BEST TEAM ON THE NIGHT ,"BUT"

[finlaytheblade]

Accepting that preston deserved to win i am surprised no contributor has commented on the aggresion and fouling which they got away with on the night it wasnt just davis who was pushing and shoving all night just about to a man they were all at it. Probert must have been blind to most of it as he hardly gave us anything.Im all for an aggresive physical battle but lets stick within the rules pushing and shoving isnt.Our lack of height and physical presence playing a team who were doing it to the extreme was going to be decisive and as a lot of our players were off the pace it cost us probably the match!.Under such circumstances we needed a strong ref to stamp on it early doors he never did and preston took full advantage.Davis should take up wrestling now his legs have gone as he would be good at it.(i think probert must be his godfather as he supported him in every foul he commited).yes im frustrated at losing to a set of thugs but also angry at
the ref for letting so much go unpunished rant over we move on!!

 

[judge]

To be fair to them if I played against someone half my size and nesh I'd shove em around a bit too

And what about our wall for their free kick goal ?
Has to be the smallest I've seen since the school team

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Accepting that preston deserved to win i am surprised no contributor has commented on the aggresion and fouling which they got away with on the night it wasnt just davis who was pushing and shoving all night just about to a man they were all at it. Probert must have been blind to most of it as he hardly gave us anything.Im all for an aggresive physical battle but lets stick within the rules pushing and shoving isnt.Our lack of height and physical presence playing a team who were doing it to the extreme was going to be decisive and as a lot of our players were off the pace it cost us probably the match!.Under such circumstances we needed a strong ref to stamp on it early doors he never did and preston took full advantage.Davis should take up wrestling now his legs have gone as he would be good at it.(i think probert must be his godfather as he supported him in every foul he commited).yes im frustrated at losing to a set of thugs but also angry at
the ref for letting so much go unpunished rant over we move on!!

Its power for the cause . We are in league 1 not Le Liga . This is what you get , have to deal with , and provide like for like . We have had 1/2 a season to realise this . If boot was on the other foot , i wouldn't give a shit . Winning is winning , at all cost . Etonian and Queensbury rules don't count in league division 3. Our players need to grow some balls as they wont grow in height.

UTB

 

[alcoblade]

There's a theme forming about dirty sides that we come up against.

Could it just be that we've built the least physically strong team in our living history?

UTB

 

[judge]

There's a theme forming about dirty sides that we come up against.

Could it just be that we've built the least physically strong team in our living history?

UTB

To be fair davies fouled our central defenders a fair bit and they just let him and kept looking for the free kick
should have realised the ref wasn't playing ball and ruffed him back up but they obviously didn't fancy taking him on

 

[finlaytheblade]

Its power for the cause . We are in league 1 not Le Liga . This is what you get , have to deal with , and provide like for like . We have had 1/2 a season to realise this . If boot was on the other foot , i wouldn't give a shit . Winning is winning , at all cost . Etonian and Queensbury rules don't count in league division 3. Our players need to grow some balls as they wont grow in height.

UTB

accept your comments lord bos but the rules are the same whether league 1 or champions league and he is supposed to be a
premiership ref.I am surprised though that clough put the squad together lacking height and physical presence it does make a difference but as i said earlier rules are rules and preston thugs got away with murder.

 

[Deadbat]

I don't think Preston were that dirty. Sure they committed some niggly fouls but a lot of the time they were just stronger and wanted it more. United spent so much time complaining for fouls or going to the floor under little contact. United are sadly still a soft touch physically. I felt Probert was fine. United were weak in play and the battle last night.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

accept your comments lord bos but the rules are the same whether league 1 or champions league and he is supposed to be a
premiership ref.I am surprised though that clough put the squad together lacking height and physical presence it does make a difference but as i said earlier rules are rules and preston thugs got away with murder.

finalytheblade , rules are rules i agree , but it is becoming a too regular occurrence that we are being bullied , playing a set of thugs , especially when we don't win. All teams appear to be able to mix it or play football when it suits , except us . The issue of height and physical presence could cost us in the long run , as you say.

