Marka Ragnos

Some Monday morning comedy ...

So I don't mind starting: I believe match officials in the UK strive to keep the game fair. I don't think -- apart from the rarest cases - anyone pays anyone off to win games, etc. or that certain clubs suborn match officials to make things go their way. I do think that referees are human beings, and they get intimidated by the big clubs. Cowardice and incompetence can look like corruption.

I've been a little struck sometimes at how fluently some people on VT sometimes refer to what seem to me fairly far-fetched beliefs about "shady dealings" in football.  I don't want to sound judgy or harsh because it genuinely surprises me. I've seen people post about refs taking payments or certain clubs getting favoured status as glibly as if talking about tomorrow's weather. Maybe sometimes people are joking, but clearly, sometimes, they're not. They believe this stuff. And who am I to judge?

Another is the idea that match officials have formed a wide, Premier League-wide conspiracy to favour certain clubs. I absolutely don't believe that, personally, and it truly surprises me that anyone would, but again, wow. This is remarkable.

I also think people develop these conspiracy theories based on some grains of truth -- and at the very least, there is mistrust about the game and its integrity.

I thought it would be nice to have a place to talk about and debate and wonder at and poke around the edge of current conspiracy theories specific to football in a safe, non-judgmental forum. Perhaps such discussion would help shed light on the facts, or separate fact from fiction, enumerate current conspiracy theories, and lay out the history of such thinking. 

2 minutes ago, fightoffyour said:

Doesn’t that weirdly make a retrospective ban more likely since it was clearly completely missed somehow?

Furore is growing. Won't help Forest now, esp. if they get relegated. Nuno doesn't strike me as a particularly reckless accuser, either. 

Quote

 

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo said James Maddison should have been sent off for "punching Ryan Yates in the stomach" during Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Tottenham.

Maddison caught Yates just before half-time with the score level at 1-1.

Referee Simon Hooper spoke to both Maddison and Yates but did not card either player, with the video assistant referee (VAR) not intervening. 

"It's a red card," Nuno told BBC Match of the Day.

"I was surprised VAR didn't [send Maddison off]. Maddison lost composure and punched Yates in the stomach. 

"What they saw clearly is not the same as we saw. I wouldn't speak if I wasn't 100% sure."

 

17 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Did Maddoson even get a yellow card?

Nope.

12 minutes ago, supermon said:

Surely they need to look into that and hand him a ban. He can't be throwing punches and getting away with it. That's more of a criminal act he's done there 

Even if it doesn't rise to the level of criminal conduct, it seems obviously against the laws of the game, which naturally have a lower standard.

Quote

VIOLENT CONDUCT

Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made.

In addition, a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible.

The force was not "negligible," no way.

Are there retroactive bans? This is a punch VAR team missed.

If Forest go down, I wonder if Morgan Gibbs-White would be stuck? His contract is still pretty new. 

Dogso 

If Forest do go down, I hope there’s a fire sale. So many excellent players — I’d love to see how Unai could shape some of them.   

10 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

I agree with a lot of this, but, "we learn from it". Do we? 2-0 seems to be a dangerous score for Villa. 

I agree. But what other choice have we, really? Some kind of mentality thing, that. Reminds me of Luton a bit this year -- and Luton have more of an excuse than we do. This have got so close to sewing up games then utterly blown it several times. At least Unai has a very isolated moment to study this weekend. The horror show took only nine minutes. What happened in those nine minutes should be pretty easy to work out, one would think. Seems like we need a proper right back. For all the shit Cash catches, missing Cash hurts us badly. He has saved us many times.

Very, very disappointing, but not the end of the world. It's been a while, but I don't think I've seen more over the top fan reactions in my 11 years on Villa Talk. Yes, we were absurdly stupid for just under 10 minutes, but shame will get our players nowhere fast. We learn from it, and we go on. I can't believe some of the psychotic shit on the match thread today. Truly felt embarrassed for people. Jesus. It's football. 

I still think we’ll win this. It’s looking bleak, but I think we’re going to spring back.  

I literally blink and our dreams are crushed. TF!

Just now, allani said:

BBC describing Ollie's goal as "a scruffy, scruffy goal".  Looked to me like a great and very accurate cross and a pretty decent header into the corner of the goal.

Don’t forget. We’re “having a wobble” after an “incredible” season as we prepare to genuflect and Spurs pass us by. 

Just need to keep chopping away at the bus then set it afire and watch it burn.  

3 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

The irony from the " resting " is that it almost seems like they aren't as sharp or used to playing with each other lol

Same if I take a few days off exercising. Hard to get going again. 

2 hours ago, Ceemo said:

Yeah Palace would be a very good comparison in that certainly under Hogdson they didn't seem to be very much a big risk-taking side. David is a better striker than what Palace have at the moment though and Lille are better defensively for sure, although it hard to compare the two leagues. The French League certainly this season has been very, very defensive on the whole and so Lille are not only ones in that aspect.

You look at Lille in Ligue 1, and they have scored just 39 goals from 27 games but only conceded 24. They have had a couple of 3-0's and a 4-0, but generally their games have been tight. In Europe, in what was a easy group, they scored 10 from their 6 games but only conceded twice. They beat Sturm Graz comfortably in the knockout stage and so haven't really had a challenge in Europe. I'd expect them to come to Villa Park next week and sit back with a low block and soak up the pressure and counter with the front 3. Paulo Fonseca is a serious coach and Emery will have his work cut out for him.

This is incredible stuff. Thank you, seriously. It's fascinating. Sounds like we're up against a dangerous and very implacable opponent. (But I am also trying to work out how someone could know so much about French football, live in Ireland, be Villa, and ... have a Cleveland Browns avatar? )

4 hours ago, Seat68 said:

It's difficult to explain, I guess a lot of it is over exposure and his boogie woogie piano farting over a lot of appearances on Later. 

Is there something about boogie woogie piano that grates with intelligent football supporters from the Midlands?

On 03/04/2024 at 16:38, Seat68 said:

A bit of balance to the Squeeze chat. I love labelled with love, they probably have 5 other songs that I would say the same about. But Jools Holland spoils everything. 

 

Disclaimer. I acknowledge that my music taste is at best a bit shit. 

What is about Jools Holland that rubs so many of you the wrong way? It's funny to me. Can't imagine giving a shit either way, but it's interesting to me -- some aspect of music culture I just totally don't get. Was he sort of overexposed in the UK?

Old close friends of mine ... They started the band as a kind of joke "goth" sort of Love & Rockets act, tbh, but have turned out to enjoy themselves.

1 hour ago, Mantis said:

Oh yeah I forgot about our progress in the Conference League. The fact that we've been able to successfully juggle that as well is again, ridiculous.

16 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I'd rather be pessimistic/ cautious than to deal with heartbreak.

I hear you. I understand. It's football. But I'm going to let my heart be free and breakable. How many times have we been able to embrace such incredible possibilities as Villa supporters? I don't want to look back and feel like I let a glum outlook seal me off what the excitement of others, even at the risk of looking a fool (which I do anyway everyday). It's only football.