OFFICIAL IN-GAME ARSENAL V MAN UTD THREAD
FUCKING HELL.
please god let the crap version of vidic and evra turn up tonight and the adebayor that scores flukey goals.
OH GOD I'M EXICITED. the pre-hype starts here.
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I wasn't that worried
until Wenger kept saying "we're definitely going to win"
fuck.
I like the confident approach
we dont wanna be going in to the game scared. We are at home and we need to score so lets go for it with some belief I say.
and with bendtner on the bench.
at the back of the bench
I haven't felt less confident before a game since the Stoke match
earlier this season. 5 goals before half time would be nice please Arsene.
Actually Man City away was another one I was convinced we'd lose
Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd
I hope you score first, it might at least make the game interesting. If I could write the script I'd actually have Man Utd score first (probably Anderson, he deserves his first goal) and you to be 1-0 down at half time. Then a storming second half display by Arsenal with goals from Fabregas(63), Walcott(77) and a 92 minute winner from 35 yards by Silvestre after a mazy dribble leaving half the Man Utd team on their backside. Ronaldo to get sent off towards the end and then crying from his position on the bench when the winner goes in.
You're not allowed to sit on the bench if you get sent off
goals from
evra, anderson and fletcher
UNLEASH FLETCHERGEDDON!!!11!!one!ZOMG!!
fabregas to miss a penalty and fall on his bum.
MAKE IT BE TRUE
^no
sorry. Cant be done.
i'd love it if Arsenal went through
but it'll be: Arse start strong, VP goal in the first 20 mins, look good for a second but fail to penetrate/put away chances. JS Park goal in the 79th minute, Arse step quietly into oblivion
ITV HD as well, which is reason enough to be excited - almost makes my ridiculously expensive TV purchase seem worthwhile. Andy Townsend is definitely not meant to be viewed in HD though
I can't see Utd not going through
I'd even go so far as to say they'll win tonight, 2-1.
london lite headline:
STAND ADEBAYOR YOUR MAN
:D
I shan't be wasting my breath cheering for Arsenal tonight.
Not after last week's shameful performance of both their fans and the team.
I hope you win, but only in the same way I hope I'll win the lottery.
We'll really miss your support
lineups
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Fabregas, Toure, Nasri, Van Persie, Walcott, Song, Djourou, Adebayor, Gibbs. Subs to follow.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Anderson, Rooney, Park, Vidic, Carrick, O'Shea, Fletcher. Subs to follow.
pretty defensive line up from united!
arsenal have more of a chance now i think
Only one change from us, though.
Park for Berbatov. I think that's actually fair enough considering we're away this time.
Actually, that's not right...
Didn't both Tevez and Berbatov start last week, or did I imagine that?
You imagined that...
Only Tevez did.
Berbatov came on for Tevez
I really wish Arshavin was playing.
really stupid rule if you ask me
what's the point? Actually, what is the point?
COME ON ARSENAL
I am so totally convinced that Arsenal are going to lose this
It's just depressing. I don't know why I'm going to watch it to be honest. I'd have much much more fun this evening putting on some music and reading HP Lovecraft, or playing Left 4 Dead or... anything. Why am I about to waste my evening?
Because you're a fan
We all are :(
Oh look
Arsenal have given everyone attending the match at free Arsenal flag. CLEARLY Arsenal don't have a decent following and need to be given flags in order to be "up for it".
And here were we all thinking that only the likes of Chelsea did stuff like this...
i came in here to post that
their flags are cool.
but, you're wrong.
flags are lame.
they're awesome
flutter flutter flutter.
4 - 2 Arsenal.
"the longest yard of the road to the champions league so far"
WHAT?!
note to kieran gibbs.
buy longer studs.
Game over
Roll on tomorrow.
Well that's that then
Prove me wrong, football, prove me wrong
mm that's it then
arsenal won't score 3
4?
not 4 either
goalkeeper should save that maybe
HOLY FUCK.
in a way
if United are going to go through, I'd like them to go on and win 3 or 4 nil and really make some kind of statement about how good they actually are...
well
that was a fucking statement
Definitely over then
Almunia for England.
i'm not watching it
how's it going meths?
is england's best goalkeeper and brightest centre back prospect having a good game?
