Whitey Grandad

It does if you take the view that VAR reduces the likelihood of scoring a goal. You could also say that a team that is used to playing under VAR might have an advantage, such as playing a different approach to a defensive offside line. Apart from that there is the line of thought that all games should be played under the same officiating environment. The Laws of the Game may be the same but their interpretation will be different.

It all depends which one turns up.

Nice thought. Is half a season enough for revenge?

I watched most of last night's game and Sheffield Utd didn't really give it a go. They only seemed interested in keeping the score down and had no belief that they could get anything out of the game. All in all a waste of my time

Are we writing him off before the match? I thought he didn't look out of place at Chelsea and played a full part in a winning team.

I read that as 'season 3 of mourning'

Half a tomato is still deadly poisonous. I avoid them whenever possible.

Good point!

Yes, me too. To be fair to the poor chap he's got a column to get out so I wouldn't read too much into it but I thought it was interesting that we had three players in there. Perhaps we are starting to get taken seriously.

Tony Cascarino in The Times (sorry about the image size, I’m on my iPad and am limited in my actions) It came as no surprise that Harry Kane suffered an injury in Tottenham’ Hotspur’s defeat by Southampton. Until he was taken off, Kane had played every minute of his side’s five games since December 15. He looked off the pace yesterday and Jan Bednarek, the Southampton centre back, was all over him. The consequence of playing him when not at his best? An injury that could keep him out for several weeks. Contrast this with Danny Ings, whose winning goal sunk Spurs. The 27-year-old is every bit as important to Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team as Kane is to José Mourinho. He has scored 13 Premier League goals this season — more than half of his team’s tally — and yet Hasenhüttl chose to rest him for the trip to Chelsea, which Southampton won 2-0. Yesterday, he looked hungry and sharp. The numbers point to the benefit of rest. Kane has played 435 minutes in Tottenham’s past five games, scoring twice. Ings has played 364 minutes over the same period but found the net four times. Part of the problem for Spurs is that they do not have a clear alternative to lead the line. I have argued before that Tottenham need at least three players and that is without considering a move for a forward to put pressure on, and deputise for, Kane. Tottenham must find a way of reducing the burden on such an important figure.

I’ll leave you guessing for a little while longer I’m such a tease!

Nice try but wrong on all three

At the moment it’s overruling and therefore undermining the official in charge of the game. Yesterday’s downgrading of a red card for a West Ham is a prime example. That tackle was far worse than Bertrand’s against Leicester yet his wasn’t even given as a foul at the time.

In The Times this morning Tony Cascarino has three Saints players in his ‘Team of the Day’. I’ll let you all try to guess their names.

I don’t know how the Spurs fans could have seen anything of that first half incident from over a hundred yards away. Like everybody else I thought that he had just slipped. Whinging slippery toad though, should have been booked several times.

The real question is why Dean didn’t give it. VAR would not normally override a subjective decision where the referee had a clear view of the incident.

I’m afraid I have to agree with you. Seemed inconsistent throughout and was too lax with Dele Alli amongst others. You are right, ever referee receives a report with several videos, one showing the game as seen on TV and another focussing just on him and his decisions with comments on fouls that he should have given as well as ones that he shouldn’t.

I believe that is a current suggestion at FIFA.

Ain’t never gonna happen. But thanks for the kind thought

Played well today. A settled back four helps.

That’s the point. You don’t have to turn your head because your field of view is 120 degrees. Some people can’t assimilate the complete field of view and are called ‘head turners’. These people have to point their head towards whatever they’re looking at. Others can see what’s happening out of the sides of their eyes. The assistant (linesman) automatically positions him/herself level with the second to last defender so that when the ball is kicked they only need to decide whether the attacker is nearer the goal than themselves. It is a specialised profession and requires years of practice to be good at it.

It is possible with training to survey and evaluate the complete field of view. Some people can’t do it. Ironically the referee is in a good position to see both when the ball is kicked and whether the recipient is offside in most instances except for the tight calls which is where the assistant comes in. You’re right, either the law must change or its application must be reviewed. There’s quite a bit about it in The Times today with FIFA talking about ‘clear daylight’ between the attacker and the defender. Apparently in the US MLS the VAR review of offside is done with the naked eye, no lines are artificially drawn across the pitch. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/new-pressure-for-overhaul-of-offside-law-bt57vgnfv (Possible paywall)

And the VAR decisions are ‘correct’? If that were true there wouldn’t be so much fuss and bother over them.

Following that argument it would be best to disallow all goals just to be sure.

It doesn’t work like that. The assistant is constantly scanning the field of view. Human visual awareness can cover many things simultaneously.