Liverpool v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[onje_villa]

But it's relevant to our reaction to it - that's sort of the point I've been trying to make here.

On one hand you have a decision that won us a match, on the other a decision that cost us the lead in a match/lost us the match. You'd kind of expect the reaction to be different, wouldn't you, it being a Villa forum?

Yeah I do of course, it's a Villa forum and we all want Villa to win but it doesn't mean we have to cover it in mock objectivity and an outrageous sense of being hard done by. This one went against us but it was a top performance and hopefully this can push us onwards for the rest of the season.


(See how I tried to move on there )

[Legion]

You go again.

[olaftab]

What they say about Leopards applies to cheaters as well!

How long have you been saving that gem up for?

I was disappointed that no one else so far had piled in with it!

[Somniloquism]

Plenty of stuff goes against us, plenty in our favour. Can't recall us complaining at Gabby's penalty vs the Blues.

I love the fact we are going back 5 + years to find a controversial decision penalty decision going our way. Is that the one where there was a stud of contact on the ball and then he brought down Gabby who was still going and still could score?

[onje_villa]

Plenty of stuff goes against us, plenty in our favour. Can't recall us complaining at Gabby's penalty vs the Blues.

I love the fact we are going back 5 + years to find a controversial decision penalty decision going our way. Is that the one where there was a stud of contact on the ball and then he brought down Gabby who was still going and still could score?

Ah come on, it's not fair to use my shit memory against me, I can barely remember my left and right.

[old man villa fan]

[I'm not sure what I think - look once and you can see contact, look again and there isn't any

Rubbish.  What you mean is look once and you think you see contact, look again and there isn't.

Why do we seem to have lost the idea of referees giving a decision when they definitely see something, otherwise play on.

One of the most commonly used phrases in modern football is 'minimal contact'.  Why, when there is 'minimal contact' outside the penalty area, does the referee play on but inside the area his judgement of what is or isn't a foul changes.

[nick harper]

My first thought in real time was it was a penalty. I would imagine at the angle the referee saw it and the pace Guzan came out, it looked a penalty. From numerous angles and in slow motion it looks debatable but not conclusively a dive. That's a fact and why some thinks it is and others don't.

The most obvious potential for a penalty is when a goalkeeper charges out towards a player and he gets a touch first. It happens every weekend which is why I think the vitriol towards Suarez is a bit over the top. No doubt when Gabby is running at the same pace into the area, he is looking for the same opportunity and I'd take it if it happens.

[Merv]

Have watched or heard from five pundits or football journalists over the weekend now, all of whom believed it was conclusively a pen. Reasoning seemed to be:

Guzan (and by extension all GKs) deserve it for coming off their line like that.

What else was Suarez (or any attacking player in that situation) meant to do but go down?

Any contact warrants a pen - all said there was contact, but none said where.

I feel winning a penalty in this manner has now become accepted as the norm, so much so no-one even ask if it's actually a foul anymore. Let's just draw a line on the
 'diving' argument. Next time the finger is pointed at Bale, or Young, or whoever, I don't want to hear it. A lot of very influential people in the media seem totally fine with it.













eem absolutely fine w with

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

No idea at all from my place in the stand, but feared the worst.

Seeing it on MOTD I thought The Tooth Monster was already going to ground and making the contact happen.
Some of the comments from Shearer and Lineker, saying "what do they expect Suarez to do?" doesn't justify the penalty being given. That is not a valid argument. If anything it implies that he DID take a dive, as if he chose to!
And "Guzan was stupid to do what he did"!
If I was big Brad I'd take a long hard look at Shearer next time I saw him before punching his smug face into some kind of decent shape.
UTV!

[rob_bridge]

No idea at all from my place in the stand, but feared the worst.

Seeing it on MOTD I thought The Tooth Monster was already going to ground and making the contact happen.
Some of the comments from Shearer and Lineker, saying "what do they expect Suarez to do?" doesn't justify the penalty being given. That is not a valid argument. If anything it implies that he DID take a dive, as if he chose to!
And "Guzan was stupid to do what he did"!
If I was big Brad I'd take a long hard look at Shearer next time I saw him before punching his smug face into some kind of decent shape.
UTV!

