stevenavfc1874

You make it sound as if Bruce is sat there with an on/off switch. 2 teams are playing and it isn't possible to dominate for the entire match which is what you seem to expect.

Not much to complain about, would have been dreadful to have got nothing out of that. Nyland looked a lot more settled hope he proves himself.

The trouble is these pundits don't really have to do much more than repeat there well rehearsed sound bites to fit the various situations that crop up. Don't forget they are exclusively ex footballers who have latched on to an easy final pay day. Creative journalists they are not. Thus the usual cliches are handed down week after week, 'if there is contact he is entitled to go down', 'clever play by the forward' etc etc To my mind if a player is entitled to go down then the inference is that he has a choice in the matter. If he chooses to fall then theoretically he has dived. Furthermore if he chooses to fall when he could easily stay up he is trying to gain an advantage. In the current climate yesterdays incident could have gone either way but I think lazy journalism has a lot to answer for As has already been stated, this was not an issue 20 years ago but these 'clever players' and the ritual condoning of their actions by experts and trial by television has radically changed how the rules are interpreted. PS well done the Villa boys

Fabian Delph, along with Benteke and Guzan all deserved great praise for their performances tonight. He will be missed and unlucky that he was booked. The whole team seem to have been born on the dark side of the moon this season.

Don't think the referee influenced the game unduly or unfairly

Just think the fun has been sucked out of this club, been predictably dull for most of the past 3 seasons and every now and then we get a total shocker. Today was what I half expect most of the time now, really poor with honourable exceptions (Guzan, thank goodness nobody came in for him during the summer)

If Bent had started then the game could not have panned out exactly the same so pointless to say he would have stuck them away

The referee said Lichaj was unlucky, meaning he didn't handle intentionally. Exactly right. Well done to the ref. Suarez had the opportunity to stay on his feet and most likely score. All the others were soft including ours. The refs seem to think that if you can achieve contact as an offensive player you should receive a penalty. How many times have we seen a defender with both feet planted get penalised. This nonsense needs to be addressed.

no worse than MON or GH in this respect

What a day, Thank God the world didn't end yesterday, Amen

last point we will pick up this season?

dismal

dismal, not much desire, no idea

Robbie Savage is just the latest in a long line of chancers who somehow make a living as a football pundit. Combines sarcasm and predictable prejudice in equal measure. Could someone please tell him that he isn't a philosopher or a playboy. For what it is worth, my view is that when the BBC is making cuts to essential parts of its service, some of the most dismal journalists and therefore first for the chop, are the numerous residents of the MOTD sofa. (Colin Murray excepted)

le manager manque