Norwich can take heart from a massive moral victory in yesterdays
game even if in reality victory was cruelly snatched away from them through nofault of their own.Once again a totallyinept refereeing performance has cost a side a deserved victory.In the same way as previous displays (certaininfamous refereeing against Bristol Cityand Tranmere for instance), last nights performance was a disgrace.We totally dominated the opening quarter ofan hour and it was no surprise when we took the lead, nor when we extended thatlead through a truly clinical finish from Holt, perhaps the only surprise wasthat Reading managed to fight their way back into it.We even looked so comfy that we could laughwhen Holt appeared to be running in sand when trying to outrun a defender andput the game out of reach. Then, justwhen all was going so well the ref obviously decided he had not had enoughattention yet and popped up with one of the most bizarre sendings off I haveever seen.
How is it possible that the fans can have been cheated out
of watching a great game of football simply by the actions of an incompetentreferee? Once more it is the fans that have to suffer.Of course I fully expect the red card to be overturnedby appeal so some form of justice will have been done.What cannot be reversed is the effect on thegame itself.In an ideal world the refereewould have been able to analyse the decision at half time and rescinded the redcard.
To be honest I imagine most Reading fans will be feeling a
sense of embarrassment that they were made to benefit from such an inexplicabledecision, although the way Harte collapsed like a sack of spuds and laywrithing in apparent agony suggests that they would stoop as low as ittakes.
In all honesty if that decision had not been made then I
fully believe Norwich would have gone in 4-1 at the break as Reading were shellshocked and reeling.However, seeingtheir opponents being reduced to 10 men, regardless of the circumstance isalways likely to galvanise a team and they held on.
It is a game of two halves of course, Norwich having to keep
out wave after wave of Reading attack in the second half, most coming fromfloated crosses or corners (opposition teams don’t take long to cotton on toour weakness!), their second goal was well taken and we can have no complaintswith the penalty (one complaint would be to Lappin, why make the challenge whenthe ball was heading for the byline anyway!). Had Hunt shown a little morecomposure with that header we might have been staring defeat in the face.
Obviously not satisfied with his nights work the ref then
managed to make more of a fool of himself.Karacans challenge on Korey Smith was clumsy and dangerous.I am not saying that it should have been asending off, but in a game where the ref has already brandished a red for a farless nasty challenge then you can argue that a precedent has been set.Of course the ref did not see it that way anddecided that Lambert should have been sent off.The whole charade was just a joke.
As if there wasn’t enough drama to come I wonder what was
going through that Reading players mind in the first half when he tried to nickthe ball off us when we were trying to give it back to them after thatchallenge.That is something I can’tcondone – trying to take advantage of another teams goodwill with sneakyunder-the-belt behaviour, he should have been booked for ungentlemenly conduct.
As I said we can take heart from a moral victory from this
game.And to go 4-3-2 when down to 10men, away from home and having been battled back to 3-3 from 3-1 shows the gutsand determination that Lambert has instilled.Rather than give our morale a knock I should imagine it has been boostedby last nights game, showing togetherness under adversity.
It is time that referees were interviewed after games (only
after reviewing incidents however), to explain to the fans that indirectly paytheir wages why such decisions were made.If we could see the ref afterwards being interviewed it would also givehim a chance to make a full and frank apology.Of course a mature sense of humility would be needed by the referee todo this, something the body language of last nights ref suggests he is sorelylacking. Fans will always feel aggrieved until the system measuring arefereeing performance is made far more transparent, we should be able to hearwhat a panel has to say about the performance as well.He will get away scot free with this displayand will be lining up next week to fill a game with attention-seeking preening andposturing no doubt. Holt on the otherhand will not be lining up for Norwich (well, unless justice is done at theappeal, but to be honest I am not keeping my hopes up, jobs for the boys andall that) and there in lies the travesty.
Reading vs Norwich
in Main Discussion - Norwich City
Posted
Norwich can take heart from a massive moral victory in yesterdays
game even if in reality victory was cruelly snatched away from them through nofault of their own. Once again a totallyinept refereeing performance has cost a side a deserved victory. In the same way as previous displays (certaininfamous refereeing against Bristol Cityand Tranmere for instance), last nights performance was a disgrace. We totally dominated the opening quarter ofan hour and it was no surprise when we took the lead, nor when we extended thatlead through a truly clinical finish from Holt, perhaps the only surprise wasthat Reading managed to fight their way back into it. We even looked so comfy that we could laughwhen Holt appeared to be running in sand when trying to outrun a defender andput the game out of reach. Then, justwhen all was going so well the ref obviously decided he had not had enoughattention yet and popped up with one of the most bizarre sendings off I haveever seen.How is it possible that the fans can have been cheated out
of watching a great game of football simply by the actions of an incompetentreferee? Once more it is the fans that have to suffer. Of course I fully expect the red card to be overturnedby appeal so some form of justice will have been done. What cannot be reversed is the effect on thegame itself. In an ideal world the refereewould have been able to analyse the decision at half time and rescinded the redcard.To be honest I imagine most Reading fans will be feeling a
sense of embarrassment that they were made to benefit from such an inexplicabledecision, although the way Harte collapsed like a sack of spuds and laywrithing in apparent agony suggests that they would stoop as low as ittakes.In all honesty if that decision had not been made then I
fully believe Norwich would have gone in 4-1 at the break as Reading were shellshocked and reeling. However, seeingtheir opponents being reduced to 10 men, regardless of the circumstance isalways likely to galvanise a team and they held on.It is a game of two halves of course, Norwich having to keep
out wave after wave of Reading attack in the second half, most coming fromfloated crosses or corners (opposition teams don’t take long to cotton on toour weakness!), their second goal was well taken and we can have no complaintswith the penalty (one complaint would be to Lappin, why make the challenge whenthe ball was heading for the byline anyway!). Had Hunt shown a little morecomposure with that header we might have been staring defeat in the face.Obviously not satisfied with his nights work the ref then
managed to make more of a fool of himself. Karacans challenge on Korey Smith was clumsy and dangerous. I am not saying that it should have been asending off, but in a game where the ref has already brandished a red for a farless nasty challenge then you can argue that a precedent has been set. Of course the ref did not see it that way anddecided that Lambert should have been sent off. The whole charade was just a joke.As if there wasn’t enough drama to come I wonder what was
going through that Reading players mind in the first half when he tried to nickthe ball off us when we were trying to give it back to them after thatchallenge. That is something I can’tcondone – trying to take advantage of another teams goodwill with sneakyunder-the-belt behaviour, he should have been booked for ungentlemenly conduct.As I said we can take heart from a moral victory from this
game. And to go 4-3-2 when down to 10men, away from home and having been battled back to 3-3 from 3-1 shows the gutsand determination that Lambert has instilled. Rather than give our morale a knock I should imagine it has been boostedby last nights game, showing togetherness under adversity.It is time that referees were interviewed after games (only
after reviewing incidents however), to explain to the fans that indirectly paytheir wages why such decisions were made. If we could see the ref afterwards being interviewed it would also givehim a chance to make a full and frank apology. Of course a mature sense of humility would be needed by the referee todo this, something the body language of last nights ref suggests he is sorelylacking. Fans will always feel aggrieved until the system measuring arefereeing performance is made far more transparent, we should be able to hearwhat a panel has to say about the performance as well. He will get away scot free with this displayand will be lining up next week to fill a game with attention-seeking preening andposturing no doubt. Holt on the otherhand will not be lining up for Norwich (well, unless justice is done at theappeal, but to be honest I am not keeping my hopes up, jobs for the boys andall that) and there in lies the travesty.