As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Just tried the BBC predicator and its all coming true.......virtual trophy on goal difference
1. Man Utd 96 pts +49
2. Man City 83 pts +42
3. Chelsea 72 pts +35
4. Arsenal 72 pts +31
5. Spuds 72 pts +22
ONE ARSENE WENGER.........THERE'S ONLY ONE ARSENE WENGER........OOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNEEEEE ARSENE WENGER
Olympiacos here we come along with all our top new signings that we'll sign with our £80m warchest
Don't think the chavs will make it Steve o - of all of the teams involved they have by far the toughest run in. The only question for me is whether we finished 4th behind the scum or 3rd above them to clinch wenger's best ever achievement as AFC boss - yes even bigger than going unbeaten in a league season and better than two league and cup doubles
Perhaps this is his cunning plan........ Due to having to massage his own ego, Wenger has decided to challenge himself to get constantly worse teams into the top 4! That means were stuck with him until he fails.... Oh how I'm looking forward to 13/14 great fucking great!!
Despite being an awful, weird and cowardly thing to do the reaction to this biting thing has still managed to go overboard somehow. Suarez somehow managed to be the sole topic of conversation on 5live's late show last night which is supposed to discuss the big social/political issues of the day.. People were calling in about 15 match bans, lifetime bans and being booted out of liverpool.
Get real, a shit thing to do but is it deserving of a punishment worse then if he had, say, headbutted the bloke or broke his leg in a revenge tackle which as far as I'm aware would be 3 matches?
As for kicking him out the club, do me a favour, the second suarez goes up for the sale every single one of liverpool's rivals will be queueing round the block to sign him. I'd be desperate for us to sign suarez no matter how many chavs he bites.
Part of me is (to quote littlefire) appalled by what Suarez did. That is the type of stuff best left to the closet perverts that play rugby - it should have no place on a football pitch. What next? Sticking fingers up each other's arses? Playing the soggy biscuit game? Flicking each other's arses with towels? Inbreeding until you have an overbite and crossdressing? Fucking weirdo's.
Part of me thought it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. You can actually see the moment he decides to bite him! And then the way he latches on like a rabid pitbull? Fucking piss funny!
People comparing it to possible leg breaker tackles? You can break someone's leg without meaning to do it, but you can't bite someone without meaning it. Also, the severity (or not) of the bite isn't the issue is it? It's bringing the game into disrepute and quite possibly it is assault. That's what the FA will look at anyway. And with his previous? He's getting a ban, probably a lengthy one.
highburyJD wrote:Totally different biting culture in Uruguay,
Friends often bite each other hello, Montevideo mums bite chunks out of their kids all the time
LDB wrote:Despite being an awful, weird and cowardly thing to do the reaction to this biting thing has still managed to go overboard somehow. Suarez somehow managed to be the sole topic of conversation on 5live's late show last night which is supposed to discuss the big social/political issues of the day.. People were calling in about 15 match bans, lifetime bans and being booted out of liverpool.
Get real, a shit thing to do but is it deserving of a punishment worse then if he had, say, headbutted the bloke or broke his leg in a revenge tackle which as far as I'm aware would be 3 matches?
As for kicking him out the club, do me a favour, the second suarez goes up for the sale every single one of liverpool's rivals will be queueing round the block to sign him. I'd be desperate for us to sign suarez no matter how many chavs he bites.
Absolutely correct ldb - front page of two red tops going with it as their main story today despite far more serious issue's going on in the world and boston in particular There should be no football news on the front page of any paper (unless it is england winning the world cup ) but this type of bullshit appeals to the brainless masses
On one hand I too am appaled by suarez's actions but on the other hand I do wish that sometimes we had a few players with a bit more nastiness to their game although that clearly is a step too far
LDB wrote:Despite being an awful, weird and cowardly thing to do the reaction to this biting thing has still managed to go overboard somehow. Suarez somehow managed to be the sole topic of conversation on 5live's late show last night which is supposed to discuss the big social/political issues of the day.. People were calling in about 15 match bans, lifetime bans and being booted out of liverpool.