SHUT UP
ok then
i'm gonna listen to kitchens of distinction instead
Oh well
So.....erm
im guessing that wasn't in Arsene's game plan?
:D
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8032700.stm
Arsenal are so shit
they're like a budget Man City
^ this.
They could and should be 8-0 down on aggregate by now.
Link to the match!?!?!
..
http://veetle.com/viewChannel.php?cid=49f21d693d427
itv.com
the page isn't working! fark!
doesnt stream the video, just shows a pic of the champions league logo. :(
FAO Arsen Wenger..
http://www.rapeline.org.uk/helpline7.htm
'Cus frankly son, Yr getting a massive bumming.
(Disclaimer: rape is neither funny or a laughing matter, im sorry.)
My prediction's looking good...
A third of the way there already.
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
THIS IS GAY
^ so gay
who needs flags when you've got chants this good
Olympiakos have a better one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qNDon9_82U
:D :D :D
ahahaha! that's brilliant!
are they winning?
what side's the ref on?
Jim Beglin really doesn't want to accept the possibility
that Ronaldo's actually been fouled.
Ref seems to be giving Utd the majority of the weak decisions.
Questionable decisions fo' sho.
However Man utd are so far infront of Arsenal it could just very well be law of averages.
Permission for jokes?
What's red, white and gets knocked out quicker than Ricky Hatton?
Arsenal!
What's red, white and spends more time on the floor than Ricky Hatton?
Kieran Gibbs!
what's flatter than one of art_vandelay's jokes?
arsenal. or ricky hatton. or something
fuck
Ricky Hatton's nose?
The soles of Kieran Gibbs' boots?
*the soul of Kieran Gibbs
what's the difference between arsenal and an essex girl?
essex girls at least wait ten minutes before letting you in! or something idk.
Arsenal are rubbish
Completely inept in every single department. I don't think anyone in their team would get into United's.
As for the ref, the crowd need to shut the fuck up, clutching at straws much? He's had a good game, only got two decisions wrong, for my money.
the referee's been shite.
what game are you watching?
I don't think so.
Adebayor didn't foul Van der Sar, and the freekick that lead to the goal was slightly harsh. I've been impressed with him.
I think
the last few times they've played Chelsea, Liverpool and United they've been pretty much dominated all over the pitch...I'd feel so much better watching this if Barcelona had already gone through
I like Teddy's panda eyes
Man U have had it so easy
virtually no closing down/positioning in the Arsenal half, absolutely turd attacking in the Utd half. It's quite depressing seeing Arsenal this pathetically incompetent.
Maybe if Arsene taught them to shoot whenever they got into a vaguely decent position they'd have a chance (hello Arshavin). There's been a couple of half chances in this match where if they'd stabbed a quick shot they might have got something. But no, they just loft a ball over to that bumbling moron Adebayor and fuck it up. Arsenal WILL NOT score in this game, i'd put the farm on it
absolutely one of the most disheartening 45 minutes of football i've ever seen.
i really can't stand arsenal, probably my 2nd least favourite side, but i really feel for them in this - theyre practically saints as opposed to united, and have a better sense of morality as a side nowadays (some of the time)
5 minutes in... "arsenal have started this brilliantly", two absolutele howlers and no chance now. little skill shown from utd.
i'm looking forward to barca showing the world theyre undisputably the greatest side of all time by destroying them in the final. they're miles ahead.
Chelsea will beat Barca.
if they do, it'll be a travesty of footballing justice.
i quite like them, but that first leg was as villainous football as even the likes of man utd have shown this season.
not super-sleek supervillainy like the cool chelsea of the past. the worst kind of ratty, little villains. like penguin out of batman rather than the MR FREEZE or DR DOOM they used to be.
