Expect to get blasted for this so let me say I support SD 100 percent and of course UTC.

That said I really feel we have lost our way. Of course Kevin Friend was poor today and we should have had a penalty BUT

- we conceded 3 goals and could have defended all of them better
- we got five yellow cards and all were justified and lets face it Barnes was lucky to stay on the pitch. That is 37 yellows this season, the second most in the PL
- for the second time in four games SD got into a minor altercation with the opposing manager at the end of the game
- once again SD focused on the referee and diving

I want the old SD back who focused on our game, generally didn't criticize referees, was always polite and ran a team that was always disciplined. I also think we will perform better with that SD.

SD was physically assaulted by the Arsenal manager. Manhandled after questioning SD for daring to question the refs **** poor attempt at officiating a football match. The rest of you post I tend to agree.

Yes --Kevin Friend was poor.
You will soon get your wish with the yellow cards if you consider them all justified today ---I eagerly await the day when a game is abandoned because one team is too physical for the opposition.
SD was very restrained with the crap he has put up with from Klopp, who went off on one and then saw fit to apologise a few days later. As far as SD today, he had every right to have a go about what was happening on the field because there was blatant cheating and the officials did nothing except reward it.
There will be more physicallity in netball before long than will be allowed in top flight football, however, this should suit the modern fan ---we don't want anyone getting a slight kick or spoiling their make up. The game is going soft and this will continue apace at FIFA's behest.

Wood wasnt a yellow.Westwood wasn't a yellow The 3rd was offside also they should have had at least 1 sent off and can't see what Barnes did to get 1 yellow never mind 2.They also dived to win cheap free kicks
Other than that your spot on

Longsidebogs wrote:SD was physically assaulted by the Arsenal manager. Manhandled after questioning SD for daring to question the refs **** poor attempt at officiating a football match.

Dyche should have taken a dive there, followed up by a Neymar roll!

Parkvilla wrote:Wood wasnt a yellow.Westwood wasn't a yellow The 3rd was offside also they should have had at least 1 sent off and can't see what Barnes did to get 1 yellow never mind 2.They also dived to win cheap free kicks
Other than that your spot on

Also the blatant time wasting and constant feigning of injuries. Last week yellow cards were given to our players for time wasting. It's incredibly inconsistent.

With respect - I think your post typifies a view of football which Sky and others are desperate to convince everyone is the educated supporters' view of the modern game.

Maybe they're right. What they are craving as an athleticised version of Masters Football where the top teams in this country hoover up the world's best ball-playing talent and everyone lets them showcase their skills without having the temerity to stick their foot in.

The rest of the media fall in line so that they don't risk getting kicked off the gravy train.

Maybe SD should get get Kevin Long working on his rabona rather than tracking his man in our six yard box.

EarbyClaret wrote:Maybe SD should get get Kevin Long working on his rabona rather than tracking his man in our six yard box.

Or to stop letting his back getting in the way of an opposition defender's hands in their penalty area.

EarbyClaret wrote:With respect - I think your post typifies a view of football which Sky and others are desperate to convince everyone is the educated supporters' view of the modern game.

Maybe they're right. What they are craving as an athleticised version of Masters Football where the top teams in this country hoover up the world's best ball-playing talent and everyone lets them showcase their skills without having the temerity to stick their foot in.

The rest of the media fall in line so that they don't risk getting kicked off the gravy train.

Maybe SD should get get Kevin Long working on his rabona rather than tracking his man in our six yard box.

Fair comments. But most of that's negated when you have a dreadful official like Friend in charge.

"Fair comments. But most of that's negated when you have a dreadful official like Friend in charge."

But don't you think officials like Friend are part of the bigger problem?

That was a TV performance if ever there was one. Compared to Stuart Atwell in the Liverpool game for example. No sour grapes as we lost both but Atwell stood up to Klopp's gamesmanship for which he later apologised.

I think it's still possible to allow a game to be physical if as a referee you give the players boundaries and apply them consistently. Today's game left a bad taste regardless of the result - however Sky and their hangers on ignore his poor performance purely because of the outcome - 5 yellows for not much at all - fits perfectly with their agenda to remove the physicality from the game to showcase the talent of the expensively assembled flair players at the top six box-office draw clubs.

The current generation of armchair fans, their prime audience, continue to lap it up.

Agree with the points made.

Last week I thought we played with real purpose and deserved a point - we set up to defend and we defended well against a top side.

This week, we gave the ball away endlessly in nothing poisitions. Can talk about the side we were playing all you like but the truth is Arsenal have a poor defence, and we could’ve worked the opportunities to gain a point, but squandered it almost every time and allowed ourselves to be hit on the counter. Really poor.