Agreed. And many of the fans were calling for lengthy penalties because he's been a naughty boy in the past... it just doesn't work like that. Punishments aren't brandished on an accumulative basis - he's served his bans for past misdemeanors and he can't retrospectively be given longer bans now for crimes he committed years ago.
I'm not justifying his actions, merely noting that the reaction is ludicrous. Remember when Defoe bit a player back in the early 2000s? There was no public outcry for that, presumably because he's English. And as for the length of the penalty - Paul Davis was banned for nine games for breaking somebody's jaw! This is a comparitively far inferior offence, that doesn't warrant more than a five-game ban IMO.
Suarez has let Liverpool and Football in general down with this. If it was a once off then he could get off with a ban and fine but this is one of too many times he has overstepped the mark. What will now stand against Suarez internally is the debacle of the Evra situation or more accurately the way Liverpool and particularly Daglish handled it. Liverpool FC directors and owners will not want their club to be dragged through the mud in the manner King Kenny did after Evra. Maybe Liverpool will impose a preemptive ban in order in an attempt to lessen the severity of an FA one.
I cannot accept that the fact Ivanovic wasn't hurt as justification for a lesser punishment for Suarez, the intent was there, it was vicious and disturbing. I imagine (guess) that Suarez will depart Anfield in the Summer for Italy or even a big transfer fee from PSG.
In my opinion there are times when football has to stand up and stop moving the line that shouldn't be crossed. This is one such time, Suarez has disgraced his club and the game itself. Liverpool should now set a precedent.
Funny listening to David Fairclough on SSN saying "people shouldn't rush to a guilty verdict" , even Suarez hasn't denied it.
Separate point on SSN Paul McCarthy says that Suarez can not now win the Writers' Player of the Year award because the criteria goes beyond playing ability and this latest episode rules Suarez out. The criteria for winning the award comes from the 1940's when your conduct etc was paramount for the award. He went on to say one Gareth Bale is now certain to win it...same Gareth Bale who was booked several times for diving this season ??? He surely cannot be considered now.
Mascherano rages, but FA can't punish Defoe
Last updated at 23:10 24 October 2006
Jermain Defoe 'nibbles' Javier Mascherano
West Ham's Javier Mascherano claimed Jermain Defoe should have been sent off for biting him on the arm, as it emerged the Tottenham striker will escape FA punishment for Sunday's unsavoury clash.
Argentina midfielder Mascherano rolled around in apparent agony after Defoe sunk his teeth into him when the two players clashed late in the first half of Tottenham's 1-0 win.
Incredibly, Defoe will not be sanctioned after Soho Square's compliance department reviewed the incident on video in the light of referee Steve Bennett's match report.
FA chiefs privately admit that Defoe's actions were "not in the spirit of the game", but are bound by FIFA rules on retrospective punishment and cannot impose further penalty.
Mascherano, 22, has hit back at Tottenham head coach Martin Jol for claiming the attack was only a comical "nibble" and had not scarred him.
"My reaction was that this was not a joke," said Mascherano. "I have a mark on my arm and my reaction was not theatrical, like the Spurs coach suggested.
"This whole incident was incredible. Never in my professional career have I witnessed action like this and I still don't understand why the referee has not shown the red card to Defoe.
"When I arrived in England, journalists questioned me about the hard nature of Argentinian football. But I've never recieved a bite there - and I never thought I would receive a bite in the Premier League.
"I had a face to face with Defoe in the game but football is a sport for men, not those who want to bite."
Defoe, who released a statement yesterday to apologise for his actions, was booked for his reaction following Mascherano's clumsy foul, but FA sources admit Bennett made a mistake and should have sent off the Spurs striker.
It is understood Bennett saw Defoe nuzzle Mascherano, but did not see the bite.
He has, though, detailed the mass confrontation that followed in his report. All 20 outfield players made a beeline for Bennett, so both clubs are to be asked for an explanation and could be charged under FA rules.
However, senior sources indicated that the routine sanction of a fine of up to £250,000 is unlikely to be enforced.
Disciplinary bosses feel players on both sides were reacting to the unusual nature of the incident rather than exerting pressure on Bennett. However, the clubs are expected to be warned.
