spudski

I know they do...you are missing my point completely. Why have laws in place, saying you do not have to play to the refs whistle at free kicks, corners and throw ins? A ref has overrided those rules, if he's told players to play to the whistle. What refs usually do should have no relevance. They are wrong to override the laws. Just because they do it...it doesn't make it right. You may as well not have the laws in place at all.

On the commentary you can hear them say the referee had whistled. You don't need to wait for a whistle at corners, free kicks or throw ins...only penalties. Again...referees overriding the laws of the game. Goal should have stood.

I see it completely differently. The laws of the game are in place. Teams play to those rules. A referee deciding to play to the whistle is over riding those rules. He's changing the laws of the game for his benefit. How are fans, managers and players meant to find continuity....if refs do as they like at Free kicks. Also you are relying on communication from the ref being heard by everyone. It's too open to being controversial.

And this is where controversy occurs. Referees changing how they are going to control a match, from one game to the other. 'On my whistle' is over ruling the laws of the game. A free kick can be taken at any time once given, as long as the defending team have moved 10 yards away...by law you don't have to wait for a whistle to restart. https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/laws/football-11-11/law-13---free-kicks

When I lived up near Manchester, i realised how many pro clubs are so near to one another. Being up North certainly gives you plenty of easy options to visit grounds. In an ideal world, and not taking into account leagues, what are the nearest and easiest professional teams to travel to from Bristol? Gas, Newport, Cardiff, FGR, Cheltenham, Yeovil, Swindon.... This map gives a good idea.

I totally agree, as most have pointed out, it's the inconsistency across the pitch. Apparently the Notts County manager has told his players to be constantly asking the ref whether they can take a free quick quickly. The whole ' theatre' of a ' set piece' free kick, where defence builds wall, players position etc etc etc....waiting for the ref to blow his whistle....being told by the ref to wait for the whistle...has no bearing on other free kicks around the pitch. Other times when teams have been pulled back from playing a quick free kick, and told to wait for the whistle and defence to fully retreat 10 yards. The referees discretion on the day. It's so inconsistent. I'd be in the ear of the ref every time a free kick is given around the box, asking to take it quickly and not play to the whistle, to take advantage of the opposition concentrating on building a wall rather than defending.

A great read if you are into stats and analysis. https://theanalyst.com/2023/03/alex-scott-bristol-city-press-resistant-teenager/

....apparently the player asked the ref whether it was ok to take it quickly. And he said yes. I guess as defenders you have to be constantly alert and not expect to play to the whistle. All time club record broken as well. 40 this season so far.

I can understand your friends dread.

Full league table of EFL combined. https://www.sportpositiveleagues.com/efl-combined-2022/

Looks like they are appointing Kevin Bond as DOF. I wonder whether the owner will now let him and the manager appoint players.

Imo...he kicked out.

I didn't say I agreed with the tweet. I was purely pointing out the thread and it's comments. The stats show he's England's top scorer. End of. However...as shown on this thread and others, it causes debate. Kane has scored the most for England. People debate whether he's England's ' greatest ' goalscorer. Which is nigh on impossible to for everyone to agree on.

And that was my point...it says on the Club website that he denied doing it in the way it was adjudged. If he's denying it, then it can only be one conclusion, in that he's saying he went for the ball.

I saw this post today, and the comments below it. I know you can only score against what's put in front of you... however, it puts some stats into perspective.

@Bob Turnip why the laughing emoji at this comment? Sykes denies doing it...denies it was done through violent conduct / retaliation. If he's denying making his action through retaliation, deemed as violent conduct, what other reason would he have given for sticking his leg out whilst sliding on the ground ...other than going for the ball?

Vinalba reserve valle de uco mendoza 14.5% Middle of the road wine...but fine for a Sunday afternoon. Haven't tried your suggestion. Will check it out

Yes...it's on in the back ground. Id fall asleep if I was glued to it. In saying that...the lovely Argentinian Malbec I have on the go will probably have the same affect ??

This is like watching one of those Celeb games...dire, atmosphere and pedestrian football. England have a habit of playing to the level of their opponents. Today it seems that's the case.

Did the club appeal the judgement? The footage was given to an independent Regulatory Commission who viewed it, and deemed it ' violent conduct'. Sykes denies it. When you look at the footage he's still sliding on the floor when he sticks his leg out...he could argue that he was going for the ball and late in his action...rather than retaliating to a challenge.

I watched Yate today. They had a period in the first half where they had 3 good chances to score. In fact they were the better side that half. Against the run of play Bracknell scored...they grew in confidence and played with more freedom. Their second was a really well taken goal. Good build up and finely struck shot. I think Yate are now down. As for the constant change of players, I was told today, it was because certain players weren't up for a relegation battle and had given up. Hence so many coming and going. Lino did his hamstring first half, so thankfully there was a qualified official in the crowd who took over. Sadly the club need a massive injection of money. The pitch is now so bobbly. And the car park is like the Somme. Rust, paint peeling, fences broken, it's sadly starting to look and feel really shabby. At least they gave it a real go today. Just outclassed and lacked composure and good decision making when needed.

It's only going to continue rising for all clubs. If we were to go up, I think ours would rise massively. You've only got to look at the prices of season tickets at all the Prem Clubs this season, to see how much it costs to watch your team. https://fanbanter.co.uk/every-premier-league-clubs-2022-23-season-ticket-prices-with-most-expensive-and-cheapest/ It's not so much the cost of a season ticket, but the additional costs it takes to attend...and the complete ball ache of it all. Unless you live within walking distance of the stadium, or on a bus route that goes to the ground, the costs, time and planning needed to attend are often what makes it prohibitive for some. And it's only going to get worse. With the net zero green City initiative of the Government and council's by 2030, restrictions on travel will become even worse. Travel, parking, public transport, times, restrictions, and the extra costs involved in that are imo the biggest turn off on buying a season ticket, not the price of the ticket itself.

If you look closely to the pics of players wearing the new home shirt, it's the same on them. It just doesn't show up so clearly on the shiny red material.

Regardless of what he's done in the past, people still want to hear him. The same can be said of many people in the public eye. Many famous people have brought joy to us...but have acted poorly in other parts of their lives. Many suffer demons. Many have hangers on, making money from their fame. Madonna right now springs to mind. The worst I've seen in recent months is Chris Eubank. Obviously has trauma and problems, especially losing his son. Any agent pushing this needs sacking.

I've found them fantastic. Always on time, clean, plenty of them, and cheap if you book in advance or are willing to take the slower ones. Our system is a disgrace.