Michael Oliver v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[sickbeggar]

If you had to keep VAR (and it should be dumped in a landfill imo) then the obvious solution is taking away its use by the same people who gave us Fergie time before VAR. And that is never gonna happen.

Honestly just give it to random neutral fans, who sit there in Stockley Park with a copy of the rules. At least we'd get some bias against the twats for once.

yeah I call it the "playing Subbuteo with yourself" problem. No matter how unbiased you tried to be as a kid, the team you wanted to win invariably did. VAR just amplifies that problem because they're away from action and more importantly no players can get at them or boo them for 90 minutes, while the ref just stands there and goes "not me guv"

[Bobby Boy]

It's the veil of secrecy around the whole thing, in rugby you have Ref Link, every word the referee utters can be heard by the fans and the TV broadcasters, when a decision goes to TMO (VAR) every word of the exchange is broadcast. Why isn't this happening in football?

Because the contradictions and inconsistencies of application would be clear and exposed.

[Martyn Smith]

It's the veil of secrecy around the whole thing, in rugby you have Ref Link, every word the referee utters can be heard by the fans and the TV broadcasters, when a decision goes to TMO (VAR) every word of the exchange is broadcast. Why isn't this happening in football?

Too much swearing in football, I imagine.

[Martyn Smith]

Lineker got it spot on with the first disallowed goal. He observed that it was almost like they were looking for a reason to disallow it.

Now, I'm not one for conspiracy theories. But...

[Nev]

Some teams have decisions dissected minutely in their favour, those against given a cursory glance. You know which teams we are talking about.

[mrfuse]

If you had to keep VAR (and it should be dumped in a landfill imo) then the obvious solution is taking away its use by the same people who gave us Fergie time before VAR. And that is never gonna happen.

Honestly just give it to random neutral fans, who sit there in Stockley Park with a copy of the rules. At least we'd get some bias against the twats for once.

yeah I call it the "playing Subbuteo with yourself" problem. No matter how unbiased you tried to be as a kid, the team you wanted to win invariably did. VAR just amplifies that problem because they're away from action and more importantly no players can get at them or boo them for 90 minutes, while the ref just stands there and goes "not me guv"

Great analogy. 

I loved Subbuteo as a kid, my dad glued the pitch onto a board and we play matches together.
Sadly he died during this time and I spent endless matches playing games by myself and doing exactly what you described.

It wasn't even Unconscious bias it was definitely deliberate.

[Swindonlad]

Hope you don't mind me posting but that was absolutely disgusting last night. 4 minutes to find a clear and obvious error? I find it so wrong that it can only be used at premier league grounds. That goal would count at our stadium in the same competition, how is that right?

I thought you guys were great last night i would certainly be excited as a Villa fan as looks like Gerrard knows what he wants and needs already and with the players linked you could have a great few years ahead.

On a side note what's up with John McGinn doesn't look the same this season, is he struggling with a niggle or something

[Bobby Boy]

Some teams have decisions dissected minutely in their favour, those against given a cursory glance. You know which teams we are talking about.

Absolutely. And we know that had we been 1-0 up with a minute to play then a coming together in the box that leaves the opponents face bloodied would have led to a penalty. It would have been scrutinised by pundits and agreed that if you raise a hand to an opponents face then you are asking for trouble.

We've heard this so many times before.

With us? No mention.

This is the rub. You can justify or play down anything you want and be seen to be right.

[Pat Mustard]

I would normally calm down by now but I'm still seething about last nights travesty. I thought at the time Ings was offside but this has been cleared up. He wasn't. Cavani ran straight into Ramsey and got the free kick. Complete bullshit. If Ramsey deliberately body checked him then surely that should have been a second yellow for him and he should have been sent off. But that slimey bastard Oliver stopped short of that thus avoiding further scrutiny as Villa would have appealed the decision. The whole thing stinks.

You know I wasn't looking forward to the game last night, not because I thought we'd lose but because I felt sure that some scandalous, game changing decision would be made against us.

This isn't true of any other team. That really isn't right.

I will feel the same on Saturday. Man Utd get decisions against us routinely, game after game, that smell to high heaven.

I genuinely don't want to get into a paranoid, conspiracy fearing headspace but years of this nonsense has got me there.

It's like the old saying, just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're not out to get you.  I even said to my wife before the game that we would get done by some dodgy decision here, and lo and behold what happens?

I do think for once though that it might run in our favour this weekend.  The officials will be aware that we are fuming over last night, a 5:30 kick-off on Saturday night means I suspect the crowd will be even more 'boisterous' than usual, and if there are any dodgy decisions it will spark pandemonium.  For once I think Manure will get what's rightly coming to them on Saturday.  Doesn't change the fact that we won't win the FA Cup for another year.

[AlexAlexCropley]

Wonder what would have happened to Kidderminster's bundled goal if it was at OT

[Bobby Boy]

Hope you don't mind me posting but that was absolutely disgusting last night. 4 minutes to find a clear and obvious error? I find it so wrong that it can only be used at premier league grounds. That goal would count at our stadium in the same competition, how is that right?

I thought you guys were great last night i would certainly be excited as a Villa fan as looks like Gerrard knows what he wants and needs already and with the players linked you could have a great few years ahead.

On a side note what's up with John McGinn doesn't look the same this season, is he struggling with a niggle or something

Sure, you've probably gathered that we're not overly chuffed with what happened last night.

John McGinn has been excellent largely this season. Sometimes maybe he tries to do too much to gets us going but he's been one of our more consistent players.

He needs to rein in the Hollywood pass a bit though for sure.

[dave.woodhall]

Some teams have decisions dissected minutely in their favour, those against given a cursory glance. You know which teams we are talking about.

I said this after the Liverpool game. The officials know that if they give a borderline decision against the Sky clubs it'll be dissected in minute detail whereas one in their favour will get a cursory nod of approval.

[LeeB]

We're all seething about the chalked off goal, let's not forget how many times goofy fuckface and fatty Shaw got away with yellow cards before getting one, yet Ramsey was straight in the book for his first foul.

[sickbeggar]

If you had to keep VAR (and it should be dumped in a landfill imo) then the obvious solution is taking away its use by the same people who gave us Fergie time before VAR. And that is never gonna happen.

Honestly just give it to random neutral fans, who sit there in Stockley Park with a copy of the rules. At least we'd get some bias against the twats for once.

yeah I call it the "playing Subbuteo with yourself" problem. No matter how unbiased you tried to be as a kid, the team you wanted to win invariably did. VAR just amplifies that problem because they're away from action and more importantly no players can get at them or boo them for 90 minutes, while the ref just stands there and goes "not me guv"

Great analogy. 

I loved Subbuteo as a kid, my dad glued the pitch onto a board and we play matches together.
Sadly he died during this time and I spent endless matches playing games by myself and doing exactly what you described.

It wasn't even Unconscious bias it was definitely deliberate.

ah man. I'm gonna have that image of you playing alone as a kid stuck in my head for the rest of the day  : I just couldn't get anyone willing to play the bobbins (or no friends, one or the other)

[sickbeggar]

We're all seething about the chalked off goal, let's not forget how many times goofy fuckface and fatty Shaw got away with yellow cards before getting one, yet Ramsey was straight in the book for his first foul.

yeah, bunch of cloggers basically,