My Two Penneth - I know it's a bit lengthy!

[CanaryJames 0]

Firstly, that game means nothing. There was absolutely nothing we could do to win (or even draw) that game, so it’s best forgotten about.

With Millwall drawing and Colchester losing, we didn’t even lose out much to rival sides. Throw in the fact that it’s impossible for both Leeds and Swindon to profit massively from our misfortune today, and it’s not disastrous. Frankly, it’s barely relevant at all.

Everyone who saw the game will know the situation with the officials, but here’s my thoughts on the major incidents.

1st Penalty – Was not a handball. Ball to hand if ever there was one. Russel had no chance of getting out of the way of it, kept his hands by his sides, and Forster would have saved it comfortably anyway. If it was (as the referee believed) a handball, it should be a straight red. So can someone explain why Russell Martin – as opposed to the culprit Darel Russel – was booked, while DR got nothing? Odd.

2nd Penalty – Replays proved my initial instinct to be correct. The player went down before reaching Forster, and thus shouldn’t have been a penalty. The ball was also running easily out of play for a goal-kick (or at the very least away from goal), so according to strict laws it should have been a yellow card, not a red, regardless.

However, I can appreciate why the penalty was given. From the ref’s viewpoint, and especially to the linesman (who I in no way sympathise for other reasons) it would appear that Forster clipped him. Thus, I can fully accept (although I maintain it was the wrong decision) why a penalty was given. I’m still very, very doubtful it should have been a red, but the difference between a yellow and red offence is marginal. For me, he’s going away from goal and the ball’s getting away from him, so it’s yellow, but that’s just how I saw it.

The 3rd goal – Won’t go into much detail here. It was a disgrace. How is it possible for the same linesman who so aptly spotted a very doubtful handball in a relative melee of players, to suddenly miss a handball that was the monstrous hybrid of messrs Maradonna and Henry? It was worse than both of them. So ridiculously obvious that EVERYONE (Norwich, Tranmere, Commentators) stopped assuming it was a foul. That should have been picked up on, and it’s frankly pathetic it wasn’t.

That said – and I know this won’t be popular – Darel Russel could have easily cleared the ball off the line had he ‘played to the whistle’. It’s a cliché, and in this instance should NEVER have been needed, but I’m still disappointed we didn’t. We are a professional football team – and a damn good one right now – who should do less moaning and more focussing on the actual game. Admittedly, 99% of Tranmere players stopped too, but I don’t care. I know (as does everyone, especially Curran) it was a foul, but the assumption should be that the ref won’t give it till he does, and to play on accordingly. Disappointing, as that killed a game we were very much in up to that point.

Our goal – there was talk of it being offside, but it definitely wasn’t, as a player was playing Martin on. However, my first instinct (it remains hard to call from replays) was that the ball had gone out for a goal-kick before Martin crossed it. Now, for obvious reasons I wasn’t too displeased at the time, but it begs the question of the SAME linesman. He wasn’t fit enough to keep up with play like required, and thus could make no reasoned judgment on whether or not the ball was in play. Regardless of whether it was or not, there is a serious issue not only with said linesman woefully poor standards of officiating, but also fitness. How can we have a ‘Respect’ campaign with useless trash like him?

Our penalty appeal – for me, as much as I was screaming for it at the time, it’s not a penalty. Neither player gets the ball, and both end up scrapping over each other in their attempts. It would have been a very harsh penalty to concede, but given prior decisions, you could make the case it was more clear-cut. However, take out the ‘evening it out’ situation, and in a NORMAL game I wouldn’t have considered that a serious appeal.

Lamberts Sending Off – Another farce. Tranmere players were timewasting, he got the ball back on. Nothing wrong with that. The referee has changed his story (post-match) which only serves to weaken arguments to support his judgement. Simply got it wrong, as Lambert was only hurrying things along.

Tranmere time-wasting – I don’t blame them one bit. If we were in their position, I’d probably want us to do the same. But it’s more than a little irritating when a player heads a corner, unchallenged, watches it go wide, before clutching his face and lying around for several minutes. Fair enough, when you get a knock exaggerate it a bit, but don’t embarrass yourself!

