Sheaf Saint

Absolutely this. If the goal stands, then it's 4-1 and suddenly we get a bit of belief and Utd realise they have some defending to do to stop us from clawing our way back into it. They don't then go and get a 5th and 6th in quick succession, and we don't end the game with 9 men. That incorrect decision was what turned it into a 9-0 game, which up until that point it clearly wasn't.

Exactly. They have taken the wording of the laws far too literally, rather than acknowledge that the scenario didn't actually fit with the reason the law was introduced. Just as they did with the handball against Villa.

This is it. He's a fucking primadonna who wants to grab the headlines. I cannot remember a single example of him awarding a contentious decision in our favour. He has no objectivity whatsoever and is unfit to be a PL referee.

The thing is though, the decision to disallow Che's goal was farcical. There's no way you can look at those lines and say with absolute certainty he was offside, and the goal should have stood. At 4-1, suddenly it's a different game. We get a bit of confidence and belief and maybe we go on to score another. So yeah, you can say it looks like sour grapes, but the fact is that one decision did have a massive influence on he outcome of the game. And it was the wrong decision. Out of interest, does anyone know how many "goals" we have had disallowed during our recent barren spell? It feels like it must be about 7 or 8.

Fair enough. I retract the "prick" from Martial and throw it to Dean instead x1000.

My thinking is that although we don't have loads of players isolating because of positive tests, the lockdown restrictions are preventing us from using our recovery facilities, so if can be argued that our squad availability is being impacted by Covid, albeit indirectly.

Good if him to admit that after the match. Why couldn't he have said it to Dean when he produced the red card for Jan? Prick.

The PL have completely fucked this once wonderful sport this season with their ridiculous rules and the way they have implemented VAR. A blatant handball isn't a penalty because there was the slightest graze of the player's thigh first, If you try and pull out of a tackle it's a red card but if you go clean through the player it's only a yellow, You can be offside because of your sleeve. This is all a fucking suck joke. I'm done with it. PL you can stick your fucking 'brand' up your arse.

Mike Dean can fuck off as far as I am concerned. He's such a self-important, officious prick who always, and I mean ALWAYS, tries to make himself the star of the show. Edit: ok that was a bit harsh.

OK so what would be the consequences of us just walking off the pitch now?

Typo? 😉

He couldn't not in that situation. It was an awful tackle and the red was fully deserved. Jankewitz is a fucking idiot.

Bertrand has played the LCB role in a 3 before and done very well. The question would be who would we play ahead of him? Djenepo? Ralph tried playing him at LWB away at Sheff Utd last season and it was a disaster.

Certainly not praying, because getting to watch Saints had been one of the few things that has kept me sane during lockdown. But it wouldn't be such a bad thing, given our injury list at present. Anyway, someone already said there has been no snow in Manc, and what we have had in Sheffield is already starting to melt, so it looks like it will probably go ahead.

Yes, I already addressed that point in my previous post. Despite the lack of fans and the undersoil heating, if it's too dangerous for other essential personnel to travel then it will be postponed.

Not just the playing staff they have to think about though. There's the officials, the support staff, the TV crews etc. There's a yellow warning of snow and ice all across the north for the next few days. If travel conditions are too risky then I can see it getting pulled.

Yeah we've had loads here on the other side of the peaks in Sheffield. Don't know what it's like in Salford, and obviously we don't have to consider fan safety travelling to and from the ground, but if the team and/or officials can't get there due to travel disruption then it might well be postponed. Would be a blessing if so, given our injury problems.

There is a "you'll have to do" aspect to it, but it's more from the players' perspective than the club's. Agents will advise their clients to hold out until the very last moment to see if they get any better offers before accepting one that was made earlier in the window.

If that happens that will be two January windows in a row where we will have offloaded a fullback to Arsenal and got one from Spurs in return.

Maybe you should change your username to Mr Bleftside?

Was it Martin Semmens or Matt Crocker who recently said we no longer see loans as an appropriate way to develop our youth talent? That being the case, it would seem that neither Valery nor Vokins has a future at the club. And yes, if we come out of this window having loaned out our two backup fullbacks without bringing in at least one player to replace them, it would be a total failure of management from the entire club. So I have to be confident that we have already done a deal and are waiting to announce it later today.

I can only assume that's it. But looking at the position of Konsa when the ball gets forward to Stu, I don't see how he could possibly have been higher up the pitch than Danny when the ball left Diallo's foot. Very strange.

Thanks found it. It gets even more bizarre, because there was a blatant foul on Diallo as he played the ball forward to Stu as well. The taters didn't even comment on it. None of our players questioned it. The lino is supposed to keep his flag down until the phase of play is over. What exactly has he seen here? It's just mental. ⚽ Southampton vs Aston Villa Highlights & Full Match 30 January 2021 - Full Matches Replay - Google Chrome 2021-01-31 10-38-02.mp4

Does anyone know where I can watch a full re-run of the match? I need to see that phantom offside incident shortly before Villa scored, because that is just bizarre. Nobody was even slightly close to being in an offside position during that move, and the lino ignored the guidelines about keeping his flag down until the ball is either in the net or has been cleared. Questions need to be asked about that.