It looks like that Sir Alex Ferguson has landed himself in trouble with the English FA, after his comments on Martin Atkinson, the referee of last night’s game between Chelsea and Manchester United. He commented that after games like these, players lose their faith on the referee. We know that comments from Fergie on referees’ performances in games involving his team is not rare, but this time for a change, he had a point.
Alex freguson frustrated with the refree
You’d expect the referee to be strong in such a game of high stakes, and Martin Atkinson was not anywhere close to being termed “strong”. All the 50-50 calls were in favor of the home side and this is what angered Ferguson and his men. John Terry’s tackle on Valencia inside the box at the 14 minute mark was a clear example of this. Terry was clearly tugging Valencia’s shirt and it happened right in front of the assistant referee. Wayne Rooney was incorrectly marked offside when he was one on one with Cech and if one these decisions had been called correctly, we would’ve witnessed a different type of game altogether.
However, the worst of all the decisions was reserved till the 75th minute when a free kick was awarded to Chelsea some 30 yards from the box. Fletcher is no saint and is a heel snapper, but he clearly got the ball from Ashley Cole who tumbled to the floor as if his legs were hacked. The resulting free kick found the head of John Terry who turned it goalwards. However, replays showed that Didier Drogba who had come from an offside position appeared to have pulled Wes Brown, who if he had stayed up would have cleared the goal bound ball.
United were good yesterday and must have a feeling of having been robbed of at least a well earned point. They were very well organized, with Brown and Evans immaculate in the center of defense. Anderson playing in support of Rooney was a surprise, but this was the role that he excelled in during his time at Porto. Though he came forward in support when United attacked, there were occasions where he looked as if he was playing as a sweeper in front of the midfield than as a supporting striker or an attacking midfielder.
Chelsea, on the other hand, must be ecstatic with the result and will go about consolidating their lead before January, when they will lose 4 players to the African Cup of Nations. Terry, in particular, was over the top after the goal, and should feel a sense of redemption for his famed and well advertised slip in Moscow.
United should move on now and concentrate on their upcoming games. The qualification to the next round of the Champions league should ease the pressure during the midweek games and will allow Ferguson to rest his first team for the Premiership games. The league is not yet out of their hands as they’ve come from far worse positions to win the league. But the question that is beginning to form in the mind of every United supporter is whether Chelsea or Arsenal will slip up.
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Author: mike_kris – Upcoming Keeda
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Highly biased article in favour of manchester united . Clearly ignorant of the fouls that did go in favour of them . Some of utd players were lucky to be on the pitch , especially a one Jonny Evans for his Ninja kick on Didier Drogba. As usual of a united fan it fails to see the other point of the story. Alex Ferguson has lost it this season , he is talking about fitness of refrees and now of their vision .
Next time utd play a match you should also get a refree along so that you cant whine about it later .
Can you tell me why Evans was lucky? It was clear that he was going for the ball and the kick on Drogba was completely accidental. And BTW, Drogba was no where near the ball when he collided with Evans and that’s the reason why he was yellow carded. And talking about United players lucky to be on the pitch, can you name them for me?
What about John Terry’s shirt pull? Wasn’t he lucky to be on the pitch?
I am not a big fan of Fergie slagging referees. But this time he does have a point. Usually, in situations like this, it is easy not to sympathize for United, but this was robbery and that is what I wanted to point out.
oh how convinient is it to say he was nowhere near the ball blah blah .
If he was nowhere near the ball there was no need for that tackle . If you say that was ‘accidental’ you are blinkered . The intention was quite clear , he even kicked him with the other foot after the first . And dont give me momentum crap , His face told the story and he was guilty . He definitely was lucky .
John Terry ? You cant be serious . So you are telling me that was a red card offence ? Have you never seen rio or vidic tackle like that ?
Agreed it might have been a penalty on another day but to say he was lucky to be on the pitch is outrageous .
The goal was perfectly legal . Essien is called for fouls like those every week . Its not our problem that Wes Brown is a wuss and goes down so easily. He was lying at the same level hence it was NOT offside as u suggest .
There is no end to the bitterness here . I have made my opinions clear . I agree a draw would have been a fair result for the match for the way both teams played but to say you were ‘robbed’ is silliness . We took one of the opportunities we had . Thats good enough for me .
The offence doesn’t become legal if Rio or Vida have committed a similar one before.
Drogba does start from an offside position.
Actually you are self contradicting yourself on the Evans issue .
First you said he was going for the ball then you said DD was nowhere near . As far as I know they were together . And DD got a yellow for being nowhere near the ball ? No , seriously . Do you actually comprehend stuff before you press enter ?
