tajjuk

Shoves in the chest are not red cards, which is exactly why the City player tried to fake the face injury because he knew that is a sending off by the letter of the law, raising hands to someones face is a red card for violent conduct I believe, even if it's open palm (which is stupid in itself) but push in the chest is not. That is a yellow card every day of the week and happens ALL the time in pretty much every level of football. If any of our players got a red card for that I'd be livid at the referee, and I'd also be ashamed if any of our players did what that Man City player did. As for his reaction to the Man City centre back, well when someone gets you in a headlock you tend to want to push them away and get out of it, which is what he did. Seems a pretty standard reaction to me, and he actually seems to keep his cool a lot better than most players around him. The initial foul is much worse than what Wilshere did, it's not studs up or anything but they guy is leading with his shoulder and knows exactly what he is doing, it's not just late, it's a tackle where there is zero intention to play the ball and just full intention to injure his man. Then he goes down stupidly easy to the push holding his face which he was not touched in. Wilshere should have got a yellow, the city player who did the initial tackle should have got two yellows, one for his first tackle and then one for simulation and the city no.5 should have been sent off.

Was quite funny in the behind the scenes video where he is going round St Mary's and notices the lack of barriers and how close the fans are to the pitch, looked a bit worried there for a second.

Also Barcelona have £200 million cash guaranteed because you can't structure buy outs deals any other way, PSG paid all that cash up front so a bit cheeky for them to go and over Liverpool the money over 5 years. Plus they clearly have space on the wage bill as I think Neymar was the second highest wage earner as well.

To be fair to him, not only was the challenge on him obscenely late but all he did was push the guy in the chest and the Man City player went down like he'd been shot holding his face. The ref got conned it was a yellow all day and you kind of understand that a guy with his injury record might react to late challenge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ByaL37k0Go He's still a talented player but I don't think he fits our profile, too much baggage. If we should be getting anyone from Arsenal, it's the Ox

That is all four of his caps.... Also VVD has been injured or basically not fit for that period, so if anything Hoedt has basically been filling in for him. Their main centre-back is De Vrij, who is also at Lazio, is a very good player, who's contract is apparently running out when I was reading that Lazio thread to other day. He's been linked to Liverpool and a few other clubs over the summer and is apparently happy to leave on a free next year if he doesn't go this summer. The Lazio fans seem a bit confused they were selling Hoedt when De Vrij was also going, but reckoned they got a good deal overall and also reckoned De Vrij wouldn't come to us, There is also Ake, De Light who is a very good young prospect at Ajax, Martins Indi who just signed for Stoke and Reidewald who just signed for Crystal Palace, plus Daley Blind as well. I'd say their main two would be De Vrij and VVD. But most of the Dutch defence seems to be in the Premier League. Hoedt seems to be in the next group of players, but there is no reason he couldn't push to becoming first choice with us, and forming a partnership with VVD probably wouldn't harm his chances, they are also a left foot/right foot combo.

Considering the market £75 million will probably be standard next year anyway. To be honest he'll be in no different a situation than Mahrez currently is, i.e waiting for the buying club to meet the selling club's valuation and VVD will be told that and will have to accept it. Once 1st of September rolls round I think it'll hit home that he doesn't have as much power as he thought (or was told) he has and he might reconsider his position. We may also see him think about the advice he has been given and whether it was really in his best interest or his agents. He'll also know that the club won't sell him January either. A lot can change in a year and certainly with premiership teams there is a shift IMO of clubs standing more firm against this aggressive transfer policy where other clubs try to unsettle players to agitate for moves. Plus it entirely depends who clubs sign, the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool etc. may find centre-backs that they are happy with and VVD is left with nowhere to go.

I suspect Long, Clasie, Gazza might go before the end of the window and we get another attacker in. Long will want more football I reckon. I doubt we can give Gardos away. It'll also be interesting to see what happens with PEH as he hasn't even made the bench for the first two games and seems massively out of favour. Might be another that leaves, maybe on loan. Kreuger seemed to indicate that we were getting more than just one player in and several of the ITKs have said we are after an attacker.