Our team – I actually think it was one of our best performances. Largely outplayed 11 men with 10 for 80 minutes. And yes, I know Tranmere had many chances, but the majority were on the break. We played some lovely football, and I can’t fault the players commitment.

We showed more bottle in losing 3-1 tonight than Leeds have in winning the few games they have since Christmas. Somewhat bizarrely, this game has confirmed to me that we will go up – as Champions – because of the belief in the side that we could turn around (despite ultimately failing) an impossible and pretty unfair score-line.

I was extremely proud of most (there may be 1 or 2 exceptions, but it’s not the time for slating) of our team last night, and firmly believe poor old Stockport will get the full monty on Monday. We have been wronged in a big way, and I will be amazed if we don’t want to re-affirm our position as the best team in this division, by achieving anything other than a total annihilation of our next opponents.

I genuinely think we will hit 6 or 7 against Stockport, as there will be a renewed hunger. In an odd way, this may be the thing we need to push us over the line, and I can’t wait!

Bring it on! OTBC!

[chub 0]

stockport must be shi**ng themselves!!!!

[LinkNR9 0]

[quote user="CanaryJames"]Firstly, that game means nothing. There was absolutely nothing we could do to win (or even draw) that game, so it’s best forgotten about. With Millwall drawing and Colchester losing, we didn’t even lose out much to rival sides. Throw in the fact that it’s impossible for both Leeds and Swindon to profit massively from our misfortune today, and it’s not disastrous. Frankly, it’s barely relevant at all. Everyone who saw the game will know the situation with the officials, but here’s my thoughts on the major incidents. 1st Penalty – Was not a handball. Ball to hand if ever there was one. Russel had no chance of getting out of the way of it, kept his hands by his sides, and Forster would have saved it comfortably anyway. If it was (as the referee believed) a handball, it should be a straight red. So can someone explain why Russell Martin – as opposed to the culprit Darel Russel – was booked, while DR got nothing? Odd. 2nd Penalty – Replays proved my initial instinct to be correct. The player went down before reaching Forster, and thus shouldn’t have been a penalty. The ball was also running easily out of play for a goal-kick (or at the very least away from goal), so according to strict laws it should have been a yellow card, not a red, regardless. However, I can appreciate why the penalty was given. From the ref’s viewpoint, and especially to the linesman (who I in no way sympathise for other reasons) it would appear that Forster clipped him. Thus, I can fully accept (although I maintain it was the wrong decision) why a penalty was given. I’m still very, very doubtful it should have been a red, but the difference between a yellow and red offence is marginal. For me, he’s going away from goal and the ball’s getting away from him, so it’s yellow, but that’s just how I saw it. The 3rd goal – Won’t go into much detail here. It was a disgrace. How is it possible for the same linesman who so aptly spotted a very doubtful handball in a relative melee of players, to suddenly miss a handball that was the monstrous hybrid of messrs Maradonna and Henry? It was worse than both of them. So ridiculously obvious that EVERYONE (Norwich, Tranmere, Commentators) stopped assuming it was a foul. That should have been picked up on, and it’s frankly pathetic it wasn’t. That said – and I know this won’t be popular – Darel Russel could have easily cleared the ball off the line had he ‘played to the whistle’. It’s a cliché, and in this instance should NEVER have been needed, but I’m still disappointed we didn’t. We are a professional football team – and a damn good one right now – who should do less moaning and more focussing on the actual game. Admittedly, 99% of Tranmere players stopped too, but I don’t care. I know (as does everyone, especially Curran) it was a foul, but the assumption should be that the ref won’t give it till he does, and to play on accordingly. Disappointing, as that killed a game we were very much in up to that point. Our goal – there was talk of it being offside, but it definitely wasn’t, as a player was playing Martin on. However, my first instinct (it remains hard to call from replays) was that the ball had gone out for a goal-kick before Martin crossed it. Now, for obvious reasons I wasn’t too displeased at the time, but it begs the question of the SAME linesman. He wasn’t fit enough to keep up with play like required, and thus could make no reasoned judgment on whether or not the ball was in play. Regardless of whether it was or not, there is a serious issue not only with said linesman woefully poor standards of officiating, but also fitness. How can we have a ‘Respect’ campaign with useless trash like him? Our penalty appeal – for me, as much as I was screaming for it at the time, it’s not a penalty. Neither player gets the ball, and both end up scrapping over each other in their attempts. It would have been a very harsh penalty to concede, but given prior decisions, you could make the case it was more clear-cut. However, take out the ‘evening it out’ situation, and in a NORMAL game I wouldn’t have considered that a serious appeal. Lamberts Sending Off – Another farce. Tranmere players were timewasting, he got the ball back on. Nothing wrong with that. The referee has changed his story (post-match) which only serves to weaken arguments to support his judgement. Simply got it wrong, as Lambert was only hurrying things along. Tranmere time-wasting – I don’t blame them one bit. If we were in their position, I’d probably want us to do the same. But it’s more than a little irritating when a player heads a corner, unchallenged, watches it go wide, before clutching his face and lying around for several minutes. Fair enough, when you get a knock exaggerate it a bit, but don’t embarrass yourself! Our team – I actually think it was one of our best performances. Largely outplayed 11 men with 10 for 80 minutes. And yes, I know Tranmere had many chances, but the majority were on the break. We played some lovely football, and I can’t fault the players commitment. We showed more bottle in losing 3-1 tonight than Leeds have in winning the few games they have since Christmas. Somewhat bizarrely, this game has confirmed to me that we will go up – as Champions – because of the belief in the side that we could turn around (despite ultimately failing) an impossible and pretty unfair score-line. I was extremely proud of most (there may be 1 or 2 exceptions, but it’s not the time for slating) of our team last night, and firmly believe poor old Stockport will get the full monty on Monday. We have been wronged in a big way, and I will be amazed if we don’t want to re-affirm our position as the best team in this division, by achieving anything other than a total annihilation of our next opponents. I genuinely think we will hit 6 or 7 against Stockport, as there will be a renewed hunger. In an odd way, this may be the thing we need to push us over the line, and I can’t wait! Bring it on! OTBC![/quote]

