Another poor performance from another referee.

Posted on October 4th, 2010 | 144 Comments |

Give shoddy refs the red card!
Give shoddy refs the red card!
I can only assume that in a former life, Newcastle United must have been some form of evil tyrant that tortured that families of referees up and down the land.

Perhaps not, but there has to be some excuse for some of the lousy officiating that Newcastle have found themselves on the end of so far this season.

There is a saying that goes something like ‘it’s tough at the top’. Well let me tell the people who said that that it is far far tougher at the bottom, and getting wrong decisions going against you all the time makes it that much harder. I’m not talking about small decisions here, I’m talking whopping great massive decisions that either aren’t being spotted or are just being ignored. Take your pick.

So with that in mind, is it now the time for match officials to become more accountable for their decisions?

The problem with referees, as I see it anyway, is that they can make these shocking decisions in the match then they just disappear, vanish, never to be asked a question about any obvious error that has been made.

I would quite like to know why Stuart Attwell let Wolves get away with their bully tactics for so long. Surely producing a quick yellow card would have stopped things getting out of hand? You never know, Wolves may have actually tried to play football a little instead of trying to neutralise our game.

I would also quite like to hear just how Andre Marriner failed to see Marouane Fellaini smash his elbow into the face of Mike Williamson. Interestingly I would also like to hear the justification behind the decision to not award Kevin Nolan and Newcastle a stonewall penalty. Thankfully neither decision altered the result.

Then move on to yesterdays game against Manchester City. I think it’s fair to say that Martin Atkinson had a shocker, and that his decisions did affect the result. I’m not talking about the tackle on Ben Arfa by the way. I’m more looking at the two wrong penalty decisions in the match.

I would like to hear how Atkinson can deem a challenge that is outside the box to be a penalty? I’d also like to hear why, after the award of the penalty, Mike Williamson didn’t get sent off? He was the last man after all. Then there is the Shola penalty that wasn’t given. Why? Why didn’t referee Atkinson consult his linesman, who was on that side of the pitch for both decisons?

We won’t hear anything though, and we probably never will, which is part of the problem. If referees were contracted to explain any contentious decisions through the media then perhaps they may think twice before making a decision that makes them look like an arse. At the very least I would expect them to use all the resources, and eyes, that are available to them. That hasn’t been happening so far this season.

I know it makes me sound a little bitter, but what else can I do other than moan about some of the shocking decisions that have gone against us? Funnily enough, maybe I could do something about it. My local league are looking to train up new referees via the FA. I may give it a go…

After all, I can’t be much bloody worse than the lot we have had to endure this season!

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

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144 Responses

  1. Is this what we’re all going to hide about if we go back down?

    Alot on here blamed the ref against Fulham that disallowed Viduka’s goal.

    It’s part and parcel of football. If, when we get into good positions we don’t waste the opportunity and have more than two men in the box we might not need refs.

  2. Stu – I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect someone to do their job like they are paid to do.

    If one of my lads made balls ups like that they would be straight out the door.

  3. I normally hate referee bashing. It’s the preserve of the top 4 sides, a bloated belief that you are superior to every other club.

    I also think dropped points so far this season should be taken on the chin, and put down to a lack of experience or professionalism on our part.

    But yesterday left me feeling something stronger. Having limped from one bad decision to another by the ref, to not get the shola call was chilling. All I’m saying is I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Atkinson received a mysterious envelope with a Saudi post mark on it in his letterbox this morning.

    Having said all that I agree with Stu79 – we need to get it out of our system – and use it as a catalyst for upcoming games. Arsenal went on an awesome run last year after the ramsay tackle,, it also helps with the dilemna of who plays on the wings. They know they will play now, but still they have to fight to make up for the disappointment of days like yesterday.

  4. I attach an e-mail that I have just sent to the FA. Similar article posted on the BBC but here as well in case it does not get past the “moderator”.

    If no-one complains then nothing will happen. Yes move on but don’t forget. Say something Do something.

    Dear Sirs

    I would like to seek an explanation from the FA regarding the extremely poor referreeing performance of Martin Atkinson in yesterday’s game between my team, Newcastle United and Man City.

    Most decisions by referees during a game are simple obvious and ultimately not game changing. During a game there inevitably are a few “big” decisions which are potentially game changing. I would anticipate that the referees in the Premier League are deemed to be those that get the “big” decisions right more than their colleagues.

