kirsikka
UTC Legend
So here we were, the final of our matches against the contenders in quick succession but still with a depleted squad. It meant the same team started, but then there wasn’t any choice. Let’s not allow recent outstanding results to gloss over the fact that still meant we had a CM at right back and a winger playing as a striker.
This was a match between the Champions elect and the form team in the division on an unbeaten run. We may not be competing for the same end of season result, Champions League being our best realistic outcome and even that would take some results from here. However, it was still a top of the table clash. Check Liverpool fans beforehand and they knew they were in for a tough match.
Rant alert: Some people don’t want to read about ref moans or the special treatment some clubs get. If that’s you, skip past the section between ************** because I’m about the unleash the mother of all rants and you don’t want to read it.
**************
Which is why the big talking point of the day is sadly the PGMOL and whoever appoints the officials. Once again making themselves the story rather than the football. Which is tragic when you consider the match up that could have taken place.
Let’s get something clear – a year or two back Darren England absolutely ballsed up when he was the VAR official of a Liverpool match. He incorrectly disallowed a Liverpool goal. As a result he has been kept away from refereeing their matches ever since.
As an aside, has the VAR who incorrectly disallowed Dango’s goal against Newcastle (confirmed as a complete cock up by everyone else who saw it including the PGMOL) been kept away from AFCB matches since? No. Thought not. There’s the one rule for some and another rule for others right in your face.
Back to today. We (and Fulham) used to repeatedly get all the new refs who they wanted to try in the PL for their first or second matches. Suffering from officials nervous and inexperienced at this level as they bumbled their way through their PL trial. The reasoning was always that there’s less at stake in such games, which never rang true to me since I always think the bottom of the table is a bigger and more stressful struggle.
At some point the PGMOL and PL were going to have to give Darren England another Liverpool match. They could wait for a dead rubber where not a lot is on the line and ease him back into things. Or, they could give him a pressure match where Liverpool’s title charge is potentially under thread and simply say “We dare you to give any single decision against Liverpool today”.
That’s what happened. That’s what we witnessed. That’s the complete clusterfuck of an outcome that we saw.
In a way, I almost find it hard to blame the ref as he was given a complete hospital pass by his bosses. He simply had to give them every decision, even the 70-30s where they had no business getting them, as otherwise he knew the sycophantic Liverpool fawning media we witness on a weekly basis would tear him apart.
This season has been refreshing in more ways than in the results we’ve achieved. There have been clangers from officials but there have also been occasions, for the first time ever since we got promoted up here over ten seasons ago, that we’ve actually been given some decisions against Sky Six teams.
Not having the official tilt the game in favour of the Entitled Six every time we play them has made the games much more of a contest. Something to enjoy rather than endure. Normally, because of the officiating, the matches agsinst those teams are the ones I look forward to the least in a season. Not because we’re more likely to lose – I’m an AFCB supporter ffs, hardly hunting football glory in life – but because the matches are fundamentally unfair.
Some of the displays down the years have bordered on the scandalous and today’s is right up there with the very worst.
No doubt because the outcome was what the PL would want for their tv deals and because all those ex-Liverpool player pundits will steamroll over it we won’t hear a peep about it. But make no mistake, the decision to appoint England as the ref for this match was not an oversight, not an accident and not a natural progression of rehabilitating his relationship with Liverpool. It was a dirty and corrupt decision to force a ref into a corner where he could only possibly favour one team and it was a despicable watch.
The worst thing about it is it’s been done in plain sight but because we’re the victim it will be ignored. Enjoy your dirty title Liverpool. You probably would have won it anyway but, as far as I’m concerned, this one will always have a * against it after today.
**************
Welcome back to the match related stuff. I’ll try not to get too much into the officials again but there are places where it can’t be avoided.
The first half I would term our display as a little more withdrawn than normal. Obviously very aware of their pace in attack, we didn’t push them so high. For example, there was little sign of Huijsen stepping into midfield to give us that extra man because of the risk of the breaks.