I think that you are spot on with that opinion - we always come back after a poor result.

[Ivan Easter 0]

Good shout I watched the game on tv as well and agree with you and I was also impressed of how well Norwich played under the circumstances the old Norwich would have crumbled this present Norwich didnt. I do think that the some of the officials should have gone to Specs Savers there were some bad calls last night.

[Bobzilla 134]

Agree on the first penalty. I personally couldn''t understand how a penalty resulting from a deliberate handball preventing a goal-scoring opportunity did not also result in any caution whatsoever.Agreed on the second penalty - Thomas-Moore was looking for the penalty, but Forster shouldn''t have given him the opportunity. Worth an appeal  for the red card, although I doubt we''d get it.No comments on the third goal.Re our goal, I think it is impossible to say whether the ball went out of play, and as such it must be presumed that the ball remained in play. Simple as.Re our penalty, the defender played the man, not the ball. The defender never had any intention of playing the ball and not the man. Therefore whether Holt would have got to it or not, it is a penalty. It is a foul in the box. At very least it is an indirect free kick in  the box. The fact that the ref never even blew for it shows the quality of the refereeing.As for Lambert''s sending off, that is a disgrace. I would be referring the game and the decisions to the FA on that alone.One thing that the game highlights is that we need an honesty rule, whereby players must be honest about what has happened. If they are found on a post match analysis to have obtained an advantage by unsportsmanlike conduct, the result may stand, but the player should be penalised as if it was a red card for unsportsmanlike conduct. Where a team accrues five such ''red cards'', the team should be penalised. Simples.

[Mason 47 1,373]

I''m unsure on our penalty claim.

The cameras dont have a great angle on it, so I can''t decide whether it''s the guy behind Holt that pushes him or the player in front that tackles him that is doing the fouling... maybe both?

Another thing with the Russell ''handball'', isn''t Forster standing right behind him preparing to take the ball into his chest? Clear goalscoring opportunity be damned.

[Kingston Yellow 220]

I generally agree Canary James, although think you''re assessment of the 3rd goal is harsh.  We can hardly accuse the lads of lack of a endeavour or commitment this season, so given the lunacy of what went on last night, I think we can allow the lads some latitude.  Overall, I think the players atttitude was fantastic.

I think the state of the pitch was another factor - not an excuse, but the kind of playing surface that could spring an upset.