Shut the fuck up
'morality'-get a grip
Please don't talk about football ever again.
hiya
did you see the first chelsea / barca leg?
if you did there's no way you'd be spouting stuff like "barca are undisputably the greatest side of all time"
preeeeeeeeeeeetty easy to score against
pretty much 11 men not leaving their half, yeah?
lol
i'd expect "undisputably the greatest side of all time" to be able to break a side down at least once pretty easily.
People leaving now!
It's a CL semi ffs, yes you are being tonked, but still - why leave this kind of game early? Though I suppose this is easy for me to say as a neutral.
Well that reply is in the wrong place
those fans
are NOT "undisputably the greatest fans of all time"
Haha, very true
Thanks for making my replying-in-the-right-place skills look less rubbish
Also hard to score when you're rolling on the floor and waving imaginary cards
i do not understand.
you did see that drogba was present in the first leg. makes absolutely no sense. jaaaaaysus.
does this mean if man u or chelsea beat barca
then they become 'indisputed' greatest team of all time????
I didn't know the title was on the line!
didnt you hear?
itv have created a belt to go alongside the cup itself.
just IMAGINE if Arsenal played Barca in the final
they'd get tonked to death. 8-0 would be my conservative estimate
Are you familiar with this game called 'football'?
HIYA
Jens Lehmann
great pundit, great guy
I'm glad he made the point
about having to wait for just the right moment to dive for the ball because of the way they move about so much...I don't really think Almunia was at fault too much for that free kick...
ONE SHOT ON TARGET
:X
i give my facebook friends an hour before
some of them become fans of 'the emirates sniffer dog'
Wow what a break.
Anyone who says this Man U team isn't very good is an idiot and probably one of those people who don't like Fight Club.
4-0
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
WE ARE UNTOUCHABLE
ARSENAL = FAIL
The Arse's fans are now leaving the stadium at the 61st minute mark. Whoever keeps saying they're fickle, shallow glory hounds is obviously wrong.
33-1
ronaldo to score in both halves.
my boss put a fiver on it :(
fucking hell, stay and watch your awful team
even if you are gonna let in another two before the final whistle.
i support barcelona anyway
thought you were a holland fan?
LA LA LA HOLLAND
Thank fuck Rooney and Evra came off
So that clown commentating will shut the fuck up about their possible suspensions.
I loved how he chatted at length about how Rooney had to be careful
after ANDERSON had fouled someone.
We're in for another 15 minutes of talk of
Fletcher's dreams being in tatters now though.
deflated.
utterly deflated.
20 minutes to go!
Any second now the comeback starts.
5 goals in fifteen minutes...
Told you.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
morality.
god your such
a fucking boring idiot.
i really think you should just try and go a week posting about your own team, and not united.
consider it though:
with exposure, etc. manchester utd have every 2nd game televised, i see them week in week out and theyre always a point of discussion - as the posts in this threads will justify.
with leeds, i'm getting a season ticket next season and my love of our side totally outweighs my passionate hatred for man u. however, to post gushing reports about sodje and snodgrass against mk dons, only for maybe one other person who was at elland road to post thoughts (rare), or someone to comment on hlights or whatever (also rare).
leeds have morality.
I think that last line may be pushing it
oman retard post
various typos and things not making sense.
our squad - bar beckford - does have loads of morality though, i'm dead happy with us. if our players bled morality you'd be able to paint a morality road across the great wall of china.
man utd's might get from my house down to the chip shop, and that'd be from park. huyaaat.
morality, friends.
jesus
what a penalty...bad, bad decision though
dunno
i think that's a red card. obviously wasn't that good a challenge, beglin, cos he get sent off. yeahhhhhh.
Man of the Match in BOTH legs, Fletcher.
Terrible decision by the ref.
Fucking shit decision. The ball clearly moved.
Ridiculous.
"undisputably the greatest penalty of all time"
have you posted in a football thread before?
have you READ any of my posts?
do you reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelalalalalalalalalaleeeee think that comment was made in 100% serious?
amazing dis scenes.
absolutely shocking decision
That's a shocker
An absolute shocker.
is it just me that knows that YOU CANT TACKLE FROM BEHIND?
exactly
and he was the last man? that's a red card, is it not? i don't know, but they need to stop fucking crying about it.
no
being the last man isn't a red card. The laws say nothing about being the last man. Denying a clear goalscoring opportunity is a red card.