    Martin Atkinson had three “big” decisions yesterday and managed to get all three wrong. In addition one “wrong” decision he made he also managed to get something wrong even on his interpretation of an incident.

    Firstly, given his proximity to the incident, how did Martin Atkinson take no action at all when De Jong broke Ben Arfa’s leg? The challenge was reckless and dangerous. It broke Ben Arfa’s leg, his standing leg. Martin Atkinson did not even give a free kick never mind book De Jong or send him off. I don’t suggest that De Jong intended to cause Ben Arfa serious injury but the tackle was quite clearly reckless with De Jong lunging in on Ben Arfa who was standing almost stationary and De Jong’s impetus was always going to “clean out” Ben Arfa. I would add that I do enjoy strong tackling having been brought up watching football in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. I do not enjoy seeing talented players recklessly “kicked” out of the game. Is it any surprise that De Jong has “previous” for tackles of this nature. Also you should note the action taken by the Dutch FA in response to this tackle which for them is clearly a foul to far by De Jong.

    Secondly, to most if not all neutral observers Williamson did not foul Tevez but Martin Atkinson deemed it was. Was he not watching the direction of the ball? He also failed to notice that “the foul” was actually outside the box. If it was a foul why did he not send Williamson off as he was the last man? Mistake on mistake. A further point that could be argued in support of a penalty was that Williamson’s momentum caused him to collide with Tevez causing Tevez to fall. No, this would be incorrect as Williamson in touching the ball first had taken the “space” first and essentially Tevez collided into Williamson and, therefore, not a penalty.

    Thirdly, how on earth did Martin Atkinson not see Lescott taking Ameobi’s standing leg in the penalty box towards the end of the game for what was another “easy” big decision that he missed.

    The ultimate point of this e-mail is that I am becoming disenchanted with how often, in it would seem almost every game, supposed top referrees are constantly getting the big decisions wrong. Not necessarily difficult decisions either. Will the FA take any retrospective action against De Jong? My understanding is you can. My guess is you won’t. Will any action be taken in regard to Martin Atkinson’s shocking performance? My view is you should. My guess is you won’t.

    I would really like to see you prove my sceptiscism to be misplaced and to actually start addressing a number of problems in the game which desperately need addressing, for example poor referring standards and disgraceful career threatening tackles, before Football becomes the loser and fans become disillusioned and drift away.

  5. time to stop the debating shop between fifa,uefa,pundits and fans alike.it is time to bring in goal line technology,and also use the technology to look at bad tackles,offsides,balls crossing behind the goal for corners etc,deflections also.we should use all the hi tech equipment available , like they do in rugby league.
    who gives a f**k whether it would stick ten minutes on to the game time , i bet the clubs wouldn,t mind etxra pies being scranned , and pints quaffed.
    it’s all too easy for referee’s to take the stick when they louse it up , but it’s a hard job , and they are only human.until the day when we can have referee’s wearing a visor like jordie la forge , out of star trek , then we have to use the technology.
    no wonder football has so much hooligan element across the world , because it can be such an unjust game at times , with our current outdated ways of judicating the game.i know people might have a go at me , but i couldn’t give a f**k , we need to start to move with the times in football.

  6. Yep,
    ANOTHER poor performance by the ref & all of his assistants , the fa, the pundits & media.

  7. Stuart 79 to say it part of football is crass to say the least,and one of the main reasons it’s allowed to go on.Surely no other multi billion pound organasation would allow this happen.There is no way Joey Barton would have got away with a tackle like de Jong ,also neither penalty decision would have happened to Man Utd and new billionaires on the block Man City.The FA will do nothing about referees decisions unless they effect the rich clubs.The only “part of football” I agree with you is that the FA allow starstruck referees to continue in a job that every week seems to get more corrupt ,and people like you saying it is part of football

  8. i need to see the replay again, but how would the refs assistant not have flagged the penalty on shola? i try not to blame refs for results but when huge calls are blatantly wrong, they need to be held accountable.