 

[Mister Chops 7]

A bit lengthy, but very sensible analysis. [Y]

[Hissing Sid 154]

Agree with pretty much all of that, apart from our pen shout. From my vantage point in the away end it looked to me that Holt was fouled by 2 defenders, one in front, one behind. Having since watched it back from the tv coverage, I feel the same.

A word for the fans...top class last night.

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

That ref should be told in no uncertain terms to find himself another hobby/occupation.

[CanaryJames 0]

[quote user="Kingston Yellow"]

I generally agree Canary James, although think you''re assessment of the 3rd goal is harsh.  We can hardly accuse the lads of lack of a endeavour or commitment this season, so given the lunacy of what went on last night, I think we can allow the lads some latitude.  Overall, I think the players atttitude was fantastic.

I think the state of the pitch was another factor - not an excuse, but the kind of playing surface that could spring an upset.

 

[/quote]

It was the clearest handball you will ever see, it''s just disappointing we didn''t play to the whistle and get the ball clear before worrying about that.

[ncfcrooferman 0]

spot on I agree with most of what you said always felt if we has scored at 2-0 would have gone on to win the game but at the end of the day at least we gave it a go in the second half and didnt fold like Norwich teams of yesteryear.If Leeds win today they will still be 8 pts behind with 7 to play so we in theory have to lose 3 games of them 7 and Leeds have to win the last 7 which is a tall order to overtake us.Millwall are now 10 pts behind same games and if Swindon win today 9 pts with a far worse goal difference.Last night was just a blip and Hopeful we will back to winning ways on Monday

[CanaryJames 0]

I don''t even think it was a blip to be honest.

A neutral friend (Reading supported) watched the game and said it was the worst officiating he''d ever seen. Also said Norwich bossed the game, and would have won comfortably bar the circumstances. Given that more often that not he''ll rip into me about losing a game, I thought that spoke volumes. He was even apologising and thought Norwich fans would be furious.

[Jacoljam 0]

Good post.We have got to put this game behind us.

[......and Smith must score. 1,336]

What a bizarre game this was.....Their first penalty looked a bit harsh but I thought the ball would have gone in had Russell not cleared it. If it was deemed a deliberate handball then shouldn''t he have been sent off ? And quite why Martin was booked is a mystery too. Was it mistaken identity or did he backchat the ref a bit too much ?I thought the ref got it right with the Forster sending off. It looked to me as though he did bring the player down.The third goal was a farce.The player took the sting off the pass with his arm. Clear handball.Our goal looked a bit iffy. I thought the ball had just about crossed the line before the cross but it''s very hard to tell when it''s in the air.Regarding the Holt penalty claim that could have been given as it did look as though he''s been caught between the two Tranmere players. We''ve seen them given for less. I was a buit disappointed that Holt didn''t go down when through on their goal in the first half but knowing our luck he''d have been booked for diving.A shocking display by the officials overall but good luck to Tranmere as they battle to avoid the drop. Supporting Rovers in a city dominated by two huge clubs is what real support is all about and I hope they stay up.From our point of view the result makes little difference to the big picture, regardless of results elsewhere, but I''ll bet the players and management staff are fuming. It''s fortunate for Stockport that defeat at Carrow Road will make no real difference to their fate this year. I was pretty confident we''d win comfortably anyway but I have a feeling they''re now in for a real hammering through no fault of their own......

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,736]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."]What a bizarre game this was.....

Their first penalty looked a bit harsh but I thought the ball would have gone in had Russell not cleared it. If it was deemed a deliberate handball then shouldn''t he have been sent off ? And quite why Martin was booked is a mystery too. Was it mistaken identity or did he backchat the ref a bit too much ?

I thought the ref got it right with the Forster sending off. It looked to me as though he did bring the player down.

The third goal was a farce.The player took the sting off the pass with his arm. Clear handball.

Our goal looked a bit iffy. I thought the ball had just about crossed the line before the cross but it''s very hard to tell when it''s in the air.

Regarding the Holt penalty claim that could have been given as it did look as though he''s been caught between the two Tranmere players. We''ve seen them given for less. I was a buit disappointed that Holt didn''t go down when through on their goal in the first half but knowing our luck he''d have been booked for diving.

