RoystonFoote'snephew

Last night's referee was no worse or better than any other operating these days. In over 60 years of watching professional football I honestly believe today's crop are the worst I've seen. That said, refereeing the modern game is incredibly hard. Today's refs are subjected to frequent law changes by the numpties running football, interference by their own body PGMOL (whose only role is to issue letters of apology for its members), constant haranguing by players and coaches and endless scrutiny by TV voiced by pundits who know less about the laws of the game than I know about the interpretation of modern dance. The expectation of consistency across referees is a fallacy. The laws of the game may be the same for each match but their interpretation varies. Like me or anyone else referees are not robots but individuals with all the inconsistencies inherent in us. We cannot expect one ref to be consistent with another. The most that can be hoped for is that a single ref can be consistent through a game or in his performance throughout a season.

Not bizarre but simply wrong. There was no contact but perhaps from his viewpoint he thought there was in which case the yellow card would have been justified. What's wrong is that, unlike a red card, the yellow card can't be retrospectively overturned.

Is that Hugh Lloyd, Dan Lloyd, John Lloyd etc?

I don't know that Anis was the only player guilty of poor decisions in forward areas but the criticism of him is fair. Over the 90 minutes I would score him a 6.

I think some complaining about the Sky coverage post game are being paranoid. There is no bias. Southampton came into the match in 2nd place and were clear favourites so their defeat warrants analysis and discussion. They've been full of praise for our performance too, which is as it should be.

Pity about the clean sheet because that was SUPERB tonight. Don't know why I feared a St Mary's repeat at half time as we dominated the chances 2nd half. Now to keep that level of performance up against the likes of QPR and Wednesday.

Playing well but again so frustrating with our final cross/ball and we haven't scored. I fear for a St Mary's repeat. The Southampton keepers position is interesting as Bazuna plays further up the pitch than Grobelaar used to. If Max played that high up the pitch I'd be having kittens.

Wonder what Manure fans think about their away shirt looking like a retro Liverpool shirt, particularly the white Standard Chartered one.

Good hold but we couldn't quite manage 2 wins, as Shrewsbury equalised for a 1-1 draw at Derby.

We're winning 2 games now.

Sadly I'm not at the Riverside today but judging from comments on here it seems with Cornick off we'll need to work hard to ensure Ayling doesn't go marauding up the pitch.

Spot on Ange.

Bonkers idea, as was the introduction of cards in the first place! The use of yellow and red cards has done nothing to enhance the game but instead has led to a lowering of standards of behaviour by players officials, supporters, commentators and pundits alike. Back in the day when the referee was the sole arbiter of whether a player was cautioned he took his black book from his pocket and without fuss wrote down the players name. The showiness of cards, held aloft so that everyone can see a player has been sent to the naughty step incites bad behaviours. Prior to their introduction players didn't run around waving their hand in the air like some poor impression of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and crowds weren't incensed by theatrics. Referees have become more inconsistent by the pressures of playing to the crowd and tv audiences either reluctant to get out their cards or hand them around freely like sweeties at Christmas. Some ofcourse decide to do nothing for 75 minutes and then have a buy one get one free offer for the remaining minutes. But if you think referees are inconsistent it's nothing compared to the pundit who screams for a player to be 'carded', not booked (thus lowering English language standards), for an innocuous trip on the halfway line but later seeks to defend the same player who receives a red card for common assault. The introduction of blue cards won't address behaviours or inconsistencies. Some referees will dole out cards for dissent while others will laugh a situation off as their (or their fellow officials) sensitivity threshold has not been breached. 'Professional' fouls will continue to be made as sides weigh up the pros and cons of such actions, particularly in the last 10 minutes of games. Supporters will be left frustrated by what is deemed a 'professional' by one ref but not by another. Heaven help us if VAR is ever to be used to decide as we could all be asked if we can come back next week. Don't introduce blue cards, scrap the yellow and red ones.

Probably stuck his hand up to take one. I doubt that City had 10 volunteers for Manning to put in order.

Yes, we won one at QPR. Cant fully recall but it may have been Rosenior who chipped his shot down the middle for the winner. And of course much later we won one at this ground.

Spot on. Incredible games today with Cote D'Ivoire winning in ET despite being down to 10 men for the majority of the game, and the South African keeper saving 4 out of 5 penalties in the shootout against Cabo Verde. The only non surprise perhaps is that in each QF the highest FIFA ranked team progressed. So it's Cote D'Ivoire v Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa v Nigeria. Expectation would be for a Cote D'Ivoire v Nigeria final, so that's unlikely to happen then.

Outclassed.

Apple muller for me.

At first glance you'd think that if Burnley are relegated they'd keep Twine. But as in all transfers it will depend on the prevailing market. If Burnley believe that they've identified someone better as available they could let him go. The question then would be will we pay the asking price. Time will tell. As for this window I'd give it 7 or even 8 out of 10. We were never going to splash the cash but we've done some sensible business for now and the next season ahead. Just have to hope that our loan curse doesn't arise again and that those we've loaned back don't pick up a, serious injury that will see them miss preseason 2024/25. Finally, while wages are a factor, of the King, James, Williams triumvirate I'd prefer to keep James. Murphy and Stokes are very young and both Gardner-Hickman and Bird are close enough to student age that they could benefit from Matty's experience.

Gas, City, FGR, Cheltenham. Where next?

But what have they been watching? Man City U21 re-runs presumably as he's only had 3 senior games in Belgium. Let's hope this bolt out of the blue turns out to be a Eureka moment.

Signed for Serie B side Spezia Calcio on loan until the end of the season.

I've really been enjoying this year's AFCON which continues to throw up shocks. With South Africa defeating Morocco tonight (top African team on FIFA rankings) all of the North African giants (Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia) are now out of the competition. With holders Senegal also sent packing by the hosts Cote D'Ivoire (who only made the last 16 by the skin of their teeth) the tournament is really up for grabs. Personally I'd love to see little Cabo Verde win it. I've also enjoyed the colourful fans, many of whom seem to move, chant and clap in unison. A particular favourite was the massed ranks of what appeared to be the Senegalese WI who line danced and clapped their way through the game.

I'm old and old fashioned so I disagree to some extent. What Forest have, and what many have including us, is not so much a badge as a logo. What Barnsley have on their shirt is a proper badge that honours the club's history. Personally I think clubs should have both. For simplicity of design for replica shirts have a logo but for official correspondence the letterhead should sport a badge.

It's not that simple is it? Presumably there has to be agreement (and payment) to Forest who would need to accommodate the cameras.