Gardos seems nowhere near any team, hasn't played in either U23 game yet and did he play any of the friendlies? I suspect he might our Winston Bogarde and we'll only get rid of him when his contract expires. Basically we have 4 first team defenders really, Hoedt, Yoshida, Stephens and Bednerak. VVD is in the wilderness at the moment, once the window shuts he still has to be re-integrated into the team and get match fit so that could take a while. Then in reality he's only here for another year.

Seems a bit early to write off Hojberg, he's only 22.

Let's not get too carried away, Lazio fans rated him as a back up, 3rd choice centre-back and they finished 5th last year and 8th the year before, in what is probably a less strong league. What's good is he's 23 so hopefully can improve and obviously brings more physicality at the back winning more headers. Interesting to see if we get more attacking player in.

Eh? Soft is a pretty stupid term to describe a decision, in most cases it's a foul or not a foul, this was a clear cut foul, it's in the box thus it's a penalty. If most refs wouldn't have given it then that is them not doing their job correctly. If one of our defenders had shoved a West Ham player like that in the box and they got a penalty I'd find it very hard to criticise the ref for it and would be lambasting our defender for such a silly decision and not doing his job properly. Like they said on MOTD he got most of the big decisions right, the one he didn't was Noble's tackle on Lemina. Probably highlights the problem with football and why it's so hard for referees when they get most of their decision right but people still criticise them. More refs should stop bottling blatant fouls in the box and defenders would stop doing them. No, if you look at the laws then it's about hands in unnatural positions, movement towards the ball, and distance the ball has travelled. All of that to me said no penalty, he was really close to the ball, his arm was by his side and he didn't move his arm to the ball. if you give pens for stuff like that then people will start instructing their players to just kick the ball at people's arms and hands in the box.

But then you are creating an error that never happened, not really sure what game you are watching but I'd suggest getting your eyes checked. Go watch it again, there are players in front of him, the shot is low and hard, gets a late deflection off Cedric and he still gets a full hand to it, at that point it's a good save and the team should have done better to help him out, specifically Betrand. I very much hope he wasn't happy with it because it shows he has very high standards and wants to keep improving. But the claim it as an 'error' is plain stupidity or just biased agenda lacking objectivity.

Austin -> JWP -> Gabba for me, not sure I'd have Tadic anywhere near it. I think I'f fancy Long to score more than Tadic. Tadic seems to lack power in anything he does, just likes to stroke the ball everywhere which is good for passing, not so good for shooting.

I'm not really sure how VAR really works, but I know in Cricket that to overturn the on field umpires decision they need clear evidence of an error. There was none there, if they'd gone to VAR then how could be argue that it wasn't a foul, very odd comment from Hackett there, maybe this is why he's the 'ex' head of referees. I agree I don't get a description of soft, it's a foul and the defending player was trying to stop our player illegally.

No I'm paying enough attention I just think you know very little about goalkeeping. As for Ederson I've seen him a few times before and didn't impress there, looks very much like another Bravo to me (albeit much younger with potential) in that he's being valued for his footballing ability over his actual ability to be a goalkeeper and he's been far from convincing in his first few games nor pre-season when I saw him. If we'd paid £35 million for him I'd be dissapointed, certainly would not swap him for Forster. Your first comment is utter nonsense 'the odd good save' pah. As for the speed thing, as I said above he was very quick in getting back up to try to block Hernanddez's shot, WAY quicker than our supposedly top class left back, so again your comments have very little to back them up. Not better than Schmeichel? Did you watch him last year under Ranieiri? Let's be honest Huth and Morgan having excellent seasons the year before where they basically cleared everything anywhere near him, coupled with some lenient refereeing that allowed them to get away with some gamemanship, made it pretty easy for Schmiechel, last year he got exposed more and was shown to be what he is, a good shot stopper but nothing special. I mean there is a reason he has bounced around the lower leagues for most of his career. He's not a top class keeper, he's a good one. And then your other list? Mignolet is better? Romero? Seriously what are you smoking. We have a good keeper, not a world class one but a consistently good one that makes most saves required of him and makes very few mistakes. I'll tell you now that Liverpool would be having far less problems with Forster in goal than Mignolet or Karius. I think it highglights exactly how clueless most people are about goalkeeping that he got criticism for the weekend, when the guy made some excellent saves and was not at fault for any of the goals, but clueless people like you still criticise him. This basically. The criticism full stop is unfounded, but to criticise him after that game is frankly bizarre.

