Whitey Grandad

At least Long has pace.

Tidy, has the basic skills, always willing, never looks like scoring. Basically, not what we needed.

This is my view too. This is obviously MP’s style and his playing philosophy and would have been evident to anybody who was prepared to spend the time investigating. Just asking the interview question “Are you prepared to play high speed attacking” football is only going to get one answer.

To be fair to him I noticed that he did a lot of defensive work, getting back and covering and occasionally making tackles. Not really what you would expect or want of him though.

There was the famous incident of Clive Thomas blowing for full time during a corner kick by Brazil. They took so long faffing about over taking it that I have no sympathy but after that the guidance to referees was to wait until the movement had broken down, that is to allow the corner to be ‘completed’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/26252832 A referee has to be fair to both teams of course but I thought that 2 minutes was a bit light yesterday and was expecting 3 or 4. I always have a stopwatch running and yesterday was 2 minutes in the dot. The players must have been aware of the time because the PA announcer couldn’t believe it was only 2 minutes either. You can only allow added time for stoppages in play such as substitutions, goal celebrations (if only) or injuries and does not include time taken to set up a free kick, retrieving the ball, that sort of thing. Yes, it was bizarre as was the way that Diouf took so long to hobble off with a hand injury. I suspect that he was under instructions to take his time so that a substitute could get prepared, old cynic that I am. We had 90 minutes to get a goal and we all know that we wouldn’t have scored with another 90 let alone 1 or 2.

That’s not true. They had plenty of good chances in the first half when we only had one up front.

Better on the right on his natural foot.

They took the money off you under false pretences. Besides, if your ticket wasn’t used the credit will happen automatically. It would cost them more than £30 just for the administration if you insist on changing it.

I would describe that as 'unable to make it'

Very creditable of them.

We're sitting in Bitterne in our regular parking slot having got here over an hour early. We were going to get the 13:14 from Chandlers Ford into town but that was cancelled. Website says 14:14 is running on time but that would mean getting to our seats at kickoff, all being well. Roads were much quieter than usual but all ok with just a little slush lying around and melting steadily. Even local roads are clear. We'll give it a few minutes and then walk in.

Yep. The road needs work. Let’s just shut it for a month to make our job easier. It’s the British way. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/15989863.Drivers_left_in_gridlock_after_Bassett_Avenue_closure/

Yes, remember it well. I was thirteen at the time and living by the sea near Harwich. Our school played football in the winter term and we played no games at all that year. There were lumps of ice floating in the open sea. League games were cancelled but no schools were ever closed.

I only remember this because I was in Barbados at the time and I’d walked up to the bar at the other end of the beach to watch it. Bleeding waste of time that was

Clattenburg saw as much as the video ref did. As did I. Slow motion tells you nothing.

When was that match up at Newcastle that was called off not long before kickoff because the surrounding roads were deemed unsafe Andrew Saints supporters had managed to get there without falling over?

Ignored, or dismissed? Are we going to discuss every decision ever made, including fouls that were given but shouldn’t have been? There are hundreds of decisions in a match and we can’t second-guess all of them. Leave it to the officials and get on with the game.

Nothing clear about it. None of the players raised even an eyebrow. Clattenburg has an article about VAR in The Times today and refers to that Llorente decision: ‘Érik Lamela’s early “goal” for Spurs was ruled out after a lengthy discussion between Paul Tierney, the referee, and Graham Scott, his VAR, because of a foul by Fernando Llorente, but I didn’t think that was a clear and obvious error. It was a judgment call by the referee. In that instance, Tierney should be left to make that decision. VAR should not be advising on what I’d term a “soft foul”. Was it a foul or not? People are still arguing about it. The referee had already made his decision on the pitch and he didn’t think it was a foul. You may think it was, one of my colleagues may think the same, but it’s not one you can clear up with VAR. So it should stay on the pitch — that’s football.’

I live in Chandlers Ford and had to walk up to the newsagents to collect our newspaper. The estate roads still have a couple of inches of untouched snow on them but their had been a partial thaw and refreeze so there was a crunchy crust on top. The local roads - Hursley Road, Hiltingbury Road - are freely passable but with a lot of wet slush around at the edges. I was passed by a tractor with a snow shovel on the front that was clearing the slush and there was also a gritting lorry. Much depends on the next 24 hours. I would expect a freeze overnight so a lot of ice around in the morning although those roads that have been treated would have had a dry surface.

Where was the foul? Many reports thought the same and the closest officials to it didn’t have a problem with it.

From what I can see all roads are moving freely at the moment but a lot depends on what comes down later, if anything.

‘Obviously the correct decision’? Many disagreed with the VAR overruling the goal.

? Henry didn’t punch the ball into the goal. It bounced up an his hand happened to be there and could be said to have controlled the ball but he was wide of the goal and stuck it in with his foot.

As always When these conditions used to be a regular occurrence then ‘everybody’ would have had experience of driving in them. The trouble now is that there is a whole generation who think they can go flying around as though nothing had changed. It only takes one person to abandon their car in the wrong place and we all suffer.

Sure, why not?