The 2011/12 Gary Speed Memorial Thread

[IAceI]

Clangers are dropped by referees at all levels of the game, just Sky aren't splurting themselves senseless over Rochdale v Oldham in League One so a wrongly disallowed goal only seems to matter to the few thousand supporters in those areas, as opposed to being a national tragedy when a Premier League player isn't given a decision.

I'd need to do a bit of reading and a bit of rewatching to see if I'm right but personally I think the game seemed to change following half-time. Not on the non-given penalty decision and not on the obivous red card decision, Chelsea were in the ascendency as soon as the second half kicked off so Villas-Boas either made a good tactical move or lit a fire up their backsides, either way, praising Villas-Boas isn't reall the 'in-thing' right now so I don't suppose there will be much of it going on anyways.

[Jimmy]

I saw on facebook something along the lines of "GET IN! Beat city 2-1, but avb still isn't the one to lead us." It annoyed me. The manager the media aren't too high on right now is the first person to beat City. Maybe that should get a few people off his back. He's won 3 in a row in the Prem now and qualified for the Champions League.

[brenchill]

I said at the beginning of the season AVB has got one of the toughest jobs in world football - at least of clubs where there is pressure to succeed. He needs to slowly filter out the older generation of players who have been at the front of one of Chelsea's post successful periods in their history (Lampard, Drogba, Anelka, Cole, Terry) over the next few seasons and introduce his own players to replace them. It's one of the few occasions where I agree that someone needs "time."

Luckily, he's the first Chelsea managerial appointment that Abramovich personally oversaw, so he should be given plenty of time.

[stokeriño]

Seems that the referee missed a number of things in the Chelsea/City match but for both sides. For example, here's something I didn't spot in the stadium at the time...and apparently neither did he:

(That's Mata telling him "don't kick me again"...but I don't have a gif of him being kicked.)

Oh Yaya, you petulant numpty. What with your other booking, you're lucky you didn't get sent off too.

[stokeriño]

...Okay, scratch that. WTF?

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Mark-Clattenburg-I-DID-see-Yaya-Toure-kick-Juan-Mata-and-I-was-right-not-to-send-him-off-article842447.html

Manchester City got a big call in their favour from Mark Clattenburg today as the referee insisted he was right not to send off Yaya Toure at Chelsea.

City were left fuming when the Newcastle official failed to give a penalty for Jose Bosingwa's blatant trip on David Silva.

But Clattenburg has come to Toure's rescue after the television cameras spotted two potential red card offences by the Ivory Coast midfielder.

Toure clearly kicked Juan Mata in the back and then cuffed the Chelsea man round the face.

FA disciplinary beaks contacted Clattenburg this morning to ask if he had missed the offences.

Had Clattenburg admitted he had not seen the incidents, Toure could have faced an automatic three-game ban under the FA's fast-track procedure.

But Clattenburg insisted he had seen the kick and deemed it not worthy of action at the time.

The referee did not see the slap, but the FA have decided that no action is necessary for that either.

[Noah]

And here's me thinking that Cricket Australia was the most poorly run sporting body.

[Colly]

I didn't see the kick, but the 'slap' is a nothing incident. He raises his hand and Mata cuffs it away, silly but even in the age of nipping Mascheranos nose its not worthy of a red card.

[Clawson]

Calling that a slap is a joke. It looks like Yaya is going to pat him on the head like you see players do all the time to each other then when Mata hits his arm it speeds up. Seriously look at the difference in the speed of his arm before and after Mata hits him.

[EddieG]

Either way, the kick itself wasn't a good un.

[Colly]

Is there a different kick by the way? I've just caught the highlights on SSN, and Toure toepokes Mata in the thigh while he's sat down, is that the 'kick in the back' the Mirror article talks about? Can anyone spell 'storm in a teacup'?

[Clawson]

Nope thats the one.

And re-watching the first half...Merieles should have been sent off for his tackle on Zabaleta. Studs up above Zaba's knee. Isn't that usually worth a red?

