Allardyce makes it crystal clear that a player would be putting his career at risk if he "slipped out" to a piss up to see in the New Year, and the fact that he makes this comment suggests to me that he has his suspicions.
How else can you explain Nolan's rake on Zigic on the half way line, right in front of the referee? The foul was brutal and, given he was one card away from suspension, utterly senseless and irresponsible. Captain Fantastic? Nolan should have been stripped of the armband on the spot, with Allardyce marching on to the pitch and ripping it from Nolan's arm. "Captain Fantastic? Captain Lazy Stupid Fat Arsed K.uN.t more like! Here JT, you're my captain for the rest of the season. And if you want to stay in the team KuNt, start running and try passing the ball to teammates!"
And then Faubert "joined in the party" exactly as I predicted in my post on December 15 when I wrote, "So, expect a slightly late tackle from Faubert to secure him a day off after Christmas". Mind you, he had been chippy all game, apparently trying to provoke a yellow card from the off as he nibbled at the ankles of opponents in front of the linesman, attempted a piggy back ride right in front of the official and gobbed off at officials and opponents alike. Short of wearing a sign saying, "The referee is a wanker", he couldn't have done more to get himself in the book.
And we have to set all this within the context of an injury crisis and the ongoing suspension of Collison. Allardyce surely must have told them to be careful and to avoid any stupid or reckless challenges. But Nolan was gobbing off at the referee from the first kick, arguing the toss over the first throw in, which was virtually on the half way line. Ten yellow card points in the bank before the game is a minute old, he must have thought!
I excuse McCartney from all this because his booking was stupid. He wasn't time wasting as he lined up that free kick, he was simply running through the Doctor Evil tactical manual in his head. "Long lump? Even longer lump? Or super long lump? What would the boss want in the circumstances?"
Will Nolan and Faubert party regardless? I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Neither has any love for West Ham and both might fancy an escape route. And would we miss either of them? Well today might be informative! "Should old acquaintance be forgot..."
12 comments:
You're a broken record- give it a rest man.
What do you think these guys do- deliberately rack up the bookings and time it perfectly so that they can have a day off? Do you really think so little of them? They are professionals- they push things to the limit. That's part of the value of someone like Nolan- he does things for a reason. That's why he chips in at the ref cos he has worked out during his long career that over the course of a season it will stand the team in good stead. I don't particularly like it, but its how the game is nowadays. Sometimes it doesn't work but if you think they do it to get a day off then you've lost the plot entirely .
So explain Nolan's foul. And Faubert's foul in Birmingham's box! Oh, and explain Allardyce's comments. Funny the way I predicted the bookings isn't it?
Tom writes
anyone seen the line up for today yet?? nouble is in!! do you think piq might be playing in his right place??
oh yea hf your articles are boring and too frequent, i always like checking you out just too see who you have sucked into your little game of wind up but can never read your stuff as it's always very i told you so...anyway COYI and i hope everyone has a good new year including you hf...
12:59 Well done Tom that's very eloquent of you and I am sure perfectly explains how a lot of other visitors here feel.
You said that they would be booked in time to miss the Xmas games. They weren't.
Its pretty obvious that players on four bookings are going to serve a suspension at some time, so as usual your predictions are more of a case of stating the bleeding obvious than any insight.
Now for my 'prediction'- if we lose today, or even draw you'll do yet another boring, whinging post slagging off the manager.
You don't seem to realise that bookings are "wiped" clean at the turn of the year. Had Nolan and Faubert kept their noses clean at Birmingham and Derby, they would have been back to zero. So explain their reckless behaviour in the light of that! Feeling stupid?
No i'm not really feeling stupid tbh. Why should I? We all make mistakes- i've made a little one in my last post, nothing major, just a simple mistake. It explains a lot that you seem to think I should feel stupid- it might explain why you feel you are always right and never ever admit to geting things wrong. We all make mistakes- some of us aren't too arrogant and/ or insecure to admit to them HF.
But do you now understand the point I was making?
Which one in particular? You tend to make lots of points. The law of averages dictates that a percentage of them then become true. You then constantly crow on about your amazing foresight and ability to predict the future.
You do understand the point I'm making here don't you HF?
Being a bit thick again aren't we? The point that the bookings were incredibly indisciplined in the circumstances. Why do you think Nolan raked Zigic on the half way line in front of the ref when on four bookings? Love to hear an explanation. And why Faubert collected a yellow for an absolutely needless foul in the Birmingham box? And why do you think Allardyce felt the need to warn against partying and, in the same interview, referred to the bookings?
Yes I do get a lot right don't I? I do get things wrong, of course, and regularly admit to doing so. But I get a hell of a lot more right than I get wrong!
I'd put the Brum bookings down to a combination of stupidity, frustration, poor judgement, etc. You know-the reasons why most players are booked during a game. I wouldn't put it down as you do, to their deliberately getting themselves booked in order to squeeze in another egg nog at a New Years Eve party. And you call me thick!
And you do get things right. We all do HF. It's just that most of us don't indulge in the kind of pompous, self indulgent self congratulation that you can always be relied on for.
someone actually went undercover and secretly filmed a premier league referee. Can't remember which ref it was. They were sitting at a bar and the ref openly admitted that players deliberately get themselves booked so to have a 'holiday'. It was televised and the programme was a big deal at the time. Just goes to prove this sort of stuff does go on in football
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