Aye Aye Ashley

[beorhthelm]

Many players would have realised it was a potential leg breaker and would have stayed with Matic to see if he was alright, but the way he got up and turned to walk away, whilst whistling up to the sky with his hands in his pockets, as if nothing happened, makes it look like he deliberately left his foot in with his full weight on a straight leg.

or maybe, as the player there, he knew he hadnt put anywhere near full weight in (standing on other leg) and that the knock to the leg (which is all it was), wasnt anything near likely to cause injury. many players wouldnt have lunged in there, Matic was never near the ball or near making an interception.

Did the MOTD pundits even mention that Barnes played the ball first before the contact with Matic? - I don't think any of them did.

no they didnt, they called it a tackle when Barnes has clearly passed the ball. unless we've changed the meaning of the word or course to anyone within 2yds of the ball is making a challenge/tackle.

 

[BensGrandad]

From MOTD footage it would appear that Barnes should and possibly will get a retrospective 3 match ban. No argument if he does.

 

[8th battalion East Lancs]

From MOTD footage it would appear that Barnes should and possibly will get a retrospective 3 match ban. No argument if he does.

Start banning players for trying to play a pass and there's going to be a lot of postponed matches.

 

[BensGrandad]

Start banning players for trying to play a pass and there's going to be a lot of postponed matches.

How was he trying to make a pass with his foot in the middle of Matic shin? Probably not intentional but very wild.

 

[8th battalion East Lancs]

See post 51 on this thread.

Matic is two foot away from the ball when Ashley plays the pass.

 

[1066familyman]

Perhaps give the bbc a call and offer your services as a pundit. Clearly you have more knowledge than the current ones. After all, they only played the game at the top level, eat, sleep and breathe football.

I think you'd stand a good chance of getting in........

You are Robbie Savage and I claim my £5

 

[ATFC Seagull]

I like Ash but I wouldn’t put it past him to do something stupid in the heat of the moment, especially when his actions directly afterwards was highly suspicious.

Like tripping the referee over?

 

[Icy Gull]

Like tripping the referee over?

Albion folklore for ever

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Like tripping the referee over?

I was there and he didn't.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

See post 51 on this thread.

Matic is two foot away from the ball when Ashley plays the pass.

Don't waste your time with BG. He knows more than 90% of all football fans.

 

[symyjym]

or maybe, as the player there, he knew he hadnt put anywhere near full weight in (standing on other leg) and that the knock to the leg (which is all it was), wasnt anything near likely to cause injury. many players wouldnt have lunged in there, Matic was never near the ball or near making an interception.

I can assure you it looks like he was fairly near putting his full weight into his leg;
He's not even looking at the ball.



Accident or not, it looked like Matic was lucky not to have got his leg broken. Ash knew he caught him bad, and if it was an accident most players would have apologised, made sure they were ok, patted them on the head etc, and then helped them up. It's they way that he got up, turned around, and walked away as if no contact had even been made that makes the whole incident suspicious to what the the split second intent really was.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

I was there and he didn't.

I was there too and I have no idea how you could definitively say that either way - if you saw that you weren't watching the ball and it's impossible to tell what he did or didn't mean to do. He took his medicine afterwards without a word of complaint from him or Poyet/the club.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Poor challenge but I don't think it was deliberate. I can't see how Shearer and Savage can possibly say with certainty that he meant to do that, they just want to keep Mourinho on side as they're one of the only media outlets he still talks to.

Barnes didn't make the challenge, Matic did. Barnes was the player in possession of the ball, passing it to the Burnley player on his right. Matic makes the challenge just as Matic shoved his leg forward.
To put it more simply, it was leg to boot rather than boot to leg.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I was there too and I have no idea how you could definitively say that either way - if you saw that you weren't watching the ball and it's impossible to tell what he did or didn't mean to do. He took his medicine afterwards without a word of complaint from him or Poyet/the club.

I spoke to Ashley at the sponsors dinner and he was still upset that the club wouldn't let him stand up for himself.
Barnes caught the ref on the back of the heel as he was watching Bridge to his left. The ref was already fed up with Barnes having whinged about being fouled in our penalty area earlier.

 

[drew]

Just to be more specific, Barnes had the ball in the first place, they weren't both chasing after a loose ball. I'm sure you know that, it's just that 'Barnes gets to the ball first' makes it sound like he didn't already have it.

He didn't even win the ball, it was his the whole time!

I agree but isn't the argument not really whether he had the ball or not but the follow through. I agree he was in possession although the ball was there for Matic to go for. Barnes played the pass but followed through, in my view, unnecessarily. It doesnt' matter if you play the ball first these days.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

I spoke to Ashley at the sponsors dinner and he was still upset that the club wouldn't let him stand up for himself.
Barnes caught the ref on the back of the heel as he was watching Bridge to his left. The ref was already fed up with Barnes having whinged about being fouled in our penalty area earlier.

Fair enough, as you say we never heard his view. I did always think it would have been a very weird thing to, do but from the away end I had no idea what he had even been accused of when he was sent off.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

A great still of Ashley passing the ball and Matic's leg a couple of foot away.

I'm quoting this post to show those who say that Barnes made the challenge.
This still shows quite clearly that Barnes was in possession and Matic was the one who made the challenge.

 

[drew]

Barnes didn't make the challenge, Matic did. Barnes was the player in possession of the ball, passing it to the Burnley player on his right. Matic makes the challenge just as Matic shoved his leg forward.
To put it more simply, it was leg to boot rather than boot to leg.

Really?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It wasn't even mistimed, he got the ball. Nothing deliberate from Ashley either.

What was deliberate was him jumping up for balls and leading with his knees. I think he got all of Chelsea's back four with that one.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e852UDSWgTk

Really?

Really. Watch the above posted by our resident Burnley fan.

 

[8th battalion East Lancs]

I can assure you it looks like he was fairly near putting his full weight into his leg;
.

And I can assure you that if Ashley had put anywhere near his full weight into it (he wasn't because he'd just played a pass) then Matic would be in hospital now.