It may be a bit controversial and unorthodox, but why don't teams stick a tall player on the line for freekicks like this? From Foster's positioning, he was clearly expecting Salah to take it towards his right. That allowed the entire left hand side somewhat unprotected. Basically if you get it on target on that side it will go in. Had someone like Cathcart stood on the line near Foster's left hand post, it would vastly reduce A-A's chances of scoring. It could put pressure on the freekick taker or maybe they would not even bother shooting that side at all. Just a thought.
The problem with that I suppose is the crafty ball tapped around the wall for their forwards to run on to and all played onside by the man on the line. My unorthodox thought on it from that distance is whether having a wall is really worth it? As I said originally, it doesn't that that much skill for a Prem player to get an FK up and over the wall from that sort of distance. So what's the wall there for? All it's doing is blocking the keeper's view and perhaps blocking the occasional free kick mis-hit low. So, is there some alternative to wall?
Keeping a player onside is of course true if you do that, but it adds an extra level of complication to the attacking side, which would benefit the defending team. I think the risk would be worth taking. With regards to not having a wall, I think it would be a huge risk. Players can hit the ball very hard these days. Plus, there would be nothing to stop the attacking side placing their own wall to disguise who would be taking the kick. Obviously they would disperse at the last moment.
I always thought that vulture thing on their badge was big bird from Sesame Street: Or maybe crazy legs crane
How about we play Kabasele over Mapps next game? Since Kabasele hasn't been playing, our defence has worsened... Surely it's obvious enough?
I think many have said Liverpool were the better side but the fact is, it’s a penalty and had we scored it may well have changed the outcome. I don’t believe many people in the Newcastle thread discussed the ref as the fault for losing the game was clearly our own. Its a thread about the match and it’s talking points of which the penalty incident is biggest point to be talked about. Had that been the other end I’m pretty sure that would have been given. I would be interested in what VAR would have done yesterday
Gracia stayed loyal to our players when we were unbeaten and got lots of praise for not changing the team. Unfortunately his tiny brain cannot comprehend that when a team starts losing you need to change the underperforming players.
Am always gutted when we dont win Think 0-3 flattered them, they had possession but in the first half didn’t look all that. Reality is we did a lot of work and our players were probably knackered by the time Liverpool scored. However what the game does show is the difference beteeen top 4 and best(ish) of the rest, they just kept coming , we frustrated for a while but they just kept going waiting for us to get knackered. Think our defence did all right, thought foster looked good (even with the 0-3 scoreline), Not sure if it was a pen but am sure the ref is a fat **** I do like (and expect grief for this) the way that when we go down down we bring on two more strikers and go for it , ok so we lost 0-3 but if we didn’t do something it was game over anyway Think the grief towards Deeney is a bit extreme from what I could see he was doing a lot of work back in defence (ok I know he is a striker) , personally I would have started Success but can see why the physicality of Deeney made him a good choice to start. I do however recognise that we could do with a 15 a season striker . With a bit more time I think the combination of Bobby P, and Gerry D out wide with Success running through the middle could be truly scary and that’s before we add Penaranda into the equation ****ed off but not depressed (yet)
I don't know why the defenders are being criticised tbh. We are playing Liverpool probably along with City best in the league. Their front players are going to cause problems for most teams. Did well to keep them out for so long.
Their front players do cause problems for most teams. So therefore individual errors need to be kept to a premium, or even better, not happen at all. That didn't happen with Mariappa or Femenia so that's why they are being criticised.
Well as some have suggested, its unlikely VAR would have done anything yesterday. Because Deulofeu was offside so that decision would have been correctly upheld... and if Moss was as biased towards Liverpool (or against us as some would believe) then its unlikely he would have even referred the penalty call to VAR.
Why wouldn't he have reviewed the penalty incident? VAR is going to be used next season and the referee will be advised that there is something to review by the VAR assessor. He would be obliged the look at the video replay then either uphold his original decision or reverse it. If another referee tells him to watch the incident again, why would he ignore that advice?
Yep. Every match thread is the same these days after a defeat. It used to be a fun romp through managerial change bed wetting, remembering where we came from and calling Deeney fat.
With a central free kick like that why not get the middle 2 in the wall to peel away at the last second to give the keeper a clear view? Still leaves 2 walls covering the corners so still have to go over with kick. Thinking outside the box - literaly!
People do realise VAR is just used to correct in the eyes of those officials watching a clear and obvious error . We still would be relying on them to tell Mr Moss he'd made a mistake on the penalty incident which he did in the eyes of many but even in the World Cup some clear decisions weren't corrected .
Well here's a completely different view from Robertson over the penalty. https://www.anfieldhq.com/jon-moss-should-have-booked-will-hughes-says-andy-robertson/ Funny really, seeing as in real time all Liverpool players instantly appealed for no penalty. It was an instant human reaction, that gave away their feeling of guilt. Chris Kamara even said this on GoS. He said always look at player's reaction. They all instantly appealed. That tells you they all thought it was a penalty in real time.
It,s a shame with VAR in its current form that refs are not miked up so we can hear their reasoning like they do in rugby Jon Moss ... Oh a Watford player gone down , shall we give it? Oh no they are just a little team and we can't upset the nice Mr Klopp
Will Hughes meanwhile can't even say with any certainty if it was a penalty. Says he 'felt a little contact' but, in a contact sport, that's far from the be all and end all. https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/s...he-was-caught-by-liverpools-andrew-robertson/
All you have to consider is, had it been the other way around it would have been given? Had there been VAR available it would also have been given, as all the camera angles suggest contact, and every Liverpool defender immediately appealed ‘no penalty’ at the time which clearly shows they all thought it was a penalty. Did Hughes make the most of it, yes. But Wilson and Zaha do that every week. They make the most of small touches and everyone defends them for doing it, and the argument given is that have been touched so have the right to go down. Why is it different if a Watford player does it? The rules have to be the same for everyone.
I think there's as much chance Hughes would have been booked for diving after a VAR review as the penalty being given. It can be argued either way. Certainly 'a little contact' isn't enough to justify a penalty on it's own and the longer it stays that way the better. Chris Kamara's footballing psychology for beginners lesson doesn't really interest me. VAR isn't going to review player reactions to decide whether it was a foul or not. The reality is some pundits say it was a penalty, plenty of others don't agree. You're right everyone does it so I'm certainly not lambasting Hughes for making the most of it. He had a go at winning a penalty and you do see them given. But let's not pretend it was nailed on (or a red card, as you floated earlier in the thread). As for the others, don't forget Zaha got booked for diving here last season when Mariappa made some contact with him while tackling in the box in front of the Rookery. It's a classic 'win some, lost some' situation.
I have to say, having watched the replay, it's not as "stonewall" as I'd thought at the time. Certainly I do think it's a penalty, based on the various factors, but not the glaring, obvious miss that I'd felt when watching it from 120 yards away in the Family Stand in real time. Overall, I think it changes little. We were undone by a combination of slight cracks in concentration and the absolute masterclass of attacking football by Liverpool, once we left space to attack as we chased an equaliser/consolation. I don't blame Javi for tactics or selection. Playing a team that much better than us is not going to result in a positive outcome very often and I felt we played the best way to give ourselves a shot at it.