The Official 2010/2011 Champions League Thread

[Winsor_Pilates]

Oh Bendtner you suck, ref you suck more!
Clearly outplayed, but also clearly had a strong chance of finding a way through until the call. One of the worst sending offs I've seen.

[d_phaneuf]

717-195 in passes completed

19-0 in shots on goal

and Locke all ready posted the possession, the red card didn't decide the game, and by the letter of the law it was the right call. An incredibly soft call, and if it happened to Spurs or England etc. I would be seriously pissed.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Locke

Arsenal didnt register a single shot and managed only 24% possession. I think the referee's decision aside, it was not looking good for Arsenal to go through.

How was it not looking good? If the game ended at that decision, they were through.
Games aren't decided on possession % and shot counts. I'm not saying Arsenal would have been deserving winners, but they certainly might have been winners.

[d_phaneuf]

didnt change their defending though

they just played with no striker up top

[cheevers]

Originally Posted by Locke

Arsenal didnt register a single shot and managed only 24% possession. I think the referee's decision aside, it was not looking good for Arsenal to go through.

I would never claim that Arsenal played good, in fact chances are they would have lost anyways based on how they were playing but they were not given the chance because a ref thought he should decide how the game ended. It was not like he took a bunch of touches and then shot, it was one maybe two quick touches and a shot. By the letter of the law then yes you could make a case to send him off, but a best that is a weak case. It was not purposefully wasting time at all.

[Igottago]

What a farce of a red card. That would never be called, and of course, at a critical junction of a massive match, Van Persie gets sent off for an innocent play. The ref should be fined for such an atrocious call. Letter of the law my ass, that never ever gets a player sent off. Way to ruin the game ref.

[d_phaneuf]

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie on being shown a second yellow card for shooting after the referee had blown his whistle: "It had a big influence on the outcome - at 1-1 it was all to play for - and it was a total joke because how can I hear his whistle with 95,000 people jumping up? There was only one second from his whistle to my shot and it is a joke. I explained it to him but he was been bad all evening."

[Addick]

Originally Posted by Locke

Arsenal didnt register a single shot and managed only 24% possession. I think the referee's decision aside, it was not looking good for Arsenal to go through.

I share your sentiment.

Basically, we lost because we played the best team in the World and were "virtually" denied a chance at nicking a win because of unwise refereeing.

[Addick]

In regards to the RvP decision, I can understand the "by the letter of the law" argument but don't believe it actually holds any water. I believe that by the letter of the law, the card should be shown if it is an attempt to delay the game (i.e. not simply kicking the ball). There is no way the ref can conclusively prove that RvP was trying to delay the match.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Addick

In regards to the RvP decision, I can understand the "by the letter of the law" argument but don't believe it actually holds any water. I believe that by the letter of the law, the card should be shown if it is an attempt to delay the game (i.e. not simply kicking the ball). There is no way the ref can conclusively prove that RvP was trying to delay the match.

Correct, simply kicking the ball after the whistle is not defined as a yellow card; despite what Spurs fans who need to live through Barca's successes wish to believe.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

How was it not looking good? If the game ended at that decision, they were through.
Games aren't decided on possession % and shot counts. I'm not saying Arsenal would have been deserving winners, but they certainly might have been winners.

Oh, I'm well aware of that, but thats not the same as saying it was no indicator. Those two stats pretty clearly outline Arsenal's game plan, not to mention that having that little possession means that they were allowing Barca to hold the ball, guess what happens when you let Barca have the ball all the time? They will eventually break you down.

And, 'if the game ended at that decision they were through.' That was the 56th minute! there was still more than a half hour to be played by an increasingly desperate Barca!

Did Arsenal even patch together 3 passes at a time?

And it wasnt looking good for them to go through, or was the own goal part of the game plan?

Its pretty clear to me that Wenger went to Spain expecting to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 game.

