Weekend 14/15 August

[Victor Meldrew]

high reckless very late tackle commited with both feet off the ground, clear red IMO.
and dont those scouse fans absolutely take the biscuit by booing a player as he is stretchered off.

The same player who arose like Lazarus and outsprinted Torres late on in the game?
Those scousers know when somebody is really injured.
A spirited display by Liverpool and Arsenal created so little against 10 men for 45 minutes.
I'm not sure what it says about both teams but Arsenal only got a point because the best Premiership keeper made a rare mistake.
BTW does it get on other posters' nerves when commentators and pundits go on and on about Almunia?
It will be easy for Arsenal to blame him rather than look at their other shortcomings.

[Royal Rother]

Almunia's an ok-ish 'keeper imo, but for a Top 4 club to have nothing better than that clown Fabianski as 2nd squad 'keeper is just ridiculous.

Sczecszcyzzny is probably going to be better than the pair of them put together.

[cmonurz]

Hilario, Fabianski, Cavalieri. Kuszczak is half-decent, I guess, but United and City aside, does anyone really have a good backup keeper?

[No Fixed Abode]

So much conversation about a boring 1-1 draw with a top team against a mid-table one.

[leww_rfc]

So much conversation about a Money built team against a boing boing Championship, Bottom 3 prem team.

[No Fixed Abode]

So much conversation about a Money built team against a boing boing Championship, Bottom 3 prem team.

Pint of bitter for Leww please.

[leww_rfc]

Sorry just really got to me that you spoilt Blackpools big day, by being party poopers and stealing the top spot off them

[Starfish]

high reckless very late tackle commited with both feet off the ground, clear red IMO.
and dont those scouse fans absolutely take the biscuit by booing a player as he is stretchered off.

The same player who arose like Lazarus and outsprinted Torres late on in the game?
Those scousers know when somebody is really injured.

This reads as though you are suggesting that he was acting.

[Stranded]

Imho, the angle that showed Atkinson's view was the 'best' one, it was clear from that angle that Cole was 100% focused on the ball, barely centimetres off the ground, if that, and stretching his left leg like hell to try to get to the ball. He wasn't even headed at the player, but hit the Arsenal defender at an angle as his body went through the line of his attempted block.

If that's a challenge we all now think is a red card, then we've all decided that football isn't and shouldn't be anything like the game we started watching 10 or 20 years ago.

Atkinson was pinickity and inconsistent all afternoon, I don't know what the free-kick count was but there was barely a rough collision that didn't go unpunished in one way or another, the handballs just the icing on the cake.

Completely immaterial that he was focused on the ball - he came off the ground and missed the ball by a mile, took the player whilst "not in control" - red card all day long.

[cmonurz]

Completely immaterial that he was focused on the ball - he came off the ground and missed the ball by a mile, took the player whilst "not in control" - red card all day long.

If this is a red card this season, then there's going to be a lot of them. Came off the ground? Where? Missed the ball by a mile? Doesn't look like it? Out of control? No, stretching for the ball and mis-timing it.

[TBM]

^^ spot the Liverpool fan

Gerrard should have been sent off anyway, 2 yellows!

[PlasticRoyale]

Obviously i didn't bother to watch the game but i can heartily agree that Cole should have gone and that Stevie Me was lucky to stay on the pitch

[papereyes]

Cole's tackle was very similar to Kitson's red against United a few seasons back, imo.

Arguably a red, arguably a bit dangerous but ... a yellow may well have sufficed.

[TBM]

Looked worse in normal speed.......the ref doesn't have the beauty of sky+ to rewind and do a pause/slow-mo of the incident

[Tredder]

Anyway, this old championship is a piece of piss.

[No Fixed Abode]

^^ spot the Liverpool fan

Gerrard should have been sent off anyway, 2 yellows!

Agreed.

[Stranded]

Completely immaterial that he was focused on the ball - he came off the ground and missed the ball by a mile, took the player whilst "not in control" - red card all day long.

If this is a red card this season, then there's going to be a lot of them. Came off the ground? Where? Missed the ball by a mile? Doesn't look like it? Out of control? No, stretching for the ball and mis-timing it.

Have a look at Cole's reaction as he's getting up - he realises he's in trouble before the ref even gets near him.

[Wax Jacket]

...mainly because he'll have felt his foot whack the guy's shin while at the same time his eyes are looking ata football that's 15 yards away and getting smaller all the time.

[No Fixed Abode]

quick LOL at Reina.

[cmonurz]

Have a look at Cole's reaction as he's getting up - he realises he's in trouble before the ref even gets near him.

After first claiming he had two feet off the ground and was miles from the ball, that's a poor response.

Yes, I follow Liverpool and perhaps that's clouding my judgement, but I really do hope the tackle pictured above is not any sort of precedent for red cards this season. It is nothing whatsoever except late.