A shocking display by the officials overall but good luck to Tranmere as they battle to avoid the drop. Supporting Rovers in a city dominated by two huge clubs is what real support is all about and I hope they stay up.

From our point of view the result makes little difference to the big picture, regardless of results elsewhere, but I''ll bet the players and management staff are fuming. It''s fortunate for Stockport that defeat at Carrow Road will make no real difference to their fate this year. I was pretty confident we''d win comfortably anyway but I have a feeling they''re now in for a real hammering through no fault of their own......
[/quote]

Good luck to Tranmere !?!, you''ve got to be joking! they simly can''t be allowed o stay up of the back of this, I hope they get relegated.

[......and Smith must score. 1,336]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."]What a bizarre game this was.....Their first penalty looked a bit harsh but I thought the ball would have gone in had Russell not cleared it. If it was deemed a deliberate handball then shouldn''t he have been sent off ? And quite why Martin was booked is a mystery too. Was it mistaken identity or did he backchat the ref a bit too much ?I thought the ref got it right with the Forster sending off. It looked to me as though he did bring the player down.The third goal was a farce.The player took the sting off the pass with his arm. Clear handball.Our goal looked a bit iffy. I thought the ball had just about crossed the line before the cross but it''s very hard to tell when it''s in the air.Regarding the Holt penalty claim that could have been given as it did look as though he''s been caught between the two Tranmere players. We''ve seen them given for less. I was a buit disappointed that Holt didn''t go down when through on their goal in the first half but knowing our luck he''d have been booked for diving.A shocking display by the officials overall but good luck to Tranmere as they battle to avoid the drop. Supporting Rovers in a city dominated by two huge clubs is what real support is all about and I hope they stay up.From our point of view the result makes little difference to the big picture, regardless of results elsewhere, but I''ll bet the players and management staff are fuming. It''s fortunate for Stockport that defeat at Carrow Road will make no real difference to their fate this year. I was pretty confident we''d win comfortably anyway but I have a feeling they''re now in for a real hammering through no fault of their own......[/quote]

Good luck to Tranmere !?!, you''ve got to be joking! they simly can''t be allowed o stay up of the back of this, I hope they get relegated.

[/quote]Yes, good luck to Tranmere.Has last night made any real difference to how our season will end ?OK, they beat us with some dodgy decisions  that the officials should have seen but it''s not their fault they got away with it is it ? Despite losing we were the better team, we''re still a shoo-in for promotion this term and by winning Tranmere may well have saved themselves from the drop.Despite their lot in the pecking order in Liverpool, and encouraged by the odd good Cup run here and there, they accept their position in life without complaint - unlike their whinging Red neighbours in particular.They have real die-hard supporters and I''ve nothing against them at all.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,736]

Hopefully it wont make a difference to our season but I was refer more in terms of a broader fairness to the competetion. How do you think the likes of Oldham and Hartlepool would be thinking watching that last night. If what happened if the difference between Tranmere staying up or not , how can that be fair??

I wonder also if you would be prepared to be quite so well-wishing if it ever emerges that Tranmere were complicit in what went on last night. When you hear stories of the linesman laughing and joking with their goalkeeper, and the scorer of their third goal lying in front of camera and struggling to keep a straight face whilst describing his goal, can you be absolutely sure?!.

Cheats never prosper - I hope they go down

[......and Smith must score. 1,336]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

Hopefully it wont make a difference to our season but I was refer more in terms of a broader fairness to the competetion. How do you think the likes of Oldham and Hartlepool would be thinking watching that last night. If what happened if the difference between Tranmere staying up or not , how can that be fair??

I wonder also if you would be prepared to be quite so well-wishing if it ever emerges that Tranmere were complicit in what went on last night. When you hear stories of the linesman laughing and joking with their goalkeeper, and the scorer of their third goal lying in front of camera and struggling to keep a straight face whilst describing his goal, can you be absolutely sure?!.

Cheats never prosper - I hope they go down

[/quote]The game may have been fixed. Who knows ? Even it it was it''s very unlikely it''s got anything to do with Tranmere Rovers. They, like every other professional team, just took advantage of the refereeing decisions presented to them. Have you ever seen a captain run over to the ref to plead that a goal musn''t stand because one of his teammates got away with something the ref didn''t see ? If it were true that cheats never prosper then no one would win anything. All clubs do it and it''s just part and parcel of professional,and increasingly amateur, sport.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,736]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

Hopefully it wont make a difference to our season but I was refer more in terms of a broader fairness to the competetion. How do you think the likes of Oldham and Hartlepool would be thinking watching that last night. If what happened if the difference between Tranmere staying up or not , how can that be fair??

