2011/2012 Season Thread

[The Milner]

I'm with you. I still don't think Celtic have been anywhere near as bad as Rangers in all of this, but I don't think it would be such a terrible thing if both fucked off.

Saying that - despite this being a very one-horse race for the SPL this season, everyone thought Celtic would cruise to the treble and both Killie and Hearts have done a number on them. Both one-off games, but still shows that Celtic won't dominate all the time even if Rangers are fucked for the next few seasons.

I like the sound of the new SFA league if it comes off and take the voting power away from the two old firm clubs. Rangers especially deserve no favours here. They have nobody but themselves to blame for the mess they are in and they're lucky they're not being stripped of all titles since the late 80s as they essentially cheated their way there.

Celtic are terrible in their own way, this whole attitude the club seems to have just annoys me now, show some fucking respect to the other clubs your playing, not blame every defeat on anything except your shortcomings. The only thing that stops Celtic is their arrogance, they are miles ahead of the rest of the league, but they also know that, at least most Celtic teams in the past have respected their opponents, but this current group of players and managment are so far up their own arse its sickening at times.

Fuck the old firm, viva revolution!!

[Soda Jerk]

I like their current crop of players mostly, except for Scott Brown, who is a comlpete fanny. It's Lennon I can't stand. He makes Ferguson seem like Roy Hodgeson. Definitely the most petulant, dislikeable and horrid person in football, except for Carlos Tevez.

[Alkaline]

What a dick. Robin Van Rapey can get the piss out with his prima donna attitude.

[The Milner]

I like their current crop of players mostly, except for Scott Brown, who is a comlpete fanny. It's Lennon I can't stand. He makes Ferguson seem like Roy Hodgeson. Definitely the most petulant, dislikeable and horrid person in football, except for Carlos Tevez.

I honestly cannot believe you just missed Suzrez out of that sentance, poor show soda, poor show.

[Guest Gladstone]

I like their current crop of players mostly, except for Scott Brown, who is a comlpete fanny. It's Lennon I can't stand. He makes Ferguson seem like Roy Hodgeson. Definitely the most petulant, dislikeable and horrid person in football, except for Carlos Tevez.

Scott Brown has been on his best behaviour this season to be fair. Stokes has been more of a dick and Forrest has turned into a whiney little cunt. After the semi-final I don't think any of the players would have approached the ref after the final whistle had it not been for Lennon running 30 yards to challenge him. Fucking horrible scene to be honest. If the manager acts like that, the players will generally start to follow suit.

The only thing he achieves is taking the heat off of Rangers for a wee while. He's a real attention seeker. There was a while there when the whole Rangers fiasco was taking up all the newsprint and that's not surprising considering they're a pretty fucking big club to be heading for the scrap heap. Lennon and co were complaining because nobody was acknowledging Celtic's brilliant run etc. which went pretty much under the radar. That's when the form started to dip though. They should have just kept their heads down and got on with the job. If the run faltered, so what, it's just a blip. Head down and get on with it. If they'd kept that up, I'm pretty sure they would have at least won one of the cups if not both. But a couple of defeats, and Lennon starts spitting the dummy out and the players are a bit unsettled and the form has totally dipped. They're in danger of tarnishing the league title this season if they start to drop points and win the league by less than 10 points. They can't lose the league now obviously, but they've bottled the last few big games again and they'll struggle to be up for the last few games of the season. It could be a really shitty end to what should have been a very good season for Celtic. Just what they deserve though.

[delboy]

What is going on in footy at the moment, there doesn't seem to be a weekend of games without heaps of controversial officials decisions, I don't ever remember it being as bad as what it is at the moment.

The FA are umming and aahing on the goal line technology issue but what is wrong with TV replays? Fourth official has a peek then makes the decision on behalf of the ref... thing is though where do you draw the line? Eternal whingers such as Wenger, Fergie and Lennon would be bemoaning every single decision going. You can just imagine them flapping their arms about at any given opportunity. But something needs to be done.

Lennon is a cock and that's coming from a don't give a shit about the old firm humble Cambridge United supporter, I know a cock when I see one, the man is hell bent on moaning about everything. Shut the fuck up you annoying little man.

Season almost over for me, just 2 home games left as our season finished end of the month. Just put in my application for a season ticket for next season, bring it on reckon we might do alright. Had we not had a serious post christmas blip the play offs would be a reality not a distant (very distant) hope. Never mind should be a good game against York tonight, we usually have cracking matches against them... probably be a boring 0-0 now I typed that!

[Soda Jerk]

If managers/teams were given the power to appeal in-game decisions, they'd be appealing everything. To be fair to the FA though, it's not up to them. This all whittles down to FIFA digging their heels in and refusing to budge. I can't see it changing anytime soon, as the technology has been available and developed constantly for 10 years now, but FIFA don't want it. They want refereeing decisions to be "open to interpretation". If that's the case, you might as well bin the rulebook and just tell the referee "you decide".