True
But it's reasonably rare they don't mean the same thing.
Hmm
I don't think it's particularly rare. Less often than it does, perhaps.
If you're the last defender and you make a foul,
you're almost always denying the attacker a one-on-one, which is a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Not if the attacker's running wide of goal
You can tackle from wherever you want
as long as you make contact with the ball first.
* and don't haul the attacker back by grabbing his shirt.
Here we go
4 goals in 7 minutes.
Told you.
ITV never EVER fail to amazing me.
adebayor "ooooooooooh disgrace etc". FUCK OFF. FUCK OFF CLIVE.
lets pray man u get liverpool in the first round next year
"his foot was raised and poised to stamp"
laughable
"the ref needs to stop this now"
???!!!
I particularly like how he said that just after Arsenal scored and when they were attacking down the left
and suddenly he's the worst ref in the world.
DEATH HEX FUCK OFF ITV
Is the final just on ITV
or also Sky Sports? I'd like to avoid this coverage again for the final if possible...
It'll be on Sky too
Which I suppose is the lesser of 2 evils.
BORING
please let tomorrow night provide some form of entertainment
Arsene was crying!
poor old chap
i would LOOVE it if we scored 6 now
Wait for it.
Arsenal are gonna nick it in injury time.
Told you.
thank you for your posts in this thread
I was trying to stay positive.
"At least Arsenal have kept going"
What the gibbering fuck does that mean? Are they supposed to get credit for not assuming the foetal position?
Arsenal had no chance from the off.
It was fun to hear how disheartened the commentators became after Man U did what we all knew they were going to do anyway.
Arsenal are a million miles off United.
Not fit to lace their boots.
Adebayor's a shocking player. SHOCKING.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
Fletcher got sent off
and mymagic jinx of wanting arsenal to win worked perfectly.
Remind me to completely fuck you up
(at air hockey)
what are you cooking for my tea on thursday?
A smack in the face?
Or we can go to the chippie, I don't mind
Yeah, but Arsenal lost.
Did anyone else think that Arsenal played about as well as Man Utd did
in the 1999 final?
Probably a little bit better, tbh.
But they just don't have the backbone. Spineless, generally.
Yeah.
Except Man U won the game. Which was a final. Which made them champions of Europe.
You fucking tool.
"rio ferdinand showing his generous side there"
throwing his shirt to the crowd. MARTYR
Yeah, but Arsenal lost.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
great stuff
^
Boo hoo Darren
That was a turgid display of competition. Barcelona must win this on purely humanitarian reasons.
^
my point earlier. i hope the arrow gets quoted a few times too.
They won't get past Chelsea tomorrow.
because they've put on such
a wonderful series of matches?
the only team to have actually had a truly entertaining game, that's left in the competition, is chelsea.
barca have flattered to deceive against awful opposition. they have all season.
They just beat Real Madrid 6-2
They've smashed pretty much all the top six in Spain ridiculously at some point this season.
yup
and madrid aren't a good side. the defending in la liga's consistently awful.
they come up against an organised team, and create pretty much nothing.
they're a good side in a poor league - same kind of situation as united a decade or so ago. not properly challenged by anyone around them, so look like the best thing ever - when they just aren't.
People wank over them FAR TOO MUCH.
I mean, yeah, great side, definitely up there with the best in Europe, but the defences in La Liga are shocking, not a patch on the Premier League. Stick them up against a decent side - Chelsea - and they drew 0-0 at home without being particularly convincing. OK, they could have scored, but they didn't, you don't win games on chances, you win them on goals.
*Stick them up against one of the top 4 teams in the country
who's only ambition is to not concede.
and who still created the clearest chance in the match?
and you don't think top la liga sides go to the nou camp trying not to concede?
the gap between premiership and la liga defending is huge.