Sorry, but thats just stupid. Barca knew what they had to do to win and to help them out Arsenal let them have as much of the ball as they wanted and when they lost it, Arsenal were pretty generous in returning it.

And as much as stats arent game story, no shots on net is pretty bad.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Correct, simply kicking the ball after the whistle is not defined as a yellow card; despite what Spurs fans who need to live through Barca's successes wish to believe.

someone's mad

time wasting is a yellow, kicking the ball away is time wasting

kicking the ball = yellow

I said it was a soft call that wouldn't happen if the game was in London, I said I hoped Arsenal held on and went through

if you want to be mad at someone be mad at RVP for his first yellow for slapping Xavi (I think it was him)

[d_phaneuf]

and if we're complaining about missed calls

what about the barca goal disallowed in the 1st half of the game in London, that was clearly the wrong call on replay

so at best, if you think RVP being sent off was 100% the wrong call, it evened out

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Locke

Oh, I'm well aware of that, but thats not the same as saying it was no indicator. Those two stats pretty clearly outline Arsenal's game plan, not to mention that having that little possession means that they were allowing Barca to hold the ball, guess what happens when you let Barca have the ball all the time? They will eventually break you down.

And, 'if the game ended at that decision they were through.' That was the 56th minute! there was still more than a half hour to be played by an increasingly desperate Barca!

Did Arsenal even patch together 3 passes at a time?

And it wasnt looking good for them to go through, or was the own goal part of the game plan?

Its pretty clear to me that Wenger went to Spain expecting to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 game.

Sorry, but thats just stupid. Barca knew what they had to do to win and to help them out Arsenal let them have as much of the ball as they wanted and when they lost it, Arsenal were pretty generous in returning it.

And as much as stats arent game story, no shots on net is pretty bad.

Guardiola: "We played awesome 11 v 11 and awesome 11 v 10. Arsenal are a very good team, but they didn't string three pass together."

[Coys1882]

I'm starting to get nervous now about tomorrow's match. Anyone know a good place to watch the game? I'm thinking of going to Limericks as it's close to work - don't feel like driving down to the Ship. Wish there were more Spurs supporters in the city to get a club going like Celtic and Rangers supporters do.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Locke

Oh, I'm well aware of that, but thats not the same as saying it was no indicator. Those two stats pretty clearly outline Arsenal's game plan, not to mention that having that little possession means that they were allowing Barca to hold the ball, guess what happens when you let Barca have the ball all the time? They will eventually break you down.

And, 'if the game ended at that decision they were through.' That was the 56th minute! there was still more than a half hour to be played by an increasingly desperate Barca!

Did Arsenal even patch together 3 passes at a time?

And it wasnt looking good for them to go through, or was the own goal part of the game plan?

Its pretty clear to me that Wenger went to Spain expecting to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 game.

Sorry, but thats just stupid. Barca knew what they had to do to win and to help them out Arsenal let them have as much of the ball as they wanted and when they lost it, Arsenal were pretty generous in returning it.

And as much as stats arent game story, no shots on net is pretty bad.

The stupidity of their game plan has nothing to do with the stupidity of the ref. Their stupid gameplan may well have worked if they had 11 men on the pitch for the remaining 35 minutes. Whose to say Van Persie or another Arsenal player wouldn't have scored on a counter attack with Barca's mounting pressure? They had a good chance to score with Bentner at 10 men.

Simply put, the referee gave Barca a decided advantage at that point. And an unwarranted advantage at that. That changes the entire complexion of the game. It should've been up to Arsenal and Barcelona to see who had the stupid tactics, not the referee.

Its not much different from the England/Germany world cup match. That missed goal was a momentum changer as well. Germany still may have gone on to win big, but you don't know that for sure.

It just leaves a sour taste in your mouth when the game is impacted by a poor refereeing decision. Let the teams decide it.

[Barnet Flame]

Caption: Guess who gets sent off?

