What Have Footballers Become?

[Mince n Tatties]

Diving cheats watching this game tonight.
Well done to the ref, for sending off and booking Manure Divers.
Disgrace the last one he was yard ahead and went down.
They need to start getting banned for it..

[HV71]

Hats off to Michael Oliver for having the guts to book them

[Andyb]

Great ref

[Blanco]

Great refereeing. Hopefully they will start banning players for blatant diving. Would definitely stop them from doing it. What gets me is the way Di maria and Januzaj reacted after being booked knowing that they had dived.

[OdecaMynoT]

They've obviously been having lessons with the completely useless Ashley Young.

[Nick Bateman]

I think some of you are living in a time warp.  It's not ManU anymore; it's Arsenal & Chelsea.

Earlier this season Clattenburg sent off 2 United players and gave 2 penalties, most of them "soft" but Van Gaal made the mistake of not sticking up for his team, unlike messers Wenger and Mourinho.  You will never see their teams subjected to such extreme officiating.

I knew Michael Oliver is a closet 'gooner' (he booked Chadli for scoring against them earlier and then booked 5 Spurs to earn them a draw): today he booked 5 Utd, sent off 1, ignored many appeals from Utd yet gave every Arsenal 'dive'.

BBC appointed Danny Murphy, a known United-hater, instead of their new co-commentator Philip Neville.  Why show bias either way?

And yes, I have lived through the 'Fergie' era where the media, FA and refs were giving them "everything", but that has changed very obviously in the last 2 years (Liverpool received THREE penalties at Old Trafford in 1 match recently).  The media lambasted Rooney for getting someone sent off (professionally), and have never supported Roy Hodgson's choice as captain of England.

Times have changed, you need to be on-the-ball and spot this.  Arsenal & Chelsea run the FA vitually.

[Berserker]

It still made my day that Arsenal won. I love them nearly as much as I love Fulham

[Nick Bateman]

It still made my day that Arsenal won. I love them nearly as much as I love Fulham

I remember those days.... 'twas a long while ago.  Before they became "same old Arsenal, always cheating".

[Logicalman]

Sorry Nick, you couldn't have watched the same game as the rest of us tonight mate. The Man United players were diving at every opportunity, and being just as petulant as they have been taught over the past 15 years. They have always had this air of entitlement at OT, and the ref tonite decided enough was enough.

The fact that that great united ex-toffee lump was barging into people and committed (to our count) some 9 fouls before being booked showed the ref did have some mercy for united, or they would (and should) have been down to 9 players by the 80th minute.

[RaySmith]

All the top teams seem like that - with powerful managers who put a lot of pressure on refs through the media.

These teams are the geese that lay the golden eggs, as far as the TV companies, who provide all the riches, and thus the football governing bodies -are concerned.

[Mince n Tatties]

What are you on about Nick?
Im talking about tonights game not Arsenal or Chelsea.
Them players tonight had opportunities to stay on their feet,the boy
Januzaj going down in the box like that was blatant, the FA I believe should
make that a red card for trying to get a penalty..Disgraceful.

[Holders]

I'm fully in favour of divers being booked, even to award the odd free kick for what is actually cheating just encourages it. I was disguested to hear one of teh ex-players on MOTD just the other week say that players have to "go down" if they get touched just so the ref will know.

In my view, much better to stay on the feet. If the ref sees a foul he can still award it even after the fouled player has got his shot away; i.e. if a player stays on his feet, play advantage for a bit and then call it back if necessary.

I would give an automatic yellow for players going down and then appealing for a foul. This is not cricket, it's the ref's job to decide - not be influenced by "owzat?" and the pressure that brings, particularly from the big teams.

[snarks]

It's a fine line I know, butif a player dives to get another sent off (either a second yellow or a red) the diving player should receive the same punishment.

A great example of this was last year and Oscars dive v Southampton in the box. He only had the keeper to beat, had gone round him and rather than tap the ball in dived (no contact at all) to try and get the Southampton Keeper sent off, that should have been a red for him.

Last night some of the United players were pathetic, no contact and hitting the turf like being poleaxed.

[grandad]

This diving,cheating & appealing for players to be sent off has to stop. Retrospective bans should be given. I don´t care who the players are,even ours, it has to be addressed.

[Logicalman]

The issue is off the field also. How many times have we seen the managers wave the invisible card at the ref when one of their players gets 'fouled'?

Perhaps if a manager or player waves that magic card they should automatically get a real one flashed at them.

[bobbo]

I think some of you are living in a time warp.  It's not ManU anymore; it's Arsenal & Chelsea.

Earlier this season Clattenburg sent off 2 United players and gave 2 penalties, most of them "soft" but Van Gaal made the mistake of not sticking up for his team, unlike messers Wenger and Mourinho.  You will never see their teams subjected to such extreme officiating.