No disagreements from me on those points.

[WarszaVillan]

Plenty of stuff goes against us, plenty in our favour. Can't recall us complaining at Gabby's penalty vs the Blues.

I love the fact we are going back 5 + years to find a controversial decision penalty decision going our way. Is that the one where there was a stud of contact on the ball and then he brought down Gabby who was still going and still could score?

Gabby at Arsenal

[Duncan Shaw]

Had a great day in hospitality with the wife's cousin, like last year.  Nice bit of banter with John Bishop at the bar before the game and a thoroughly enjoyable game of football, then a bollocking good night out in Liverpool after.  I do like a good night out in Liverpool!

The game....I thought we were superb in the first half, bar Sunderland 6-1 the best we have played under Lambert.  We really could and should have had at least 4 but I thought conceding right on HT would kill us.  I then thought conceding a penalty so soon after HT would definitely kill us, but I was very proud that we didn't go on to lose the game and probably had the best few chances to nick it.  We lost our ability to stretch them once Gabby went off,  but I though Holt showed plenty of nous when he game on! Even if Alby would have helped us keep our shape. 

Mostly the game had me back to the feeling at the end of the season that we could after all be building something good here.  There IS something about these boys.

I can understand everyone's point of view on the pen and shouldn't argue amongst ourselves.  He "won" it without a doubt and it was always likely to be given at the Kop when they are losing.  Not saying it's right, but it happens and we just get on with it.  There's no saying we would have held out another 40 mins, or that we wouldn't have gone on to win it, but we didn't crumble and we got a good point that we would have been delighted with before the game.  Carry on like that and we'll only climb the table.  The scouters around me were also delighted with a draw and thought we were good, but they were shite.

Looking down at you guys in the corner, the support was again brilliant and mostly very funny.  I just we wouldn't sing the "never work again" stuff there though, it's a bit cringy.

Can anyone tell me if Lowton was injured or just bombed out of the squad again?  I thought his last 20 on Monday would have at least got him on the bench.  Missed any pre-match news.

All in all a top weekend.

[eastie]

Had a great day in hospitality with the wife's cousin, like last year.  Nice bit of banter with John Bishop at the bar before the game and a thoroughly enjoyable game of football, then a bollocking good night out in Liverpool after.  I do like a good night out in Liverpool!

The game....I thought we were superb in the first half, bar Sunderland 6-1 the best we have played under Lambert.  We really could and should have had at least 4 but I thought conceding right on HT would kill us.  I then thought conceding a penalty so soon after HT would definitely kill us, but I was very proud that we didn't go on to lose the game and probably had the best few chances to nick it.  We lost our ability to stretch them once Gabby went off,  but I though Holt showed plenty of nous when he game on! Even if Alby would have helped us keep our shape. 

Mostly the game had me back to the feeling at the end of the season that we could after all be building something good here.  There IS something about these boys.

I can understand everyone's point of view on the pen and shouldn't argue amongst ourselves.  He "won" it without a doubt and it was always likely to be given at the Kop when they are losing.  Not saying it's right, but it happens and we just get on with it.  There's no saying we would have held out another 40 mins, or that we wouldn't have gone on to win it, but we didn't crumble and we got a good point that we would have been delighted with before the game.  Carry on like that and we'll only climb the table.  The scouters around me were also delighted with a draw and thought we were good, but they were shite.

Looking down at you guys in the corner, the support was again brilliant and mostly very funny.  I just we would sing the "never work again" stuff there though, it's a bit cringy.

Can anyone tell me if Lowton was injured or just bombed out of the squad again?  I thought his last 20 on Monday would have at least got him on the bench.  Missed any pre-match news.

All in all a top weekend.

See the Lowton thread, in short he was disciplined for turning up late on Friday for training.

[Duncan Shaw]

Thanks Eastie, I'll go and have a look now.

[fredm]

How many pages would have been used to discuss the penalty if it had been Gabby who won it?