  9. The refs so far have been shocking,Marriner did see fellaini’s elbow thats wht he booked him but should have been a red,he did see Nolan get hacked down but bottled it.I can almost forgive the Tevez penalty it wasnt so clear cut without the benefit of a replay but Shola’s was a clear pen as was the foul on Benny…however we can’t and I don’t want to rely on crap refs to keep us up, that is going to be down to the team, the coaching staff and the us the fans to do.We’re good enough to do it, f*ck the refs, f*ck the FA, f*ck other teams.In the words of the song…
    ‘we’re gonna win f*ck all again, we’re gonna win f*ck all, but we still follow United’
    Bring on Wigan…Howay the Lads :-)

  10. I suppose that people will argue that some weeks it goes for you and you get the lucky penalty ect. That video refereeing would eat into the game time and spoil the game. But… millions of pounds are at stake between survival/relegation and a clubs future is at stake. If these decisions continually go against a team they can get relegated because they are struggling as it is. It is the case now that if you get promoted, you are playing not only better teams but also the ref is on the side of the big teams. I don’t think saying ‘oh well it evens out’ justifies it in this day and age. That is like admiting a problem with your car that you can’t be bothered to fix or something. If the manager of each team had 3 ‘appeals’ they could make with a video referee it would get rid of alot of these mistakes by referee’s and it wouldn’t slow the game thats bollox, in other sports the fans love waiting for the virdict it is tense and exciting. The biggest and most wealthy sport in our country and they bury their heads in the sand and stay in the 19th century. I wonder what Atkinson thought when he watched them back after the game, surely he must have known he was in the wrong to not even consult his linesman.

  11. I honestly think the entire official team yesterday had been ‘gotten to’ if you know what I mean.

    The shola one – especially AFTER such a strange first half by the ref was spooky more than anything.

    This is the first time Hughton has come out with his anger at refereeing – that has to tell you something about what was ‘really’ happening yesterday. The match was thrown. I just know it.

  12. there was a much much worse challenge than that by kevin nolan on a young everton lad and as nolan was sent off you clapped him yet the lad on the stretcher you booed. and know you deludeds have got the cheek to whinge about de jong is just hypocritical i hope you lot got straight back down you fat deluded fools

  13. Another thing.. If there was a video referee it would get rid of ALOT of the diving, fouling, handballs, dishonesty and cheating that goes on because players would know that if the manager appeals and the ref sees it back they could be off, bye bye. 3 appeals each, after that no more. Thats only 6 stoppages of about 30-60seconds throughout the game, hardly would ruin it.

  14. SirJohnHall – can I reccommend something call SpellCheck please. It’s really useful for people such as yourself who are a bit ‘special’ and whose brain sadly doesn’t work as well as the other boys and girls.

  15. Reckless endangerment & career threatening challenges(assaults) are no ‘part of the game’. & never should be.
    Pathetic & poor ref decisions cause problems on & off the field.
    These are perfect reasons why english clubs & england lose out in top competitions. They think they can play like they do in the prem when they play abroad, they can’t & get penalized for it, & rightly so.
    Just look at what that idiot webb did to the world cup final, & that fool who gave out 3 yellows to the same person. english refs are ruining this beautiful game, week in, week out.

  16. Refs are just little beer gut, control freak, failed footballers. They go running up getting their little notebook out their pocket and their coloured card. Puffs.

  17. fuk head at 15 heres a song for ya > sing this to the tune from the adams family, “ya sister is ya mother, ya father is ya brother , you all f–k each other the mackem family, da da dada

  18. I know how everyone feels about these decisions – the Everton ones seemed a bit less relevant as they made no material difference to the end result. I feel really down BUT….I think it IS bad to get the victim mentality, everything’s hopeless, we’ve lost our most skilful player, we’re dooomed! We must get over it, we’re still not even in the bottom 3 and there’s a lot of season to go. We have some players returning from injury, 2 of the Dannies andin a few weeks Staylor. I still think we are good enough to stay up. KTF!!

  19. A Mackem dies and goes to heaven in his beloved red and white stripes. When he gets to the pearly gates St. Pete takes one look at him and says “sorry no Mackems allowed in heaven,” but the Mackem pleads that he’s a good bloke who has led a saintly life. He says, “Just last week I gave £20 to Children In Need, £30 to Help The Aged and £50 to Comic Relief”.

    St. Pete thinks for a while then goes inside to speak to God then comes back to the Mackem. Sorry mate but he feels the same as me. Here’s your £100 quid back now f*** off!

  20. magpie,
    soz mate, but it’s nowt to do with ‘victim mentality’, it’s about the clear fact of poor reffing game after game. Losing us points & players.