Well said, EarbyClaret, top posts

SGr wrote:Agree with the points made.

Last week I thought we played with real purpose and deserved a point - we set up to defend and we defended well against a top side.

This week, we gave the ball away endlessly in nothing poisitions. Can talk about the side we were playing all you like but the truth is Arsenal have a poor defence, and we could’ve worked the opportunities to gain a point, but squandered it almost every time and allowed ourselves to be hit on the counter. Really poor.

The facts are that their 3rd goal was offside and we should have had a penalty to equalise. We had to play without wide men because of our injuries. Arsenal’s defence has not been great all season yet they have not done bad have they ?
To describe yesterdays performance as “really poor” is just stupid.

Crystal Palace was poor but yesterday was a great improvement. Difficult to play against 12 men.

EarbyClaret wrote:"Fair comments. But most of that's negated when you have a dreadful official like Friend in charge."

But don't you think officials like Friend are part of the bigger problem?

That was a TV performance if ever there was one. Compared to Stuart Atwell in the Liverpool game for example. No sour grapes as we lost both but Atwell stood up to Klopp's gamesmanship for which he later apologised.

I think it's still possible to allow a game to be physical if as a referee you give the players boundaries and apply them consistently. Today's game left a bad taste regardless of the result - however Sky and their hangers on ignore his poor performance purely because of the outcome - 5 yellows for not much at all - fits perfectly with their agenda to remove the physicality from the game to showcase the talent of the expensively assembled flair players at the top six box-office draw clubs.

The current generation of armchair fans, their prime audience, continue to lap it up.

The problem with refs these days is they have one eye on the sky sports studio after they retire so they don’t want to get on the wrong side of the ‘big clubs. Dyche mentions VAR yesterday i don’t think it will have any positive impact on a club like us in the premier league.

Posted something similar yesterday under Sean Dyche and people were quick to tell me it was Bull S..t. and if I could not support SD I should find another club. Suspect I have been a claret longer than most who posted, always will be and have never been in the "SD out" brigade. He has my full support.

SD has often said that luck evens out in a season. Yesterdays 3rd goal was not offside as it took a deflection. Yes we should have had a pen but there have been more penalties that should have been given against us this season than given for us. I also think Barnes was a tad lucky not to be sent off-have seen worse decisions this season. In which case their centre half should have gone too

Yesterdays performance was one of the better ones this year-and hopefully provides the coaches with more insight on the best starting 11. The pressure however is on the shoulders of SD-but that's why he is paid handsomely by the Board. Lets hope he gets more support in this window

There is something seriously wrong with Premier league football when the team we played against yesterday are allowed to compete with The Arsenal. The Arsenal are a superior club in every aspect, we have a bigger fan base, a bigger stadium, better players and a bigger ego. The team we played yesterday do not have the rich history of The Arsenal, are Johnny come latelys to the top league and have never won anything.They are even managed by a man with ginger hair, is that allowed? Someone needs to teach them that in the Premier league when you are playing against the top teams if you challenge for the ball it’s called a foul.Next time they visit the Emirates I hope they give up all that physicality and play the game in the right way, I.e.to our strengths. Up the A***

I had a bit of a rinse last nite, so I could be seeing things that aren’t there.

Is post 17 really there?

Whatsupdoc- Burnley aren't a physical side. The media say we are however it fits their agenda. Some players fall over easy and cheat, that can also make Burnley appear to be more physical than they actually are. It doesn't help when you get a biased and incompetent referee who adds to the equation that Burnley are physical.

I have no problem with Burnley being a physical side. I grew up watching Brain O’Neil,Colin Waldron, Jim Thompson,Dave Merrington, Brian Miller, Colin Blant, Mick Docherty, John Angus, Any Lochead ets,etc

I really think that Whatsupdoc has reeled a number in with his tongue in cheek comments. As he says "Up the Arse"

TVC15 wrote:The facts are that their 3rd goal was offside and we should have had a penalty to equalise. We had to play without wide men because of our injuries. Arsenal’s defence has not been great all season yet they have not done bad have they ?
To describe yesterdays performance as “really poor” is just stupid.

Spot on TVC but look who the poster is one of the Arsene whingers on this board,the arse were hanging on in the last 10 minutes yesterday,even disregarding the penalty claim,we created 3/4 good openings and the officials intervened or the ball didn't bounce our way.

warksclaret wrote:Yesterdays 3rd goal was not offside as it took a deflection.

I know someone said that on match of the day last night but according to the actual laws it's still offside, even if there's a deflection. The defender has to be trying to play the ball, not it just bounce off them, to stop it being offside.

Ian Wright said it was deflected but I doubt very much he knows the rules or why he said it !