So's the gap between Chelsea's defending and, say, Everton's defending
Or Villa's defending. Neither Villa or Everton would have been able to do what Chelsea did. Neither made much of an impression in a much weaker tournament this season.
Chelsea didn't score any goals either
I don't think Barcelona are a faultless side, or even the strongest in the world. But what they are at the moment, and have been by a million miles this season, is the best side in the world to watch. And like many others, I consider that the most important thing as a neutral spectator. In my time as a football fan, I've never seen a side play with anything like the fluidity and flair they have consistently throughout this season. Would they be able to do it in the premier league? If not, thank fuck we'll never know, because we would have missed something pretty amazing.
that's a very very fair assessment.
That was disappointing
the first 8 minutes I really though we were going to make a game of it and it was going to be a great match and then 2 individual errors meant it was game over. These last few weeks have been a real lesson in how far we are off the pace at the minute.
Just hope the players don't just leave, there's no point building a team of youngsters together if you have to keep replacing them in their mid twenties.
Your final sentence sums it up, really.
Every time I speak to my dad about it he says "Arsenal are going to be a bloody good side", but that seems to have been the case for a while now. Though, if you look at last season, you were comfortably the best side, in terms of footballing and results up until Eduardo broke his leg and Gallas lost his mind. You probably have to remember that as an Arsenal fan, it's only 15 months away, though I'm sure it seems like a lifetime. A couple of smart purchases could go a long way. Trouble is world class defenders aren't really cheap, and young, promising defenders tend to make mistakes and are inconsistent.
It's true we had a good season last season
and still Flamini and Hleb both left and Adebayor wanted to. This summer Van Persie will probably leave, there will be loads of specualtion about Fabregas and Ade again. I still don't think that Wenger should leave or that he should massively change his policy in the transfer market.
Those two were big losses, for sure.
Most Arsenal fans last season were massively pleased that both of them managed to step up in the season before they left. Hard to rebuild from there, promising though some players have been.
Can red cards be appealed?
Idk.
Fantastic third goal though!
Apparently not in the Champs League
(according to ITVs dubious authority and claims to have rang UEFA). Apparently only mistaken identity will get a red retracted.
great performance
Arsenal barely created a chance across the two legs. Wank decision from the ref to send Fletcher off since he played the ball, but at least it wasn't Ferdinand or Vidic. Lovely move for the third goal as well. Ronaldo was outstanding tonight. Not that arsed who gets through tomorrow night.
I don't really see how there can be any sane defence of Arse tonight.
They were shockingly bad. Further up the page some idiot said they played about as well as Man U did in the 99 final. Key difference being, of course, that Man U won the fucking game, thus creating a fucking treble of cups. Arse didn't even look like they wanted to be on the pitch in places. Terrible. As for the fans, their demonstration of support was fucking disgraceful.
Amazing.
Your team win comfortably, and yet throughout this entire thread you sound like a sore loser with a massive chip on their shoulder.
Good work.
you're the one going on about the events of ten years ago though, to be fair.
what's that got to do with tonight?
...
But I'm not the one going through the entire thread posting replies to every single comment made by Arsenal fans though.
What's 1999 got to do with tonight? Nothing really. I said it because I knew someone would bite.
(and because it's probably true)
Yes, sure you knew someone would bite. Bully for you.
I appreciate that you're trying to back out of taking responsibility for a stupid comment.
Of course there's a chance it's probably true that Arsenal played about as well as Man U did in 1999. Except, er, it's not, is it?
And yes, I am a sore winner. I enjoy seeing southern teams get beat, and I enjoy it even more when they get beat in spectacular style.
I'm off to prepare for Chelsea's soccer anal rape at the footballing penis of Barca now.
As for the game tonight, take comfort in knowing you never had a chance.
I don't support Arsenal, btw.
I wanted to see a good game of football. Unfortunately none of the semi-final matches have provided one so far.
Oh well, perhaps we'll see it tomorrow.
You don't think that was a great performance by United?
.
Which one? Tonight's game?
