I knew we could not have played any worst than we had against Sheffield United, and we didn't. I felt we put the effort in and with a bit more luck might have snatched a goal. Watching last night it was a relief to see that we try our hardest to compete. So was it totally and utterly unreasonable for me to at least expect a little of 'credit where credit's due reporting from the papers', and not always continue to be the laughing stock of the Premiership? I wouldn't mind so much if they were legitimetly criticising our style of play, but the so-called football writers (and I use that term loosely) have started treating every one of our games as if it is a personal affront to them, and all that is great and good about the English Premiership, supposedly the best league in the world. They write about our hideous style of play, as if it's the worst thing to happen to the beautiful game. Let me ask you this: 'Is it worse than a certain portugease player, with a reputation for diving, thereby continually bringing the game into disrepute? No because it's Manchester United. Is it worse than the current craze for foreign ownership of football clubs? No because it's Chelsea and Liverpool. I bet if we had some billionaire tycoon come and takeover the club tomorrow, they wouldn't even mention our style of play. We are a soft target however, and will continue to be, probably for the rest of the season, and our best revenge will be a position 16th or above. OK rant over. Ref had a good game btw.
I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments GG, but even more worrying are the muppets who come on these boards and join in the idiotic criticism of our style of play, as though we have the players and the resources to start flicking it around like Brazil. I'll take points however they come, be it "ugly football" or not. To me, there's nothing more beautiful than us competing physically and winning the challenges. It's when we are limp and directionless (like against Sheff Utd) that I can't stand it.
Totally agree with you views If it's any consolation I was listening to the match on Radio 5 Live, and they were full of praise for watford, said that we dominated the game, and deserved to win and have more points on the board. They only mentioned our style of play a couple of times but it wasn't negative comments, they said that we play to our stengths and is a very similar way to when the great GT was manager and the teams don't like playing against us.
Agree with you Jobr, the ref missed a blatant push on Young just outside the box in the second half. Some of our tackles on the City players were also 'industrial' at times. But I think we deserve to get away with a things like that for a change.
Very true on the industrial bit. we targeted fat boy Barton and he didn't like it, he had no answer as his reputation now proceeds him. Quality songs about his brother and bars of soap At one point in the first half the ref was on the edge of the box, 3 or 4 players in front of him, city player goes over on the dead ball line blatant handball, ref swipes his hands nothing doing. I have no problem with not getting the handball as the guy clearly had no way of seeing it, but don't then gesture and thus make a decision on something that was impossible to see.
The ref also missed a blatant corner too, plus did you see the linesman (on the side opposite the dugouts) wave for a throw to us, look at the ref then change his mind? Gutless.
Francis was lucky not to get a red, and after that incident, two or three more incidents where he could have given yellows!!
I was watching it at home in the comfort of my living room unfortuanately and i cant whole heartedly agree with your comments on the ref if it is compared to some of the referees we have had to endure this season. For a start the referee cannot be blamed for a gutless linesman, the "blatant" penalty decision was nothing of the sort, bearing in mind that he didnt have the privaledge of viewing it as I did.. from where he was it would have looked as it obviously did to him and that was a player trying to dupe a penalty out of him, regardless of the fact that it was a shirt pull by Jay, the fact is that the shirt pull was only really visible when watching the replay at an angle the ref couldnt have seen it at. (Pearce quote from skysports.com Pearce frankly admitted that referee Mark Clattenburg got it right when he decided that Watford defender Jay DeMerit had not fouled City's Bernardo Corradi for a penalty.) Not to say that the ref was flawless... they rarely are, but I dont feel he made any decisions wrong based on what he could see, unlike last week against Shef Utd when Webber was clearly offside and this should have been spotted by the linesman but wasnt.. and there was a defenite push when the ball was down their end and a blatant handball, again that should have been spotted by the referees assistant. For my money the ref did a good job, and I hope we get more refs like that this season rather than the refs we have had that always side with the big clubs with big players. I sometimes feel that it is a common belief by many of the officials that we dont deserve to be in this leaguie and they want us out.. fortunately the ref last night doesnt seem to hold that view and judged things fairly.
If you haven't already, don't buy the Mirror or the Daily Mail, they are the worst culprits, I agree with you moog, I remember early last season, after the Derby away game, my dad, saying something along the lines of, I don't mind if we lose 6-0 as long as we put the effort in. At the time, it was a relevation to be playing that way, because of the limp and lifeless performances put in by the team towards the end of the Lewington era. Kind of a 'My god we're playing football again'. So, now not entirely unreasonably, our expectations have been raised a bit, by being in the Premiership, so losing 6-0 every week would not bode well, with anybody. BUT-alongside this should come a dose of realism about life in the Premiership. You play to your strengths and the resoursces you have. I'll sit through every single match if we play like we did last night, if it means we are still in this league next season, and can work towards something better. To this end, Aidy has got it absolutely right, and critics have got it wrong. He deserves a medal already for continuing to motivate the team, against the backlash that seems to inevitably follow them with every game they play. Ok rant (part 2) over
wfchornet2, when I said gutless I didn't mean the ref I did mean the linesman. He didn't stick with his decision but changed his mind when he saw the ref signalling even though he was in a better position to see it.
