Phil Dowd Thread (Merged)

[Zatman]

Vidic wasnt even booked which was a disgrace as he should have went later in the game. Awful refereeing plus why was Evra not booked for a foul on Young which wold have been his 2nd yellow card.

As for the Richard Dunne offside at the end when at least 8 players between him and the goal.

In fairness to United fans some of them said he would ruin the final when he was appointed

[Ponky]

I thought we might have been in for a shout for a penalty on Ashley Young just prior to Rooney's goal - I thought they might have shown it again at some stage but they were too busy showing the 613 replays of Rooney's header.

[Maradona10]

Ponky, I thought Young was fairly tackled by Valencia but only from the view i had. The game was ruined from the 5th minute onwards, when a ref decides to join the United side.

[AstonMartin82]

It was a very poor decision and I would agree with the sentiment that had it been the other way round our player would have probably been sent off. But I think on the day, much as it grieves me to say it. I think Man U were the better side. Yes we would have had a much better chance against 10 men but we did not capitalise at VP. Dowd was shite and a referee favoured Man U, so what's new!

My overall sense was that Villa looked overawed by the whole occasion.

I agree with most of these points. However, I can not excuse for the decsion the ref made. He will never ever get an easier decision to make in his refereeing life. It's nothing short of disgraceful. That doesn't take anything away from Man Utd. They were the better team and deserved to win, but when you play against Man U you need the rub of the green to go for you to stand any chance of winning. In the past it hasn't and that's acceptable, but to be denied in a way that is meant to be by an anomynous, impartial referee is sickening to the pit of the stomach.

The other point I'd like to make is this whole we didn't beat 10 man Man Utd last time so whose to say we wouldn't this. I can't deny that point, but it was 1-1 when Nani got sent off last time, and it finished 1-1. It was going to be 1-0 yesterday when Vidic should of been sent off and using the same logic which people are using to write us off against 10 Man Utd I conclude we would have won 1-0.

But it is all in the past. Our players would have learnt from the experience and hopefully next time, and there will be a next time, they won't suffer from stage freight quite so much.

UTV

[Ponky]

Ponky, I thought Young was fairly tackled by Valencia but only from the view i had. The game was ruined from the 5th minute onwards, when a ref decides to join the United side.

Thanks for that. Either way it was a crucial incident with Young potentially having a clear shot at goal and it goes up the other end for them to score.

Mind you Evra seemed to hack at Young's feet with impunity throughout the game, but I guess Ash is his own worst enemy when it comes to making it hard to know whether he is fouled or just going to ground too easily. Some refs clearly decide that its easier to go with the latter automatically than to actually make a decision.

[Maradona10]

To be fair with Ashley, he actually tried to stay on his feet, sometimes being clipped and then slipping at crucial times due to the poor state of the pitch.

[justjustin]

ive just seen the footage for the first time since yesterday and it is a utter disgrace.Dowd you are shambles you ought to be sacked for your complete inability to do your job in a professional and and unbiased manner.I hope your balls turn square and rot at the corners

[bannedfromHandV]

I'm gutted.......was kinda hoping yesterday was just a bad dream.......

[CastleBromVilla]

You know we was robbed when every neutral and a lot of Manure fans say it should of been Red as is on the BBC 606 debate.

Just because it was a red doesnt mean we were robbed. We wouldn't necessarily have gone on to win and its often more difficult to play again 10 men, as we found out as gainst them at Villa Park in the league a few weeks back.

It was too easy for United, we very rarely looked threatening.

Yes but it was a central defender. We saw Blackburn collapse at VP when Samba was sent off and Manure would've had to take a midfielder off to bring on another defender so they'd have lost the midfield dominance.

And they'd have needed to score with 10 men so played right into our hands.

I don't think United would collapse like that, especially with Rooney on the field aswell, they'd still have been a massive threat, and it's often harder playing against a team that has just had a player sent off.

Vidic should have gone, fair enough, but I think it's being used as a bit of an excuse and almost as if had Dowd shown him the red, we'd have gone on to win!

We could have played for another 90 minutes yesterday and we probably still wouldnt have scored against them with 11. We made it easy for them, evening during spells during the first and second periods where we had a lot of the ball, we didn't look threatening.

[chrissmith921]

Vidic should have gone - would it have changed the result? Who knows.

However, he didn't, and the problem was we ended up sitting back on a 1-0. Until Carew came on we didnt have a striker who would hold the ball up for us whatsoever.

