Football Focus

[StraferJack]

Last 3, 4 arsenal games have been dreadful. Truly stank the place out. But it's a mid season dip and we are squeezing results out. A few more and I expect us to get our groove back and push on

That, or we will choke as per

[Mick Mac]

They haven't been close enough to choke in the PL to be honest. But there will be pressure if the title comes close. City found it hard to get over the line as does any club that has not won it for a while, eg Arsenal 1989 threw away a big lead before ultimately winning.

[Jah Lush]

> Oh and a fun anacdote now I will no longer be

> suprised by the ManU score as I was trying to

> watch it 'live' on MOTD, at WHL the only cheer on

> Boxing Day from the Spuds was when it was

> announced that WHU had gone one-nil up. Funnily

> enough they didn't announce 1-1, 1-2, 1-3. All

> credit to the Bluebird fans today for the noise

> they made BTW.

I concur. I was there. To be fair I think it is always a bit quiet on Boxing Day. Too many Xmas hangovers. Certainly the quietest I can ever recall at WHL.

[Parkdrive]

StraferJack Wrote:

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> Last 3, 4 arsenal games have been dreadful. Truly

> stank the place out. But it's a mid season dip

> and we are squeezing results out. A few more and I

> expect us to get our groove back and push on

>

> That, or we will choke as per

Its known as winning ugly, something Yanited and the Chavs have been doing for a while and are lauded for having grit and character. So when Arsenal do it the media say we were fortunate. Fcuk off, its what wins titles, you can't always play beautiful football and IF we win the title, I'll be more than happy. By the way I see that Yanited now has the two players who share the dubious title of being most yellow carded players for diving in the Prem. Character eh?

[Otta]

When was the last time a season was this close at this stage?

Liverpool top at christmas, lose 2 games, and down to 5th, get a win and back in top 4.

One loss at the moment can make a huge difference. Going to be an interesting second half of the season whatever happens. I reckon Spurs may still have something to say about the top 4 (although hopefully not at Liverpool's expense!). Chelsea are quietly winning games, would love to see them have a bad patch!

[Jah Lush]

PD. Januzaj has five bookings this season. All for diving. As for that other cunt Young, the less said the better.

[Tommy1000]

Couldn't agree more re Chelsea Otta. The shame of it though is that, until yesterday, I think they were having a bad patch. Referees carried them through their games at the Emirates and against Liverpool. They took 4 points from those two games when I don't think they deserved more than 1, if any at all.

The league is wonderfully close this year. Remains to be seen whether Arsenal will choke, however, over the last few seasons we've actually improved in the second half...

[Parkdrive]

Jah Lush Wrote:

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> PD. Januzaj has five bookings this season. All for

> diving. As for that other @#$%& Young, the less

> said the better.

Indeed Jah, shame the likes of Talkshite, Sky and the rest of the media are slow to pick up on, let alone mention it eh?

[Alan Medic]

One wonders if Young would have got a pen yesterday if he didn't have history. I suspect he would have.

[maxxi]

Jah Lush Wrote:

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> PD. Januzaj has five bookings this season. All for

> diving. As for that other @#$%& Young, the less

> said the better.

Wellbeck, don't forget that prick.

[Alan Medic]

The experts on MOTD concluded that Young should have had a pen and Januzaj was fouled. This topic does not lend itself to balanced views being expressed. Particularly from the unholy North London alliance.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/whats-going-adnan-januzaj-dive-6462463

Edited to add some facts.

[Jah Lush]

There is no way the Young challenge was a penalty. He was airborne a long time before Lloris got anywhere near him and Januzaj wasn't touched either.

Edited to add a biased opinion.

[red devil]

Your opinion is certainly biased Jah. You forgot to mention that a certain former Spurs player who now plys his trade in Madrid, tops the list of all-time yellows for simulation, and Spurs top the table for clubs. We're 3rd behind Chelsea with Arsenal just behind.

And as for this unholy North London alliance. Well it's a bit like kissing cousins, it's not illegal but it's just wrong...

[Jah Lush]

Gareth Bale was apparently booked seven times for diving. Hence we're top of the list. Not our player anymore though. Most of those weren't dives in my opinion, just a case of trying to get out of the way of someone trying to take him out but there were also a few that even I thought were blatant and down right embarrassing.

As an aside though I thought Moyes was most ungracious in defeat complaining about refereeing decisions which let's face it at Old Trafford usually go Man Utd's way. Spurs have been on the end of some awful decisions up there in last ten years or so which have cost us dearly. Them's the breaks. Some you win and some you lose. Mostly though down the years there has been far more decisions go your way than anywhere else in the country. I'd like to know how many penalties have been given to the away side up there in the last decade. One? Maybe two at a pinch. You don't have Fergie putting the fear of God into the refs anymore. Better get used to it.

As for an unholy north London alliance. You're having a giraffe. Just watch the game tomorrow.

[Jah Lush]

NB: Or ask Parkdrive. He hates us. Though I sometimes get the impression he hates Man Utd and Chelsea more and that'll be because he perceives them as more of a threat to Arsenal's title ambitions.

[red devil]

Only one or two pens given to away sides in a decade? Get real! :)

Someone once did a survey on this conspiracy theory, and the results poo poo'd it.

This perceived bias is more to do wth the fact that away teams didn't attack much at OT, hence penalty chances were few and far between. On the flip side, Utd got more penalties because we were camped in opposing teams penalty boxes.

It's quite logical when you open your eyes...

[Jah Lush]

I'd like to see those results because quite frankly I don't believe it. Must have been done by a United fan.

[Parkdrive]

red devil Wrote:

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> Only one or two pens given to away sides in a

> decade? Get real! :)

> Someone once did a survey on this conspiracy

> theory, and the results poo poo'd it.

> This perceived bias is more to do wth the fact

> that away teams didn't attack much at OT, hence

> penalty chances were few and far between. On the

> flip side, Utd got more penalties because we were

> camped in opposing teams penalty boxes.

> It's quite logical when you open your eyes...

Camped in opposition half, you're almost as deluded as David Moist.

[red devil]

Moist!

*sniggers...*

[Mick Mac]

http://stretfordenders.net/statistical-analysis-do-united-get-all-the-penalties/

Done by Stretford Enders but probably reliable?

[Parkdrive]

red devil Wrote:

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On the

> flip side, Utd got more penalties because we were

> camped in opposing teams penalty boxes.

> It's quite logical when you open your eyes...

That'll explain your lofty position in the Prem................pahahahahahahaha

[????]

when are the school holidays over?

[red devil]

Up for the Cup!

The 2014 EDF Footy Predictor Cup is up and running in the Predictor thread...

[SCSB79]

Young's was a penalty all day long.

[Tommy1000]

That Stretford Enders article is laughable - the comments do a half decent job of highlighting its many flaws.

This is a decent article on the subject:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9379989.stm

Not about United specifically, but you can see the penalty data there plain and simple. And especially Webb's record at OT. Quite striking the difference in Webb's performance the other day now that SAF has gone, which is undoubtedly the difference. Everyone is aware of SAF's influence over referees and journalists and, now that he's gone, the difference is manifest.

For what it's worth I thought Janujaz was fouled and the Young one could have been given as a pen. Can only think that in both cases the players' correctly earned reputations contributed to nothing being given.

Welbeck dfinitely dived, minimal contact or not.