I wonder also if you would be prepared to be quite so well-wishing if it ever emerges that Tranmere were complicit in what went on last night. When you hear stories of the linesman laughing and joking with their goalkeeper, and the scorer of their third goal lying in front of camera and struggling to keep a straight face whilst describing his goal, can you be absolutely sure?!.

Cheats never prosper - I hope they go down

[/quote]

The game may have been fixed. Who knows ? Even it it was it''s very unlikely it''s got anything to do with Tranmere Rovers. They, like every other professional team, just took advantage of the refereeing decisions presented to them. Have you ever seen a captain run over to the ref to plead that a goal musn''t stand because one of his teammates got away with something the ref didn''t see ?

If it were true that cheats never prosper then no one would win anything. All clubs do it and it''s just part and parcel of professional,and increasingly amateur, sport.

[/quote]

Whilst I of course agree with that, what went on last night was something beyond that, I think anyone watching it Norwich fan or not could see that something corrupt was going on here over and above the norm, and I don''t believe that it could have happened to quite that extent without some involvement from the home team.

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

Hopefully it wont make a difference to our season but I was refer more in terms of a broader fairness to the competetion. How do you think the likes of Oldham and Hartlepool would be thinking watching that last night. If what happened if the difference between Tranmere staying up or not , how can that be fair??

I wonder also if you would be prepared to be quite so well-wishing if it ever emerges that Tranmere were complicit in what went on last night. When you hear stories of the linesman laughing and joking with their goalkeeper, and the scorer of their third goal lying in front of camera and struggling to keep a straight face whilst describing his goal, can you be absolutely sure?!.

Cheats never prosper - I hope they go down

[/quote]

The game may have been fixed. Who knows ? Even it it was it''s very unlikely it''s got anything to do with Tranmere Rovers. They, like every other professional team, just took advantage of the refereeing decisions presented to them. Have you ever seen a captain run over to the ref to plead that a goal musn''t stand because one of his teammates got away with something the ref didn''t see ?

If it were true that cheats never prosper then no one would win anything. All clubs do it and it''s just part and parcel of professional,and increasingly amateur, sport.

[/quote]

 

Fully agree. This is in no way Tranmere''s fault. While last night rankles like hell, the fact is that we''ve had more than our fair share of luck this season (Tranmere at home, for example, where we got a harsh penalty to change the game) . We were always likely to get a game like this at some point. Let''s just be grateful it came when it was too late to have any real effect.

[Creative Midfielder 1,985]

Cock up, or in this case incompetance, is nearly always more likely than conspiracy but even if something has gone on I don''t see why Tranmere would be involved. After all they had plenty of incentive to win already and if someone, betting syndicate?, had wanted to fix the result then all they had to do was provide a little assistance. No need for Tranmere to know or do anything other than accept the decisions that came their way.

As for the original post I agree with nearly all of that except for 2nd pen - the Tranmere forward may have ''made sure'' but any keeper going to ground at a forward''s feet like that without getting anywhere near the ball is asking for exactly what he got - very poor piece of goalkeeping by Forster

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,736]

[quote user="Creative Midfielder"]Cock up, or in this case incompetance, is nearly always more likely than conspiracy but even if something has gone on I don''t see why Tranmere would be involved. After all they had plenty of incentive to win already and if someone, betting syndicate?, had wanted to fix the result then all they had to do was provide a little assistance. No need for Tranmere to know or do anything other than accept the decisions that came their way. As for the original post I agree with nearly all of that except for 2nd pen - the Tranmere forward may have ''made sure'' but any keeper going to ground at a forward''s feet like that without getting anywhere near the ball is asking for exactly what he got - very poor piece of goalkeeping by Forster[/quote]

were it purely ''incompetence'' I could ''almost'' accept that. But nobody can tell me that the circumstances surrounding the third goal in particular was purely down to that, when two officials have a clear view.

