United post match

[Shaggy]

I said to my mate just before the game they get a penalty and we'd get a red card, I'd barely got the words out and they had a pen.

I can't see how Webb could see that, ITV showed he was 25 yards away with Agger between him and the ball, and him and Berbatov, the linesman, who was 10 yards away and had a better angle gave a corner.

I though Gerrard's challenge was careless, but neither player had control of the ball and both players challenged for it in a similar manner. I think Carrick staying down made Webb's mind up to send him off.

Check post number 25:

http://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=73063

Haha exactly the same here. As Gerrard and Torres stood waiting to kick off, I said to the missus "the main issue with this game is when will that ****** Webb award the penalty". ****ing 31 seconds later he gleefully points to the spot. I didn't know whether to laugh or explode with rage. Obviously it was the latter.

[Craig_H]

Spot on

The most shocking indictment is that we all KNOW it's going to happen beforehand - and it does.

How ****ing bent is that?

[Exiled_red]

The most shocking indictment is that we all KNOW it's going to happen beforehand - and it does.

How ****ing bent is that?

It's total joke.

You don't happen to know what the odds were for a Man Utd penalty and a Liverpool red card before the match do you? I think next time we play them and he's ref I'll stick a few quid on both

[Craig_H]

I was thinking that before, and kicking myself for not genuinely backing it. You'd have got decent odds. Amazingly enough. If i was a bookie, i'd struggle to offer as much as 2/1 for it, it's so ****ing nailed on.

[sean_lfc]

The thing is, and I know I'm being naive and it is never going to happen, but it is about time the FA, EPL, Referees Association had a look into this and I don't mean it in a way as if he has been bought, just in a way he shouldn't automatically be given this or other big games involving United.

But the fact that we could all call it that there would probably be a penalty or red card given against us because it was Howard Webb suggests that they should at least rotate all the referees and give them all a chance of refereeing this game.

Fair enough some of the less experienced referees will make mistakes, maybe get influenced by the crowd but Howard Webb is supposed to be the best and therefore above all this but yet every time he is in charge of big games involving United he does something unbelievable, like against Spurs when he gave a penalty to them for no reason whatsoever when they were 2-0 down and not looking even remotely like they were going to get back into the game.

I've just been looking into an article with the Associated Press, where today a German lawyer who used to be head of the Federal Court of Justice in Germany [THE law institution, huge] resigned from the ethics committee of FIFA in light of not only bribery, but levels of corruption he cannot stand by any longer, especially in light of his working for the Ethics committee of said organisation. Anyways, this lead to my reading up much more on FIFA in general and the unsurpassed levels of corruption that go on and have gone on at that organisation, which ranges from bungs, mafia-style setups, the works, it's not just on the fringes of said organisation, it's a core aspect and foundation upon which it is built.

Anyways, the FA seem no different. They might not have those types of levels of corruption, but the people ruling in those types of institutions, the old guys, the grey haired ones, the ones removed from the fabric of the game, who are less football fans, don't have the good of the game and solely that at heart. The FA is made up in a way that reflects upon their stature and execution of the game the way they see fit. They seem to have a free reign in what they do, you can see so many parallels between FIFA and the FA it's ridiculous.

Within hours of Ryan Babel re-tweeting that picture of Webb in a Manc shirt, they 'will definitely look into this matter'. Within HOURS. Yet the appointment of Webb in the last 3 Scum matches is never looked into. Why the **** would they do it? Just like Sky's Grand Slam Sunday or Super Sunday or whatever the **** it's called is never looked into. Similar to the way goal-line technology is - almost aggressively - by FIFA never looked into. It is in a similar vain in corporate business and politics, where things are never looked into, and if they are, it will be done solely in a way which cannot incriminate the accused.

