The Poolie Bunker

Villa vs Newcastle?
No VAR and the officials are a Fecking joke. Not a fan of Newcastle but they're being absolutely raped by the ref and linesmen. Shearer will be spitting feathers in the after match review.
Can't understand if VAR is supposed to be for the betterment of the game then why it's not being used at grounds where it's available.

Didn't they win? Get rid of var and bring luck and jeopardy back to the premier league.

I'm not a fan of VAR as it's generally used to protect refs rather than getting the right decisions, but in the eyes of the FA it's improving the game. So why is it not in use for the FAs premier cup competition?
The standard of refereeing in that game was as poor as any I've seen at NL level this season. This closed shop of referees is actually driving standards down imo.

its not a closed shop but a case of favouritism and pushing certain ones right from the day they take the refs. course. we have always said as a group why he or she is getting on in the game and others are not. ran the line once with brian hill the ex premier league ref from kettering who admitted he was not the best ref in northants but fue to his circumstances he was available night and day and was good at paperwork. when you get an ex non league footballer who had to retire at 24 but still fit to run thats he,ll never get on due to his age you know there is a problem. was going to write a book but my ex destroyed all my notes i made and i had forgotton too much to start again.

Closed shop was a bad choice if words but there is definitely closing of ranks and especially at the top level. It's as if they cannot accept getting things wrong by collectively being subjective with the rules as circumstances suit. A foul is a foul regardless of where it takes place on the pitch for instance, similarly handball. Why are they given at the drip of a hat outside the penalty area but shirt tugging for example has to be prolonged inside the box?
Yesterday the ref and lino were as bad as anything I've seen in decades at the top level of football. The offside goal for instance was from a free kick when the lino had no excuse for not being able to see across the line. Also the non-penalty and the shocking Digne challenge were right under his nose.
I chat occasionally with an ex ref who got to the highest level of World Cups and he has said frequently that they take absolutely no notice of him at training courses, assessments are a waste of time, and in his opinion standards are falling alarmingly.

they are falling because of the attitude at the top. once you saw refs of all sizes and shapes at game unlike the stepford refs we see now. they are like robots cautioning for the same offences, ignoring others. if any went out and said sod the directives they get i,m going to ref as i see fit. if it did come off for them and both clubs and fans were happy with there performance they would not last at that level after the season ended. they,d be demoted but many do that in there last few months prior to retiring. far too much is put on physical fitness and not the mental fitness to officiate. there is a middle ground between blowing out of your arse after 15 minutes and the need to be an athlete who is younger and faster than many of the players.

A quote following the Villa vs Newcastle game was that "it was the biggest advert for VAR since it's inception". To be honest I couldn't agree more, it wasn't marginal or even difficult decisions the officials got wrong. But they all be officiating at the top level next week and the week after etc.

Does that mean the quality of referees is very poor nowadays, it would appear so ?

Shows you how bad the referees have become, too reliant on VAR to make their decisions for them.
Too scared to ref a match without it.

I would ban VAR and work to raise the standards of the referee.

and if they are not then who is going to know they have been rested. the fa are certainly not going to make a song and dance about it. why the secrecy and cover ups i,d like to know. shit game is a shit game whether you are a player, have a whistle or a flag. everyone has them but some are not allowed to be spoken about unless you fancy a fine for having free speech and an opinion.

agree on banning var as all its done is caused a new talking point in and after games instead of something a match official did or did not do. plus it extends the playing time of a game which is stretched too far already with the extra add on time for stoppages. imagine now foing sports report in its old format with the results at 5pm. most games are not even finished by then and the games are no better because of all of it.

Maybe should have leagues for refs with points awarded by assessors and relegation / promotion with corresponding wage structure.
Managers and players have to face Q&A from the press after games which must be very difficult at times, refs have massive impacts on games with huge financial implications but don't face any external scrutiny.
Wrt VAR it's interesting that rugby, where it's hugely successful and widely accepted, have VAR officials who never actually do the on field job they apply the rules as they're written and not as they interpret them. Football has the clique who do a game one week and on field the next using interpretation in both scenarios. Waste of time and frustrating for everyone.

Like everything else in the world, things are getting worse!!!

Yes what happened to that lovely institution 5pm Sports Report,"...and now the full classifed football results with James Alexander Gordon"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V03ZZmkmUDU

Division 4
Stockport County 4 Hartlepool 1

Wonder if there's any refs or linos in English football who are involved in betting scams?

its hard to imagine out of the whole numbers of them that there is not a single gambler amongst them although its illegal for them to bet on football even the pools if they still exist. ran the line once at northampton when pools kids played there but never favoured them one bit even if the northampton manager was wary of my appointment knowing i was a poolie.

Given the diversity of the betting markets on football it would be fairly easy for refs associates or families to make a killing betting on football - number of yellow cards, fouls, etc

as long as they keep away from pools and giving them a penalty. teams need to be in that area of the pitch before a decision can be made in their favour.

Matt Le Tissier, alongside teammate Gordon Watson, attempted a spread bet to profit from the first throw-in of a game by aiming to kick the ball out of play immediately after kickoff. The 1995 plan failed initially when the ball stayed in play, forcing a frantic effort to get it out before a 60-second limit.
The Plan: Watson approached Le Tissier regarding a spread bet for his friends on the first throw-in occurring in the opening minute.
The Execution: Le Tissier took the kickoff, but the ball didn't go out directly as planned.
The Frantic Minute: Both players scrambled for nearly a minute to force the ball out of play to win the bet.
Result: They managed to get the ball out within the time limit, though the incident was later detailed by Le Tissier as a lesson in his book

One of my pet hates in watching football on the TV, is the wrestling matches that appear with every corner.
Every corner is a joke, pushing, shirt pulling holding people off the ball, most defenders don't even face the way the ball is being delivered, they are too busy holding someone
I genuinely think, you could give a penalty for at least 5 offences every corner.
I would love on day for a referee to just have the balls, to immediately give a penalty from the 1st corner, and if it doesn't stop repeatedly give penalties to both sides until it did.
Instead of the token, walk up to the players and 'warn' them and then let them to continue doing what they were doing in the first place.
But that will never happen, cos the referee would be instantly demoted and we would have to listen to dozy ex-players going on about 'the games gone'.

Maybe the only way around it would be for the defending side to push maybe 7 players up the field, that would cause the attacking team to match them and it would mean maybe 6 players in the box, then surely the referees wouild be forced to referee properly.

or they could ignore it for 100 minutes and suddenly feel fit to give a penalty like we suffered last week. thats far worse than being consistant and just ignore everything. got to the point where i do not find watching football on the tele not all that interesting anymore and if there is something decent on i,ll give footie a miss.