    Although i’m all for a siege mentality at the club, as it forms an even tighter bond between the lads, both players & fans. As last season proved.
    ;)

  21. I’m just utterly sick of paying good money (whether via tickets, beer or subs) to see the WRONG TEAM WIN. It does NOT even out, it DOES NOT increase enjoyment; it just makes a joke of the whole industry.

    I don’t care whether we come out worse on average or not. I just want the RIGHT result and some justice, whoever loses out.

    I’ve said it before: there are only two sorts of people working in football at the top level: convicted criminals, and the sh*ts they’ve not caught yet.

  22. The wider picture requires replay technology for the 4th official in order that these decisions are right every time (or as right as they can be).

    Bad tackles would be punished, goals would be allowed and pens given (or not as the case may be)

    Sky pundits rewind and replay from all sorts of angles in an instant … simples … :)

    Not really sure why this technology is not used in the premier league. It could be something that the FA are actually pioneering … which would be good for the league and their own reputation …

    Unfortunately we all know it won’t happen so looks like we will just all have to get on with the crap system as it is … :(

  23. Don’t see why we have to ‘just get on with it’ like.
    Just sitting back & paying y’money never changed a thing.
    If fact it perpetuates it.
    I’m with whumpie on this-I wanna see the proper/right result, justice. Football has become archaic in it’s stagnated form-Get into the 21st century.

  24. If the Dutch take action against a player for something done in a English league match and the English FA don’t it will just prove that they are a bunch of spineless arseholes who won’t take action against the big teams. Fairplay to the Dutch.

  25. what beats me is the refs and F.A.control of the game,gets worse.
    take the amateur game there control is a lot harder, get a couple reds and your up in front of them getting anything from season ban,you can even get a life ban in some cases,the refs are mostly 10/15yds behind game but dont seem to get as many things wrong as the so called prof mob

  26. Dead right jay jay, good point.

    You too ice,
    the pressure they are under from the rich clubs is palpable .

  27. Clint

    Just sitting back & paying y’money never changed a thing. If fact it perpetuates it.

    other than the odd email (trevor at 7 fair play) we are at the mercy of the FA. They (as we all agree are uselesss) and so what do you suggest we all do?

  28. Can anybody tell what kind of salaries referees in the Premier League are getting?

  29. on the bright side i really belive we will go on and win a few games now,all this will pull the players more than ever and will kick a few butts,i firmly belive this will happen.
    hwtl

  30. i have to agree witha few of the posters , about the victim mentality that has set in.we are starting to sound like a psychopathic serial killer,who’s been caught after butchering a load of people,”i did it because…..,they had it in for me,god told me to do it etc…
    we might as well adopt the millwall “no one likes us” song , all of the decisions in football even out across a season.
    well if we are cursed lets hire a witch doctor to piss in four corners of st james’ to lift the curse.

  31. the referee’s have to high of a profile these days , long gone are the days of the 70’s ,when it was someones pot bellied baldy grandad , officiating.
    what’s it to be next for these jokers<groupies waiting at the back of the stand ,"GRAHAM POLL CAUGHT WITH TWO VICE GIRLS".

  32. Evening all was thinking alot about this today and I still think Ch should have blasted the ref for not protecting his players in the Wolves match, as IMO that sends out a signal to refs that they will get away with shit decisions with us because CH must have been ok with it, as CH even said after it that the game needs players like the thug Henry. IMO Fergie and Wenger always get the benefit of doubt from the Ref because they know if they dont Fergie and Wenger will soon let them and everybody else know that they got it wrong.
    Before anyone thinks it I am not blaming CH for Benny’s injury

  33. Human error is part and parcel of life, let alone football.

    I’m as annoyed as everyone else about his incompetance, but what can we do? Demand a reply? Demand he never refs another game ever again, thus ruining his career?

    The bottom line is he made some honest mistakes, its ridiculous for anyone to suggest there anything other than honest mistakes.

  34. I posted earlier today and said

    “In my own humble opinion I do not think there was any particular malice or intention, but the injury that resulted just goes to show how brutal and unforgiving this game is sometimes”

    However having viewed all angles in AndymMac’s link it is clear that it was an very reckless challenge with both feet off the ground :( with what appears to be malice and intent … :(

  35. They see the the trivial fouls and yellow card players for next to nothing but shy away from the big decisions that will cause them the most grief, its human nature.
    Simple fact is, they are not up to the job and although they know the laws of the game, they dont know football.
    I have been listening to Talksport today and although the tackle has been condemned as reckless, no one has the balls to say that DeJong knew fine well he was cleaning Ben Arfa out, most of us have played football and had it been Beckham or similar he would have on remand in prison by now.

