No More Sarri - Premier League 2019/20

[DCI Harry Batt]

Hey TG. Be well.

[Janik]

Thank heavens for that result. Things were getting a bit worrying there.

Aggregate score in the league games between Leicester and Villa is 8-1. Why couldn't they do that in the League Cup Semis?!?

[Uncle Ethan]

Hello. I'm feeling more subjective about things and I apologise for my mini-meltdown.

I don't think that medication + post-surgery + a very real propensity to depressive behaviour is a good mix, in all honesty.

Anyway. I was at Anfield yesterday, having the full "Executive Lounge" experience. It's been a while since I was there (I used to go and sit in the Centenary (as was) quite often). I can't stack that against the "this costs a fuckload of cash" level of service I experienced but I will state for the record that I had a really fucking good time.

Erm. That's it.

Oh, and Liverpool won 2-1 against a Bournemouth side who were well-organised and physical. Their goal should never have stood, but hey ho.

I don't interact with everyone on here as regularly as some, but one thing I do know is that this is the last place anyone has to apologise for occasional issues (though they should if they are abusive to others). Good to see you back Toby. Enjoy Liverpool's title win. It has been a long wait for you and their fans.

[Foot of Astaire's]

So, that 'handball' decision given against Mings last night after a VAR check. I dare say I don't understand the handball rule but I cant ever recall seeing a penalty given for the ball bouncing off someone's shoulder. I was expecting the VAR check to over rule what, at full speed, initially looked like the right decision.

[Snake Plissken]

I get the feeling (after that, the Gomez/Wilson and Sanchez/Wood non-calls) that a pendulum has swung back in favour of VAR not over-ruling the onfield officials. Probably in response to the wailing and gnashing of teeth that happened after the Burnley/Bournemouth game.

[delicatemoth]

That was a clear pen for me. Not only does Mings deflect the ball with what is clearly the arm side of the shoulder i.e. upper arm, he deflects it away from the Leicester player who is about to be presented with a tap-in. Anyway, great to see a stirring performance from the godly Marc Albrighton. Villa fans must regard the decision to let this homegrown player leave for nothing as one of their more egregious management missteps of recent times.

[G-Man]

So, that 'handball' decision given against Mings last night after a VAR check. I dare say I don't understand the handball rule but I cant ever recall seeing a penalty given for the ball bouncing off someone's shoulder. I was expecting the VAR check to over rule what, at full speed, initially looked like the right decision.

VAR is a strange thing. The supposed dive by Fred turned out to be a clear foul, no matter how swan-like his fall. I can't see how VAR decided that Mike Dean's decision -- that the fall was a simulation -- was not a clear and obvious error. There was no simulation.

And surely it cannot be that difficult to instate some mechanism whereby VAR can tell the ref to rescind a yellowcard incorrectly given for simulation. These things happen far too often, and they have an influence on the game.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

We occasionally go round the houses on this, but aren't the trip and the subsequent exaggerated dive that most forwards pull of these days both offences, and arguably to be treated as such even if a penalty is awarded? The only way to eradicate diving is to stop players doing it even if they have been clipped.

[Jah Womble]

That shouldn’t have been awarded, IMO - and I really don’t see how diverting the ball away from an opponent makes it any more a penalty, either.

Kind of glad it was, however, since Vardy is in my fantasy team. (He added, selfishly.)

[G-Man]

We occasionally go round the houses on this, but aren't the trip and the subsequent exaggerated dive that most forwards pull of these days both offences, and arguably to be treated as such even if a penalty is awarded? The only way to eradicate diving is to stop players doing it even if they have been clipped.

If they have been clipped to such an extend that he reasonably falls, it's a foul and a penalty. The replays were pretty clear that Fred was tripped. Whether the player exaggerates the movement (and Fred hardly pulled a Classic Stevie G there) is irrelevant, really.

Of course, the free-kick that led to Man Utd's opener shouldn't have been given, so my concern isn't that an act of injustice befell my side. My problem is the yellow-carding for dives that weren't dives. It happens too often.

[gt3]

"

the godly Marc Albrighton. Villa fans must regard the decision to let this homegrown player leave for nothing as one of their more egregious management missteps of recent times

Yup.

Possibly one of our worst performances of the season. And the Mings thing was never a penalty.

[fatbear]

Referees rarely give fouls when a player is kicked and doesn't fall to the ground.Therefore they feel they have to go down to be awarded the free-kick/penalty. It is still a foul if you don't fall over. Seriously, would any Premiership referee have awarded the penalty for the kick on Fred if he had stayed on his feet ( or tried to ) ?

[Gangster Octopus]

Liverpool not winning the championship now would be the funniest thing ever.

Actually it's no longer funny.

[pebblethefish]

Would it be funny if it turned out that Steven Gerrard was Patient Zero, and it was all his fault?

[3 Colours Red]

He does have the look of someone who would eat a bat for a bet.

[Patrick Thistle]

He does have the look of someone who would eat a bat for a bet.

Genuine LOL

[Arturo]

Amidst everything, I'd genuinely forgotten this thread existed.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

It all seems so very long ago, doesn't it.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I think the fairest but still sporting way to decide who won the 2019-20 title, when it does all eventually get back to normal, is to have a one-off playoff match (at the home of the current leaders) where the team in second place are given a sporting chance of winning. It could be the opening game of the next season, a purpose like the Community Shield serves now (as that is unlikely to take place next year). To fairly take account of the season annulled, the playoff game would begin with the leaders awarded a 1 goal lead for every point they were previously ahead, a bit like kicking off the second leg of a two-legged tie.

[Jumbo McGinnis]

Draw it out of a hat, all twenty teams in. Let Norwich have it if they’re drawn out.

[Satchmo Distel]

Tentative restart date June 6th to be discussed on Friday...

https://www.espn.com/soccer/english-...d-closed-doors

Discussed in yesterday's ESPN podcast, which is not bad:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...fc/id849326609

[G-Man]

Hmmm, finish the season by end of July; a month off, then start the new season. Get that season done in time for Euros 2021... It'll take some judicious juggling.

[Janik]

Particularly as the Premier League will also apparently be discussing ending the season come what may by the end of June, still driven by the contracts expiring on that date:- https://www.theguardian.com/football...season-30-june

[G-Man]

But haven't the international authorities declared that contracts that expire on June 30 will be valid until the completion of the season? I think I read that this had actually been decided already.

[Janik]

I think there is some dubiousness whether FIFA has the power to unilaterally do that. A contract is a legal document between a club and a player...