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The Rolling Football Thread, season 2023-24

988 replies

DuncinToffee · 23/07/2023 09:20

Football fans join in to share the joy, the heartache and VAR frustration ⚽

The thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football.

OP posts:
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burblish · 03/10/2023 11:55

I haven’t seen anywhere that Liverpool have asked for the match to be replayed. In any event, it won’t be. As a Liverpool fan, I also don’t think there is any anti-Liverpool conspiracy behind this. The issue for me is not that errors are made per se but the nature of this particular error. The on-field official’s error in calling offside is an understandable human mistake of the kind that happens every weekend in every league. I don’t have an issue with that - every team will have these kind of decisions go both for and against them over the course of a season. It was the nature of the error made by the VAR team that is unacceptable: an impossible to understand failure to follow procedure and then, to compound it, to not say “hang on…” when they saw the game restarting at 0-0.

I also personally think the images VAR chose to focus on for the Curtis Jones challenge were misleading, but still down to the referee’s subjective opinion so, again, completely different to the failure to follow procedure re the Diaz goal. I hope Liverpool succeed in their appeal to get the red overturned but it’s not quite as clear-cut as the MacAllister red that was repealed.

YouOnlyCameToSeeEboue · 03/10/2023 23:29

Random thoughts after tonight's disappointing match;

Arteta should take a lot of the blame.
Saka shouldn't have even been there (most of Arsenal twitter agreed even before the game)
We're becoming too predictable, much as when we played Sp^rs, because we are too scared of losing the ball, so we don't try the clever balls around the area which might end up in a goal, and end up playing it back to the keeper, which is never going to get us a goal.
I'd much rather Smith Rowe started in place of Havertz - he's far more of a goal threat.
We miss Martinelli even more than Saka, even though Saka gets more goals and assists, because he causes the chaos that gives us those opportunities.
Nelson should get a lot more minutes.
Zinchenko, much as I love him, can be a liability.

Lens' first goal should have been disallowed for handball, but what a bloody finish!

Brefugee · 04/10/2023 06:21

Sheffield bloody Wednesday. The gift that keeps on giving 😭

I have always said that if you rely on VAR there must be very clear, consistent processes and that includes a kind of "radio procedure" so that they are all talking about the same thing.
(and that if you need a calibrated like to decide offside? Judge in favour if the attacking team)

MustTryHarderAndHarder · 04/10/2023 09:17

@YouOnlyCameToSeeEboue

Agree with all that except for Zinny. Yes, it is stressful watching him and he can be a liability, but he does a lot of good stuff too.

Raya was at fault for their first goal and I have been quite nervous in recent matches when he passes out to players where there are opposition players so close by. But at least he didn't do what Onana did last night.

Definitely shouldn't have started Saka when it wasn't a must-win match and should have subbed in Nelson and not Viera.

MustTryHarderAndHarder · 04/10/2023 09:19

@Brefugee

Yes, it looks like there were no processes at all. They sounded like a group of men down the pub casually watching the match.

And then to not correct their mistake! What did they think was going to happen? That Liverpool would just forget about an obvious on-side?

They need a checklist for each decision. Can't believe they don't already have one.

MustTryHarderAndHarder · 04/10/2023 09:20

The only positive thing about the VAR fiasco is that there is a lot of room for improvement so that it cannot happen again.

burblish · 04/10/2023 09:20

@YouOnlyCameToSeeEboue @MustTryHarderAndHarder I’m a big fan of Saka (he seems like the loveliest lad on top of being a bloody ace footballer!) - the biggest issue at Arsenal is not having a back up for him. He must be at such risk of injury/burn out. I hope he will be okay for the Man City game.

TokyoSushi · 04/10/2023 09:24

Huge LFC fan here, still sad over the VAR saga, but we are where we are as they say.

Why on Earth though, is it not an absolute must to clarify the decision before saying check complete?!

Surely the sentence MUST be 'On/Off side, Goal allowed/disallowed, check complete' No way should it be 'yeah mate, check complete' or whatever!!

MustTryHarderAndHarder · 04/10/2023 10:05

@Brefugee

I think I read that the SW owner said that he would stop funding the club. Is that correct?

MustTryHarderAndHarder · 04/10/2023 10:09

@TokyoSushi

Yes, you would think so wouldn't you. That should have been the process from day one. I don't watch rugby, but they have VAR for years and I am sure it wouldn't be so lax. Why didn't they learn from them?

Brefugee · 04/10/2023 10:57

MustTryHarderAndHarder · 04/10/2023 10:05

@Brefugee

I think I read that the SW owner said that he would stop funding the club. Is that correct?

He isn't going to put any more money in and is in a snit because after 9 years we'd expected better investments.

He owns the ground. And I can see it all going pear shaped very quickly

burblish · 04/10/2023 21:00

@Brefugee Oh dear - Xisco Munoz has been sacked

AndNobbyDancing · 04/10/2023 21:05

Oh oh I'm just coming home from work 2- 0 Newcastle!!!! I will be home for the 2nd half.

