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Old 08-27-2011, 11:59 AM   #259
Jimmy Stang
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I was pleased with Norwich today. They were shaky at the beginning, but once they settled down, they looked pretty decent. Especially considering, of course, that Chelsea are a good opponent and Stamford Bridge is a tough place to get any points.

Hopefully Drogba is OK. Quite honestly, however, I think that the ref got it right by not calling anything. It was a 50-50 ball, a hard collision, no ill intent, very fast, and unfortunately he got hurt. The collision wasn't any different than two outfield players knocking heads going for the same ball, and that's almost always chalked up to 50-50 and unfortunate. Still a very scary moment as you could see Drogba's body was limp as he fell to the ground, right on his face.

Although Norwich supporters may feel hard done by regarding the officiating, the red card and penalty was the right call. I think that he went down easily (the replay showed him starting his fall before contact), but the referee can't be blamed. There was contact, albeit soft, and he was the last man back. The rules state that's a penalty and red, and it was. It may seem harsh, but there was little else that the red could have done. It was far more clear cut than the penalty and red last game, which may have been a red and definitely wasn't a penalty as it was 3 or 4 yards outside.

Edit: But I do think that Torres should have received a second yellow...

Considering that even the most devoted Norwich fan would have been happy with anything less than a blowout, I think that this will be a good confidence boost for them.

Last edited by Jimmy Stang; 08-27-2011 at 12:02 PM.
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