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All-Purpose, Never-Ending Soccer Thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by zizzer, Mar 1, 2006.

  1. Birdscribe

    Birdscribe Active Member

    Beat me to it.

    Eto'o was the beneficiary of a nice play and converted the chance. Yes, Alumnia was a bit welded and should have come out a bit more, but there was too much space for someone with Eto'o's talent to work with.

    The second goal? My 12-year-old makes that save in his sleep.
     
  2. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Wasn't he thinking about giving the NFL a try?
     
  3. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    I think that he tried out as a punter with the Dolphins -- basically a publicity stunt.
     
  4. zizzer

    zizzer Active Member

    You give the red because it's a foul that stops a clear goal-scoring opportunity.  I'll use the language of the laws of the game to show why I think that should have been the proper handling of the situation.

    Law 12, regarding fouls and misconduct
    Okay, so that's the red card.  I don't think there's any argument there.

    Law 5 stipulates that the referee
    and

    Yes, a foul was committed.  Which was more advantageous to Barcalona: the "advantage" clause, which they scored a goal on, or the free kick, which went wide of the goal?  You can't say that because you invoke advantage the foul didn't happen; it did, and it needs to be penalized with the proper sanction, in this case, the sending off of Lehmann.

    In terms of Eto'o's goal, that was soft.  He was caught leaning toward the far post, which was why Eto'o went near on him.  As a goalkeeper, you NEVER get beat near post.  Eto'o had time to two-touch that pass, which should have been time for Alumnia to close on him.
     
  5. zizzer

    zizzer Active Member

    ESPN has announced the broadcast teams for the World Cup....

    Damn, I HATE Tommy Smyth....  disappointed in no Derek Rae, as he was about the only redeeming quality to the Champions League broadcasts..... And I'm shocked (SHOCKED, I tell ya!) to not see Jack Edwards' name on that list ;D
     
  6. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    As ridiculous as some of the calls were that Edwards made (it's four years later and I'm still cringing), he knows the sports and showed some passion. Balboa is an awful choice as a number 1 analyst.
     
  7. zizzer

    zizzer Active Member

    Yeah, I saw that.... I also saw in the same article where the communications director told the BBC that what the official did was correct.

    I'm a licensed referee myself (paid my way thought college by refereeing high school games), and I've talked with a half dozen other referees who saw the match. To a man, they've all said they would have allowed the goal and given the red. Now, I realize what they say now and what they would have done in that place are probably two different things, but still....

    Giving a yellow would have been the chickenshit way out. It'd be like admitting you recognize he committed the foul, but don't have the balls to issue the proper punishment. That would have only served to turn the match into a bloodbath because the players would have picked up on the fact he wasn't issuing a red that day.

    Be swift, be decisive, and you don't get a lot of questions. Hesitation and leniency are signs of weakness, and at that level, will be disastrous.
     
  8. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    OK, so if what Lehman did was worthy of a red and the continuation via advantage, why isn't he being absolutely stone-cold ripped for making one of the biggest blunders ever?
    Why isn't he Jackie Smith? All Smith did was drop a touchdown pass. This guy got himself tossed and left his team a man down for 75 minutes.
     
  9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4996270.stm

    Henry staying with Arsenal for 4 more....
     
  10. zizzer

    zizzer Active Member

    Frankly, I don't know why he isn't being ripped more.  My guess is because it wasn't a stupid thing - it was in the heat of play, and it wasn't like the 94 WC when Tab Ramos got elbowed in the dome by the Brazilian guy.

    Plus, if you're an Arsenal fan, it's far, far easier to blame the official than to admit that their side wasn't as good as Barca was.

    I don't get the line of thought that you don't throw someone out of a major match like that.  I'm of the opinion that those are the matches that you must referee to the letter of the law more than any other.
     
  11. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    Yeah, but I'm not sure they weren't as good. Maybe not on paper, but the Steelers weren't as good as the Colts on paper.
    Henry had 2 good chances in the first four minutes. That game was going well for them.
    In the heat of battle, the keeper's job is to stop the play without getting his behind kicked out of the game. It wasn't an easy play, but he's got to know that he's in danger of getting booted with as recklessly as he went in there -- and he still was in the clear until he stuck out his hand and grabbed/slapped the foot of Eto'o. I'd say that's about as severe a blunder as I've seen in sports, and he's getting a pass. I'm amazed.
     
  12. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    I think that Jens isn't getting blamed for a few reasons:

    -- He has been great for them all year, especially in the CL

    -- He was faced with a situation in which one of the best strikers in the world was 1 on 1 with him.

    -- He took a positive step to try and save the goal

    -- He didn't miss the ball by that much

    -- They didn't score on that play
     
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