  36. the photo in the last article , ben arfa that’s a bit immature , he’s too old for a dummy.

  37. BIG DAVE you have a good point,they seem to give the refs a piece of there minds,even sometimes before the game,(in fergies case)and more often than not it goes there way

  38. If more people send an e-mail to the FA then it might just get someone to look at the incident.

    If you agree with my e-mail at 7 above I have no problem with others copying and pasting it to FA.

    Just don’t do nothing

  39. Ice I just think that CH should have said after the wolves game that his players should be protected by the ref, I said at the time that it would leave us open to more bad decisions but I didnt expect this. Though I have been searching about and I cant find any comments from CH about the tackle so he must think it was a fair one ( unless I have missed them )

  40. shrews,
    i don’t know the answer mate.
    But, what i do know is, is that eventually, people will get sick of it & vote with their seats. I suspect plenty are getting turned off weekly, just look at all the empty seats at football stadia these days. Aye, sight the ‘economic crisis’ or whatever, but, people would still find the dosh to gan doon the match, no matter what, if only for some respite from the shit of their lives, Football doesn’t offer that escape so much anymore. As it’s full of biased crap where the richest(even if they are up to their eyes in debt) team wins, come hell or high water.
    I really don’t mind losing fairly, when we lost to stoke, we beat ourselves, didn’t take our chances, their ‘tactics’ paid off, fair enough. I was pissed with us. But when you are skanked, different story.
    & yesterday was one of the worst i’ve seen for a long time, but sadly not the first this season.
    But saying, doing nowt, gains nowt.

  41. RICHIETOON,bloody shameful m8,not even part time work,turns your gut.

    big dave will think its peanuts like

  42. CF I know what you mean. There is no simple answer.

    I still think the answer lies with the FA but it will take a strong leadership to change things :(

  43. Ice….I think they can still do their normal jobs too,just have to attend certain FA/prem courses and events.

    Dave wouldn’t even get out of bed for that ;-)

  44. 60k a year is fckin peanuts when you consider the decisions they make can earn or lose a business millions of pounds. If they worked in the City they’d earn millions themselves if they did a good job and would earn a very basic, basic salary if they fail to perform and ultimately get the boot if the keep failing to perform.

  45. De Jong has now been dropped by Bert Van Marwijk for the nest Netherlands game over the tackle apparently. For Van Marwick to get upset over a tackle, it has to be almost attempted murder!

    From the Grauniad:

    “De Jong’s home nation have adopted a more hardline approach. Van Marwijk has removed the midfielder from his party for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Sweden and Moldova, while expressing deep concern over De Jong’s conduct.

    “I just informed the squad and told him I saw no other possibility,” said the Holland manager. “I’ve seen the pictures back. It was a wild and unnecessary offence. He went in much too hard. It is unfortunate, especially since he does not need to do it. The funny thing is that the referee did not even show a yellow card for it. Apparently, there are other standards. But I have a problem with the way Nigel needlessly looks to push the limit. I am going to speak to him.”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/04/de-jong-holland-ben-arfa

  46. De Jong should be put on a police charge. If this was in the street he would be on GBH charge.

    Yes Im being un realistic, but this could have such an effect on our season, and a young mans life his lack of punishment is a disgrace to the game.

  47. Well i have just watched the tv program Voetball international here in holland , its a talk show over football , i can tell you now the dutch do not want to see De jong in a holland shirt anymore . They are well sick of his style of play , not only the experts in the studio but the football fans emailing to the show were all slagging him off . It makes me think here are football fans and a football show from another country showing discontempt towards a player playing in the EPL . Its just a shame the English FA don’t , lets face it they will not punish either the player for his actions or the ref for all the mistakes he made during the game ,.

  48. icedog says:
    October 4, 2010 at 9:12 pm

    “WORKY shutting the stable door comes to mind”

    Aye Icedog, Van Marwijk’s supposed to be like a Dutch Don Revie with his midfield rottweilers. One of the pundits in the Netherlands even referred to De Jong as a “criminal” over the Ben Arfa challenge apparently.

  49. AXEL your right m8 nowt will be done,the F.A.dont do waves,just lets sit in our little offfices do sweet fa and it will go away,as per normal

  50. ANy word on Guthrie being ready yet or not? I am just curious if he’s over his injuries and we can hope to see him play soon?
    I am not saying he’s a replacement for HBA or anything, I am just curious.

