http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/oct/19/premierleague-liverpool This is some good bullshite, hardly surprising from a gang of left wing dandys... Bruce rages at Reds' daylight 'robbery' 'Robbed,' declared Steve Bruce with ample cause. If Liverpool are rising from the dead with a regularity, it was the referee who revived them here. I'm sorry, but that is plain bullshite. These guys just dont follow football. Wigan were physically exhausted at this point and Liverpool were bossing it. For 75 minutes a fine Wigan side, gloriously spearheaded by Amr Zaki, who scored twice, were set for a famous win. Then they lost Antonio Valencia to an arguable pair of yellow cards, opening the door to the hosts Really? Zaki went missing 2nd half, probably too tired to make too much more impact. The yellow cards were NOT "arguable"....indeed the 2nd yellow was a straight red, in the opinion of most. Considering that for the first half an hour was scoreless, and we were level soon after, it seems unlikely that Wigan were "for 75 mins set for a famous win" Nice try at painting Wigan as being in charge whole game. "Why, Bruce asked, had Alan Wiley booked Valencia for encroaching at a free-kick where Liverpool players were jostling Wigan men in the wall, and which Xabi Alonso appeared to have taken? Did Valencia's subsequent tackle on the Spaniard turn illegal as soon as the midfielder lifted his feet off the ground? Actually, if you read the rule book, you will see that a tackle can be deemed illegal long before it lands, by dint of the malicious intent or the absence of any legal efficacy. The fact that it actually lands makes it all the worse. Valencia was initially carded for repeatedly charging forward before the free kick was taken. 'That decision, for me, has totally changed the game,' Bruce said. 'We do feel absolutely harshly treated, because to come to Liverpool and get a result you need the referee to have respect. I keep hearing about this word, but there was none shown in that performance today.' No Steve, it didnt "totally change" the game. Liverpool were pressing forward anyways. Thats conjecture on your behalf. The ref showed plenty of respect to Wigan. If BenÃtez had made much play of Fernando Torres's loss to a midweek hamstring strain, Bruce had to cope with the international-inflicted absence of Emile Heskey There is no comparison, so stop trying to make one. His solution was to adopt a Chelsea-like formation - three central midfielders, with Olivier Kapo and Daniel de Ridder drifting off the wings to support Zaki. Organisation and confidence unaffected, Wigan dominated possession and territory as they worked on Anfield anxieties and their makeshift defence. Really....so you see, if he read what he wrote this guy would realise why Wigan got so tired later on and made fouls...because they started so fast. Wigan stuck to their passing game, Valencia patiently holding possession on the right wing until he felt the cross was on. Dropping off a sleepy Alvaro Arbeloa on the far side of the area, Zaki's timing was still better, ending with an impeccable over-the-shoulder volley across Reina Wow. I guess Rieras glancing header and Kuyt hitting the bar was something the rest of us just made up then. Celebrating his seventh goal of a remarkable first season in the Premier League, the 25-year-old jogged to the Egyptian flag-brandishing Wigan fans. His reputation mushrooming, Wigan will do well to exercise the £6m option on Zaki's loan deal before a wealthier club gazump them. Wigan dont have a buy clause, numpty. Long-range shots failing to find goal, BenÃtez exchanged both full-backs for extra wingers, creating a five-man attack. More pertinent aid came from the yellow cards Valencia saw for encroaching at a free-kick and a reckless midfield tackle. What??? What about the save Kuyt forced from Kirkland from Keanes cut back (say that fast!!) and the near miss from the floated Alonso free kick? This pleb just leaves stuff out. Liverpool dominated it, 2nd half.!!! I dont remember too may crazy long shots! What is this pleb talking about "more pertinent aid"......did the sending off put the ball in the back of the net? No, it didnt, pleb face. Liverpool had 14 mins to score twice. That means Wigan had 10 men and 14 mins to hold out. They couldnt. You know why? No..not cos they had 10 men but because they never had the ball and were exhausted from their earlier excesses. Almost immediately, Nabil El Zahr, one of the substitute widemen, clipped the ball back to Riera and the Spaniard found a bottom corner. A previously unlikely Liverpool win became inevitable as Kirkland could only deflect Kuyt's flying volley on to the bar and in. Unjust, but justice does not win titles. A crude attempt to inextricably link the win to the sending off. El Zhar was actually playing on the left wing when he clipped it back, and it was no clip back it was a clever dummied-pass to Riera who had started the move with an unchallenged run from midfield. Wigan had 9 outfield players they could have tackled him with. They stood off. A liverpool win was always on the books- we could have been 2-1 up but for Dirk hit the bar. Of course, you left that bit out, arsehole. Justice does not win Titles and assholes who write for the Guardian do not win Booker Prizes. TOSSA!
souness the first conflict ive had with you i said im done with you,but tbh i read all your posts,your a funny fkr,alot of the time time ur full of sht but you do make sense sometimes,bruce with his big fat head was out of order on this occasion,his manc personality shining through as usual,but a little bit of advice to you souness,ya got to let some things go lmao.
