CanadaSaint

I agree with that. I've mentioned before that the National Hockey League became so fast-moving that they introduced a second referee in 1999. It's far from perfect but it's much better than it was. I'd be sad to see the introduction of video review in football, and a second ref might delay the day when that needs to be seriously considered.

Jeez, there's a hell of a lot of competition. Friend, Mason, Atkinson and Foy are dire - and seemingly getting worse. I don't ever remember seeing it this bad.

I would be shocked if we didn't go to the continent for a quality central defender in the Summer. Pochettino will want someone capable of playing it out accurately and creatively from the back. IMO Lescott doesn't fit that bill much more than Jos.

Yes, they really do need to clarify it because it's becoming ludicrous. Nobody has any idea when it will be given because "the letter of the law" has been changed by interpretation directives. Newcastle were denied a penalty (or survived a penalty appeal?) last week for a more 'blatant' version of the one given against Fox when we played there. The "letter of the law" was that it had to be intentional. I can kind of see the point about not deliberately "expanding your body" but penalties are being given when players don't have a cat in hell's chance of getting out of the way, never mind seeking a deliberate advantage.

Yep, but as someone else said I think the teams did rather cancel eachother out. It was frustrating listening as well as watching, with Barry Horne showing his Welsh roots rather than balanced objectivity.

I don't have a big downer on Fox and he did okay today, but it's not just about his individual performance. It's also about the fact that IMO other players fall short of their normal performances because of the need to cover for his lack of physical and mental pace. We tend to be pulled out of our normal defensive and midfield shape when he's playing, and I dread us turning the ball over when he has pushed up. These issues are far less of a concern when Shaw is playing.

I'm amazed that MP didn't anticipate that - unless Shaw is not fully fit.

Thinking back over their last two "must win" fixtures, Fulham and Wigan, it seems clear that QPR's problems are between their ears. Their capacity for self-destruction has been almost unbelievable. A hundred million quid's worth of talent and about 50p's worth of brains.

That's how I saw it, too. NA had his team playing exactly how they needed to play against us. I wanted us to stay as tight as we could during those opening phases and then let our superior class and fitness take over. What is especially encouraging is that we can - and will - vary our tactics based on the opposition; we're not a high-press, one-trick pony. And exactly the same approach as today should serve us well next week, and against teams like Stoke and Sunderland. But we still need to take our chances better when they come along; we missed three relatively easy chances today. Against a better team that could have been very costly.

So, in some cases, we weren't imagining it! http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/27818?

LOL - probably not. As I said earlier, I don't recall the standard of officiating ever being this low. But, as you've said, blowing free kick and penalty calls is one thing, but missing lethal tackles is something else. I'll probably get whacked for this but I'm wondering if it's time for football to join (ice) hockey in having two referees - essentially one for each half. The game these days is just moving too quickly for them.

He has that affect on every thread he contaminates.

Foy makes me want to vomit. Rose's handball inside the box was far more blatant than the penalty he gave against Fox ar Newcastle. In all the years I've been watching football, the current crop of crap is the direst collection of officials I've ever seen.

Not one of his biggest fans - yet, but I thought Gaston played very well today. I probably wouldn't have started him, preferring to get Puncheon in and reinstate the Clyne/Punch partnership, but I was rather disappointed when he went off - even if Davis solidified things for us at a key time. I just took a lengthy run through RAWK and several of them made admiring comments about three of our players - Schneiderlin, Lallana and Shaw. When it comes to value, there aren't many around who can bring to the table what Schneiderlin brings, game-in and game-out. And now he's consistently adding goals to his resume, he's moving towards elite player status.

I'm not writing him off at all. He has tremendous skill and a vision that's often far ahead of those around him, but I have three concerns. He's not proven himself tough enough for the weekly grind of the Premier League, and we can't afford midfield time-outs at this level. His set-piece delivery has, so far, been poor. And - this perhaps above all - I'm not sure that he fits very well into Pochettino's high-pressing style; when he goes into one of his low-profile phases, it adds a lot to Schneiderlin's and Cork's already-heavy workload. It could be a case of Ramirez OR Lallana but not Ramirez AND Lallana.

I spend quite a bit of time reading other teams' forums, and I've never seen the kind of everyday nasty junk that - by virtue of just a few posters - contaminates this one.

100% correct. Him and his pitiful little band of sneerers. Ironic that two of the worst appear in the first four posts. Yet again, a few p.o.s. screw it up for the many.

I think Nigel has a legal duty to "mitigate his loss", which means that he needs to actively seek alternative employment and take any reasonable position offered to him. Only then would it become clear what he's lost through his (apparently) unfair dismissal. The courts are there to either make that decision or (indirectly) force parties who'd rather avoid the courts to come to an agreement. This isn't personal, as some are so keen to characterize it, but relatively normal practice in situations like this. As much as I think he handled it poorly, all this whining about Cortese is uniformed drivel from the usual suspects. As for those who hope Nigel sticks it to us on a financial and even playing level, that's just pathetic.

For me we dodged a few bullets today. For a start, I'd love to know what the deal is with Forren because I don't understand why we would opt to reunite a central defence pairing that was hung, drawn and quartered by almost everyone that played against them. And we played Maya at right back against a team that usually attacks with pace and width. And, on top of that, we didn't start Puncheon, who strengthens our right side offensively and helps with wide coverage defensively. Having said that, it's a game we should have won - and would have won IMO if Pochettino had brought Puncheon on at around the 60-minute mark. My patience and belief regarding Ramirez are evaporating rapidly. I can buy into all the "he's got tons of skill", "he's still very young", and "he's still adapting to the PL" stuff. To a point. But he's too lightweight, especially for a game and weather conditions like that, and there is no excuse - none whatsoever - for failing to beat the first defender with three successive set pieces.

That game was there for the winning. I thought Pardew and Adkins made some bizarre substitutions but this guy is on another planet.

We need Punch on the right to run at them but also provide some cover for Yoshida.

And we all know how games like this end, don't we?

I've got faith in Pochettino and his style but, for me, he's dropped two big selection clangers in successive games - not starting Puncheon at Newcastle and starting Ramirez today. I hope we quickly get back to what we were doing three weeks ago. Davis is not much more than a journeyman midfielder but he fits very well into the high press.

We will not play a high-pressing game, at least not successfully or consistently, with Ramirez in the line up. Schneiderlin - a key factor in the high aggression - has to play deeper to cover for Ramirez's style, so the press is essentially gone right there. Ramirez may have some cracking skills but he doesn't fit into the so-called Pochettino style. I'm shocked he picked him today.

As soon as I heard Ramirez was starting I knew we'd struggle because of the lost bite in the middle of the pitch. Sure he's talented but he's far too lightweight for a game like this - and probably for the Premier League. Whenever Ramirez plays we lose the marauding element of Schneiderlin's game because he has to err on the side of caution.