I don't get the criticism of him, he made a really good save in the first half, his block for the header he tipped onto the bar was stunning and he was unlucky the rebound went straight to Hernandez. As for the goal he seems to being criticised for, well for a start it came through some bodies but also watch it again, it deflect's off Cedric's heal so for him to save it full stop was pretty good and most of the criticism IMO should be directed at Romeu for being turned by Antonio so easily and Bertrand for being asleep and not getting to the rebound. He'd clearly switched off. What also impressed me was after that parry he was very quickly up again to try to block Hernandez's shot (again reacted way more quickly than Bertrand did), which sadly he didn't, but I thought last year he wasn't doing that as much so they seem to have worked on his speed a bit, I think he was probably not fit last year and was carrying a bit too much muscle mass which made him a bit ponderous at times and less agile. Like someone above said, he was better than Joe Hart was, he looks a better keeper to me than the one Man City have just signed for £35 million. Let's be honest we are not going to get a Czech or De Gea or Lloris (who has been making more errors of late) at the club, but from the rest of the premier league keepers who is honestly better? Butland would be the only clear one and there is no way we are getting him, they will sell him for £40-50 million I reckon. Pickford? cost £30 million and IMO is still very raw. Then you have people like Mignolet, Hart, Ederson, Schmeichel, Foster etc. He's certainly not worse than that lot and IMO better. Find the whole thing weird IMO, he didn't have a great season last year but he's a very good GK and we wouldn't get better without spending £40-50 million or taking the risk on someone unproven.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/08/20/premier-league-weekend-saw-best-worst-refereeing/ Kieth Hackett criticising Lee Mason, mainly seems to be about the Noble tackle which generally most people seem to think was a red, but also says - Not my opinion and didn't seem to be the opinion of the match of the day pundits, would VAR have helped with that? I think it would have just shown what is a clear push, no way you could over turn that surely?

Personally I think it's harsh to criticise Forster, he'll be disappointed but it looks to me like it took a deflection of the heel of Cedric as far as I can tell. Watch it back, as Antonio shoots Cedric is basically in the way so he'll be partially blocking Forster's view and then he flicks his heel out at it and the ball deviates. It's a full stretch fingertips save, very difficult for him to control where that goes, if anything he saved it too well. He was also really unlucky with the second, that was a great reaction stop from pretty much point blank to tip it onto the bar but it happened to go straight back to Hernadez. To be honest both goals are lucky that they basically go straight to Hernandez, just one of those things. Out of the 3 people involved (possibly 4 because looking at it Cedric could have tried to block it better) I think Forster is the least to blame, Romeu should have not allowed him to turn so easily and Bertrand is basically asleep.

Yeh like the club are going to let Chelsea sign basically our entire defence barely a week before the end of the window. Gazzetta del Sport in Italy reckon Juve are looking at VVD.

That is above the shinpad, all the pros where stupidly small ones. He needs time, not many players instantly get used to the league and MP said he wasn't fully fit so expect more to come from him but the potential is there for him to be a beast I reckon.

Certainly made some errors and it's clear we are still a work in progress. Also clear that we need some more aerial presence at the back, Stephens and Yoshida are too similar and not physical enough. Where we miss VVD, but hopefully Hoedt will compensate for that. Also Tadic continues to be an enigma.

West Ham the better team? We had far the better chances and just didn't kill them off.

At least we have the goals thing off our backs. IF we can get VVD back into the team and sign Hoedt, dare say we will be a pretty good team.

Meh they should have been down to 9 anyway so justice prevailed in the end.

Meh, Davis on the right side? Are we worried about Cresswell?