A more cautious approach can make sense at times and, to be fair, we still caused them some problems. In fact, looking at the half as a whole they had more attempts on goal but we carved out the better chances. On another day, they’d have to count themselves lucky to go in level never mind ahead.
One thing I noticed was Kerkez, in his live trial for a transfer, was standing well off Salah when he had the ball. I understand the concern about his pace and trickery so giving yourself room to react can help but I thought he gave him too much respect.
He should have been in his face, aggressively causing him issues to try and nullify him. Instead, time after time when he got on the ball he had space to pick his pass or take whatever action he wanted and Kerkez wasn’t close enough to stop it.
It wouldn’t cost us until the second half but I thought it was a pattern set in the first.
The first real danger to either goal came from Semenyo feinting one way then the other and finally blasted the ball against the post from an angle. On another day that goes in and everything is different. There was an element like that about quite a few incidents out there today.
No onto the man in the middle. He’d already set his stall out by giving repeated soft free kicks to them but ignoring every single incident in the other direction. Then a ball came over the top into our area. Gakpo was running onto it, Cook tries to beat him there but in the process Gakpo’s heel clips Cook and he collapses. Not a moment’s hesitation from the man in blue. No thinking, just an instant reflex penalty awarded. Given what’s gone before with this ref, what were the chances of VAR doing the right thing and intervening? Exactly, none.
It was a shocking decision but one that the media love-in for the oh-so-hilarious cheeky SCouse chappies (Great sense of humour. Honestly. Just ask them. They tell everyone) will sidestep. No point tarnishing the Big Show when it means one of their favourites look set on getting the title.
Utterly ridiculous. The spot kick was despatched but, really, it was 1-0 to the referee.
Clearly, it was back to business as usual when it came to officials and playing the Sky Six again. A real shame.
Still, at least we didn’t turtle. A swift move saw Semenyo draw the defenders and then play Kerkez in and his cross was met expertly by Brooks for a quality goal.
Remember when I said it was one of those days? VAR got involved and disallowed it for a marginal offside. Probably right so I don’t really have complaints there but it backs up what I already said about it being one of those days.
In the end, halftime came with a few chances for either side but no major saves from either keeper. The difference being the man in blue.
We came out after the break aggrieved and fired up but things wouldn’t come off for us. Dango and Kluivert got in each others way when both were in for a free header. Then a goal bound Kluivert volley hit an unawares Liverpool defender just in front of the goal. It was almost comical.
It was a much more snarling, in your face approach to play in the second period. No sitting back at all and we were by far the better team. We just couldn’t finish.
I mentioned Kerkez standing off defensively but the other side of his game was also on display. The hard running crazy fullback he promised when he joined, a constant thorn in their side going forward.
Meanwhile the man in blue continued his wild inconsistencies. Huijsen tried and failed to stop a breakaway with a foul but the advantage was played and the move developed. When it broke down, he went back to book the Spaniard. Fair enough. Except when the exact same thing happened in the first half and Brooks was cleaned out in an effort to stop a breakaway, the ref played the advantage and when it broke down... did nothing.
It’s this constant tilting throughout the whole match that ruined it. A potentially epic match up destroyed by putting the worst possible candidate in charge of it. A man terrified of doing anything that would upset Liverpool.
Another example... the already booked Mac Allister took a wild kick at the ball but completely missed it and instead booted Brooks, also halting another breakaway. Surely a second yellow card? No. A stern talking to instead also known as a “Big Six Pass” to sub the player so the ref wouldn’t have to be at risk of sending off a Liverpool player. It was horrific and embarrassing to watch.
Shortly afterwards Dango won the ball back cleanly from Jones, who theatrically collapsed, and we were breaking three on two but... Yes. You guessed it. The ref pulled it back for a free kick. The commentator and pundit on my coverage were laughing at the decision it was that bad.