After reading Baxter's article in the Telegraph before the Spurs match , if i wasn't a blade , i would have thought our players were like Millwall supporters in disguise. Even bigger players wouldn't knock the likes of Willie Carlin , Trevor Hockey around . You can still be hard but fair . IMO we are just too soft and a bit of a easy walkover . This has to change and stop being a easy touch ,or it will cost us.

 

[highpeakblade]

Would you not instruct your team to do the same? If I was Preston's gaffer last night I would have told them that we are up against a team who like to try and get it down and play football and counter attack however more significantly a team in which most of the creativity comes from younger, small, light weight players. You need to be clever and use the physical advantage if you have it, you need to ruffle and few feathers and take minds of the game. Simple common sense really. I do think we have played against far worse this season however yes to an extent I agree that physical was a huge part of Preston's plans last night.

 

[finlaytheblade]

I don't think Preston were that dirty. Sure they committed some niggly fouls but a lot of the time they were just stronger and wanted it more. United spent so much time complaining for fouls or going to the floor under little contact. United are sadly still a soft touch physically. I felt Probert was fine. United were weak in play and the battle last night.

i lost count of the times we were pushed and shoved all over the pitch with probert turning a bli nd eye yes football is a physical game but they were constantly breaking the rules i agree we were a soft touch but proberts refereeing was a joke and he is not getting premier league matches often i wonder why! should turn his hand to rugby that would suit him better we are supposed to be playing football after all said and done

 

[Blade56]

Accepting that preston deserved to win i am surprised no contributor has commented on the aggresion and fouling which they got away with on the night it wasnt just davis who was pushing and shoving all night just about to a man they were all at it. Probert must have been blind to most of it as he hardly gave us anything.Im all for an aggresive physical battle but lets stick within the rules pushing and shoving isnt.Our lack of height and physical presence playing a team who were doing it to the extreme was going to be decisive and as a lot of our players were off the pace it cost us probably the match!.Under such circumstances we needed a strong ref to stamp on it early doors he never did and preston took full advantage.Davis should take up wrestling now his legs have gone as he would be good at it.(i think probert must be his godfather as he supported him in every foul he commited).yes im frustrated at losing to a set of thugs but also angry at
the ref for letting so much go unpunished rant over we move on!!

We all moaned at the ref vs swindon for being whistle happy, let's have some consistency. Additionally, it's a physical game men versus .........oh, boys

 

[Swanseablade]

I was a bit surprised at the lack of reaction from the team during the Spurs game when Vertonghen grabbed Basham. I know Basham over reacted like a twat, but if someone puts their hands on one of your team then let's look after our own boys c'mon (Maybe I've watched too much rugby).
But especially as Higgo was literally a few feet away & probably the most useful in this situation?!
I agree with the general sentiment that we do tend to be light weight & an easy pushover.

 

[TheBeard]

What gets me is that every time we did try and break fast there was alway someone who would clip the heals and break up the play, ok we got a fre kick but the player never got booked and they had time to organise at the the back. This is happening too often in matches, the other teams have done their homework and know that we are a team wich play counter attacking football and if you have referees who don't penalise players who are constantly committing these type of fouls our game plan is non existent and no plan B

 

[Punk Blade]

I felt it was a diluted version of the league game. They were physical and dirty but not as bad as their last visit, and they tried to play a bit more and got their rewards.

Still no excuse for inept refereeing though. Highlights were when he blew to stop play in the first half and never signalled anything, so after 7 or 8 yellow shorts surrounded him Preston decided to restart play with a direct free kick; I think second half the ball went out for a throw and neither ref or lino signalled which way so Preston just took it; the best example of us not getting a free kick was when Baxter was looking for space to shoot he was fouled three times by two players and got nothing; and of course Garner(?) being shoved by the invisible man.

The biggest difference on Tuesday was the slight borderline fouls or the 'going down too easily' we got nothing, they got a free kick 18 yards out, a penalty, countless other free kicks around the park and a couple of yellow cards for us.

I hate referees. I know the management would get in trouble for saying it so I'll say it for them: 99% of the time referees show bias/cheat or demonstrate that they are completely incompetent and incapable of controlling a football match. They are ruining the game much more than the Premier League megabucks.

