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Lacazette’s lack of diving is costing Arsenal points
It’s all very well having a pop at the likes of Salah for diving – but how about considering how infuriating the reverse of this is?
I’m looking at you Alexander Bloody Lacazette. Sometimes I think this guy would need to be hit with a handbag full of concrete before he’d actually go down in the box. Watching this guy up close, I lose count of the number of times he stays on his feet when pretty much all of his peers would have dropped to the floor.
I’m not saying I’m a fan of diving – but if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Laca’s lack of diving is costing us points and penalties.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London
Video review
For those who hope that video review means injustices shall cease to exist in football, consider the NFL where VR has been in use for 20 years. The refs missed an nailed-on pass interference call. For those not familiar with the entire encyclopedia of American football rules, the injustice was the equivalent of Zidane headbutting Materazzi right in front of the ref, and Materazzi getting a yellow for diving.
Worse, the penalty in the Rams-Saints playoff game, if given, would surely have changed the outcome. The Rams should not be going to the Super Bowl. The Saints season should not be over. Imagine Zidane stood squarely on the penalty spot, headbutting Materazzi during the second leg of a Champions League semifinal. Imagine that the away goals situation means the outcome of the peno to be given against Zidane would mean either a win or a loss. Not a guaranteed game changer, but as close as is possible without the ref running over to help the keeper save the penalty.
Why was it missed? NFL rules state you can’t review certain “judgment calls”, like pass interference. Why? Because it would cause undo delays if everything could be reviewed. Ironically, NFL fans found VR game stoppages too boring, despite the fact game stoppages occur every few seconds for 3.5 straight hours. The NFL has tried to keep the game moving while still offering a “fair” outcome to games, yet there is still controversy about calls every few weeks.
I hope that VR improves football. But I hope even more that (real) football won’t be ruined by trivial VR stoppages occurring way too often.
Robb, USA, AFC
Initials XI
Falooda in NY’s email had me a tad befuddled with their use of acronyms/initials for different players (I knew RLC, but took me a few moments to think about who CHO was…). Inspired me to create an “initial XI,” a good team of players who can be identified by their initials in this context only. (This was much harder than I thought it’d be.) With a flashy/modern 343 formation, here we go:GK – DDG
DEF – TAA VVD AMN
MID – AOC RLC KDB ADM
FOR – CR(7?) PEA HMS
1 Serie a player, 1 Ligue un, the rest from England, can you guess them all? I wanted to include LM10, but people would have confused the little magician with that Messi fella.
AJM, Australia.
Fred hits back…
Well Ryan, I didn’t expect my email to hit so many nerves!
As you don’t sound too bright, I’ll answer your points by by numbers:
1) I never said Liverpool had effect on the state of the opposition squad, that’s what makes it lucky. If you were able to effect it, it wouldn’t be luck!
If, for example, Arsenal have most of their 1st choice defenders back when they go to City, you’ll’ve been very lucky that they played Laurel & Hardy, plus the chuckle brothers at Anfield!
2) Good that you acknowledge you’ve been very lucky. It’s not about Pickford fumbling the vertically dropping ball, it’s about VVD’s shot, that should’ve ended up in row Z, & would’ve have if he tries it another 999 times, dropping right underneath Pickford’s bar. There’s a 1 in a million chance of that happening, & coupling that with it happening in the 96th minute, it’s something I can confidently predict will never ever happen again. That’s how lucky Liverpool have been, getting the sort of breaks that defy belief!
3) Not true, United were rock bottom form-wise when they went to Anfield, and most other big teams played United with Pogba, their best midfielder, playing, & not warming the bench. Even so, you never looked like scoring in the 2nd half (I remember all your players resorting to taking shots from 30-40 yards to beat De Gea!?), until not 1, but 2 ridiculously kind deflections went your way. Like I said, if luck does even itself out, you lot will be drinking tear-infused beer for the whole of the summer!
