Whitey Grandad

Nah, we'd wait until the next season and then sack him halfway through

It's a team game and I don't want to single anybody out for blame. It is unbelievably fast out there on the pitch and the players only have a fraction of a second to make a decision. This is why they have to practice and practice and practice until their positioning and actions are automatic and instinctive. It's not fair to expect too much from a defensive partnership after only a handful of games.

'Walkabout' is a bit extreme but he and Yoshida shold be joined by a bit of elastic five yards long. Their second goal wasn't his fault alone, indeed I think Yoshida could have made more of a nuisance of himself. The third was analysed on Monday Night Football.At the time I was infuriated bythe amount of space that Ibrahimovic had for his header. Their analysis showed that Stephens had got back to the correct position bu then got drawn forward to the edge of our box. Ibrahimovic then glances over his right sholder and backpedals into the gap and is unmarked when the cross comes in. The result is what happens when you let top class playes have too much time and space.

Nah, just hangovers from their end of season party.

I can't agree about United. He went walkabout for their second and third. But I will agree that he would benefit from the experience in the long run. I'd like us to get another couple of wins as soon as possible and then we can experiment with the team over the rest of the season.

Nice try But then Gabbi would have put the ball somewhere else.

My mistake. Some of us remember the good old days with games on Easter Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday. That usually sorted out the promotion and relegation issues with only 2 points for a win.

Easter adds one in April. European schedule cocks everything up and there's also damned international weekends.

Just one thought... The white shirts may have been a factor in that awful offside decision. If they had been playing in white and we had been in reddy black then things might have been different. As a strip I do like the look of it though.

Doesn't flap or drop his hands at all. At the moment the ball flashes past his head to his right both his hands are in the air. The ball is past him before it is humanly possible to react. The nerve signals just can't get to the muscles in time, and that's after the delay through the visual cortex. In order to make a save it is necessary to try to anticipate where the ball is going to go but this is not easy with a header, which can go in any direction. With a kick you can get some idea from the movement of the leg but even then a miskick, bobble or deflection will take it past you. There was no time to come for the ball either, it would have gone into an empty net. If you think that you're ever going to see a keeper come for that cross or save a firm close-range header then you're going to be disappointed. They don't ever save them, the ball hits them. I have seen the shot from behind the goal. All the game's incidents were analysed on MNF and no professional commentator has criticised Forster for that goal on either TV or in the press. You have unrealistic expectations. I suppose you think that DeGea should have saved our three goals too?

But what was the alternative? (Before January)

Good point.

There's certainly something wrong with him. Injury would seem a likely hypothesis but a lack of cover means that he has had to be thrown in.

Of course! Thanks.

Yes, it was a rash decision.

They are miked up so there doesn't need to be any obvious communication but I agree, there should have been something between them.

When I first did my refereeing course it was explained that our decisions would not be actionable. Something about being part of the terms of taking part in the competition.

But two of those three games over Christmas were at home. This makes a big difference.

In practice that is the case. I'm sure that this official didn't have any doubts and thought it was offside, he certainly raised his flag immediately. I always used to take the view that if you have to think about it then it's not offside. Defenders usually get the decision regarding goal kicks and throw ins if there's any uncertainty.

The referee was not at fault, he was not in a position to have a certain view on the matter, but the one on the line was clearly wrong. There was only a foot in it but even from up in the stands I couldn't see anything wrong wioth the goal. He was in the correct position but must have been watching another move. He also got some wrong later in the game and in those cases he was behind the play.

I don't normally use this language but.... you're talking total bullocks. Drops his hands? Ducks away from it? It's past him before he can even blink. Watch it again, not in slow motion and this time make sure you're watching the right replay. Don't let your prejudices affect your judgments. I'll agree that there was something wrong with the first goal, the second would have beaten most goalkeepers but the third would have beaten anybody that it didn't hit. .

I'm not sure what you mean? Please show where you disagree with any of my statement rather than trying to infer something which is not there.

It's ruined rugby with all the stoppages and it robbed us of that victory against South Africa when the video was inconclusive. The game is now all stop/start and I can't watch it any more. Technology in cricket is not infallible either. That snickometer often gives a false impression. Offsides in football are not easy to decide with any accuracy. That howler on Sunday didn't need technology, it just needed an official who was up to his job.

He was a big improvement on Stekelenburg when he came back, and he had been subject to criticism very similar to what Foster is getting now.

Who was the ex-player who used to give the halftime pep-talks to the crowd? We had a referees meeting just after at which he was the speaker. I asked him if that result the week before had affected their planning. His reply was something along the lines of 'Not really. We wanted to at least get a goal and we were dispappointed not to'. Too bloody right we were.