Who the hell was that ref !!!!

[Gritt23]

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, a typical fan watching through blue and white specs, but honestly tonight was reminiscent of Prosser, the guy was totally hopeless.

Is it any wonder that Leon looks like he can't be arsed half the time, when as soon as he does kick into life and show the skills he has, he gets kicked to the ground and booked for cheek of it !!!

There were many many incidents that I could recall from tonight, but I will stick to the ones that I had as good a view of as you could wish to have - the 3 penalty decisions. They all happened in just about the same spot on the pitch and I was just 5 rows back.

1. As the corner gets taken, the Luton players turns his back on the game and wrestles Virgo for 3-4 secs with no intention of even looking for the ball let alone playing it. A more blatant foul off the ball is hard to imagine. I'll concede that the ref may have been looking elsewhere, but they were the nearest players to the linesman, so he had no excuse. But the corner actually came over to the back post and the wrestling was still going on, so he should of seen it then.

2. Yes Leon does go down easily, but there was no doubt he'd knocked the ball past the defender, who made a challenge and caught Leon, he certainly didn't get near the ball. The ref was no more than 5 yards away. I wasn't even appealing I was celebrating the pen. Over he comes and books Leon. I'm sick of how his card is marked and he now needs to lose limbs to win a penalty, just imagine how sick and tired of it Leon must be.

3. Their penalty. Oh dear, this was the worst. Their forward - who I will concede was superb on the night, ran us ragged throughout - knocked it past DC and threw himself down. There was no challenge from DC at all as he knew any challenge would be a pen. The ref immediately holds his hands outstretched and crossed, indicating no penalty. As he waves his arms across each other, he changes his mind and points to the spot !!! Eh?? Am I missing something.

As for Leon's red card - for a start it was 2 yellows and the first booking should have been our penalty! - all I saw was him shape to shoot and a defender challenge as he shot. When the defender stayed down I assumed he got hurt making the challenge. It was the other end of the pitch, and could have been some afters off the ball, but I, nor anyone around me saw anything. Also, the Luton players would have reacted far more angrily if he had kicked out. Looked harsh, but I didn't get as good a view as the penalties, ALL of which he got wrong.

There were many other decisions, crucial decisions in that they stopped us in our tracks on the few occassions we got any momentum up. But 3 incorrect penalty calls and a bad sending off isn't exactly top refereeing.

.. and yes before anyone points it out, I know we stank tonight, and I accept Luton player by far the better stuff, but it doesn't change the fact that we'd have nicked it 2-1 if the ref knew what a penalty looked like.

 

[Easy 10]

You build a compelling case Gritty, and perhaps from the sounds of it, we didn't get the decisions tonight. But from what I heard on the commentry, and the phone in afterwards, we were absolutely piss-poor all night, and were lucky by some accounts to only lose by 2. By all accounts, Luton fully deserved the win, we just wern't at the races. Did their keeper even have a save to make all night ?

Maybe a penalty decision our way might have galvanised the team to lift their performance. But frankly, 9 times out of 10 we've been utter shite on the road, and the last two games have not warranted anything more than the one point we scraped at Wycombe (and many have said we were lucky to get that).
Everything about the team right now just screams out "AVERAGE" to me. There's no spark, no flair, no conviction.

Bollocks, I'm getting another Stella.

 

[Gritt23]

I don't disagree that we were poor, we were outplayed, and they deserved the vistory BUT we were also shite in the last 20 minutes against Sheff Utd when we shipped 4 to blow a much needed win. As you saw that day, a few decisions, big ones, at crucial times just change the whole complexion on the game.

When you are about to get a decision that could fire your display and it goes the other way AND you striker gets booked that is a massive blow to take.

Don't forget it was 0-0 at the time of the foul on Virgo, and they promptly went up the other end and scored. That proved to be a massive decison against us. Leon had been quite then burst into life, burst past the defender for the penalty which would have made it 1-1. These made HUGE differences to our game.

