of the effect this has had on Taylor', which is not right. The attitude from a lot of people seems to be that this is a man's game, and players should accept a physical battle and that this tackle specifically was badly timed, but because he wasn't out to injure Eduardo he should be let off. Sorry, he set out to FOUL Eduardo, which looking at the video and pictures as many times as I've seen them (online, in the paper, on the news) he clearly was.

In the end it all comes down to the fact that the disciplinary system is a joke. FIFA getting involved is a double-edges sword because, while change won't happen unless the FA are beaten over the head with a club, it makes the English FA look incapable of 'keeping their house in order. The fact that removing a shirt is a yellow card and, in addition to a mis-timed, but absolutely harmless tackle leads to a three game ban is ridiculous. As is Aliadiere's four-game ban for a brush on the face. Dangerous tackles will continue as long as players know they'll "only" get a three-game ban.

[alldaws1]

That's the problem with football, we see it "up and down the country" but the whole way the Eduardo/Taylor thing has been reported is that, 'Eduardo's career may be over, but think of the effect this has had on Taylor', which is not right. The attitude from a lot of people seems to be that this is a man's game, and players should accept a physical battle and that this tackle specifically was badly timed, but because he wasn't out to injure Eduardo he should be let off. Sorry, he set out to FOUL Eduardo, which looking at the video and pictures as many times as I've seen them (online, in the paper, on the news) he clearly was.

Have you just been ignoring everything? Nobody's said he should be let off, everybody agreed that he should be suspended and he has. He didn't set out to foul Eduardo, he set out to get the ball (failed miserably, mind you). Stop being such a homer.

[therockbox]

No doubt Blatter is a moron, and he wants to make Taylor an example for all dangerous challenges, but Taylor's challenge WAS dangerous. Intent to injure? God no. Intent to 'let Eduardo know he was there'? Clearly. Clearly.

That's the problem with football, we see it "up and down the country" but the whole way the Eduardo/Taylor thing has been reported is that, 'Eduardo's career may be over, but think of the effect this has had on Taylor', which is not right. The attitude from a lot of people seems to be that this is a man's game, and players should accept a physical battle and that this tackle specifically was badly timed, but because he wasn't out to injure Eduardo he should be let off.

[TMM]

By "let off", I mean how people are saying that he didn't mean it, so he shouldn't be punished further which seems like the universal response.

Those "ridiculous post match comments", would they happen to be the ones he retracted almost immediately afterwards? The people who are talking about lifetime bans are idiots, most fans will agree on that.

[therockbox]

By "let off", I mean how people are saying that he didn't mean it, so he shouldn't be punished further which seems like the universal response.

Those "ridiculous post match comments", would they happen to be the ones he retracted almost immediately afterwards?

[Summers]

Arsenal fans (not all, but a lot I've been seeing/hearing/reading lately) need to realize they're dirty bastards too. All this "He should be banned!" If that's the case, your own team would lose a couple too.

And I love the "Villa fans are scum." for singing about Eduardo. Sure, because singing about murdering jews isn't scum like at all. Arsenal have gone down in my estimations lately, because of the fans.

[TMM]

By "let off", I mean how people are saying that he didn't mean it, so he shouldn't be punished further which seems like the universal response.

Those "ridiculous post match comments", would they happen to be the ones he retracted almost immediately afterwards?

"Almost immediately" meaning later on that evening, right? Those comments that were apparantly made in the heat of the moment and yet strangely repeated to two TV stations, radio and the written press?

Wenger only retracted them because he realised how big a hole he'd dug for himself, not because he thought he'd overreacted.

Same day though. But what was the papers and Sky and BBC's headlines? "Wenger calls for Taylor to be banned for life...oh, yeah and then he retracted them, but he still said he should be banned forever!" was how it was reported for the next week.

Straight away when I saw it (and I'd wager the majority of Arsenal fans) I wanted Taylor's head, but after consideration I changed my mind. Now picture Arsene Wenger who works with Eduardo day-in, day-out and on top of that has to do interview, after interview after the game. He was probably seething for a while after it. Also, what is more important; checking up on your player or apologising for a comment?