4) You don’t need to be Einstein to understand my point! Rondon showed sportsmanship, he was in a really good position to score or create a chance. God knows Newcastle need every bit of help they can get. And yet, he kicked the ball out of play, so the injured Cardiff player can get medical help. Robertson did the opposite, he cheated, he handled the ball deliberately. Win at all cost attitude. To hell with sportsmanship. And he’s not the only one either, Salah’s already developed a reputation for being PL’s #1 diver. What goes around, comes around though, so here’s hoping you’ll concede last minute goals that’ll break your heart, hopefully due to opposition players cheating.
5) There’s no disputing that Salah currently holds the dubious honour of being the league’s top diver
6) You should. Early in the season, most neutrals I l knew were routing for Liverpool. Hopefully teams you’ll play in the future will be wise to your cheating ways, & will find a way to negate it. Also, referees are beginning to be aware of Monsieur Salah’s reputation for being a carpet, so hopefully you won’t get many more pens in the remaining games.
7) Yes, I have given up. Unlike you lot, who’s front 3 seem to be made of steel & never get f**king injured, we’ve lost Kane for 2 months, Son, Alli, Moura & Sissoko for a few weeks, With Wanyma out long-term etc. Luck wears many disguises, rarely suffering injuries to your key players (VVD, Salah, Robertson, Firmino, Mane) is one of them.
Hope that’s all clear. I know you’re not the brightest star in the firmament, so just shout if you’re still unclear!
Fred, London
Cat, meet pigeons
Dear MC
Since the appointment of Ole as United manager I have seen a few mails trickling through suggesting that the concept of bringing through a player to become the manager is something that is in the United tradition / “The United Way”. (I am paraphrasing a few mails here and aware that by doing so I could be building a straw man, but in particular it was this mornings mail from Andreas Hunter that tipped me into writing this mail.)
I began supporting football before The Greatest League In The World™ came into being in 1992 and therefore I perhaps have a slightly different perspective on this. Essentially to my mind there certainly is a prominent, successful North West team which had a conveyor belt of players becoming coaches becoming managers, all groomed in the same style of play and approach to the club ethos, and providing a perfect succession plan when the time came to move to a new manager.
The only problem for United fans here is that anyone of a certain era will of course recognise that I am describing the fabled Liverpool Boot Room (quick reference guide here for anyone unfamiliar – and an excellent article here for anyone with more time.)
The problem with the approach is that this only really works whilst the quality is high – Bill Shankly handing over the reins to Bob Paisley worked out OK for example – but once the quality declines then the opposite is true. The approach is only as good as the personnel – and in todays world the global talent pool means that any club would be foolish to not look beyond its own borders for the best possible candidate. It actually surprised me to learn that the person responsible for dismantling the Boot Room was Liverpool legend Graeme Souness during his unsuccessful stint as manager.
Succession planning in modern football consists of a Director of Football, a wealthy owner who believes in The Project, and that most nebulous of modern concepts, a “philosophy”. But for some of us it really does come back to a small cupboard where some of the greatest footballing minds of a generation plotted how to conquer Europe.
Terry Hall, Switzerland (ironic of course that I say this and remain delighted at the internal “boot room” appointment of King Matt Taylor. C’est la vie.)
Thank you, Fred…
Firstly, can I thank Fred for the sheer quantity of nibbles he got with that mail. The response was truly wonderful to behold and had me giggling at my desk.
Secondly, I also enjoyed Bill’s take on Liverpool players finally starting to take the tumble in the box. It’s true, opposition fans are always commenting how Liverpool players have never been the type to go down easily, which is almost certainly the reason they haven’t won the league for all of these years. Then I remembered Owen and Gerrard and Suarez and Lucas and on and on (Ariston)….
Just to remind Liverpool fans (for the umpteenth time), your club isn’t special to anyone but you, your players aren’t more honest, your fans aren’t any more loyal. You’re the same as the rest of us, the sooner you realise that, then maybe, just maybe, more neutrals may want you to do well.
You’re welcome x
John Collins, WWFC, London