Fat Head Souness you seem pissed off. You should be loving the fact that Fat Head thinks he was robbed. I would prefer if he and his team actually had been. It always feels so much worse when your robbed (remember Rio Ben Johnson I went shopping Ferdinand scoring in injury time) Hopefully Bruce feelslike that.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article4974439.ece A fine goal from Albert Riera and a mis-hit effort from Kuyt inside the last ten minutes took the points. Sure. Dirk miss-hit it. Into the ground. And beyond the keeper. Into the net. By accident. Wankers.
I would hate to see your reaction if we lose a game. A little tip - when I get pissed off I think of Istanbul, you should try it.
Judas you werent in the pub before your original post were you? I can almost picture you sitting at your keyboard with steam coming out your ears typing, or reading the papers and your head explodes like a scene from Scanners
yeah Judas take a chil pill and enjoy the wins. who cares what they write!? god man id hate to see you if we were 7 points off the top or something like that
Makes you wonder how much the reporter knows about football. Strikers are taught to get over the ball when attempting any type of volley. Kuyt managing to do this increases the chance of the shot being on target. Good technique Dirk - well done! Many other strikers would have hit the center of the ball and it would have ended in row Z.
Thats a great aul post. Not half angry are you. Have to agree about second yellow, that could have been a straight red.
What the hell are you doing reading The Guardian if you have such a problem with the newspaper and its political stance?? Strange
Well, the truth be told, its a highly respected Newspaper which prides itself on its objectivity. The very least you could expect from them is to tell us what happened, as it happened, in the game. I could just as easily ask you if they cant be fair and objective, then why do THEY bother.
The truth is I dont care what fat-head thinks or says- the simple fact is that he says what he does cos he knows the lazy newspaper shits will print it for him as if it were gospel. Real analysis would ask the following question: why were Zabaletta and Valencia sent off for identical fouls on the same player at more or less the same minute {75th or so} in games which were almost identical in the manner in which they panned out......thats a question. That would be analysis. If you ask that question and attempt to answer it, you will be providing real analysis for the fans........coming up with some bullshite like "Valencia waited patiently before picking Zaki out" is not analysis. It is fiction. Anyone who saw the game knows he tried to pass it to De Ridder and it bounced back off Agger and off Dossena and then he whipped it across.
You are missing the point. I dont react on account of how we win or lose, I react on account of how we are treated when we win or lose. When we win we get piss poor journalism which paints us a jammy lucky outfit who benefitted from poor refereeing. If anything, we would be top if the Referees could do their jobs.
wha? shouldnt that be the other way around? who gives a sheite what others think or report? its the results not the headlines that make my day. try it for a while......