 

[Caveblade]

It was the niggly stuff like the keeper grabbing the ball when it was our corner and then throwing it away and at least one other example where the ball was kicked away to stop us taking a free kick and Probert just let it go.

We got all we deserved the other night, but it was a typical Simon Grayson team, but as has been said, maybe we need to toughen up a bit.

 

[Woodwardfan]

I felt it was a diluted version of the league game. They were physical and dirty but not as bad as their last visit, and they tried to play a bit more and got their rewards.

Still no excuse for inept refereeing though. Highlights were when he blew to stop play in the first half and never signalled anything, so after 7 or 8 yellow shorts surrounded him Preston decided to restart play with a direct free kick; I think second half the ball went out for a throw and neither ref or lino signalled which way so Preston just took it; the best example of us not getting a free kick was when Baxter was looking for space to shoot he was fouled three times by two players and got nothing; and of course Garner(?) being shoved by the invisible man.

The biggest difference on Tuesday was the slight borderline fouls or the 'going down too easily' we got nothing, they got a free kick 18 yards out, a penalty, countless other free kicks around the park and a couple of yellow cards for us.

I hate referees. I know the management would get in trouble for saying it so I'll say it for them: 99% of the time referees show bias/cheat or demonstrate that they are completely incompetent and incapable of controlling a football match. They are ruining the game much more than the Premier League megabucks.

Preston are the product of our flawed game. The authorities, both the Prem and the Football League do not back the referees when needed to back up the laws of the game. In controversial incidents the referee is often hung out to dry rather than backed.

Because there is no zero tolerance rule for dissent and no support for any referee who books players for foul mouthed dissent, it has become the normal way. Preston swarm the referee and designate a player to be "in the ear" of the ref every hand and turn. This is reinforced by the management on the line ( which we do too). This is organised and practised intimidation of the ref with a view to softening him up and gaining unfair advantage.

Teams like Preston amd MKD only practise their thuggery when they know the referee will not clamp down on it. They know the strengths and weaknesses of each ref and exploit weknesses. Revie started that many years ago with his ref dossiers which Clough tore up.

Shirt pulling, wrestling at corners, dissent should all be purged out of the game if refs were backed to do so by the authorities.

The one I don't understand is the clatter in the back from big centre halves which is allowed routinely in our league. In an era of no contact is like a blind spot. When Higdon plays he is assaulted routinely and yet when fouls are given they are against him rather than for him. It happens to McNults as well and even Baxter was routinely bullied. Why it is not a foul and a booking after two or three I just do not understand. On other parts of the pitch the slightest contact or even feigned contact gets a willing foul from the ref, but centre forwards get nothing and certainly don't get anything for feigning a push or a clatter. Strangely only Kennedy in our team bullies opposition forwards so we play at a disadvantage.

As someone above says we have to swallow any principles and make the playing field level and fight fire with fire. Only Doyle in our midfield has the bottle against such as Preston and it's a hard job which must wear him down frankly. In the league game he was heroic and we got the points but he can't possibly do that every game. Have we signed any real battlers last month? Are any of them big physically, I'm afraid not.

 

[Woodwardfan]

As for Probert and the F.A. Cup this year. Nobody can tell me there has not been a directive to Premier League referees to allow contact and in that way favour the lower league clubs. It has been obvious that Prem refs have refereed in a different way in the cup and allowed more contact than in Premier League games. It has helped the excitement and has affected results but it's flawed. Rules are rules and there should not be differing standards at the various levels. As much as the biggest clubs like no contact so their prima donnas can benefit, it should not be there just for them. Rules are rules FGS. As Gary Neville said last season, it's the way it is and has gone too far to ever be changed back, accept it and move on. More's the pity, but someone should tell League 1 refs and we would be the biggest winners.

 

[Grappler]

To be fair, we have known about the lack of height and physical presence since last season, this is nothing new. We have to toughen up and learn how to deal with it. Like I have said before, from memory, only two or three players were under six foot tall in the SWFC side that pipped us to promotion. Big lads who could dish it out. Look at when O'Grady played his last game at the Lane, he would take on two defenders and come away with the ball, surely he was not the only option of that build in the available strikers?