[PriceyDownunder]

Just a thought:

The Premier League needs Man U to be successful... I would imagine the PL gets a percentage of all merchandise sales from all clubs (use of the PL logo etc.?) They must be worth millions of $ to the coffers, right? Huge in Asia, I believe... If Man U don't win anything in a season, how much money would the PL loose? Millions I reckon. Now, they're not certainties for the League, out of the FA Cup, but guess what, they've still got a chance in the League Cup! And what do you know....

Now, I wonder if there is any correlation between this and all those 4 minute stoppage time periods when they NEED a goal to win a game or even draw level. No other club in the League gets what they get. NO OTHER CLUB. Why? If Man U win the League, or anything else for that matter, a million little Chinese kids want a Man U shirt (with the PL logo)... :? Cheers, PriceyDownunder

[Dodgyknees]

Ponky, I thought Young was fairly tackled by Valencia but only from the view i had. The game was ruined from the 5th minute onwards, when a ref decides to join the United side.

Had to come on after seeing paoers defend us (to a point) they did show a replay and he was caught.

Re-watched the game last night too. We were not poor, we stood off Uniteds players after the ref started booking us. Aggy turned away from Vidic because Vidic was pulling him BEFORE he pulled him down. Evra had 3 bookable offences, the right back also had 3. Fletcher kicked out at Petrov, Carrick kicked out at Downing.

I noticed a few more last night but lost them in my sleep..

[CastleBromVilla]

Vidic should have gone - would it have changed the result? Who knows.

However, he didn't, and the problem was we ended up sitting back on a 1-0. Until Carew came on we didnt have a striker who would hold the ball up for us whatsoever.

I'd say that was the problem, too much of the ball being held up, and not enough heading towards goal.

[Maradona10]

If we had that 1 man advantage with Vidic gone, they'd have brought on Brown for possibly Owen. Then Rooney would have been brought on much later, i just think its a fair assumption had Vidic gone we'd have gone on to win the game. We were knackered at VP, the players would have had more belief. Also it wasn't just the sending off, it was his whole refereeing display, Villa made two challenges and 2 yellows i.e. Downing and Collins. Rafael made two challenges within 2 mins, gets a talking too. Dowd was impressing one person yesterday and he sits in the dugout of United.

Just remembered Zat Knight against Chelsea when it was 4-4, he was shown a straight red despite being between the player and the goal. Guess who the REF was, what a bloody coincidence just checked it out.

[theboyangel]

Vidic should have gone - would it have changed the result? Who knows.

However, he didn't, and the problem was we ended up sitting back on a 1-0. Until Carew came on we didnt have a striker who would hold the ball up for us whatsoever.

I thought Gabby lead the line brilliantly yesterday so that's a little unfair Chris - he ran the channels, held the ball up and won us the penalty!

[NeilS]

Just remembered Zat Knight against Chelsea when it was 4-4, he was shown a straight red despite being between the player and the goal. Guess who the REF was, what a bloody coincidence just checked it out.

That is quite right, and if I remember correctly the Chelsea player was heading further away from goal than Gabby was at the time.

[Maradona10]

Finally Ferguson admits they were lucky with Vidic. So everyone with a knowledge of football says he should have been off, but a SERBIAN prat, Dowd who incidentally sent of Zat Knight against Chelsea a few years ago, Graham Poll the Chelsea fan and Winter the Rafa Benitez of referee's thought it wasn't.

[Kiwivillan]

Just remembered Zat Knight against Chelsea when it was 4-4, he was shown a straight red despite being between the player and the goal. Guess who the REF was, what a bloody coincidence just checked it out.

That is quite right, and if I remember correctly the Chelsea player was heading further away from goal than Gabby was at the time.

You mean when Ballack jumped over his shadow and came out afterwards and said there was definitely contact (only divers get asked if there was contact and always say yes, definitely)

[JulieB]

Vidic should have gone - would it have changed the result? Who knows.

However, he didn't, and the problem was we ended up sitting back on a 1-0. Until Carew came on we didnt have a striker who would hold the ball up for us whatsoever.

I thought Gabby lead the line brilliantly yesterday so that's a little unfair Chris - he ran the channels, held the ball up and won us the penalty!

He's 10 times the player he used to be...Thought he was brilliant yesterday. MON just needs to find him the perfect compliment to play alongside him upfront and we'll be hell of a team.

[Johneeboy]

The real issue here is the way managers like Fergie and Wenger manipulate and pile pressure on referees through the media. Spineless people like Dowd will keep making terrible decisions because they fear the media assault should they upset the wrong person. Had the events of yesterdays game affected them instead of us there would have been a far bigger uproar from the media. Dowd simply made the decision that he believed was least likely to cause him any grief and that will always favour Man Utd.