It's just so trivial. For the amount of times it would get used, it's ridiculous not to implement it. I can't think of many decisions recently where goal-line replays have been needed, if any other than the one on Sunday. Just put it in place for the minute amount of decisions it will be needed for each season. That has a realistic chance of happening, at a very stern push. The chance of introducing replays for dives/offsides/handballs/etc seems slim. Can't see that ever happening.

They can't really override FIFA on this one, otherwise they will just tell the british FA's to get fucked and banish them from european and international competition. Didn't they almost do it to the USA when their top flight continued to do those crazy NHL half way line rush penalty shootouts instead of the traditional spot kicks?

[delboy]

totally spot on, heard a good point on talksport today - what if one team gets a goal line decision over ruled then the other team gets a blatant offside goal awarded. I think FIFA's reluctance is that in football being such a fast paced game with so many decisions to be made, once you start bringing in goal line technology you are effectively opening a massive can of worms.

Ok so they have the replay thing in other sports but who really gives a shit about the likes of cricket and rugby save a select few? No other sport comes close to ruling people's lives like footy does!

[Soda Jerk]

I think there should be goal line technology, but to have replays for anything that can possibly contested would kill the flow of the game. Saturday afternoons would no longer have reults streaming in at 5:55. games would be spilling over until 6:15. Fergie time would reach new highs. They'd be adding 15 minutes of stoppage time for all the replays. The human error can be gut wrenching, but to slow the game right down for any foul, handball, offside etc could have a draining effect on the game.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Plus, what the fuck would we all have to talk about?

[Moose]

I honestly don't give a flying fuck about it and wish people would stop banging on about it. If i had to have an opinion, it'd be to not have goal-line technology. It works brilliantly in tennis, but even in Rugby Union it can take way too long and slow the whole thing down. Emphasis on the word "can" there though, I think it works fine in rugby for the most part. I don't think it'd work in football though, as footballers are such numbskulls.

Anyway, I don't give a fuck. Pretend football (FM, Fifa) is way better.

[Lemonade]

I dunno, the telly can bring up a replay in under 30 seconds, it wouldn't affect the game that much, and if they were ONLY using it for goal-line incidents it wouldn't exactly be happening every 5 minutes. The technology not only exists, but is already in use at the games! It seems crazy not to use it.

[Chris]

I think there should be goal line technology, but to have replays for anything that can possibly contested would kill the flow of the game. Saturday afternoons would no longer have reults streaming in at 5:55. games would be spilling over until 6:15. Fergie time would reach new highs. They'd be adding 15 minutes of stoppage time for all the replays. The human error can be gut wrenching, but to slow the game right down for any foul, handball, offside etc could have a draining effect on the game.

That's bollocks. The flow of the game wouldn't be interrupted any more than it already is for injuries, subs, arguing with the ref, free kicks, penalties, cats on the pitch etc. Stopping play for 30 seconds to check if a goal was scored or not would be nothing

[Soda Jerk]

Definitely, if it was just for goal line incidents, then it should be used, by either a quick replay, or these goal line sensors they are developing, alot like in the NHL. But as Delboy says, if a team is denied a goal-line decision, but then the other team goes on and scores a clear offside goal, the system again comes into question. As much as I think we should have goal line technology, I think players diving and scoring from offside positions (or having goals ruled out for offside when they were onside) is a bigger detriment to the game than incidents where it is unclear whether the ball has crossed the line, which happen merely once or twice a season.

All except Lampard's goal against Germany, which wasn't given. Clearly we'd have twatted Spain in the final if that had gone in. It pretty much cost England it's world domination. Absolute scandal.

[Soda Jerk]

That's bollocks. The flow of the game wouldn't be interrupted any more than it already is for injuries, subs, arguing with the ref, free kicks, penalties, cats on the pitch etc. Stopping play for 30 seconds to check if a goal was scored or not would be nothing

It would be interrupted if players/managers were asking for replays for every possible decision such as a suspected handball, a foul, a dive, an offside, whatever. If it was just for goals, then it wouldn't be. If a handball isn't given, play usually just continues and protests are waved away. Same goes for fouls, if it's not given, play continues even if some players choose to crowd the referee. It would be stopping everytime these incidents happen to watch a replay. The flow would definitely be hindered more than it is if the system was used for more than just goal line incidents... To me, that just can't be argued. It would.

[Lemonade]

Each manager gets 3 challenges per game, like in NFL. BOOM! The Portsmouth Pirates beat the Sunderland Black Cats by 4 soccer points to 2.

[Guest Gladstone]

Something like Lucky's suggestion would probably work, but the main problem for me isn't that decisions are incorrect but managers, players, fans and pundits not being able to accept that human error can come into play here. The officials sometimes get it wrong. Get on with it. Much in the same way as human error means that strikers sometimes miss really easy chances or defenders pass the ball into the path of strikers or goalkeepers let the ball squirm under them etc etc.

It's part of football. It's the fucking constant moaning and whining that's ruining football, not the incorrect decisions. They've always been there and always will be.

