Whitey Grandad

That's England, what about the rest if the world? Actually the sun is not cooling, it's just getting 'quiter'.

The point is, even if it was not judged a foul it was still 'serious foul play'.

'Warmest on record'? How far back do these 'records' go?

Yes, provided that the incident was not dealt with by the referee at the time. A yellow card, for example, cannot be upgraded to a red but an off-the-ball incident definitely can. Technically it wouldn't be a card but a suspension. It won't happen in Brown's case unless a complaint is made and Foy says that he didn't see it, but he won't say that.

It dates back to 1998: http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/footballdevelopment/news/newsid=70380/index.html The wording was changed later (several times) . The wording of law 12 is now: 'A tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent must be sanctioned as serious foul play.' Note the word 'tackle' and not 'foul'. I've found various later discussions: http://www.bettersoccercoaching.com/soccerforum/Topic26-4-1.aspx http://asktheref.com/Soccer%20Rules/Question/18391/

That's not the point really, is it? 'Could we do better?' Is the real question.

I quite agree. The problem I have is that none (not one) of the climate models takes into account the effect of solar high-energy activity. Not surprising really since there is no science to cover it, but it is there.

No it wasn't. The FIFA directive specifically covered this type of foul.

Quite a bit more than 5 yards.

It was a FIFA directive.

He's good but he's not top-notch. And I agree about Shaw, he should have done better with Johnson.

If he goes to West Ham then he won't be going to Brazil. Carroll is always going to be ahead of him.

It certainly used to be. It seems to have fallen by the wayside.

In my opinion there's no way that you could call that a clean tackle.

http://nextgrandminimum.wordpress.com/page/2/ http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24851-sleepy-sun-thickens-the-slow-solar-wind.html#.UtsVoH-QGK0 http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/cern-scientist-says-another-maunder.html http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=2131&category=Science

As I've just posted, do you think there was any way that Brown could win that ball cleanly, even if he touched it before the man? He was always going to bring Gastón down whatever happened.

A few years ago FIFA had a go at trying to eliminate tackles from behind. Studies had shown that a lot of layers were getting serious ankle injuries from such tackles, mainly because they couldn't see them coming. Referees were instructed to issue red cards for any tackle from behind liable to endanger the safety of an opponent. This didn't seem to last very long. Brown's tackle was always going to follow through and endanger Gastón whether he got the ball first or not. Earlier in the season Brown was given a red card which was later rescinded. This undermines the referee concerned and may even be going through their minds every time that Brown makes another tackle.

Hmm... Very interesting. I wonder what nickname he'll choose for the club? Southampton Snakes anybody?

Yes, amazing isn't it.

Law 12: A player is guilty of serious foul play if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when challenging for the ball when it is in play. A tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent must be sanctioned as serious foul play. Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

Yes, very poor. At one time any tackle from behind liable to injure an opponent would be an automatic red card. At least we effectively have an FA Cup break next Saturday but I don't think two weeks are going to be enough for these two.

From the replay it happened when Lovren was on the ground. He tried to kick the ball and his right knee contacted the back of the other player's leg so as his leg straightened it strained his knee. Gastón's looked nasty. Brown's follow-through caught Gastón's left ankle and his full weight bent it through 90 degrees. It looked nasty but I don't think we'll know until the swelling goes down.

Exactly. The follow-through is enough for a foul.

Agreed. They talk about a reduction from a valuation of £100m to £80m as a 'loss' of £30m. In fact, both figures are probably a profit on the total investment. They imply that this reduction is due to Cortese leaving, which raises suspicions about the origins of the story.

I dreamt last night that we won 3-2. Mind you, we were playing on a local park pitch so make of that what you will.