Roy's View From... View From Stoke

[PokerBlade]

And the ref would say "Hmm...not going straight towards the goal, ball's drifting out wide a little, long way out, covering defender likely to get back, that's not a clear denial of a goal scoring opportunity so it's just a yellow". And then another ref will go "Oof, he's past the last man, he's got the legs to get there, he's almost certainly going to get a shot off. He's got to go".

If we point to a few incidents like that we'll see some red, some yellow, and be no clearer as to how any of those refs made their mind up. It feels like pot luck.

 

[Bladesman]

And the ref would say "Hmm...not going straight towards the goal, ball's drifting out wide a little, long way out, covering defender likely to get back, that's not a clear denial of a goal scoring opportunity so it's just a yellow". And then another ref will go "Oof, he's past the last man, he's got the legs to get there, he's almost certainly going to get a shot off. He's got to go".

If we point to a few incidents like that we'll see some red, some yellow, and be no clearer as to how any of those refs made their mind up. It feels like pot luck.

I am sure Egan was closer to the half way line and still got red carded.

 

[Camden Blade]

Stoke fans are a scummy scummy lot. On the train back some were in our reserved seats and it took ten minutes to get them to move. The carriage was full of them shouting obscenities at non Stoke passengers, the worst being directed at women and young men travelling by themselves (homophobic abuse at its most horrible). Several left their seats to get sanctuary and safety elsewhere. Me and the kids kept our heads down but it was getting nasty, and we'd only been on the train 15 minutes. Luckily at chesterfield the BTP got on and sorted it so they penned them in until Derby.

I've been travelling to home games from london since 95 and this is about the worst we've had - thank god it was only 40 minutes. From what a couple of decent Stoke fans said this is typical and it spoils away days for the rest. One man commented he sees more drugs sniffed and swallowed at half time than he used to back in the rave heydays of the 90s.

Look this isn't just stoke, we have a similar problem but not perhaps on this scale. stoke & port vale deserve each other as neighbours.

We returned on the 1837. I noticed about 3 in first class. One said 'sit down lads, first class. I hope you're going the Stoke way otherwise I'll have to book ya!' As I have a cold and was under the weather and not feeling like banter with opposition fans who were obviously the worse for wear we moved into the next carriage. I don't know if you can travel Stoke Sheffield direct but a lot seemed to be coming via Derby and Leicester. Stoke have always had a rough following.

 

[JohnDenver]

At the very least I expected a dead ball expert and a long thrower to capitalise on Soutters gigantic presence. They should invest in that pair and they will survive. It won't be pretty but they had Pulis for ages, and we had the Hoofy clown for far too long, so let them suck it up.

I particularly enjoyed the two corners they took in front of the Kop. Both to Ollie Norwood at knee height, with Souttar wondering why he’d bothered making the journey.

 

[PokerBlade]

I am sure Egan was closer to the half way line and still got red carded.

That's my point. You can spin it any way you want. Here's the relevant law of the game:

A player, sent-off player, substitute or substituted player who enters the field of play without the required referee's permission and interferes with play or an opponent and denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is guilty of a sending-off offence.

The following must be considered:

• distance between the offence and the goal
• general direction of the play
• likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball
• location and number of defenders

That is, the ref "considers" those things and then decides if he personally feels like it was or wasn't enough for a red.

I think this should've been a red. I'm just saying you can spin it however you want given the way football's "laws" are written.

 

[Champagneblade]

This guy got it:

“Stats say this was quite an even game when in reality Sheff United (and other decent teams in this league) don’t have to get out of first gear to beat us and other teams around us in the league just out work us.”

I don’t get the luck comments. We coasted a bit, but their goal was a. A fluke b. Possibly offside and they should have had a man off. Meanwhile there was nothing particularly contentious about any of our goals plus we got nowhere near anyone seeing red.

 

[Frank the tank]

Egan just pointing out at the end there that he has been sent off for less.

Ref pointing at the angle from goal of the incident
Like jebbo wouldn't be able to run towards goal from there it was just wide of the d fourth yards out

Fucking joke

 

[BushBlade]

Have a free like for Massive Attack.

Lovely album, Blue Lines. I struggle to listen to it without filling up a little, over memories of that era and how much I miss it. Sheffield in the late 80s/early 90s was great, really vibrant.

 

[Cappy]

 

[corner_flag]

Maybe we should sign those pigeons in the summer transfer window, shake things up a bit. Think they are getting complacent