Laugh all you want when you’re a neutral. When you support the team being robbed then it’s infuriating.
(continued below...)
This was a match between the Champions elect and the form team in the division on an unbeaten run. We may not be competing for the same end of season result, Champions League being our best realistic outcome and even that would take some results from here. However, it was still a top of the table clash. Check Liverpool fans beforehand and they knew they were in for a tough match.
Rant alert: Some people don’t want to read about ref moans or the special treatment some clubs get. If that’s you, skip past the section between ************** because I’m about the unleash the mother of all rants and you don’t want to read it.
**************
Which is why the big talking point of the day is sadly the PGMOL and whoever appoints the officials. Once again making themselves the story rather than the football. Which is tragic when you consider the match up that could have taken place.
Let’s get something clear – a year or two back Darren England absolutely ballsed up when he was the VAR official of a Liverpool match. He incorrectly disallowed a Liverpool goal. As a result he has been kept away from refereeing their matches ever since.
As an aside, has the VAR who incorrectly disallowed Dango’s goal against Newcastle (confirmed as a complete cock up by everyone else who saw it including the PGMOL) been kept away from AFCB matches since? No. Thought not. There’s the one rule for some and another rule for others right in your face.
Back to today. We (and Fulham) used to repeatedly get all the new refs who they wanted to try in the PL for their first or second matches. Suffering from officials nervous and inexperienced at this level as they bumbled their way through their PL trial. The reasoning was always that there’s less at stake in such games, which never rang true to me since I always think the bottom of the table is a bigger and more stressful struggle.
At some point the PGMOL and PL were going to have to give Darren England another Liverpool match. They could wait for a dead rubber where not a lot is on the line and ease him back into things. Or, they could give him a pressure match where Liverpool’s title charge is potentially under thread and simply say “We dare you to give any single decision against Liverpool today”.
That’s what happened. That’s what we witnessed. That’s the complete clusterfuck of an outcome that we saw.
In a way, I almost find it hard to blame the ref as he was given a complete hospital pass by his bosses. He simply had to give them every decision, even the 70-30s where they had no business getting them, as otherwise he knew the sycophantic Liverpool fawning media we witness on a weekly basis would tear him apart.
This season has been refreshing in more ways than in the results we’ve achieved. There have been clangers from officials but there have also been occasions, for the first time ever since we got promoted up here over ten seasons ago, that we’ve actually been given some decisions against Sky Six teams.
Not having the official tilt the game in favour of the Entitled Six every time we play them has made the games much more of a contest. Something to enjoy rather than endure. Normally, because of the officiating, the matches agsinst those teams are the ones I look forward to the least in a season. Not because we’re more likely to lose – I’m an AFCB supporter ffs, hardly hunting football glory in life – but because the matches are fundamentally unfair.
Some of the displays down the years have bordered on the scandalous and today’s is right up there with the very worst.
No doubt because the outcome was what the PL would want for their tv deals and because all those ex-Liverpool player pundits will steamroll over it we won’t hear a peep about it. But make no mistake, the decision to appoint England as the ref for this match was not an oversight, not an accident and not a natural progression of rehabilitating his relationship with Liverpool. It was a dirty and corrupt decision to force a ref into a corner where he could only possibly favour one team and it was a despicable watch.
The worst thing about it is it’s been done in plain sight but because we’re the victim it will be ignored. Enjoy your dirty title Liverpool. You probably would have won it anyway but, as far as I’m concerned, this one will always have a * against it after today.
**************
Welcome back to the match related stuff. I’ll try not to get too much into the officials again but there are places where it can’t be avoided.
The first half I would term our display as a little more withdrawn than normal. Obviously very aware of their pace in attack, we didn’t push them so high. For example, there was little sign of Huijsen stepping into midfield to give us that extra man because of the risk of the breaks.