Kevin Davies did a mix of subtle and blatant fouls, non stop, and got away with most, he often stood in front of Howard as a a ball came in, they both jumped and Davies stuck his big fat arse into Howards guts, so he bent forward, hoping the ball would go over him, simple but effecive.

We all knew what to expect from Preston, so I was surprised at the line up, Ben Davies would have brought us a bit more of a solid player.

By the way, Swindon were no bigger than us when we beat them 2-0 at home last week (although a lot faster), so if you look at their success it can be done. I would just be more happy with a few more six footers in the side. Basham at 5ft 11, McEveley and Higdon at 6ft 1 are our big players, outside of the goalies.

 

[bornablade]

I actually commented during the game that I didn't think they were as aggressive / dirty as they had been in the league match. Preston under Westley(?) and now under Grayson have adopted a much more physical approach compared to PNE sides in the past.

Having said all that because our performance on Tuesday was so inept I don't think PNE needed to show any real aggression. If we had put up more of a fight then I think we would have seen the real Preston.

 

[finlaytheblade]

As for Probert and the F.A. Cup this year. Nobody can tell me there has not been a directive to Premier League referees to allow contact and in that way favour the lower league clubs. It has been obvious that Prem refs have refereed in a different way in the cup and allowed more contact than in Premier League games. It has helped the excitement and has affected results but it's flawed. Rules are rules and there should not be differing standards at the various levels. As much as the biggest clubs like no contact so their prima donnas can benefit, it should not be there just for them. Rules are rules FGS. As Gary Neville said last season, it's the way it is and has gone too far to ever be changed back, accept it and move on. More's the pity, but someone should tell League 1 refs and we would be the biggest winners.

you are spot on with your assesment of our physical short comings" woody" and i am surprised how cloughy has failed to fully remedy this given he has had 2 windows to do it of the latest batch coutts is 6ft and done is 5ft 10 so that helps but our
defence is woefully short in both height and muscle i do feel cloughy is the right man but it is a big handycap with how the game is played today. As for nevills comments" its never too late to stop blatant pushing ,shoving and holding we would see a surge in bookings,penalties and sending offs but that would settle down given the referees stay strong and are supported by the authorities. Holding and wrestling is for rugby i would love to see it stamped out maybe then a lot of the big gooses that some how get paid as footballers would be made redundant."Ican dream of the day of course,but i know
the powers that be havnt got the balls to do it.

 

[super_pig]

can't help but notice the massive irony in that we were one of the best ever examples of a 'physical hard working outfit' back in the day

 

[Woodwardfan]

you are spot on with your assesment of our physical short comings" woody" and i am surprised how cloughy has failed to fully remedy this given he has had 2 windows to do it of the latest batch coutts is 6ft and done is 5ft 10 so that helps but our
defence is woefully short in both height and muscle i do feel cloughy is the right man but it is a big handycap with how the game is played today. As for nevills comments" its never too late to stop blatant pushing ,shoving and holding we would see a surge in bookings,penalties and sending offs but that would settle down given the referees stay strong and are supported by the authorities. Holding and wrestling is for rugby i would love to see it stamped out maybe then a lot of the big gooses that some how get paid as footballers would be made redundant."Ican dream of the day of course,but i know
the powers that be havnt got the balls to do it.

It's all about the big boys. They don't want to play in the Champions League and be at a disadvantage; they need to practise their cheating week in week out so they are as good at it as the foreign clubs. It's called a Level Cheaters Playing Field!

 

[Punk Blade]

It was the niggly stuff like the keeper grabbing the ball when it was our corner and then throwing it away and at least one other example where the ball was kicked away to stop us taking a free kick and Probert just let it go.

The worst of that was when the goalie flapped at the ball coming back from the Kop for a goal kick, allowing it to bounce/roll far out of the penalty box, he then slowly ambled towards it so Diego brought it back past him and placed it in the 6 yard box, then he ambled back and lazily picked it up to take to the opposite side of the six yard box. Probert made a point of not looking at any of it so he didn't have to take any action.