Defoe took steps to move on from the incredible incident, which he claimed was merely "mischievous" after releasing a statement yesterday.
He said: "The referee was standing right over me and if he felt I had done anything bad he would have sent me off.
"The incident doesn't look great on TV and I accept that as a role model to kids I have a responsibility to conduct myself in the right way which I always try to do on or off the pitch."
Barbaric and inexplicable but does a nibble (let's be fair was hardly going to tear a chunk of flesh out) really warrant a ban comparable to what he got for racial abuse or more relevant far in excess of what you'd get for a far more dangerous action like elbowing somebody in the face as hard as possible (3 game ban or 0 if you're Wayne Rooney)?
Although the media do seem to have decided Suarez has single-handedly ruined our beautiful game.
Mascherano rages, but FA can't punish Defoe
Last updated at 23:10 24 October 2006
Jermain Defoe 'nibbles' Javier Mascherano
West Ham's Javier Mascherano claimed Jermain Defoe should have been sent off for biting him on the arm, as it emerged the Tottenham striker will escape FA punishment for Sunday's unsavoury clash.
Argentina midfielder Mascherano rolled around in apparent agony after Defoe sunk his teeth into him when the two players clashed late in the first half of Tottenham's 1-0 win.
Incredibly, Defoe will not be sanctioned after Soho Square's compliance department reviewed the incident on video in the light of referee Steve Bennett's match report.
FA chiefs privately admit that Defoe's actions were "not in the spirit of the game", but are bound by FIFA rules on retrospective punishment and cannot impose further penalty.
Mascherano, 22, has hit back at Tottenham head coach Martin Jol for claiming the attack was only a comical "nibble" and had not scarred him.
"My reaction was that this was not a joke," said Mascherano. "I have a mark on my arm and my reaction was not theatrical, like the Spurs coach suggested.
"This whole incident was incredible. Never in my professional career have I witnessed action like this and I still don't understand why the referee has not shown the red card to Defoe.
"When I arrived in England, journalists questioned me about the hard nature of Argentinian football. But I've never recieved a bite there - and I never thought I would receive a bite in the Premier League.
"I had a face to face with Defoe in the game but football is a sport for men, not those who want to bite."
Defoe, who released a statement yesterday to apologise for his actions, was booked for his reaction following Mascherano's clumsy foul, but FA sources admit Bennett made a mistake and should have sent off the Spurs striker.
It is understood Bennett saw Defoe nuzzle Mascherano, but did not see the bite.
He has, though, detailed the mass confrontation that followed in his report. All 20 outfield players made a beeline for Bennett, so both clubs are to be asked for an explanation and could be charged under FA rules.
However, senior sources indicated that the routine sanction of a fine of up to £250,000 is unlikely to be enforced.
Disciplinary bosses feel players on both sides were reacting to the unusual nature of the incident rather than exerting pressure on Bennett. However, the clubs are expected to be warned.
Defoe took steps to move on from the incredible incident, which he claimed was merely "mischievous" after releasing a statement yesterday.
He said: "The referee was standing right over me and if he felt I had done anything bad he would have sent me off.
"The incident doesn't look great on TV and I accept that as a role model to kids I have a responsibility to conduct myself in the right way which I always try to do on or off the pitch."
open to correction here but Defoe was seen by the referee and was yellow carded for it and therefore the decision cannot be looked at. The referee in the Defoe case was wrong, yesterday the referee did not see the incident and therefore that can be reviewed. I'm sure Liverpool fans will latch onto the Defoe incident to persue their victim agenda.
They aren't precluded from taking action though - they didn't with Thatcher even though he was booked for trying to kill Pedro Mendes because it merited a sanction above and beyond the 3 game standard punishment.
So if they decide to turn round and slap Suarez with a ban longer than 3 games but claim they couldn't take action against Defoe surely you can see the hypocrisy and lack of consistency?
Personally I think the whole not reviewing decisions refs have seen is fucking stupid. Fair enough no point in looking at alleged professional fouls etc but for incidents of violent conduct surely they should be able to overrule refs who may not have even seen properly. It would offer more support to the ref to take appropriate action than to essentially hang him out as a pinata for the press to hammer all week.