In Germany, a country which upholds and strongly values ethics and correct application within sport, society as a whole etc., a mafia-like ring of corruption has been investigated with regards to referees and players that threw matches. The level of organisation within those circles was astounding, ranging from professional gambling mafias spanning several countries and continents. Highly professional. The main instigators of this level of corruption had the officials and players under complete control. THEY would dictate which matches were to be thrown, they had clients who would consequently be betting large sums in Eastern block countries upon their (the mafia) controlling games. They had a list of double-figures of officials, all types of players, captains of teams and so forth under their belt.

It was and still is unbelievable and new evidence is coming to light all the time, as I had recently been reading an article in Der Spiegel on the main accused in this mafia-ring unloading information about so many games/players/refs, it's an embarrassment to the game in Germany.

I'm not saying that Webb is taking bungs. This cannot be proven. However it is clear as crystal, that - at the top of the ladder, right within the upper echelons of British football and the FA - things are not transparent and whiter than white. Of that I am certain, yet I am unsure whether Panorama or the BBC would ever work upon unraveling their own, the 'legendary' institution that is the FA. Because I'm sure some editors at the Beeb or wherever would be in on it and refuse to give such a program backing. I know of a person who used to write Radio and TV programmes for the BBC and others and she told me she eventually stopped working with/for the BBC because the amount of **** she had to go through to get backing for her 'different' programs stopped her being able to a) have any time to do anything else b) enjoying her work and freedom as a writer and producer. She told me 'It's all meetings with suits, all the time, all you ever do is defend the work your trying to bring to the public. It's exhausting.

There's definitely a lot to answer for and it makes me sick, because - just as in politics and government - ultimate power corrupts ultimately. And the ones who suffer are the ones paying for it all, the fans/taxpayers.

[sean_lfc]

What would happen if someone like Fanning, openly called Webb a cheat, in an article? I suppose he'd get sued?

What if he worded it along the lines of:

"Webb gave further reason for Liverpool fans to think of him as a cheat, when...." ?

If i was a journo, i'd be laying into the corrupt cunt.

This is exactly how it would work. It would be a case of libel or some ****. [In light of the lengthy above post I've just written]. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Way of how it works up there.

[Lecter]

Well it's early days of course, but in difficult circumstances, and with zero time to get his imprint on the side, there was an infinite improvement.

Based on that, i see no reason why he couldnt do it permanently.

See what happens at Blackpool on wednesday night though.

To me hes got more out of the players in 90 minutes today than Roy has gotten out of them in the last 7 months

So much for "I do not think anytone could a better job than me with this squad of players"

[Exiled_red]

I was thinking that before, and kicking myself for not genuinely backing it. You'd have got decent odds. Amazingly enough. If i was a bookie, i'd struggle to offer as much as 2/1 for it, it's so ****ing nailed on.

I thought about looking earlier in the week but forgot

I'm shocked you'd get decent odds, because as you say it seems nailed on, alot of people called that everything would go against us.

[Drago]

OptaJoe Opta Sports
by JimBoardman
4 - Howard Webb has given penalties to Man Utd in four of the last six matches he has officiated at Old Trafford. Pointed.

[DannyMan2006]

To me hes got more out of the players in 90 minutes today than Roy has gotten out of them in the last 7 months

So much for "I do not think anytone could a better job than me with this squad of players"

Most ridiculous quote I've seen Hodgson give, and we all know there is some good competition out there.

[Lecter]

Btw, was Mike Kelly with the team today? Did anybody see him?

No hes gone

[DannyMan2006]

No hes gone

[Arn]

English media eh

Kenny Dalglish begins his second coming at Liverpool with a rant

• The penalty was a joke, says Liverpool's caretaker manager
• Gerrard dismissed – 'I can't see that as a red card either'

There was no triumphant return as Liverpool manager for Kenny Dalglish today, only the familiarity of a dispute with Sir Alex Ferguson as he condemned the decisions that gave Manchester United victory in the third round of the FA Cup.

