a-k

Trent is a tricky one too. It's possible he only misses one GW. On the other hand, if I bin him off and don't bring him back, I could potentially end up with a squad of Haaland, KDB, Salah, Watkins, and Saka

14 hours ago, UpTheVilla26 said:

I remember a time when radio/TV commentary and pundits was superb. 

It seems now days that it's all about saying stuff to get interactions on social media.

The depth of knowledge from pundits is woeful, commentators don't seem to have a clue which player is which and the whole round experience watching or listening to a game is a shell of its former self. 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised as they are getting more and more of these Tiktok, YouTube, Instagram clowns involved on their platforms. 

Give me Radio 5 & Mike Ingham any day over this dross. 

But that's just journalism in a nutshell nowadays, isn't it? It's all about the SENSATIONAL headline to make you click and quickly scroll through an article that's completely opinion biased with poor grammar and not fact checked because everyone is in a rush to be up to date.

6 hours ago, kurtsimonw said:

The full 90 minutes of complete incompetence by the referee in our game last night is the reason VAR exists and will continue to do so. He got so many things wrong, you'd think he was doing it on purpose.

Don't twist my words on this one as I'm not speaking towards his incompetence specifically, but I think he has refereed one match in the past year without having VAR by his side. Again, not excusing his performance, but have to wonder if referees are so used to having VAR as a crutch to rely on that their own skills are being diminished.

3 minutes ago, sidcow said:

This is a replay or last minute winner for them. We're not getting anything here. 

2 hours ago, fleksnes said:

I am using old fashion wood,so inside there arent a problem. The anoying thing is that it is too cold to do things i was going to do outside this weekend. Move some snow from the driveway,and go fishing. Guess i will skip the fishingpart. To cold to stand still outside now. 

Maybe too cold to stand still, but you can always move around and go ice swimming 

8 hours ago, Mr_Dogg said:

There's no need for the unbridled cynicism, it's a great story.

It is, but if we are going to be putting 16 (then 17) year olds in the "premier" tournament off the back of two-weeks of form, what message does that send to your older players who have, quite frankly, accomplished more over the course of the year? Or to the younger players, that they just need to play out of their minds for two weeks and that's enough? 

1 hour ago, Davkaus said:

I've never watched a game (match?) of darts in my life, fair play to the lad for getting so far, but I'm glad I'm not going to be seeing that chubby little word removed all over the news anymore for something that has as much sporting merit as a game of Buckaroo. 

They put him in the Premier League, which is a mini-competition containing the "eight best". I think it's a joke to be honest...lad had a couple of good weeks and they're capitalizing financially because of the whirlwind around him.

9 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Nah if salah gets injured gets I jured they'll just call up one of their back up players who is a full inert national and cost more than our record signing... 

Sometimes I don't think people fully grasp what the CL and FFP have enabled these **** in the sky 6 to do and how much of an advantage they have in the name of being fair 

The reality is an injury to Watkins will hit us harder than an injury to salah, that is what it is, we can't go shopping like they can 

Henderson transferred to Saudi, mate

I scored 93 points and went up only 3k in rank. Life is tough at the top...

On 29/12/2023 at 10:45, a-k said:

I had the word removed Areola for weeks and no returns, then I drop him and he pulls off clean sheets against United and Arsenal.

And again. That 0-0 actually killed me.

Ghana blocked Kudus from playing today. Paqueta out injured.

3 hours ago, bickster said:

You see Haaland being back for next GW?

EDIT: Just seen that Pep says he will be. I still think I want to see his name on a team sheet first though

I doubt he'll start on the weekend in the FA Cup, but with it being a home match maybe he'll get some mins off the bench if he's fit. I have Alvarez in place of Haaland, so hopefully won't be too bad if I hold off for a GW and Haaland starts vs NEW.

2 hours ago, tomav84 said:

bad week to get the captaincy wrong

need bowen and estupinan to get returns tonight

I'll take a 1-1 draw with Bowen and Estupinan both scoring OGs 

On 29/12/2023 at 13:31, a-k said:

Is it though? We have recently been putting in rather dull performances and we all know about Newcastle's recent form + away form... Salah has 12 days until Egypt's first game against Mozambique and by my math is averaging 8-9 points per home match. If not Salah, then Alvarez home to SHU and on pens with Haaland out would be the other choice.

First half:

Second half:

Don't like doing early transfers, but Salah is due to drop tonight. I can see him dropping further and want to maximize my profit on him before bringing him back. Gonna have 13-14mil in the bank after this.

Newcastle to beat Liverpool by 8 so we go top?

52 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

As I said, if that was at the other end and given against us everyone would be **** furious

You can claim confirmation bias all you want, but you're missing the point. If VAR didn't exist it's still a penalty. I haven't said anything that is objectively not true. He was kicked on the sole of the foot, which is a foul, is it not? The player who committed the foul didn't even protest the decision.

33 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

I think you'll find, the ref who was facing the foul from Ben Mee, gave him a yellow, VAR overturned that one for red, bet you was happy with that.

That's twisting my words...they are completely different situations. The ref obviously made a mistake (is there anyone who is really saying that's not a red), which also may just be an inclination towards giving a yellow and letting VAR signal for a red. I, and many others, don't think that Attwell obviously made a mistake in not giving a pen.

13 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

It’s one of the softest penalties you’ll see. Minimal contact and a clear dive from Duran. 

What has happened in other matches is irrelevant. He nicked the ball and got kicked on the sole of the foot. It's technically a foul. On field ref saw it in clear view and gave it. It's "soft" but a subjective call that happened right in front of the ref. It's not an egregious error by the ref. VAR should not be overturning those nor should they be intervening if the ref hasn't given it.

4 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

If our penalty had been at the other end and given against us this thread would have an extra ten pages.

I'd say it was the "correct" implementation, though. Attwell was staring right at it and made his own mind up. May be soft and debatable, but not enough overturn and without VAR it's still a pen anyways. If Attwell didn't give it and some bloke sat in a chair watching frame by frame said nah mate you gotta give that, it's a different story.

1 hour ago, Xela said:

He's smashed RvB 4-1, while averaging 105

This kid looks like he could win it! 

Incredible performance, can't believe he didn't go for the bull for a 170 finish to win the match.

And what drama at the end of Cullen-Humphries!

2 minutes ago, Villan_of_oz said:

Toney could be the difference but I think you're right, they've been poor this season.

Their form was OK before Mbeumo got injured. He's been so crucial for them.

15 minutes ago, It's Your Round said:

This is the Leon Bailey we hoped we were getting, his touch, his ball control and his finishing have really come on this season.  

On 26/12/2023 at 13:01, a-k said:

Brought Dougie back in last minute. Our upcoming fixtures + being on pens and set pieces was too hard to resist. Olise was the one I had otherwise but would prefer Eze once he's back to full fitness.

Thank f*** for that penalty, but still...

1 minute ago, villa4europe said:

Commentator "rare start for Moreno in the PL" no mention of the injury or recovery or being phased back in 

So he's read Wikipedia in preparation of the game 

 

Just came to post the same 

34 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Just grabbed a shot from the highlights. I wouldn't envy being the AR in this position. He's got to make a decision on if it's 100% out or whether a sliver of the ball is still on the line, when it's moving, in the air, with 2 posts and 3 players in between him and the ball, from 30-40 yards away. 

If we're expecting accuracy from this type of call, you're not getting it from one bloke on the other side of the pitch in real time.

On the other hand, VAR can draw "accurate" lines from toenails...why can't they draw a line from the edge of the ball? They already have a reference line (goal line).