I'd just like to point out that the link you posted is The Observer match report. This is The Guardian match report and its pretty damn good http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/oct/20/premierleague-liverpool Seething Bruce claims injustice after Liverpool profit once more in the last-chance saloon The Grafton, that notorious Liverpool pick-up joint and birthplace of the "Grab A Granny" night, closed its disreputable doors for the final time last week. The spirit of spending the final minutes in nervous anticipation of a guaranteed end result, however, lives on at Anfield. Liverpool have flirted with danger so often this season it is no surprise The Grafton succumbed to its fierce competitor, whose track record lent an almost inevitable air to the latest conquest against a wronged Wigan Athletic. Rafael BenÃtez's team have suddenly gained an unexpected reputation as the great dramatists of this campaign for the frequency of their relentless comebacks, four and counting in the Premier League, five in total. For now, the Liverpool manager is obliged to enjoy the ride in a season where a title challenge is paramount. But he is also too experienced to accept that challenge can continue to be left to chance. "I don't like to do it this way," conceded BenÃtez after Dirk Kuyt's 85th-minute scissor kick had kept Liverpool level on points with Chelsea, who they face at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and, moreover, after referee Alan Wiley had produced an equally telling contribution in sending off Wigan's Luis Antonio Valencia. "I'm not disappointed now, but for everyone involved with us it would be much better to score and play well in the first half and then enjoy the game," BenÃtez added. Liverpool's games are enjoyable, though Steve Bruce and those with high blood pressure would vehemently disagree on Saturday, yet BenÃtez is not alone in assessing their finest start to a Premier League season with a mix of satisfaction and bewilderment. Liverpool have amassed more points after eight games than Manchester United had in their last two title-winning campaigns, 17 last season and 19 in 2006-07, but their performance levels have only matched their impressive strength of character sporadically. United, Everton and the second half against Manchester City have brought the best out of the Spaniard's team in terms of quality, while hard-fought, fortunate wins such as this against Wigan have been more common. But still they keep rolling, and at a stage in the season where BenÃtez usually has to defend his rotation policy or an over-reliance on key individuals, Liverpool will arrive in west London next weekend with formidable momentum. "When you have problems with fatigue and key players out injured you have to show character," said Kuyt, who made the most of Torres's absence and a rare start in attack. "We showed plenty to pull it out of the fire like that. In a way, it showed how far we have come since last season. You can be sure we would only have drawn or maybe even lost a game like this 12 months ago. We passed a test with this win." The outcome was cruel on Wigan. Deservedly ahead through Amr Zaki's stupendous overhead kick, a goal that may further weaken Wigan's temporary grip on the on-loan Egyptian international and highlighted the continued weakness of both Liverpool full-backs, their prospects of a famous scalp were fatally undermined when Valencia was dismissed 16 minutes from time. Harshly booked for encroaching on a Liverpool free-kick - after Xabi Alonso had played the ball - the Ecuadorian invited a second yellow card from Wiley when he became the third player in three successive league games to see red for a high challenge on the Spanish midfielder. Anfield sat back in anticipation. BenÃtez's claim that Valencia's red card had no influence on the final result was incredible. Yes, Wigan dangerously invited Liverpool's pressure in the second half, and their midfield failed to support Zaki to the same degree, but Chris Kirkland was rarely tested with 10 blue and white shirts in front of him. Once the numbers reduced, BenÃtez again reverted to all-or-nothing tactics and Liverpool pressed and stretched Wigan into submission. Albert Riera drove home Liverpool's second equaliser with 10 minutes remaining. Then Kuyt, the earlier beneficiary of Daniel Agger's successful attempt to atone for the dreadful error that gifted Zaki the game's opening goal, volleyed a rare Jermaine Pennant cross down and over the Wigan goalkeeper. Bruce claimed that "this is the best team I have ever had the privilege to manage", but was left with nothing but a simmering sense of injustice against Wiley. "He totally and utterly got it wrong and he cost us the game," said the Wigan manager.
Classic. Why let the facts get in the way of a good rant Judas Souness is turning into his hero Eamon Dunphy!
I wondered the very same thing when Valencia was sent off in the 75th min. I posted the above post in the match thread. This is the 3rd time in the last 3 games the opposition had a man sent off between 67th and 80th min. In all 3 games we were slow to start. In all 3 games were were dominating the second half. In all 3 games Alonso was on the receiving end of the challenge. When the opposition can't get the ball they become very tired. When they become very tired towards the end of the game and they can't get near the ball their challenges become more rash. They become more frustrated and they make riskier tackles because they believe that if they don't then Liverpool are going to score anyway. So they do whatever they can to try to win they ball back, if they can't do it within the rules then they resort to heavier challenges, pushing the boundaries of the referrees limits. Eventually, the ref needs to bring control back to the game and it leads to a sending off. The fact that it has been on Alonso each time is no surprise either - he's been having a good start to the season and he's the type of player who shows a bit of the ball before moving it out of reach of the opposing player before the tackle arrives. For me it's too big of a coincidence that this same thing has happened 3 games in a row. Either the above is true or else LFC have these refs on the payroll. I prefer to believe the former.
To win anything you need to be both good and lucky, the simple fact is for all our endevour we have been getting the breaks that usually go against us with refereeing decisions. Call us lucky, call us jammy who cares there are 20 points on the board and thats all that matters. Its not like the Mancs havent been accused of being poxy for all their great play, there is hardly a game goes by with them that the expression 'contraversial refereeing decision' doesnt show up in the aftermatch report. The press have their favourites like Fat Frank 'Wicked Double Deflection' Lampard, Wayne 'Granny Shagger' Rooney, Cristiano 'Because Im Worth It' Ronaldo, but so what?