Arsenal fans (not all, but a lot I've been seeing/hearing/reading lately) need to realize they're dirty bastards too. All this "He should be banned!" If that's the case, your own team would lose a couple too.

And I love the "Villa fans are scum." for singing about Eduardo. Sure, because singing about murdering jews isn't scum like at all. Arsenal have gone down in my estimations lately, because of the fans.

We can be dirty bastards I agree, but I honestly (I can see "bias" comments coming here) think that we are nowhere near as bad as a lot of other teams. Arsenal and Man Utd get kicked, that is the way to stop us as far Blackburn and Birmingham (among a lot of others) are concerned. They aren't being told to injure or kick us off the pitch, but McCleish and Hughes knows their teams have no chance at out-playing us, so they're told to "get stuck in" and you can see it in the way the play. Our game plan is pass the ball and play beautiful football, but I agree, some of our players (I'm looking at Eboue specifically) can be dirty bastards. Cesc can be aggresive, but he's wonderful so that doesn't count.

Every club has scummy fans. The "Arsenal-fans" that sent death-threats and sung about the Holocaust are not Arsenal fans as far as I'm concerned.

Edited March 7, 2008 by TMM

[alldaws1]

Same day though. But what was the papers and Sky and BBC's headlines? "Wenger calls for Taylor to be banned for life...oh, yeah and then he retracted them, but he still said he should be banned forever!" was how it was reported for the next week.

So because he changed his mind, what he said originally should be stricken from the records completely? And for the record, BBC's online headlines were that Wenger had retracted his statement because I remember reading that before I'd even heard his original comments.

[Summers]

By "let off", I mean how people are saying that he didn't mean it, so he shouldn't be punished further which seems like the universal response.

Those "ridiculous post match comments", would they happen to be the ones he retracted almost immediately afterwards?

"Almost immediately" meaning later on that evening, right? Those comments that were apparantly made in the heat of the moment and yet strangely repeated to two TV stations, radio and the written press?

Wenger only retracted them because he realised how big a hole he'd dug for himself, not because he thought he'd overreacted.

Same day though. But what was the papers and Sky and BBC's headlines? "Wenger calls for Taylor to be banned for life...oh, yeah and then he retracted them, but he still said he should be banned forever!" was how it was reported for the next week.

Straight away when I saw it (and I'd wager the majority of Arsenal fans) I wanted Taylor's head, but after consideration I changed my mind. Now picture Arsene Wenger who works with Eduardo day-in, day-out and on top of that has to do interview, after interview after the game. He was probably seething for a while after it. Also, what is more important; checking up on your player or apologising for a comment?

Arsenal fans (not all, but a lot I've been seeing/hearing/reading lately) need to realize they're dirty bastards too. All this "He should be banned!" If that's the case, your own team would lose a couple too.

And I love the "Villa fans are scum." for singing about Eduardo. Sure, because singing about murdering jews isn't scum like at all. Arsenal have gone down in my estimations lately, because of the fans.

We can be dirty bastards I agree, but I honestly (I can see "bias" comments coming here) think that we are nowhere near as bad as a lot of other teams. Arsenal and Man Utd get kicked, that is the way to stop us as far Blackburn and Birmingham (among a lot of others) are concerned. They aren't being told to injure or kick us off the pitch, but McCleish and Hughes knows their teams have no chance at out-playing us, so they're told to "get stuck in" and you can see it in the way the play. Our game plan is pass the ball and play beautiful football, but I agree, some of our players (I'm looking at Eboue specifically) can be dirty bastards. Cesc can be aggresive, but he's wonderful so that doesn't count.

Every club has scummy fans. The "Arsenal-fans" that sent death-threats and sung about the Holocaust are not Arsenal fans as far as I'm concerned.

As O'Neill said about Arsene, I'll say about you - your maths is off. You're nowhere near being the most fouled team.

[Dan]

Arsenal kicking Nani to bits a week before makes this all quite funny.