  51. Axel,
    well that’s good to hear.
    They like football in Netherlands.
    Pity we still stand for this pap over here.
    If the fa had clamped down on the likes of cattermole & henry before now, this may not have happened.

  52. NorCal ToonFan says:
    October 4, 2010 at 9:37 pm

    “ANy word on Guthrie being ready yet or not? I am just curious if he’s over his injuries and we can hope to see him play soon?”

    NorCal, you should explore the other areas of this site more, there’s an NUFC injury chart in the sidebar. ;-)

    “D Guthrie Knee Injury TBC”

  53. WORKY you saying that (criminal)takeing my mind back a few years the police once said they could take action on a field of play if GBH was the case,and the F.A.kicked off saying it will be dealt with in-house and blah blah,of course its not dealt with,the amateur F.A.deal with this type of thing and take a much harder stance

  54. icedog says:
    October 4, 2010 at 9:48 pm

    “icedog says:
    October 4, 2010 at 9:48 pm (Edit)

    “WORKY you saying that (criminal)takeing my mind back a few years the police once said they could take action on a field of play if GBH was the case,and the F.A.kicked off saying it will be dealt with in-house and blah blah”

    I remember that as well, Icedog. I also remember that the only time I’ve scissored people like that was during a fight!

  55. The fact the Man City players where congratulating each other with high fives and smiles as Ben Arfa was being stretchered off is another disgrace. Has De Jong even said sorry? Dirty bunch of ****’s

  56. Yes worky, i did, over & over on V+, disgusting.
    Did you hear the ‘pop’ when it happened?
    Sickening.

  57. Petition time CLiNT? Get the ******* punished. Cannot believe the F.A decided no action to be taken, at least the boys over in Holland realise he has a problem, then dealt with him in the only way they could. What does that say about the English FA!

  58. my worry for poor benny is will he come back as the same player,A.SMITH was never the same he said himself hes a yard short among other things,there are other players that were never the same,just keeping my fingers crossed for the kid

  59. So there’s a precedent.
    He was playing for rangers at the time.
    It didn’t even look that bad, well it coulda been more , er, full on, let’s just say he held back.
    But he did time. I’m guessing that the ‘victim’ pressed charges. So if a player kills someone on the field of play, will the fa deal with it ‘in house’?
    & will they be allowed to?

  60. nimagpie,
    Have the fa decided not to punish de mong then, i ain’t heard owt about that like?

    ice,
    Smith broke his leg at the ankle, all sorts of problems with ligaments mate, at least HBA’s is a leg break, so it should knit back ok.
    Dr’s say that the scar tissue can make it stronger than before, in certain cases.

  61. We need to be careful with what we say – let’s not forget Kevin Nolan cost Anichebe a whole season with a horrible tackle and Danny Guthrie broke that Hull guy’s leg with a petulant kick out.

    We aren’t perfect, we just need to keep the perspective here.

  62. Did anyone notice de mong’s assault on Tiote late on, where he lashed out?
    Or lescott’s stamp on Perch?
    Again, 2 challenges without punishment, both of them coulda been off in another game.

  63. CLINT,there is the problem,money talks not sportsmen m8,like many things in this walk of life

  64. CLiNT, I know they were condemned and rightly so – just saying that I think some people with comments like “ban him as long as Arfa is out” need to calm down a bit.

    We’d still be without Kevin Nolan since Anichebe has played what, 9 minutes, since that challenge.

  65. Adolf,
    some would relish that.
    Nolan not playing for the last year.
    But i do think that the assailant should pay the medical bills, they’re rich enough, hit ’em where it hurts, in the bank balance.

  66. ADOLFG,in most comments on hear the lads are just asking for a level playing field for each club and the animal players to be dealt with,ime sure us fans would kick off if one of our players,had made these sort of tackles week in week out m8

  67. Damn right we would ice.
    Barton has had to sort his self out & his doing his best, cos he knows he must, he’s aware of what we & the club think.
    Nolan hasn’t put a foot wrong since that challenge on anichebe. Most bad breaks are fortunately accidents, Dyer’s at wham for eg.
    But some need to be stopped. clattermole & henry spring to mind. taylor on eduardo etc.

  68. icedog@88 thats what i thought too after hearing it was a double break , i suppose a lot depends if their is any more damage than just the bones .