Something sinister went on last night and I would implore people to not be so naiive into thinking that it was just ''incompetence''

[Kingston Yellow 220]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

[quote user="Creative Midfielder"]Cock up, or in this case incompetance, is nearly always more likely than conspiracy but even if something has gone on I don''t see why Tranmere would be involved. After all they had plenty of incentive to win already and if someone, betting syndicate?, had wanted to fix the result then all they had to do was provide a little assistance. No need for Tranmere to know or do anything other than accept the decisions that came their way. As for the original post I agree with nearly all of that except for 2nd pen - the Tranmere forward may have ''made sure'' but any keeper going to ground at a forward''s feet like that without getting anywhere near the ball is asking for exactly what he got - very poor piece of goalkeeping by Forster[/quote]

were it purely ''incompetence'' I could ''almost'' accept that. But nobody can tell me that the circumstances surrounding the third goal in particular was purely down to that, when two officials have a clear view.

Something sinister went on last night and I would implore people to not be so naiive into thinking that it was just ''incompetence''

[/quote]

I must admit, when I first read your posts about match fixing earlier today, I thought you were being a little dramatic.  But the more I think about it, the more conceivable it seems it could be.

Televised match; top versus bottom (or there abouts); match beamed live all over the world; 2 penalities and a sending off in the first 10 minutes; selective handball decisions, plus any number of other dubious refereeing decisions; manager and his right hand man both sent to the stands; all of which result in the most unlikely of score lines. 

When you look at it like that, it does have a funny smell about it.

[canary cherub 1]

I doubt it.  It''s a lot easier to fix a game to lose than it is to win. 

Having said that, there was some inexplicably poor decision making by the officials.  I don''t suppose they''re used to being on TV, were they spooked by the cameras?

 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,736]

[quote user="canary cherub "]

I doubt it.  It''s a lot easier to fix a game to lose than it is to win. 

Having said that, there was some inexplicably poor decision making by the officials.  I don''t suppose they''re used to being on TV, were they spooked by the cameras?

 

[/quote]

If you''ve got to win on your own then yes, if the officials are in on it , then it makes it a whole lot more easier !!

[Kingston Yellow 220]

I agree that it feels counter intuitive to think the outcome of a match involving our great club could be rigged.  But if you could consider that some matches somewhere in the world are allegedly fixed, then some of the random decisions made last night do make you wonder.  The fact it was one of the few matches televised yesterday also makes you wonder.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,736]

Where this has backfired on this referee is that whatever his/his linemans motives were last night it was beamed live on TV in front of the watching public, so even if the FA don''t investigate this further, all players/managers and fans of every other club that this referee now takes charge of will have been alterted to this bent official.

  I think he may start to become a fairly well recognised figure around the grounds from here on, and after after the bad publicity that will follow, will be to the detriment of his career.

[south of the border 0]

I was there last night & this ref (& his linesman) made Andy D''Urso look competent (anyone remember Bristol City)!!This game should serve as a stark reminder that we are still in the third division of english football with officials to match.I sincerely hope that we never see this guy again....or his linesman .....or Mr D''Urso!!

[First Wazzock 902]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

Hopefully it wont make a difference to our season but I was refer more in terms of a broader fairness to the competetion. How do you think the likes of Oldham and Hartlepool would be thinking watching that last night. If what happened if the difference between Tranmere staying up or not , how can that be fair??

I wonder also if you would be prepared to be quite so well-wishing if it ever emerges that Tranmere were complicit in what went on last night. When you hear stories of the linesman laughing and joking with their goalkeeper, and the scorer of their third goal lying in front of camera and struggling to keep a straight face whilst describing his goal, can you be absolutely sure?!.

Cheats never prosper - I hope they go down

[/quote]

The game may have been fixed. Who knows ? Even it it was it''s very unlikely it''s got anything to do with Tranmere Rovers. They, like every other professional team, just took advantage of the refereeing decisions presented to them. Have you ever seen a captain run over to the ref to plead that a goal musn''t stand because one of his teammates got away with something the ref didn''t see ?

If it were true that cheats never prosper then no one would win anything. All clubs do it and it''s just part and parcel of professional,and increasingly amateur, sport.

[/quote]

Oh No !

Here we go again !

Was there any strange betting patterns in the far east on the result of this game?