Not my club but something about them, and not just the Mighty Eddie.

Hellohah · 04/10/2023 21:14

I think VAR should go.

There are too many decisions which require interpretation still. Not sure how a bloke watching a TV, nowhere near the pitch can determine the intentions of a player better than the on field ref, but hey ho. If the ref misses something, he misses it, it happens. The idiots with the cameras and replays ... nope, every decision should be spot on and without arguement.

If you're going to have rules, they need to be clear. A massive manual with diagrams, if there is no diagram for the exact situation, VAR can't be used.

I'm very much of the opinion that everything that happens on a pitch is relevant, so every single event in a game (major or minor) affects everything after. So a player scores from a free kick, but the awarding of the free kick was wrong, then the goal should be disallowed. But they don't check the foul. Every decision should be checked for fairness, even throw ins, which is just impossible. Therefore it should be binned.

You can imagine my belief that they shouldn't have changed the offside rule (another story). Again, I think every player on the pitch is interfering with play in some way.

And the drawing of bloody lines drives me mad.

I remember one of the first disallowed goals against us. It was Giroud when he played for Chelsea. He was a mm offside.

Now I get it's technically offside, but in reality that mm isn't going to have made the slightest difference to him scoring or not.

Compare to some of the controversial goals scored, and tell me those players deemed to not interfere had less of an impact on goals than a mm of Giroud's boot. Its nonsensical and stupid.

Its shit not being able to properly celebrate a goal properly.

Referees are getting worse.

That's my VAR rant over, sorry.

burblish · 04/10/2023 22:05

Blimey, what a result for Newcastle - and the atmosphere at St James’ Park looked sensational!

AndNobbyDancing · 04/10/2023 22:09

Loved that second half, wish I actually supported them.

TMO works great in rugby, agree VAR needs something else

Brefugee · 05/10/2023 06:51

burblish · 04/10/2023 21:00

@Brefugee Oh dear - Xisco Munoz has been sacked

That's probably not a bad thing. It's all do depressing though

EddieHowesShithousingMags · 05/10/2023 09:29

I have no voice and I keep randomly welling up when I think about the performance my team put in. The atmosphere was utterly mind blowing. The chants of ‘he’s one of our own’ when Sean Longstaff scored were spine tingling. Schar’s goal was sublime. Gutted Dan Burn was robbed of his moment celebrating straight after his goal as VAR took soooo long. Our seat is right in line with the goal in the Leazes end so it was clear as day it was over the line to us and we couldn’t work out what was taking so long but obviously it was offside/handball - or not!

Wish I could attach a video on here from my phone!

EddieHowesShithousingMags · 05/10/2023 09:35

There was a big thing before the match that Kieron Trippiers son wanted to walk out with Mbappe as he was his favourite player.

Tripps posted this this morning ❤️😂

Someone commented ‘finally emptied your pockets lad?’

The Rolling Football Thread, season 2023-24
Tarsandcase · 05/10/2023 17:36

Brighton fan here and feeling really nervous but excited about tonight's match.

What an incredible experience for all the fans going.

I used to have a season ticket and would go to lots of away games before I had my daughter (aged 3). Going to all of the European away games would have been a dream come true! I made it to the AEK Athens home match and will be at Ajax at home, so it could be worse, I'm just looking at all the photos and videos and feeling rather jealous.

TheSleepingGiant · 05/10/2023 18:07

Great win for Newcastle, Schars goal was a screamer.

Gillingham have sacked Neil Harris! Bit premature I feel, I'd have given him a few more games given our league position, however despite that we are L2's lowest scorers, just 10 in 11 games. Karl Robinson favourite to replace him.

DuncinToffee · 05/10/2023 18:19

Indeed a great result for the magpies, fantastic you were there Eddie, good luck for tonight Tarsandcase

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Brefugee · 05/10/2023 20:24

That must have been a lot of fun, Eddie, i loved it when Gladbach had CL or EL matches (except the one we lost to AC Wolfsburg 6-0 and most of the crowd had gone home by the 65th minute. We got out of the car park in 5 minutes, where it usually takes over an hour). My favourite memory was being 1-0 up against Barca at half time (lost 1-2) and smashing Sevillia 4-2.
Hope you get to the other matches too

EddieHowesShithousingMags · 05/10/2023 23:07

We’ve booked travel to Dortmund but think it’s unlikely we’ll manage to get in the stadium however just being there to soak it all up will be amazing and we’ll be at all the home games.

I went to a couple of the home UCL games under Sir Bobby but it’s such a long time ago I can’t remember what it was like. My head is still full of mice after last night though and I’ve completed football Twitter three times since the final whistle 🤣

Brefugee · 06/10/2023 08:08

It will be in every pub, and if you are wearing shirts, scarves or whatever you will be warmly welcomed wherever you go. It is absolutely amazing in that respect over here.

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