  69. nimagpie,
    that is pathetic mate.
    I don’t believe those mongs.
    Thanx for the article mate.

  70. I do believe the count is that Ryan Shawcross, Nigel De Jong and Lee Cattermole have all broken two legs each over the past three years.

    I fully admit these will have been accidents, but I do feel that if you get to the stage these guys have and you have broken TWO legs, then there should be some action. Even if accidents, they display a level of carelessness that is dangerous.

    Once is fair enough, more than once has to be stopped.

  71. Look at the image on the guardian link I posted. De Jong certainly aint looking at the ball and certainly isnt anywhere near it, his eyes are firmly on Ben Arfa.

    That is the reason we are all so infuriated with this! Surprised Henry didn’t have a similar outcome with Barton when we went to Wolves!

    If this was one of our players we would not have been blindly loyal. Even the famous break of Martin Taylor on Eduardo, Martin Taylor showed real remorse and it effected his game.

  72. It’s pathetic that we have to rely on the Dutch a 1,000 miles away for something to be done.
    Well done to them anyway.
    Thanx to the Dutch coach.

  73. its sad to say but at some point if the F.A.dont get there house in order the police are going to make a move,even going back to that animal ROY KEANE,who even said in his book he went out to break players legs,whats ganning on with wor game

  74. ice,
    either that or some nut job will take the law into their own hands, i’m sure that’s happened before now too.

  75. icedog@ 110 that says it all really , in the past the thugs used to be in the stands , now they are on the pitch :(

  76. @ 78 – Fair point Worky, my bad. I mistook that for additional NUFC soap ads or whatnot.
    However, in my defence, even if I had looked at the list, HBA and Guthrie both read TBC…I don’t know what that means and surely they can’t be the same thing.

    TBC – To be confirmed?

    I promise I’ll pay a wee bit more attention to the sidebar as well. :)
    Cheers.

  77. Aye,
    there was that one in turkey the other week, where a manager got stabbed up by his brother, on the pitch.
    That was a family feud mind.
    Mental.

  78. NorCal,
    aye it means to be confirmed.
    Guthrie is playing in the reserves tomorrow with Simpson mate.

  79. Let’s just hope that that coward twatkinson doesn’t have the gaul to show up at SJP to ref a game.

  80. Peter Lovenkrands might get more playing time soon for Denmark than for Newcastle this season. He has been recalled to the Denmark squad.

    YaY.

  81. I don’t know why everyone is calling for Lovenkrands. Whenever he gets a chance to impress he fails to deliver.

  82. Just seen that the FA aren’t taking further action with regards to De Jong’s challenge. Quite simply unbelievable. When a player is left with two broken bones in his leg after a challenge and the country’s governing body decide the tackler shouldn’t be punished, it just makes our game look pathetic. Really pathetic.

    As Clint has already said, we’ve had to look to his home nation, who had nothing to do with the game, to show any kind of retaliation towards a player who has caused this sort of injury with wreckless challenges before and clearly thought he was involved in a fight as opposed to a game of football when he took to the pitch at the WC Final. Fair play to the Dutch but the FA should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves.
    Guaranteed, if that was a top four player lying in hospital, action would be taken. Guaranteed. Pathetic stuff.

  83. I seriously think some of these players are just thugs who use the game as a guise to warrant kicking seven bells out of people. The game always has and always will attract these types and the only way to stop it and protect other players is for the FA to dish out lengthy bans, but that will never happen; theres too much money and power involved now.

  84. @116, Cheers.
    Looking forward to Simpson coming back. Though, I think Perch is growing on me more and more. I would just like to see Simpson play in a Prem game. I think I may have been one of the few who thought he did a good job for the team last season and would like to think a shot in the prem is just rewards for his efforts.

  85. Ross

    I agree, mate. Technically it’s not their fault as they aren’t permitted to take action if the referee claims to have already seen the incident as it happened.

    In other more light hearted news, I just uploaded all of my Toon chants on FIFA 11. Class! ;)

  86. Doubt we’ll sign Benny now, he’ll not play the 25 games needed so big Mike will pull the plug on the deal and say the player may not make a full recovery. However he will make a full recovery and will end up signing for someone like Arsenal or Real Madrid knowing our luck.