I don’t think you understand me. Evans was clearly going for the ball, the kick on Drogba was accidental. Drogba however was nowhere near the ball when Evans headed it and hence was carded. Go and watch it again.
When Terry goes into Valencia’s path, Valencia was through and for a moment Terry was the last man.
Fair enough you took your chance, but you wouldn’t have got that chance if the referee had not awarded the freekick in the first place.
We never got the 50 50 chances and it is right to feel that we lost at least a point, which was well deserved.
BTW, you’ve got no rights whatsoever to call any player a wuss when you have Drogba in your team.
Ok i can digest all of your views since you are a utd fan and its reasonable to expect them . Had i been one i might be thinking on the same lines .
I just cant digest about the Evans issue. Maybe it was the heat of the moment or whatever but the intention was blatant . You are one of the rare fans i have seen defend him on that .
And again I cant understand exactly your justification for DD yellow card . Since when did not being close to the ball considered an offence . Goalkeepers who are away from action most of the time arent yellow carded are they ?
Yours is one of the most deluded justification I ever heard .
Oh come on… are you telling me that Evans’ kick on Drogba was intentional? Now’s who’s deluded. It was a clear case of a player going for the ball. If both of them had been on the same level, Drogba would’ve never been kicked on his chest.
He came late into the scene and could’ve easily head butted Evans if he had not been kicked.
That was the reason for the yellow card. I’ve watched the video 4 times now.
I don’t like dirty players and I would’ve never defended Evans if it had been intentional. Even while questioning the Fletcher offense, I’ve mentioned that he is a heel snapper, which I do not like. Same way, Fergie is no saint and it is normal to ignore him when he moans about referees. I even feel that referees do this as a retaliation as they cannot publicly speak against him and the only way for them to seek revenge is on the field.
But the difference this time is that we do have a case. That is what pisses me off.
I gave you an example of rio or vidic so that you understood that such incidents happen and are not obvious penalty claims as you say . They are technically penalties I agree but a lot of times defenders get away with them as have your defenders done so in the past.
OMG ! Headbutts !? Rofl .
I rest my case mate .
Go on keep laughing….
Can you even comprehend why Drogba was booked? Evans made a jump to get to the ball and when players do that, their legs will leave the ground. Drogba arrived late into the scene and if he hadn’t been kicked, he would have taken Evans out in the air, as Evans would have been descending and the ball would have been cleared. That is more likely to cause an injury.
It was a late challenge and he was booked for that.
And that was probably the only decision that we got in our favor.
I already stopped arguing with you dude .
Take a deep breath , come after 5 days and again read what bull shit you have been posting . You will laugh at yourself (if you arent already !)
A yellow card for a challenge that dint even take place ? Lol , are you for real ?
My first impression of you was 100% correct . Keep on living in your own little red shell . Its like a banging your head against a wall . Cheers !
Its like carding a player who goes stud up but still misses the challenge. The card was for the intent.
You gotta know football to understand that.
Your level of stupidity goes beyond comrehension with every post . I definitely dont understand your level of football , please enlighten me (the lesser mortal) as to when exactly did your highness see a stud up or something comparable to that . You are the only manc I have come accross who dint laugh about that yellow card and think its ‘deserved’ .
Please continue with your moronic justifictaions and whining now .
Utter tosh. Did I ever say that there was a studs up challenge? Drogba was late to go for the ball and would have taken Evans out in mid air. That is similar to a studs up challenge which doesn’t hurt the player. THE CARD WAS FOR THE INTENT. I don’t wanna defend myself anymore against a moron who refuses to hear anything I gotta say.
And BTW, how many mancs do you know and have come across?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXpPZ1RsP3Y
There you go . Please see it again you dufus .If you can see any intent this time let me know . Just because you ‘think’ he would have headbutted or taken him out doesnt make it true you blinkered idiot .
Next time you walk on the street punch every person who crosses you . Hey ! Going by your logic he might hit you and you have a right to hit him and send him to the cops just because you think so .
How many mancs have i come accross ? Well , i saw the match at Pebble Street in New delhi . There were about 50 there . After that I have been on loads of forums . No one is as blinkered as you are .
Its one thing to defend your players , its totally another to defend on absolutely everything just for the heck of it . Even gloryhunters have more sense than you .
I’m not blinkered you moron. Go n have a look at the video. Why the hell do u think Drogba took a hit on his chest? If they had gone for the ball together there would have been a clash of heads or atleast an elbow.
But Drogba was fucking late and the card was for the intent. It is clear that he wasn’t going for the ball..
Highly biased article for Manu.To be honest,this season has been mediocre for Manu.Rooney is not in best of his form.Valencia can never replace Ronaldo.And what about game against Man City,Arsenal,Sunderland.It was there luck that they took points from these games where they were outclassed by opposition.