It’s… Rebekah Vardy('s phone)
6 Likes
To me i think they believe they aren’t accountable to anyone
1 Like
But again, they’ll say exactly the same thing when talking about us.
It’s just we remember ours more than we do those of other clubs.
No sane Villa fan thinks they deserved three penalties. But all they need is one slight perceived injustice to add to all the other ones they carry about with them and all of a sudden it’s evidence of an agenda against them.
Same for every club and every fan base. Only difference is size of fan base, volume level of complaint and whether you have one foot or both in the club echo chamber.
If you took the blinkers off for just a second you might gain a sense of perspective.
Can’t help you if you choose to be an ostrich though.
There are generally two types of referees.
-
Those who try to make calls on what they see.
-
Those who believe they are a conductor and their role is to ref the game like it’s an orchestra.
This is the underlying issue. We can debate bias. But we all know there are a subset of referees that enjoy being centre of attention. Refs who don’t want to spoil the game by sending someone off because it’s a final, refs that let things go because it’s the first 10 minutes or it’s a derby.
This introduces the variability in the way games are refereed, which creates inconsistencies and drives fans and mangers nuts.
Our top referees openly admit they do this. Take the commentary from Mark Clattenburg when we played Milan
https://x.com/LFC_RK/status/1836139723036737849
Or the example I gave above. With zero self awareness Kevin Lynch laughing and joking on a podcast saying he was going to “play a little game” “basically if he got fouled I wasn’t going to give it”.
The application of the rules becomes subjective, and highlighting their errors is not about interpretation of rules but a personal attack of their conducting skills. Akin to telling a US cop they don’t understand the law. They tend to double down, band together.
The best referees should not be seen. The PL have too many who believe they are the ones that make the game what it is.
8 Likes
yeah, nah…
lets put aside that the point is utterly irrelevant as refs need to be impartial, and football has always treated refs with distain…
but i am 100% certain that Klopp would be the guy youd go hammer and tongs argueing with and have a beer later…an honest disagreement…had them always in football (never been a ref) but i know players i hate on the pitch, but it stays there…
its genuine. theres an honesty to Klopps rage, and hes always back down to non football human levels quickly and 100% able to make up for it…
then theres seedy back stabbing, slimy, gossipy bitches… im thinking like an Arteta ( no evidence)…
4 Likes
4 Likes
While we talk about Tomlinson, here’s his take on the situation: David Coote And C*ntgate – I’ve Called This All Along
6 Likes
Clattenburg has openly spoken about the importance of refs balancing up the decisions across a game. If we get a close one for us then the next one will need to go against us. This isnt some sort of probabilistic thing where he’s calculated this is way to get the most close decisions right over a span of time. It’s purely about defending himself against criticism for that game. He’d rather be wrong and be able to point to giving one to both teams to deflect accusations of being biased, than back himself to get it all right and face criticisms of having favoured one of the sides. It is intended to sound savvy, and is received as such by lots of listeners, but reveals a shocking perspective of someone unwilling to back himself and his own opinion. He is making himself a participant in the action rather than a facilitator of it.
4 Likes
I can understand the referees using a bit of common sense to help themselves control a game. For example let’s say it’s the Merseyside Derby and the first tackle of the game is a bit late - maybe you let that go.
Or if a young player comes on making their debut and they put a bit of a poor tackle then maybe a talking to to calm them down will suffice.
I don’t understand the idea of levelling the game up. If one team commits fouls it doesn;t mean you have to actively try and punish the other team to balance it all up.
2 Likes
What a weird article. Are games just settled on big incidents? Has everyone forgotten by far the biggest penalty shout in the game against Villa was Darwin Nunez being bundled over in the opening moments?
1 Like
Notably that Burnley game Coote referenced there were no real contentious incidents. Robbo was having a go at him instead for having allowed them to kick us all over the park for 90 minutes. That sort of stuff doesnt get tallied in these pieces that focuses only on big contentious issues, but how many games to we complain about the tenor of the game where they are seemingly allowed to rough house us but then get free kicks given to them every time they throw themselves to the floor?
3 Likes
2 Likes
Manchester City apologist apologises for decisions which benefit Manchester City.
Quelle surprise.
8 Likes
Very selective. There was a blatant foul on Jota at a corner in that Brentford away game when it was still 0-0. Also I think we had at least 2 carried off in the same game (Jota and Jones iirc) as a result of yard-dog tackles.
In the 4-3 Spurs game he mentions a high tackle on Skipp but there was an even worse one on one of our lads (possibly by Skipp) that doesn’t get mentioned.
What’s important to remember here is most of those matches took place at a time when I believe Coote would have been known to be as dodgy as fuck by PGMOL where LFC was concerned.
It can be no coincidence he didn’t referee a PL game involving Liverpool for 4 years. What does that tell you? They knew he was a problem so I’d imagine he was under strict instruction not to fuck us over as they eased him back in.
1 Like
theres another angle to all this as well
imagine how pissed off you would be if you were a decent ref knocking on the premier league door but just not getting your chance because the PGMOL are a closed shop…
i have no doubt the PGMOL will come out and say how the refs they have are the best of the best and everyone is human, and they dont want to dilute the talent pool, hes done his time etc etc etc (all the usual shite you get when a locked shop is getting exposed)
but imagine giving everything youve got and you cant get in the door becuase this fucking idiot is a protected species…
7 Likes
also on a seperate seperate note…
somewhere in Germany a certain ex manager would have really, and i mean REALLY REALLY, enjoyed his beer the night this broke out…savoured it…
1 Like
Do ostriches wear blinkers?
Do Portsmouth or Swansea or Colchester fans have a view on this?
Did you check their forums to keep your sense of perspective?
Tell you what…
Just to keep your perspective…
There is no corruption or bias, or even ineptitude.
The whole world is nice and even and everything is fair.
Happy now?
1 Like
Not if it was Erdinger.
Nobody can actually enjoy that.
1 Like
Because they are weak. Unable to command respect. Unable to communicate with authority.
They are afraid of analysis on TV, afraid of criticism and therefre too weak to take control of the game properly.
Ferguson was a master at exploiting the weaknesses. He had them afraid of his every word. He demonised players who presented a challenge (ie Suarez) and refs bought the bait.
3 Likes