  87. to be honest we need to get over this and move on – the English FA are prob the weakest in Europe sp doubt they’ll do jack – we need to a:) put our support behind the team and b:) give hba a big shout out at next home game.
    I hope we stick by him to be honest, yes it’s a chance but we’ll prob get him for next to nowt now and ultimately he could give us something we’ve lacked – an actual game changer
    ref decicions are done now, yeah they were terrible but you have to hope other refs would have noticed and we might start getting rub of the green in tight decisions

  88. I think Newcastle keeping Ben Arfa here and paying his wages whilst he recovers is a nice touch from the club in a bid to convince him that this is the club for him. I think we will sign him.

  89. By the way, if Coloccini doesn’t get a call up after his spectacular form over the last 14 or so months then it is an utter disgrace.

  90. Toro-True, but I still hoped they would. I might be wrong, but I was under the impression they were allowed to, given the fact he wasn’t carded at the time? You’d have thought they’d have looked at the challenge and said “regardless of whether its wreckless or not, he’s broken the lad’s leg, card him”..obviously not.

    If anything good at all can come from the situation, it’ll be Benny’s realisation of how highly he’s rated by us even though he’s only been here a matter of weeks. The support he’ll recieve from fans throughout will be huge and the whole situation will hopefully bring him closer to the fans, the club and he’ll see that he could be a huge player for us. We love our flair players and he has the potential to be a cult hero like others have before him in the mould of Robert, Ginola etc.

    Toro-How did you upload the chants? I had a quick look but was clueless to be honest, lol

  91. Also, is the specter of corruption not hovering above this game?

    It stinks on fughing hot ice… No call–not just no card, but not even a CALL on a leg breaker and two botched penalties?

    Very suspicious to me. We all know about the Italian match fixing scandal… it could very easily happen in England.

  92. Toro-Also didn’t see your post regarding Benny’s relationship with the club. Great minds and all that, haha.

  93. Ross

    Sorry for the delayed.

    I downloaded the FIFA chants via a forum. A guy has them all in zip files and it takes all of 10 minutes to download. I then burned them to disk and ripped them from disk to my 360 hard drive. After that you just sort them into team playlists. Then when you go into the FIFA chants section they should be there and you can just allocate each playlist to their corresponding teams. There is a bit of a problem with Arsenal though and their chants seem to get mixed up with other chants e.g. Only one Arsene Wenger will play when you are having a game between Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim etc. Until a patch is released to rectify that problem you will have to assign generic chants to Arsenal.

  94. Ross

    Yeah hopefully Benny will notice how much he is adored and decide to stay. I just hope this doesn’t have the same effect on him as it did with Eduardo. Poor lad. He had the Prem at his feet and would have gone on to be one of the most clinical, natural finishers around if that didn’t happen. We can only pray, ey

  95. El Toro……..technically it is there fault, they make the rules, they can change them.It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened ;-)

    Toonsy…was it you ;-)

  96. I agree with you, Rich. They are hiding behind their own law, which is why I said “technically”.

  97. ah ok mate :-) The last thing we needed was the international break, we just need to get on with the football. whey that’s me,neet lads.

  98. I still keep thinking it’s a bribed ref.

    1. Not even a foul called on De Jong

    2. A non-penalty, outside the box & not a foul against Willo

    3. Tevez goes into the stands to celebrate–should be his first yellow. Later, he gets two yellows–should be off. City down to nine men

    4. No penalty given for us when Shola gets tripped–plain as day.

    Maybe I’m just paranoid. But I can’t stop thinking it, with all City’s nouveau-riche cash… After blowing how much for that team and those players over the summer, what’s a hundred thousand pounds to grease the ref’s palm?

  99. sorry–De Jong should have been sent off for the leg-breaker, then Tevez gets only one yellow when he should have had one for going into the stands, leaving City with 9 men…

    Ah, crazy talk. I’m going to bed.

  100. Fans should own the club,I’ve been saying this for years it is naive to think bribary goes on in every other country but not in the so called richest league in the world.Just look at some of the owners,Ashley included,do you think the earned their money fairly,with no dodgy dealing?

  101. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I hate the victim mentality, but I cannot believe there wasn’t more behind Atkinson’s decisions on Sunday.

    For the challenge on Tevez, he probably would have known if the assistant ref had raised the flag (or not, as it turned out), because he didn’t even look at him before pointing to the spot.

    Lescott’s challenge on Shola happened directly in front of him and he had a good view of it, but he waved play on.

    Should have gone to Spec Savers?