If anything had to be used, I would draw the line at goal-line technology and goals scored that may have been offside. If there's a ball that looks like it may have crossed the line but it isn't totally clear, everyone plays the fuck on whilst the 4th official checks the replay. Once he has verified whether or not the ball has crossed the line (which should only take seconds), he tells the referee. If it is a goal, the referee just stops play there and awards a goal. If it isn't a goal, he just plays on (perhaps signalling with his hand somehow that there is no goal). Same for offside goals, except all that happens here is, the ball hits the back of the net, and the linesman/referee asks the 4th official to check the replay and verify whether the goalscorer is offside or not. Should take about 30 seconds, max. Ref awards a goal or a free-kick accordingly.

To deal with diving, terrible fouls etc that get missed by the referee, just continue with retrospective punishments. I.e. leave it with the referee to decide whether or not it's a penalty at the time and then look at the decision later (whether a penalty was given or not). If anyone is deemed to have dived - 10 match ban you cunt. Yes Ashley Young, you'd have a 20 match ban at the moment, you little cheating fuck.

[soundian]

It's part of football. It's the fucking constant moaning and whining that's ruining football, not the incorrect decisions. They've always been there and always will be.

Hear hear!

[FOX]

Can't we just have officials behind the goal like in European games? Please?

[Graeme]

Plus, what the fuck would we all have to talk about?

This is exactly why it shouldn't be allowed. It would just be boring!

[Adam Easy Wishes]

The diving thing is obvious too - all over TalkSport today about how to deal with it, but it's really pretty simple. They were all focussing on the idea that the wronged club should somehow benefit from any punishment and so you're really only looking at video replays for incidents such as the Ashley Young pen vs QPR.

But that is totally the wrong way to go about it - like Gladstone has said, retrospective punishment (by way of the referee FROM THAT GAME looking at footage and deciding if he himself had made the wrong call) and if so, really fucking hammer down on these cheats with lengthy bans. The idea there is that the punishment is so severe that players stop even considering diving for fear of missing five or six games (and associated appearance fees, win bonuses etc. if we're being cynical...) rather than trying to right the injustice that QPR in the Young incident felt at the time. Prevention is better than cure, or something like that.

[soundian]

The diving thing is obvious too - all over TalkSport today about how to deal with it, but it's really pretty simple. They were all focussing on the idea that the wronged club should somehow benefit from any punishment and so you're really only looking at video replays for incidents such as the Ashley Young pen vs QPR.

But that is totally the wrong way to go about it - like Gladstone has said, retrospective punishment (by way of the referee FROM THAT GAME looking at footage and deciding if he himself had made the wrong call) and if so, really fucking hammer down on these cheats with lengthy bans. The idea there is that the punishment is so severe that players stop even considering diving for fear of missing five or six games (and associated appearance fees, win bonuses etc. if we're being cynical...) rather than trying to right the injustice that QPR in the Young incident felt at the time. Prevention is better than cure, or something like that.

I have always advocated lengthy bans for cheats where it can be conclusively proved they have dived/fallen over rather than any contact being made. I'd like a "to the power of two" system. First offence, two game ban, second offence, 4, 3rd, 8, 4th 16....

That'll stop the cheating bastards. Who will buy a player who has a 16 game ban, and likely to get a 32 game when the next time they trip over a blade of grass.

I'd like to emphasise the word conclusively. If there is a piece of video that shows there is fresh air between the defending player and the Oscar Nominee then yes, hit them hard. Any doubt, let the ref's decision stand.

[Paranoid Android]

It's part of football. It's the fucking constant moaning and whining that's ruining football, not the incorrect decisions. They've always been there and always will be.

I know it's a popular argument but I find this way of thinking completely idiotic. They've been there in the past because there was no other option and now there is. Thankfully people in other walks of life aren't so resistant to development and stuck in the past or we'd all be lighting our houses with candles or dying of cholera or something.

Player protesting decisions waste far more time than an assistant checking a video would. It's just not acceptable that teams get relegated, go out of competitions etc because of horribly wrong decisions.

Anyway the interest comes from debating decisions that can be interpreted in different ways and are close calls. That will still exist. There's no fun in debating whether something was a goal or not when the ball was clearly 2 yards over the line. That's just fucking annoying.

[delboy]

I think another problem is the modern age, these days every single issue is scrutinized, talk sport will bang on about it for days after the event, we have so many avenues to vent our spleen. Plus at the big games there's hundreds of cameras in the ground. In the old days we would fuck off down the pub, have a moan and then get on with our lives and matches were nowhere near the tv!

But just recently refereeing decisions seem to becoming abysmal. Maybe they cannot handle the pace and rigour of the modern game? Even at my toilet level of football I follow you see them week in week out. A York player was sent off for a professional foul last night and everyone agreed it looked a clear 50/50 ball (of course us fans know so much more about football than anyone supposed professional lol) . Didn't do them any harm though they still dicked us 1-0, in fact they came out second half like a team possessed, that decision probably wound them up!

[Moose]

So Reading were promoted last night after a wonderful second half of the season. This proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jason Roberts is the king of football. Fernando Llorente is a poor man's Jason Roberts.