A more cautious approach can make sense at times and, to be fair, we still caused them some problems. In fact, looking at the half as a whole they had more attempts on goal but we carved out the better chances. On another day, they’d have to count themselves lucky to go in level never mind ahead.
One thing I noticed was Kerkez, in his live trial for a transfer, was standing well off Salah when he had the ball. I understand the concern about his pace and trickery so giving yourself room to react can help but I thought he gave him too much respect.
He should have been in his face, aggressively causing him issues to try and nullify him. Instead, time after time when he got on the ball he had space to pick his pass or take whatever action he wanted and Kerkez wasn’t close enough to stop it.
It wouldn’t cost us until the second half but I thought it was a pattern set in the first.
The first real danger to either goal came from Semenyo feinting one way then the other and finally blasted the ball against the post from an angle. On another day that goes in and everything is different. There was an element like that about quite a few incidents out there today.
No onto the man in the middle. He’d already set his stall out by giving repeated soft free kicks to them but ignoring every single incident in the other direction. Then a ball came over the top into our area. Gakpo was running onto it, Cook tries to beat him there but in the process Gakpo’s heel clips Cook and he collapses. Not a moment’s hesitation from the man in blue. No thinking, just an instant reflex penalty awarded. Given what’s gone before with this ref, what were the chances of VAR doing the right thing and intervening? Exactly, none.
It was a shocking decision but one that the media love-in for the oh-so-hilarious cheeky SCouse chappies (Great sense of humour. Honestly. Just ask them. They tell everyone) will sidestep. No point tarnishing the Big Show when it means one of their favourites look set on getting the title.
Utterly ridiculous. The spot kick was despatched but, really, it was 1-0 to the referee.
Clearly, it was back to business as usual when it came to officials and playing the Sky Six again. A real shame.
Still, at least we didn’t turtle. A swift move saw Semenyo draw the defenders and then play Kerkez in and his cross was met expertly by Brooks for a quality goal.
Remember when I said it was one of those days? VAR got involved and disallowed it for a marginal offside. Probably right so I don’t really have complaints there but it backs up what I already said about it being one of those days.
In the end, halftime came with a few chances for either side but no major saves from either keeper. The difference being the man in blue.
We came out after the break aggrieved and fired up but things wouldn’t come off for us. Dango and Kluivert got in each others way when both were in for a free header. Then a goal bound Kluivert volley hit an unawares Liverpool defender just in front of the goal. It was almost comical.
It was a much more snarling, in your face approach to play in the second period. No sitting back at all and we were by far the better team. We just couldn’t finish.
I mentioned Kerkez standing off defensively but the other side of his game was also on display. The hard running crazy fullback he promised when he joined, a constant thorn in their side going forward.
Meanwhile the man in blue continued his wild inconsistencies. Huijsen tried and failed to stop a breakaway with a foul but the advantage was played and the move developed. When it broke down, he went back to book the Spaniard. Fair enough. Except when the exact same thing happened in the first half and Brooks was cleaned out in an effort to stop a breakaway, the ref played the advantage and when it broke down... did nothing.
It’s this constant tilting throughout the whole match that ruined it. A potentially epic match up destroyed by putting the worst possible candidate in charge of it. A man terrified of doing anything that would upset Liverpool.
Another example... the already booked Mac Allister took a wild kick at the ball but completely missed it and instead booted Brooks, also halting another breakaway. Surely a second yellow card? No. A stern talking to instead also known as a “Big Six Pass” to sub the player so the ref wouldn’t have to be at risk of sending off a Liverpool player. It was horrific and embarrassing to watch.
Shortly afterwards Dango won the ball back cleanly from Jones, who theatrically collapsed, and we were breaking three on two but... Yes. You guessed it. The ref pulled it back for a free kick. The commentator and pundit on my coverage were laughing at the decision it was that bad.
Laugh all you want when you’re a neutral. When you support the team being robbed then it’s infuriating.
(continued below...)