Edited December 13, 2011 by Clawson

[IAceI]

Is there a different kick by the way? I've just caught the highlights on SSN, and Toure toepokes Mata in the thigh while he's sat down, is that the 'kick in the back' the Mirror article talks about? Can anyone spell 'storm in a teacup'?

YOU MEAN THE BLATANT SHINING WIZARD TOURE DID ON MATA!?!?

Surprised Mata lasted as long as he did to be honest, what a trooper.

[Summers]

Oh shut up. He raised his hands into his face. Its a sending off. He didn't pat his head, he pushed him in the face.

And the kick doesn't matter because it was a toepoke to the thigh? Okay. Of course. You said it youself. Toure kicks someone who is sat down. That's an offence.

Fucking hell. Ignorance.

[Clawson]

What? You can see Yaya's hand moving to the back of Mata's head. How is that a push to the face? If you're gonna say Mata's head jerks back it's because he's moving his head out of the way from Yaya. There was no contact between the two there besides the get away from me push, which is nothing as well. How many times a game do you see an incident between two players and one of them give that touch to the back of the head to say sorry? It really is nothing.

I thought Clattenberg did a good job with some things yesterday and messed up on others. Not doing anything about the Yaya/Mata incidents was something he did right.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Clawson

[Lineker]

Manchester United and Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher is taking an extended break from football for health reasons.

A United statement said the 27-year-old is suffering from ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition.

His last game was in the Champions League against Benfica on 22 November, when he scored.

The club said Fletcher had "accepted medical advice to take an extended break."

He is taking that break "in order to afford the best chance possible of achieving full remission once again".

The statement added: "Darren's continued desire to play and his loyalty to both club and country has probably compromised the chances of optimising his own health and fitness.

"We request that his privacy is respected and hope that the removal of the additional stress associated with speculation regarding his health will also aid his recovery."

Fletcher signed a new four-year deal with United in March, securing his place with the club until 2015.

United defender Rio Ferdinand tweeted: "We are going to miss two big players in Fletcher and [Nemanja] Vidic. I hope they both come back fitter and stronger than ever."

More follows.

:/

[Colly]

Oh shut up. He raised his hands into his face. Its a sending off. He didn't pat his head, he pushed him in the face.

And the kick doesn't matter because it was a toepoke to the thigh? Okay. Of course. You said it youself. Toure kicks someone who is sat down. That's an offence.

Fucking hell. Ignorance.

Would you describe either of them as violent conduct? Meireles did two high challenges in the space of ten minutes and only got booked for the second. These are genuinely minor incidents that only get overanalysed because its big clubs involved, a three match ban for Yaya Toure would've been ludicrous.

[brenchill]

That's really bizarre. Hope it's nothing too serious.

Utd's midfield is thread bare as it is.

[Summers]

Its the side of his head. And its a push. Take off your overly expensive small time goggles and watch it. So the ref and the FA are now saying its okay to kick someone when they're down and then push someone in the head.

[MJB]

Fletcher

Hasn't been the same since his first illness but still a massive loss. With Vidic and Fletcher out of action, surely Fergie has to head out into the market in January? Either for a defender to allow Jones to stay in midfield or for a midfielder to allow Jones to move backwards into what most people would argue to be his natural position.

[Summers]

Oh shut up. He raised his hands into his face. Its a sending off. He didn't pat his head, he pushed him in the face.

And the kick doesn't matter because it was a toepoke to the thigh? Okay. Of course. You said it youself. Toure kicks someone who is sat down. That's an offence.

Fucking hell. Ignorance.

Would you describe either of them as violent conduct? Meireles did two high challenges in the space of ten minutes and only got booked for the second. These are genuinely minor incidents that only get overanalysed because its big clubs involved, a three match ban for Yaya Toure would've been ludicrous.

Would you describe kicking and pushing someone as friendly behaviour? Something we should allow on a football pitch? You don't raise your hands to someones face. You don't. Its a rule. He broke the rule, after he'd kicked him on the floor.

I'm not saying he superkicked him and clotheslined him - but the rules are the rules.