I'm not looking to disguise the fact we were poor, but I am LIVID with the performance of the ref. As for the phone-in, I don't know do many phone having been to the game, or are they just talking from a radio commentary?

 

[Grizz]

I agree we were piss poor after their first goal, which was a great bit of counter attacking play, but they would never have broke to score if Leon's penalty had been given and it looked a stick on penalty from where i was standing. Before their goal we were playing well, we battled for the ball, played it on the deck aswell as over the top and only looked in trouble when they attacked Mayo down that flank. We were bossing the middle of midfield and though we had very few chances we were pressurising them well. Chippy had his freekick saved and we caused a certain amount of havoc in their penalty area.

Their penalty made me lose my temper for the first time ever at a football match. It was no different to Leon's claim for a penalty yet where Leon was booked the Ref gave this one. What incensed most ppl was the fact that he'd crossed his arms to wave the claim away and then thought for a second or two and then pointed to the spot. If his initial gut reaction was to say no penalty why did he then change his mind? He couldn't have been 100% sure it was a foul so surely he couldn't give the penalty? Maybe i'm missing something.

Anyway, no detracting from the fact that we're struggling on the road big time. Shame really cos the atmosphere from the Albion fans tonight was another top notch effort and put Luton to shame.

Grizz

 

[Weezle]

I'm SO depressed! I knew i shouldn't have gone tot he game tonight! I was in such a good mood before - i booked 2 holidays today - my first holidays in ages - then i decided to borrow money so i could go to the game and i get THIS:

The ref was crap but we can't blamne everything on him. I'm not just feeling bad because of one bad poerformance because in my opinion we've been pretty woeful all season! We lack any player that can run at players and take them on like Brooker used to do! We're lacking complete creativity. We don't deserve to get out of this division! It's no good blaming anyone though - until Falmer it's the best we can hope for - McGhee's hands are tied!

I did meet Jailbird on the way home though and was able to get the inside story of her getting Jiggy with Safeway at the NSC meet up

Something to cheer me up!

 

[Gritt23]

True Grizz, very true. However I would say that Leon had a better case for a penalty than their one, as the defender did stick out a leg and catch Leon, whereas DC held back and DIDN'T challenge their forward.

The ref then clearly waved it away and changed his mind within a couple of seconds - NOT long enough to have got a signal from the lino.

Just rubs salt in the wound when the guy then warms down in front of us and laughs at us when we sing "You dived and you know you did."

We were crap for large periods, no doubt, but they got MASSIVE decisions at crucial times. That ref wasn't fit to be out there.

 

[plymouth nige]

Gritt 23 - I must have been standing near you - I mirror your comments entirely - but since I've been home I've seen their pen on sky sports - and it looked like one on telly - but that only makes Leon's more nailed on!
wcnige

 

[Yorkie]

Gritt23 you have hit all the nails firmly on their heads.

 

[London Irish]

OK, my thoughts on the game, better here on this thread than anywhere else.

Gritt, I think you got 2 out of 3 right.

Virgo was definitely manhandled and it was a penalty. Problem is, how often do you see those type given? Very rarely, so I'm philosophical about that one.

The Leon one was just unbelievable. The defender was just shitting himself as Leon was running at him, he hadn't a clue what he was doing. Leon beautifully took the ball past him and contact was made. Cast-iron penalty. The upshot is now a suspension for Leon, which is just diabolical, if the club ever appeal for anything, it surely must be this.

The Danny one. I dunno. True, a lot of refs wouldn't have given it, and the contrast with the Leon one stinks. But the big Luton fella knocks the ball past Danny a bit Carlton Palmer fashion (ie. ball speeding off at a rate of knots somewhere or other) and then he tries to run after this great bit of skill. Unfortunately, I think Danny does make some contact with him. The only way Danny could have been saved was if the ref turning a blind eye by saying the Lution guy has lost control of the ball, but as you say, this idiot gave us nothing all evening. So penalty. Philosophical on this one too because realistically, the game was gone from us anyway by then, most of the stuffing had been knocked out of us by a poor second half display.

