Sam Ovett
The New Manager Bus
If we lose the play offs then we have an event in the cheating **** of Mike Dean sending off Stephens for being too good to feel righteous anger over for the nest 20 years. I will never forget this if we don't go up
It's all hard to accept on reflection this morning
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OzMike
Well-known member
'Boro didn't pick up a single booking, just noticed.
And Murphy sent off after slipping and falling into a player vs Bolton along with their winner being scored by a player who was almost standing on the back of one of our players.
West Upper Seagull
Well-known member
Yes forgot about that one - another shocker !
Tricky Dicky
New member
It wasn't a red, but considering we probably played better with 10 than 11, maybe you should be thanking him.
LamieRobertson
Not awoke
Four minutes after scoring an equaliser perhaps is more to do with that than going down to ten men...plus you could add that some say there best player erm went off
Sorrel
Well-known member
I think it's more important to think of the season as a whole rather than dwell on the 'boro game. One more point elsewhere and we'd have been playing for a draw there. Two more goals scored or not let in and we'd have been playing for a draw there. While Dean was wrong he's only equally to blame as several other incidents and events this season (not that it would stop me booing him should he referee a game of ours again, of course). I also don't begrudge 'boro their promotion: their location doesn't exactly have many of the advantages of the south coast, they've been close before and failed and I agree with their campaign against the Steel closure in the region and sympathise with the loss of their local radio commentator.
Will it affect the players? I expect Wednesday will go on full on attack on Friday - they hope that if they can get an early lead that maybe the spirit will falter for B&HA due to this last week or someone would do something stupid.
I'd be happy with a draw and no more injuries or sending off's from the first leg for that reason.
Will it affect the players? I expect Wednesday will go on full on attack on Friday - they hope that if they can get an early lead that maybe the spirit will falter for B&HA due to this last week or someone would do something stupid.
I'd be happy with a draw and no more injuries or sending off's from the first leg for that reason.
BensGrandad
New member
Our record at Hillsborough is not good but records are there to be broken if the players adapt themselves to the task in hand, which I am sure they will. I look forward to DS keeping a clean sheet up there.
Agreed. For every 'but if that hadn't been given' we can spout off about, there is a corresponding 'how did the ref not give MK Dons a pen' balancer.
We misfired a bit yesterday and didn't create much at all, could easily have been 3 down at one point. Just hope CH and the squad can fire themselves up 3 more times - but if not, or another shite ref decision costs us, I will look forward to another shot at it next season. I enjoy the championship.
warmleyseagull
Well-known member
This - TBH the posts moaning about Dean are getting tedious. The guy made a mistake, there is zero chance of it getting it overturned so bring on Sidwell. Luck plays a big part especially when things get as close as yesterday; had we gone up Boro would doubtless look back to several incidents/decisons that cost them.
Immediately after the game I was fine. My daughter was in tears and I just wanted to get the family back to the car and hit the road before the party hit full swing. The walk back to town wasn't particularly pleasant, but I think it would have been a whole load worse had we won...
As we sped South, the sun came out and the temperature rose from 9 to 22 degrees and all should have felt well with the world. I have, however, just become more and more bitter ever since. Not towards Boro's fans - I'm sure most are decent and they put on tremendous support for their team. Also, not for the Boro team themselves - clearly decent despite the time-wasting and face-clutching theatrics. Any team in that position would do that, including our own. I even don't have a gripe with Ramirez - he suffered a bad looking injury, but it wasn't him that gave Stephens a red.
No, my bitterness stems from the fact that we'd weathered the storm and got ourselves back into the game. We never wanted to go 1 down in that game, but given we had, to be level at 1-1 having scored second was the best place for us to be. The team we faced and their support were clearly knocked back by our goal and were nervous. I'm not foolish enough to suggest we were going to go on and win - no one could claim that - but we had a chance of doing so. The dreadful red card all but took that chance away from us.
Yes, the season consists of many swings, roundabouts, injustices, could have and would haves but this was so much more than just another one of 46 games. It was a play-off final to see who didn't have to face the real play-offs. A one-on-one shoot out where margins were always going to be wafer thin.