I'm not upset we lost, I expected that. Barcelona are better than us - I can accept that, but their superiority is exaggerated when they can do whatever they like and a foul won't be given against them, but every ####ing thing the opposition does, foul or not gets called.

BS sending offs, free kicks, you name it. I'm ####ing sick of football - yeah Barca are better, thats fine, but the fix was on and that is ####ing far from fine.

Say what you like, but when it was 11 v 11, it was Barca going out.

#### this ####.

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

Caption: Guess who gets sent off?

I'm not upset we lost, I expected that. Barcelona are better than us - I can accept that, but their superiority is exaggerated when they can do whatever they like and a foul won't be given against them, but every ####ing thing the opposition does, foul or not gets called.

BS sending offs, free kicks, you name it. I'm ####ing sick of football - yeah Barca are better, thats fine, but the fix was on and that is ####ing far from fine.

Say what you like, but when it was 11 v 11, it was Barca going out.

#### this ####.

I hate Arsenal with every bone of my body but I feel really bad for you and your club today. That's no way to crash out - I wanted you in the final against us at Wembley.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Locke

Oh, I'm well aware of that, but thats not the same as saying it was no indicator. Those two stats pretty clearly outline Arsenal's game plan, not to mention that having that little possession means that they were allowing Barca to hold the ball, guess what happens when you let Barca have the ball all the time? They will eventually break you down.

How do you know? you act like there's no point in playing the game. They didn't break us down for 55 minutes, and with 11 men we might have held them off for 35 more; or even got another on a counter attack. Or they might have scored 3 goals anyway, no one knows! That's the point!
Games often defy the stats and the better team does not always win. Arsenal deserved to have the chance to play it out 11 on 11.

And, 'if the game ended at that decision they were through.' That was the 56th minute! there was still more than a half hour to be played by an increasingly desperate Barca!

After 146 minutes of play Arsenal were going through, better team or not. To say "things weren't looking good" for them is insane. That next 35 minutes could have went either way.

Did Arsenal even patch together 3 passes at a time?
And it wasnt looking good for them to go through, or was the own goal part of the game plan?
Its pretty clear to me that Wenger went to Spain expecting to hold Barcelona to a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 game.
Sorry, but thats just stupid. Barca knew what they had to do to win and to help them out Arsenal let them have as much of the ball as they wanted and when they lost it, Arsenal were pretty generous in returning it.
And as much as stats arent game story, no shots on net is pretty bad.

The irony of this coming from fans of other EPL teams. Will you concede that Arsenal is the best team in England and deserves to win every match and trophy?
Cause we wipe the floor with all of your teams in terms of possession, passing and shots.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, your interpretation of the sport doesn't exist and we still have to actually play the games. Sometimes own goals happen, sometimes shots don't result in goals, & sometimes the better team does not win, See "Carling Cup"

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

someone's mad

time wasting is a yellow, kicking the ball away is time wasting

kicking the ball = yellow

Yes I'm mad, you would be too.
"Delaying the restart of play" is the wording in the rule book. It's a rule enforced through judgment, not a black and white rule.

Otherwise every player celebrating a goal, grabbing the ball after a goal, taking too long to throw a ball, staying down after a tackle, not sprinting off to make a sub, taking a shot on an offside etc etc. would be given yellow cards. There would literally be 44 yellows and 22 red cards each game.

If you really think taking a shot on an offside, 1 second after the whistle, in a stadium that loud fits this offense, you're just being a troll because you don't like Arsenal.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

I'm not upset we lost, I expected that. Barcelona are better than us - I can accept that, but their superiority is exaggerated when they can do whatever they like and a foul won't be given against them, but every ####ing thing the opposition does, foul or not gets called.

BS sending offs, free kicks, you name it. I'm ####ing sick of football - yeah Barca are better, thats fine, but the fix was on and that is ####ing far from fine.

Say what you like, but when it was 11 v 11, it was Barca going out.

#### this ####.

just saw that, dono how the ref and assistant refs missed that

its a straight red