I knew Michael Oliver is a closet 'gooner' (he booked Chadli for scoring against them earlier and then booked 5 Spurs to earn them a draw): today he booked 5 Utd, sent off 1, ignored many appeals from Utd yet gave every Arsenal 'dive'.

BBC appointed Danny Murphy, a known United-hater, instead of their new co-commentator Philip Neville.  Why show bias either way?

And yes, I have lived through the 'Fergie' era where the media, FA and refs were giving them "everything", but that has changed very obviously in the last 2 years (Liverpool received THREE penalties at Old Trafford in 1 match recently).  The media lambasted Rooney for getting someone sent off (professionally), and have never supported Roy Hodgson's choice as captain of England.

Times have changed, you need to be on-the-ball and spot this.  Arsenal & Chelsea run the FA vitually.

Not true me ole mate

[domprague]

Murphy started saying that the ref had overreacted in sending off Di Maria for grabbing his shirt so I don't think that's a ManUted hater. I thought the dives were pretty clear. If I were Van Gaal I would be furious at Januzai for diving when he'd got past his man.

I think some of you are living in a time warp.  It's not ManU anymore; it's Arsenal & Chelsea.

Earlier this season Clattenburg sent off 2 United players and gave 2 penalties, most of them "soft" but Van Gaal made the mistake of not sticking up for his team, unlike messers Wenger and Mourinho.  You will never see their teams subjected to such extreme officiating.

I knew Michael Oliver is a closet 'gooner' (he booked Chadli for scoring against them earlier and then booked 5 Spurs to earn them a draw): today he booked 5 Utd, sent off 1, ignored many appeals from Utd yet gave every Arsenal 'dive'.

BBC appointed Danny Murphy, a known United-hater, instead of their new co-commentator Philip Neville.  Why show bias either way?

And yes, I have lived through the 'Fergie' era where the media, FA and refs were giving them "everything", but that has changed very obviously in the last 2 years (Liverpool received THREE penalties at Old Trafford in 1 match recently).  The media lambasted Rooney for getting someone sent off (professionally), and have never supported Roy Hodgson's choice as captain of England.

Times have changed, you need to be on-the-ball and spot this.  Arsenal & Chelsea run the FA vitually.

[domprague]

Murphy started saying that the ref had overreacted in sending off Di Maria for grabbing his shirt so I don't think that's a ManUted hater. I thought the dives were pretty clear. If I were Van Gaal I would be furious at Januzai for diving when he'd got past his man.

I think some of you are living in a time warp.  It's not ManU anymore; it's Arsenal & Chelsea.

Earlier this season Clattenburg sent off 2 United players and gave 2 penalties, most of them "soft" but Van Gaal made the mistake of not sticking up for his team, unlike messers Wenger and Mourinho.  You will never see their teams subjected to such extreme officiating.

I knew Michael Oliver is a closet 'gooner' (he booked Chadli for scoring against them earlier and then booked 5 Spurs to earn them a draw): today he booked 5 Utd, sent off 1, ignored many appeals from Utd yet gave every Arsenal 'dive'.

BBC appointed Danny Murphy, a known United-hater, instead of their new co-commentator Philip Neville.  Why show bias either way?

And yes, I have lived through the 'Fergie' era where the media, FA and refs were giving them "everything", but that has changed very obviously in the last 2 years (Liverpool received THREE penalties at Old Trafford in 1 match recently).  The media lambasted Rooney for getting someone sent off (professionally), and have never supported Roy Hodgson's choice as captain of England.

Times have changed, you need to be on-the-ball and spot this.  Arsenal & Chelsea run the FA vitually.

[Rupert]

A fine piece of fishing there, Nick.  :hook:

[Nick Bateman]

Times have moved on, though it's taking some of you lot longer to see it.

Yes, some United players did try to win cheap free-kicks, but Januzai was fouled outside the box, similar to Danny Welbeck but waited until inside the box to go down belatedly.  Welbeck wasn't booked also.  Di Maria was momentarily grabbed by the wrist, he 'milked' the contact but not worthy of a yellow which led to the red.  On the other hand Sanchez earlier 'milked' contact of a hand on his shoulder to which Michael Oliver rewarded the "diver" with a free-kick in a dangerous spot.

Oliver also chose not to send off their constantly offending Paulista who was on a yellow card from early in the match.  Wenger saw the 'generosity' to the away side; United had none of those luxuries.

And wasn't this the same referee who allowed Joe Hart to virtually headbutt him earlier in the season, yet he takes offense to a tiny tug on his jersey in an important cup game at Old Trafford??!

Since David Gill has left the FA, the power has shifted massively to the "London Mafia" in Arsenal & _Chelsea, and their relative rivals Tottenham & Fulham have suffered hostile refereeing ever since.  The media are fully behind it, as they were when United were the no.1 'cheats' in the league.

It may take some of you a couple more years to see the truth in what I see already.