I didn't say that. I said that I didn't think that it was a particularly good game to watch. I'd lay that at the feet of Arsenal, who were so disappointing that it's difficult to tell how good Man Utd were, and whether or not they were the main cause of Arsenal's abject effort.
Fair play.
I hope Chelsea get through tomorrow.
I think it's because I want to see an all-English final, and I'm tired of the whole wank-fest on here about how great Barca are. They can't defend that well, look at Ramos's goal at the weekend against them. If Barca rip them to shreds 4-0, 5-0, it'll be great but a part of me for some unexplainable reason wants to see Chelsea play negative, defensive football and sneak it 1-0.
Reply is in the wrong place....
AAAAAAAAARGHHH.
HDTV update:
SAF's nose.. OMFG. You can see each individual popped bloodvessel
Can I just say how pissed off with Van Persie I'd be if I were an Arsenal fan?
I'd be really pissed off with Van Persie.
why?
Perhaps a greater injustice than Fletcher getting sent off...
...was Arsenal getting a goal.
that was terrible
arsenal are complete and utter wank. Arsene for the sack at the end of the season, fabregas to barca. I dont even think man united played particularly well, they just didnt have any competition.
Tyldsley on form once again. I don't think i heard him talk about any other player than ronaldo. I hope to god he doesn't do the final against barcelona. Also it was a blatant penalty. Didnt deserve a red, but fletcher's such a wankstain that I'm glad he wont be playing in the final.
hardly
he got the ball before the player.
just like the spurs incident actually, except Fletcher got sent off.
I'm not sure why Adebayor didn't..
more spectacular ITV commentary
i'd like to see how they would've reacted to that Fletcher challenge from the refs position without the benefit of a reverse angle.
he went in with both feet from behind in the box *and* he was the last man.
what did they expect the ref to do?!
for me, it was a penalty even with the camera angles.
Yeah, it was probably a penalty
One hand on Fabregas's shoulder dragging him back, minimal contact with ball. Completely rash given they were 3-0 up at the time too. I think having given the penalty he had to give the red. I doubt fletcher would be a cert for the final anyway.
I think he almost certainly would have been.
Hmm, i'm not convinced
He didn't play last year. It may have depended on whether fergie's planning to park the bus against barcelona or go a bit more attacking against chelsea.
Don't think we'd 'Park the bus' in a European final...
...but his performances in the last two games had been deserving of a starting place, and in fact the games before that, and then some. Still, same happened with Park last year, so you may be right. Park's not Scottish, though.
Hah,
You seemed happy to park the bus at the nou camp last season!
I think he'd pick the team that he thought would be most likely to win regardless of how they'd played in previous games or how pretty it was going to be - Chelsea have shown it's possible to shut out barcelona by keeping 8/9 men behind the ball at all times. I thought Utd did a similar thing in places tonight - 'cause arsenal seemed to want to pick passes around the 18 yard box, utd congested the areas and made it pretty much impossible to do, whereas chelsea are a different proposition and you'd probably want to put them on the backfoot a bit more.
Yeah, we did at the Nou Camp...
...but that was a two-legged tie, so slightly different. It was fucking frustrating to watch, especially when missing a 10th min penalty or whatever, but I trust Ferguson knows what he's doing. But I think you're mostly right with the above, he'd pick the side he thinks would have the best chance of winning. Plenty of time in between then, though for people to pick up injuries or dip in form.
me and my flatmate
couldn't believe they'd even seen the same thing we have... especially once they started ripping on adebayor as if he was going in like joey barton or someone trying to snap legs
that challenge was a sending off, surely?
that one was bad
it was just the one sidedness of the coverage
the pub i was in didnt have commentary
however, if they claimed that it wasnt a penalty and that adebayor should have been sent off i dont think thats being one sided, just accurate (although admittedly, the decision regarding the penalty was difficult for the ref)
There is nothing in the laws about the game
about any of going in with both feet, tackling from behind or being the last man. I want another look at it, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a penalty.
Actually, there is something about going in with "both legs"
just nothing to differentiate it from going in with one.
