the demise of liverpool 2

[Erik]

Manchester City, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Leeds and Forest have all faced real decline with a certain amount of dignity.

Leeds? With dignity?

Like f**k.

[LTLF Sponsors]

[incapable hulk]

1445:
FOOTBALL
BBC Radio 5 live's Juliette Ferrington on Twitter: "Brendan Rogers says he's spoken to referee chief Mike Riley about decisions that have gone against Liverpool this season."

[TheDude]

Rodgers has said more then once he doesn't like talking about referees and they do a hard job. He's turning into a bit of tosser.

[NWRed]

1445:
FOOTBALL
BBC Radio 5 live's Juliette Ferrington on Twitter: "Brendan Rogers says he's spoken to referee chief Mike Riley about decisions that have gone against Liverpool this season."

Back page headline suggestions gratefully received...

[rogerthecat]

Back page headline suggestions gratefully received...

"Always the victims" is the obvious choice. I dare you......

So Rodgers called Riley and asked him to start giving his team more decisions. What does he expect to achieve with that? It's just an attempt to appeal to Scouse fans by looking like he cares, just like Dogshit and Benitez did. Futile. Clough had the best idea with referees. I have no doubt that his respectful approach paid dividends. Ask any Mickey Mouser that is still bleating about the 1978 League Cup Final.

[chriscl]

. Clough had the best idea with referees. I have no doubt that his respectful approach paid dividends. Ask any Mickey Mouser that is still bleating about the 1978 League Cup Final.

Absolutely right.

When I was growing up, it was almost a point of pride that Forest were renowned for having an excellent record when it came to match officials.

And that was all down to Mr. Clough.

That he achieved it with teams containing such shrinking violets as Kenny Burns and Larry Lloyd makes him all the more highly regarded!

You never saw Mr. Clough's teams mobbing referees or criticising them in the media, unlike certain other managers (I'm looking at you, Ferguson).

[rogerthecat]

It's just a shame that twat Milford didn't appreciate it send Gascoigne off.

I hate seeing players mob the Referee. Grieverpool, Manure, Chelski are all as bad as each other in that respect. Should be a straight red for the Captain of any offending player

[Barbus]

If football really wanted to ensure players show the same respect to match officials that they do in say, Rugby Union, they could do. It would lead to a lot of sendings off in the short term, but pretty soon the players (and managers) would learn to cut out the haranguing and abuse of refs and linesmen.

For some reason they seem as unwilling to make the necessary steps to stamp this sort of behaviour as they are the problem of diving.

[NWRed]

Mic up the refs, then get Sky's advertisers to threaten to pull out if there's any swearing. That oughta fix it.

[chriscl]

If football really wanted to ensure players show the same respect to match officials that they do in say, Rugby Union, they could do. It would lead to a lot of sendings off in the short term, but pretty soon the players (and managers) would learn to cut out the haranguing and abuse of refs and linesmen.

For some reason they seem as unwilling to make the necessary steps to stamp this sort of behaviour as they are the problem of diving.

That's a great point. Rugby - especially Union - has a much better record when it comes to respect match officials. I often wonder if in part that comes from them being "miked up" son anything said can be heard publicly.

I'd like to see football give microphones to the refs so abuse from player can be clearly heard.

[Barbus]

Yep mic them up. Wasn't there an experiment 20-odd years ago where they wired up a ref in a match for a TV documentary? I'm fairly sure Arsenal were the away team, they might have been playing at Millwall?

Anyway, they caught Tony Adams and co effing and blinding and generally giving the ref absolute dog's abuse.

[NWRed]

Yep mic them up. Wasn't there an experiment 20-odd years ago where they wired up a ref in a match for a TV documentary? I'm fairly sure Arsenal were the away team, they might have been playing at Millwall?

Anyway, they caught Tony Adams and co effing and blinding and generally giving the ref absolute dog's abuse.

David Elleray, it was. All the swearing and abuse bounced off him - but then Adams called him a cheat and he booked him. Says a lot about what refs will and won't put up with themselves.

[Huxley]

[NWRed]

Brilliant.

"Go away. GO AWAY. I don't want you, go away!"

Wish laughing boy Milford had been wearing a mic...

[Andy!]

It's easier with ruggers though when you can sin bin them. As the team suffers.

[NWRed]

It wouldn't even need any change in the law - foul and abusive language is already a red card offence. All it would take is for a clear message to be delivered to all the managers that it will not be tolerated, with no exceptions... the first time Rooney or Terry or Gerrard got sent off for swearing there'd be an outcry, but soon it'd just be normal.

Applies to Forest as well, of course. Cloughie was manager in a gentler age - whether he'd have got his way with a squad of pampered millionaires is another question. We have been very ill-disciplined at times over the last few years, especially under Billy (one of the worst around for having a go at referees).

[NWRed]

Not so fussed about wasting time - that might actually get us a few extra points over the years, and refs do crack down if it gets silly.

[NWRed]

Could that be partly down to the fact that the last '15-minute' block is usually more like a 20-minute block, what with the added time?

[Huxley]

Also, by about the last 15 minutes each team knows where it stands. Invariably, somebody will need a goal and will 'go for it'.

As opposed to minute 1 where there's usually a whole lot of bugger all going on.

[incapable hulk]

Rodgers has said more then once he doesn't like talking about referees and they do a hard job. He's turning into a bit of tosser.

Hes always been one, its just since taking over at the scousers hes probably under alot of pressure so is now inventing ridiculous reasons for why liverpool are shit.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19753431

"Us being a sporting team, and going by the letter of the law, decisions seem to pass us by. We've had a few sendings-off, a few penalties given against us and absolutely nothing we've been given at all.

"We would hope we would get better decisions over the next few weeks."

I wouldnt class Suarez diving every 5 seconds as being a sporting team, or Liverpool ever having been a club "going by the letter of the law"

[PynchonForest]

The vid of the mic'ed Elleray is hilarious. I talk to players like that sometimes lol. If a guy is being a complete ass, or if he has said something personal, I will talk down to him when I call him over. Particularly if I have history with the individual.

It's tough on swearing when you see Shearer telling the ref to fudge off 5 times a match, and you know (at times) the refs hear it. Generally, if it isn't personal, I don't have a huge issue wioth a bit of foul langauage. IN Canada, we have a rather politically correct culture at times (particularly in the suburbs, where I would never live), and if you say "shit" in a college game (specific to that competition) I have to caution them. IF they miss a shot and say "shit" loud enough for anyone else to hear, I have to caution. And I hate it. They say "shit" on the Simpsons.

[NWRed]

I say 'shit' (and the rest) when I miss a chance or let the ball through my legs. It's a natural human reaction. The difference is that I'm not paid millions of pounds a year to play a game, one of the rules of said game being that you get sent off if you swear.

[NFFC_Josh]

Forest vs Liverpool on ESPN Classic now

[TheDude]

Anyone watching channel 5? Behind the scenes show. Couple of interviews with fans too.

[the mask of zorro]

Anyone watching channel 5? Behind the scenes show. Couple of interviews with fans too.

You are joking?