So this Luton Carleton Palmer, Enoch Showunmi, is a bit of lad, eh? I'm sure the crowd safety people came over to stop him running towards our stand and grinning. But you have to have a sense in humour in life if you are a huge black built-like-a-shithouse named after Britain's most famous racist, don't you? There was some fascinating stuff about him in the match programme. He was nothing more than a Willesden park footballer until the beginning of this season, that lovely part of the country I hail from. And get this. Luton DO NOT PAY HIM because of their receivership difficulties, just expenses. As a trundled back south on the Thameslink tonight, it was another tough moment finding out we'd just been beaten by someone earning less than our trainees.

But enough of this trivia.

The main thing to be said about the game is that I thought we did play some good football in the first half. It was let down by conceding the goal, and McGhee will probably be very upset about the goal. They broke and I'm not sure we covered as well as we could have. This is our main strength as a team, and when we don't do our job here, we're screwed.

I thought we did well to overcome the unsettling effect of losing Watto so early. We spent a huge amount of time in their half in the 1st half and constructed some danger moments in the pen area. 1-1 at half-time was the least we deserved and that's what we would have had but for this clown of a ref.

The second half was a bit of a nightmare. Credit to Luton, they are a well-organised team who are making progress up the table for good reason. They drew our sting very well and made us look very ordinary. They never overextended themselves in chasing a second goal but sat back and frustrated OUR attempts to chase the game.

Big Trev had probably his first disappointing outing, the defenders did a good job on him. Leon looked more of a threat but the diabolical yellow card was bound to affect him. Charlie and Chippy worked their socks off but couldn't find the inspiration needed. Otherwise we defended OK. Jones the goalie had another promising outing, one very fine save in particular in the first half. Virgo and Mayo were OK bit the bad second half eventually got to them too.

So yes, all in all, for the first goal and the professional defensive job they did in killing the game in the second half, Luton deserved their victory. But it would have been a very different game at 1-1. Luton would have had to play more and that would have give our midfield more of a chance to find Big Trev and Leon. Ifs, buts, we lost, but not a disaster, we move on and hope for a better standard of officiating in Grimsby.

The last thing I will say, though, is a few comments about our travelling support. The turnout was good, much more than I;m sure Luton were expecting, but all the same I'm not sure it was just the players and McGhee who had a bad evening.

Having read the wonderful reports on NSC about the festival atmosphere at Wycombe, I was hoping for a little of that at Luton, a bit more positive pro-Falmer chanting, maybe a little less of the tribal stuff directed at Luton fans. Instead, the anger-management brigade were out if full with chants of "WAANKKAAAAAHHHHHH" seemingly directed at anything and everything that moved inside Kenilworth Road. Inevitably, some clown had to get himself hauled off by the police. Exactly not the kind of thing we need in these campaigning times.

 

[Rougvie]

I'm in agreement with pretty much what London Irish has to say, I think you are spot on about the Danny penalty incident, and I cannot believe that anyone who clearly saw that incident closely could not see contact, there clearly was, but the gauling thing about the incident that turned my stomach was the way the referee indicated clearly that play was to continue, then seemed to change his mind instantly.

What ensued from a few fans was pretty handbag stuff in the heat of a rather agrieved moment, I dont think it was anything any of us havent seen before and even the coppers seemed to think it was a bit of a storm in a teacup, I dont know what you expected as far as the support was concerned London I, but its about 20 odd years since I last went to Kenilworth Road to see the Albion, but even way back then, there was goading and 'banter' between the home and away support due to their 'singing section' (for want of a better phrase) being so close to the away end, sorry to say, but thats just part of the game. Most Nationwide away supports would agree that Luton do have a vociferous and 'aggresive' home support, so can you really see our lot ignoring that ? Dont think so. I still thought that up till the penalty incident the atmosphere was certainly a lot better than it was at say Loftus, or even Swindon.