At some point the bitterness will begin to subside and I'll start to think about Wednesday on Friday. I'm not there yet however.
As we sped South, the sun came out and the temperature rose from 9 to 22 degrees and all should have felt well with the world. I have, however, just become more and more bitter ever since. Not towards Boro's fans - I'm sure most are decent and they put on tremendous support for their team. Also, not for the Boro team themselves - clearly decent despite the time-wasting and face-clutching theatrics. Any team in that position would do that, including our own. I even don't have a gripe with Ramirez - he suffered a bad looking injury, but it wasn't him that gave Stephens a red.
No, my bitterness stems from the fact that we'd weathered the storm and got ourselves back into the game. We never wanted to go 1 down in that game, but given we had, to be level at 1-1 having scored second was the best place for us to be. The team we faced and their support were clearly knocked back by our goal and were nervous. I'm not foolish enough to suggest we were going to go on and win - no one could claim that - but we had a chance of doing so. The dreadful red card all but took that chance away from us.
Yes, the season consists of many swings, roundabouts, injustices, could have and would haves but this was so much more than just another one of 46 games. It was a play-off final to see who didn't have to face the real play-offs. A one-on-one shoot out where margins were always going to be wafer thin.
At some point the bitterness will begin to subside and I'll start to think about Wednesday on Friday. I'm not there yet however.
Go for a run......I ambled over the glorious, warm and sunny South Downs for a few hours this morning, including going up Castle Hill above the Amex. Made me feel a lot better.
Think you're right about the walk back by the way - had we won it would have been a bit of a head-down job.
warmleyseagull
Well-known member
Well, CH had better be, and I guess he is. The appeal will be useless - you only have to read media coverage of the game to get this gist; the idea that a decision about an incident that resulted in a player being carried off on a stretcher is going to be overturned is fanciful. The facts (and comparing this incident to Thorne's injury) are irrelevant. The perception is that the challenge caused the injury and there aint no going back on that.
I would ask you and others to answer this: had the facts been the same but the personnel different (i.e replace Stephens with Barton and Ramirez with Kayal) would you feel the same? It is not that the ref made a mistake, I think he did, but that unfortunately is what happens, and it happens in big games. Beckham should not have been sent off following Simeone's antics but he was and we still nearly beat Argentina. That is football and there is a need to move on quickly else you can end up wallowing in self pitying what iffery.
Problem is that the 3 game suspension carries right through into the playoffs, so 1 terrible refereeing decision negatively impacts 3-4 games.
BensGrandad
New member
Seeing him celebrating on the podium at the end of the game a stretcher was not needed and only added to the drama.
I think that by and large most of us football fans are the same. We just happen to be born in different places which means we wear different colours. Because each set of fans are seeing this completely oppositely, I do believe that if the situation had been reversed completely then Boro fans would largely be saying what we're saying and most Albion fans would be saying what they are saying. I'm not sure what that means though!
warmleyseagull
Well-known member
Different point. I have argued on another thread that the effective difference between yellow card for unsporting behaviour and red card for violent conduct/serious foul play is far too big: the first is meaningless at this stage of season unless there is a reoffence in same game or there is suspension due to totting up (unlikely as it requires 15 yellows), the second is, as you say, 3-4 games. Yet the difference between the two on the field is often very fine. Dean can't be blamed for that.
warmleyseagull
Well-known member
I must say Middlesbrough and their fans would emerge with a lot more credit if they had the good grace to acknowledge that Stephens' winning a 50/50 tackle was legitimate and the cut to Gaston's leg purely accidental. As pretty much every expert who's seen it agrees, bar Middlesbrough supporting ref Jeff Winter and Mark Halsey, who don't want a ref hung out to dry for an horrendous mistake. That could at least help to get the decision overturned so Dean's ridiculous decision doesn't also **** up our play off chances as well as handing Boro safe passage to automatic promotion. I find it hard to believe so many people are swayed by a picture of the injury without the context. Clearly no understanding of the game whatsoever.