The Rolling Football Thread, season 2023-24

[DuncinToffee]

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.

Yeah that has been widely reported for some time.

I don't know what i'd do if my club was bought by the Saudis (or other regime) or Oligarch. It is bad enough with the pathetic joke of an owner we have (his fortune comes from Tuna) and if he sells up i'm worried I'm not going to like the new owners.

(i have A German Team too, though so it would be hard to walk away after a lifetime supporting Wednesday, but i would manage it somehow)

It’s difficult. And it would be disingenuous for me to say that it doesn’t matter. But what I would say is there are almost no people with the required level of funds to own a football club who don’t have a distasteful side to them.

I preferred Arsenal when it was owned jointly by a few people with varying degrees of interest in the club, but that was never going to find the investment that is needed these days.

I was very glad that Usmanov didn't win in the end, as he's a very nasty piece of work. I did have my doubts for a few years when the Kroenkes weren't investing, just taking money, but I think Mikel has seduced Josh, and they now seem to be willing to invest, although they won't compete with the likes of City (or Newcastle I suspect).

Most of the investigation was done by Adam Crafton of The Athletic. The article is paywalled but this is his thread about it:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1643872375442644995.html

Football club ownership is always controversial. I read earlier this week that Mike Ashley might buy Reading. A while ago he bought the stadium used by Coventry City and immediately made them pay extra to use it. How could he ever pass a fit and proper person test?

On the subject of owners, this could have been an interesting one for us.

(It might be behind a paywall but on my phone I just click the AA thing beside the URL and select show reader and it pops up fine.)

www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/4793320/hollywood-stars-ryan-reynolds-and-rob-mcelhenney-pondered-arbroath-swoop-before-buying-wrexham/

agree with this. Which is why the English model of ownership is bonkers, and why the fans in Germany are working very very hard to keep our 50+1 ownership model.

It is why there is such boiling anger, still, over the fudge they made over Leipzig.

Well, that had a certain air of inevitability about it.

The moment the refs buy in to the narrative that Arsenal "don't like it up 'em", they allow all kinds of blatant fouling, and the moment an Arsenal player does something rash it's time to get the cards out.

As for VAR. Guimaraes. What is the definition of "violent conduct" if it's not punching someone in the head off the ball? FFS.

And as for the "goal"? Was it Ange Postecoglu on VAR tonight? Blatant foul, pretty blatant offside, and the ball was almost certainly out of play. Their reason for giving the goal was basically that the cameras were all crap.

At least we haven't got the "unbeaten" tag to contend with any more. But we need to up our game - we were far too slow. Everything was slow, going forward was too slow, passing sideways was too slow. Eddie unfortunately showed his limitations (for all his decent defensive work). Shouldn't have sold Balogun...

How did both Guimaraes and Havertz get away tonight with worse behaviour than so many other players have been sent off for this season? The lack of consistency is frustrating.

Havertz got the yellow card he deserved, as did Livramento at the end for his challenge on Martinelli.

Guimaraes however. And he made other blatant fouls like this one;

https://twitter.com/ArsenalN7/status/1720910171541537047

Nothing.

Just to be totally clear; VAR reviewed Bruno's assault on Jorginho and said that it was a forearm, not an elbow. That's irrelevant, so they've openly admitted that they saw violent conduct and decided not to act on it. Incompetence or corruption?

On VAR tonight - Andy Madley & Stuart Burt - who take officiating jobs in the Saudi league, which is owned by Saudi PIF, which owns Newcastle…

I think Bruno was very lucky and Havertz was incredibly lucky to stay on the pitch. The referee was woeful for both sides. We should never have had three yellows for suggesting it was a bloody dangerous tackle yet Arsenal got precisely zero for the entire team surrounding the ref after our goal. Bruno did get a yellow as well though and will miss the next PL game.

I haven’t seen the goal back so can’t comment yet 🤷🏼‍♀️ I’ll take it.

What I will say is. Arsenal did nowhere near enough to win that game. A draw was the most they were going to get.

I won't disagree that we weren't very good. But there were at least three, if not four, good reasons not to give the goal. It's a blatant red card for Guimaraes in the first half, and that changes the game unless the officials are being paid off.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.

I think we’ve all felt like we’ve been on the wrong side of a VAR decision in recent times. I certainly don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest that Newcastle are treated more favourably by officials at all.

HE PUNCHED HIM IN THE HEAD!

I get when there are shades of grey, but this really isn't one of those!

https://twitter.com/HACKETTREF/status/1720906298311528606

Not to mention this one...

https://twitter.com/IDontLikeSpurs/status/1720930295229055316

Yes I’ve seen it. I said he was lucky to stay on the pitch. As was, in my opinion, Havertz. VAR checked both of them and thought otherwise. You’d think if we’re paying the refs off we’d get all the decisions…

You got the important ones. Havertz was rash, but not deliberately dangerous. He didn't punch someone in the head, for instance.

For the "goal", the ball was out, Gabriel was fouled, there was a handball, and it was offside.

But, apparently, that's all hunky dory...

Take the win and admit you got geffing lucky

Okie doke.

We all win games we shouldn't, but tonight was BAD.

I can see an investigation coming from this one.

Obviously it'll be wiped under the carpet because it's only Arsenal, but it'll come up next time a "big" team" gets done...

Oh ffs! The @pgmol VAR audio on the push on Gabriel: “There’s two hands on Gabriel’s back but we can’t be sure it’s a push.”