What alarms me most about that performance is that we seem to have learned very little from our drubbings by Brentford, Bristol City etc which all have a very similar pattern, we just cannot cope with any sort of pace down the flanks, particularly Kerry Mayo, who for me is just not up to the job anymore, and totally unable to deal with anyone running at him, it was also quite embarrasing watching him constantly having to play catch up to the big lad, or to their no 41, his pace and fitness for a proffesional footballer getting paid a couple of grand a week for the privelege is shocking.

Can I find anything positive to take from that performance ? Adam Virgo is still improving, although surrounded by 'dead wood' such as Mayo, Jones, Carpenter and lets face it Gary Hart has one foot on that list, its a bit of a miracle, as I said on the phone in last night, lets hope he is not made a scape goat like Adam Hinshelwood and Adam El Abd have been this season and retains his place for Grimsby, other than that lets get Jakey on a bit earlier, or for chist sake start him with Benjy on Satuarday, I dont think we have much to loose, and at least he may be able to control a ball slightly better than Chris McPhee, who, for all his enthusiasm and running, really needs a spell back in the reserves, only to return when he discovers what constitutes for a first touch !

Roll on the 5 hour drive to Cleethorpes, the Albion, dont ya just love it !

 

[Simster]

Gritt 23 - I must have been standing near you - I mirror your comments entirely - but since I've been home I've seen their pen on sky sports - and it looked like one on telly - but that only makes Leon's more nailed on!
wcnige

I went last night and I thought their pen was a dive. However looking at it again on Sky Sports, it was a cast iron penalty. That said, so was Leon's - he drew the foul expertly and the ref should've given it.

No complaints about the result though, we were dire.

 

[wallington seagull]

I think the trouble was we were all fuming at some of the refs decisions - so when their forward went over we all screamed "dive". I agree with Simster, on Sky it looked like he ran across Danny and he made contact. Danny does this a little too often for my liking. The ref and linesman were an absolute disgrace though.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Knight's was a stick-on penalty, no question. He doesn't get those decisions because he goes down so easily, it was already his third fall of the night and I bet if it was his first we'd have got the pen.

Virgo was wrestled off the ball, but even though I thought it was a pen I never expected it to be given - refs just don't give those, do they?

As for theirs, I don't see how he can give it if he didn't give Knight's, especially by changing his mind (as he also did with that throw in, remember?) halfway through signalling 'play on'.

The ref's incompetence can't hide our awful performance though. I thought they'd come out second half fired up, maybe by a sense of injustice over the booking and subsequent goal. Instead, nothing. We were anaemic in the second half, second to everything, passed the ball appallingly and would have lost the game regardless of who was reffing it. We haven't won away since Notts County in November(?) and this away form is going to cost us a play-off place if we don't sort it.

A thoroughly depressing evening all round.

 

[chips and gravy]

The reason that the guy got carted off by the police was that he was in the front of a melee and was the easiest guy to grab. I don't think he did any more wrong than anyone else. The whole incident happened about half a dozen rows in front of me so I got a very good look at what happened.

Incidentally, the reason why the fans went mad at this stage was because they were wound up by Kevin Nicholls. He clearly provoked the crowd knowing that the decision given was a contentious one. Given that this prat used to play for us (during a particularly poor loan spell under Jeff Wood's reign) somehow made this more unforgiveable since he got no stick whatsoever during the game.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

we were shit but the ref certainly didn't help matters

 

[Braders]

trevor parkes , birmingham - your a

 

[Ex Shelton Seagull]

Kevin Nicholls displayed all the intelligence of a squashed apricot last night. Let's run past the already pissed off away fans, who the police are just about controlling, with my hand cupped to my ear whilst laughing at them.

That'll work, won't it?

TITMONGER.

 

[chips and gravy]

My point exactly. I felt like making a complaint to the police about his incitement. By the end of the game I was so p'd off I just wanted to get home. I hope the guy who was carted off doesn't get into trouble - if he does I would stand up for him.

How would we know?

 

[FatboyTim]

Just saw the replays on Sky.
We were robbed.

THe two penalty decisions were the wrong way round.

angry now

 

[The Famous Grouse]

very poor decisions, the ref