Dalglish's first game as Liverpool manager for almost 20 years ended in controversial defeat after the referee, Howard Webb, awarded a first-minute penalty that enabled Ryan Giggs to decide the contest and dismissed Steven Gerrard in the 32nd minute for a two-footed tackle on Michael Carrick.

Ferguson, who greeted his fellow Scot and former adversary with "welcome back" in the tunnel before kick‑off, claimed the World Cup final referee called both major decisions correctly. Dalglish, almost inevitably, thought otherwise. "The penalty was a joke," said Dalglish, who accepted John W Henry's invitation to replace Roy Hodgson while on a cruise and denied his iconic Liverpool status will be at risk over the next five months.

"I've seen the replay and unless they have changed the rules it is not a penalty. The other one, I can't see that as a red card either. In the dressing room before the game someone said to me the game hasn't changed that much and I said I thought it had become a non-contact sport. Maybe I was right."

United were the dominant side throughout but reliant on Daniel Agger's slight trip on Dimitar Berbatov for the penalty that secured a fourth-round tie away to Southampton. "Of course it was a penalty," the Bulgarian striker said. "There was enough contact for me to lose my balance and people know I do not go to ground easily."

The start to Dalglish's second coming as Liverpool manager deteriorated further when Gerrard caught Carrick with both feet off the floor. The Liverpool captain will now miss the trip to Blackpool on Wednesday, the Merseyside derby with Everton on Sunday and the game at Wolverhampton Wanderers as a result of a three-match ban.

"I don't think there was any doubt. I think it was two-footed. He was off the ground too," said Ferguson. "It was a reckless challenge. Steven Gerrard is not that type of player really but I don't think he left the referee with any option. I thought it was a penalty too. The replay shows he slightly touched him but the momentum is enough to bring the player down."

The United manager said he was "amazed" the game ended 1-0 but credited 10-man Liverpool with a resilience that was absent in Hodgson's final game in charge at Blackburn Rovers, and gave Dalglish confidence that he can revive the club's sorry campaign.

Dalglish said: "If we can get everyone pulling in the same direction – players, staff, owners and supporters – we are going to have a good chance of improving things going forward." He denied making any additions to his backroom staff but is expected to install the former Chelsea and West Ham United No2 Steve Clarke as his assistant.

"I don't think any of the players could be faulted for effort and commitment. Yes, we might pass and finish a bit better but it is a difficult place to come and win a game. To lose a penalty in the first minute and get a guy sent off in the first half was always going to make it difficult for us."

Dalglish was tempted, he said, "to do a Mourinho or Gary Neville and run down to that corner" when he faced Liverpool supporters for the first time as their manager since a 4-4 FA Cup replay draw against Everton in February 1991.

He also countered suggestions that, 10 years after his last managerial experience at Celtic, he had been out of the game too long and was placing his reputation at risk at Liverpool by attempting to correct their recent decline.

"How do you know you have anything unless you try?" he said. "I will give everything I have got to put the club in a better position than it is now. Whether that's going to be sufficient for everyone, I don't know. I can't see into the future. I can only promise 100% commitment. That is the way to look at it. For me, it was a no-brainer. Whatever other people think, they are perfectly entitled. I made the decision and I made the one I think was best for myself and the football club.

"I was on a boat and I was happy when I got a phone call from John Henry to say he had spoken to Roy and would I like to come and look after the team until the end of the season.

"I would not have insulted the club by saying no. I have to say the cruise people were fantastic. They got us off at Bahrain and got us on to a plane and I was home last night."

Reports tonight claimed that 15 arrests were made inside Old Trafford for public order offences and criminal damage.

Clicky

[Daniel 7]

The penalty was my fault. As pointed out by Simon_No7 who noted my comment before kick off

"Thank **** Agger is back in the team"

Soz like.

[Lecter]

John Ackterberg is apparently the temporary goalkeeping coach until they can get in someone else (I'm hoping it will be Valero again)