I think if you go in with two legs
you're not in control and it's considered wreckless. Dieter Hamann once got sent off for a two footed challange where he cleanly got the ball and was nowhere near getting the player, the appeal fell on deaf ears.
It varies from challenge to challenge.
The ref was poor and this played the most important role. FIFA's stubborn refusal to introduce the same camera system they in rugby seems to smack of arrogance.
I don't think Fletcher's challenge was reckless though
He's only actually gone for the ball with one foot; his other leg goes round the other side of the player because that's the only way he can get to the ball.
Yes.
It's two footed in that his other foot is attached to his leg, which is attached to his body. He doesn't play the ball with both legs, they just go in the same general direction, because that's what happens. When his right foot got the ball, his left foot was about 4 foot away. Some might say around Fabregas, but at that time the ball was in open play, and was there to be played, he played the ball before the man.
I agree it wasn't really a dangerous challange
I think it's the kind of challange where it'd be a definite free kick if you did it anywhere else on the pitch. There's contact on the player before he gets the ball (which isn't allowed - see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4200940.stm for a rough basic guide!)
There's an intepretative aspect, but generally european refs are more prone to give free kicks/penalties for that kind of thing than british refs.
Well this is from the FIFA laws of the game:
"A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following seven offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:
• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• jumps at an opponent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent
• tackles an opponent
A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following three offences:
• holds an opponent
• spits at an opponent
• handles the ball deliberately"
So either the rule's been changed or the BBC have decided to offer their own interpretation. Either way, all FIFA stipulate is that the tackle must not be made in a careless, reckless or excessively forceful fashion.
You'd hope the BBC had consulted someone
But erm, it's unclear.
I'd have thought the fletcher challange was considered careless by the ref when tackling an opponent under the Fifa rules.
It'd be nice, if, instead of having the likes of Andy Townsend on ITV getting all over emotive about things like this, they'd have a top level referee on the panel to explain certain decisions. Although, the only ones who ever want to get involved seem to be Jeff Winter and Graeme Poll. Scrap the plan immediately.
arsenal were just wank
it's a shame because i do quite like them, but we still looked the more likely to score even in injury time. i would've thought they'd show a bit more ambition, and fans leaving after an hour was just depressing even for me.
tossing in anderson, fletcher and park was always going to disrupt their passing game, which never looked close to breaching our flat back four.
itv over-egged the fletcher thing, as they do everything, but i've really warmed to fletcher, and it left me really empty.
I watched this with an Arsenal fan
woeful from the Gunners - totally paper-thin in all areas. I can imagine Arshavin asking for a raise if he's going to carry the rest of these goons through next season
it's all academic anyway, Guus Hiddink is going to win the Champions League
Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please ple
don't let Chelsea win tomorrow
they definitely will
i'm sure of it
1-0 is my current bet with someone at work
I thought Jens was going to hit Andy Townsend at half time
when he was going on about how easy it is to be a goalkeeper
oh yeah i could've saved that he's well shit
sure andy...
Owned
Did u see all the fans leave. They got owed and they could defintley do better. I dont even think hey deserved the penalty. Fletcher done nothing wrong it was a tackle :(
It's amazing how much the Emirates looked like the Riverside for a lot of last night...
!
I have one question for Jim Beglin
Who in the name of fuck is Alec Ferguson?
IN DEFENCE OF ARSENAL
They had a hard task, and in the first few minutes they were going forward, then they conceded an unlucky goal and had an absolute mountain to climb. They then conceded another unlucky goal and it just got ridiculous. Man Utd could afford to play with their foot off the gas from then on, which they did. Man Utd have one of, if not the, best defences in the world, so Arsenal were always going to struggle. It wasn't like a real game, where if you go two goals down then you're still in it, they were in a situation where conceding an unlucky goal was akin to conceding two. Bit gay innit.
the away goal is a cruel and unusual punishment
You're an absolute twat by the way
I was passing through Highbury at about 10 last night
the bus was packed but nobody was saying a word.
I watched
20 people having a punch-up whilst saying happy birthday to my dad on the phone on my way into the ground. It was pretty surreal.