Peterborough (H) League-Tuesday 12/9/06

[Neuromantic]

Gerrard was NOT a disgrace, the referee very definitely WAS !

Gerrard went for a dropping ball, OK he was a bit high, but Benjamin was stooping low, it was NO bad foul, but a free kick I would certainly have accepted. Even maybe a yellow if the ref thought it was deliberate, which it wasn't, because Gerrard couldn't have had any idea that he would make contact with Benjamin.

A red card was utterly, utterly wrong, ludicrous, totally crazy, and thank goodness it didn't change the game even though for a while we had to swap the personnel and change the pattern.

Up to then I thought the referee had a good game, then he just lost it and we end up with 10 vs 9 in a game where the only bad foul came on Ishy in the last 5 minutes.

Great result, missed the minute's silence due to business commitments, but great to hear it was impeccably observed, as it always should be.

Off for a celebratory pint now, back later.

I disagree totally, if a 6ft High stud showing kung fu kick is not a sending off then i dont know whether this is football or thai boxing. the blokes an idiot.

[Jorge14]

I disagree totally, if a 6ft High stud showing kung fu kick is not a sending off then i dont know whether this is football or thai boxing. the blokes an idiot.

He let us down, that's for sure. I couldn't believe it when people gave him a standing ovation off the pitch - how can you applaud someone who has just been sent off? :? Baffles me, regardless of how incorrect the decision may have been.

My argument is the same as Geoff's though. Benjamin was stooping for a low ball and thats why I think a booking would have sufficed. However, Gerrard went charging in studs up - though the ball was there to be won.

[Stan P]

Metfan you are talking out of your A**E booking yes sending noway the ref was useless turban got in his eyes pathetic he was

[Neuromantic]

Metfan you are talking out of your A**E booking yes sending noway the ref was useless turban got in his eyes pathetic he was

Ok. :?

[Mozza_saddler]

gerrad played quite well i thought, and so did the rest of the team, fantastic result, and a great result for matt R.I.P

[Jorge14]

Ok. :?

:lol:

Couldn't help but laugh with pity when I heard someone going "Stick to ball-tampering referee"...

If you must be racist, at least get the religion right. :roll:

[coxy_saddler]

No way was it a red card for gerrard, Couldn't belive it when he gave a red, for just going for the ball with s high foot! :?

Yeah he caught him, But he went for the ball with no intention of taking benjamins head off who was crouching low for the ball anyway! Yellow card it should of been. Don't know what happened for the posh's first red card, The 2nd one he knew stright away he was off :lol:

[WFC_Rob]

Terrific performance tonight. The ball was moved fluently from back to front throughout the game and we could have won by more without much more effort.
Westwood had his best game for the club in my opinion and should have got man of the match. Mark Wright proved me wrong tonight. I thought he should have been dropped, but he did play very well indeed and his ball across for Butler's second was top drawer.
The only thing missing from tonights performance was a Hector Sam goal.

[coxy_saddler]

Terrific performance tonight. The ball was moved fluently from back to front throughout the game and we could have won by more without much more effort.
Westwood had his best game for the club in my opinion and should have got man of the match. Mark Wright proved me wrong tonight. I thought he should have been dropped, but he did play very well indeed and his ball across for Butler's second was top drawer.
The only thing missing from tonights performance was a Hector Sam goal.

Agree with wright, He's move for butler's header was superb!!

[Jeremy Busby]

A week or two back there were a few posts on here saying that with the right impetus we could give some team an absolute trouncing. We've still not conceded at Bescot, there's still talent in the team, and at risk of sounding like a happy clapper, I think Tuesday will be the game to deliver that thrashing.

4-0 to us.

Havent got Saturdays lotto numbers by any chance have you mate?

And you were slightly inaccurate mate :lol:

[Ben_Hartshorne]

I'm with Metfan

There is no loophole for dropkicking a fellow footballer in the back of the head, which is what it looked like from my angle. Accident or not, people who do that should not be allowed to stay on the pitch.

On the upside, what a performance. Even if Peterborough were poor, its up to a good side to take advantage and score as many as possible. A great game to dedicate to Matt.

[Pedro]

Walsall 4
Posh 1

Sam
Butler
keates
Butler

Well i was close . Got Butler scoring twice and 5 goals in the game

[ShropsSaddler]

Agree with wright, He's move for butler's header was superb!!

So why on earth are some people STILL managing to boo him??? He was very much involved in the goals tonight, put over some terrific crosses and generally had what I thought was his best ever game for Walsall. No, he doesn't go in 100%, leave that to Dobson, Keates etc...but he does give us width and pace on the right.

As for the sendings-off, the ref totally lost it. As far as I could see, 2 bookings all night - I for their player on Demontagnac (he DIDN'T book him!!!) and 1 for Gerrard for a slightly reckless challenge but one which had NO malice or intent. Dreadful, dreadful refereeing to send 3 players off in a game with so little "incident".

Oh and yes, whoever said their player should have been booked for kissing the lineswoman...spot on. Up to her to bring it to the ref's attention though. How can she EVER expect to be taken seriously if she allows that sort of thing to happen?

[Graydon48]

Whats all the fuss, am sure we beat them 5 last time we played them at home in the league.
They is our whipping boys, don't know about can we play you every week, how about twice a week.

[latviancheese]

lol i thought it was funny, whod wanna be kissed by that bald knob. and sam didnt get booked for pattin teh refs turban?

wheres the difference?

harmless fun. but i can see where your comin from about being taken seriously

[Registered Saddler]

I don't really know what to make of that much other than it was a tremendous way to spend a Tuesday evening. Peterborough were atrocious at the back but we exploited it ruthlessly. We scored from our first three attacks but then became profligate otherwise it would have been a cricket score. Sam missed a free header, Wrighty and Fox missed clear chances in the first half. In the second Butler and Taylor had shots saved and Wrighty hit the bar. Have I missed any more?

Westwood and Ropes were superb at the back, Keates was industrious in midfield and really shone as the match wore on as he and Wrighty were the only ones to be able to cover the gaps when we were a man light. In fact it reminded me of the way he kept going through extra time in the play-off final, a timely comparison considering the week's events.

Butler is taking the mickey at this level, he knows when to chase and when to leave it. He knows when and where to make the runs and he is always in the right place to finish chances such as the fourth goal. I thought Sam did well with his link-up play but he seems destined not to score at the moment. Maybe on Saturday when we play Macclesfield who ought to be quaking in their boots at the prospect of coming to Bescot.

Wright was infuriating as he made some silly errors despite having the beating of the full-back and showing some moments of magic. I have to disagree with those praising Taylor. Yes, he linked well with Fox going forward, but defensively he is still a bit of a liability and allowed Newton to get in plenty of crosses from the right. You'll notice those crosses dried up when Taylor went to right back and Fox dropped in on the left.

The less said about the ref the better. I only agreed with the final sending off and even then I'm taking the ref's word for it that Branston was showing dissent. Despite the flurry of cards, he still fails to book the two players who scythed down Ishmel. Utterly inconsistent. I also noticed Arber's kiss on the lineswoman. I thought that was appalling and I hope she has the bottle to mention it to the ref (unlike during the game) who can include it in his report. If we are to encourage female officials then how can you condone that sort of show of disrespect? I guess there may even be grounds for criminal proceedings for something like that.

[red creatures]

Terrific performance tonight. The ball was moved fluently from back to front throughout the game and we could have won by more without much more effort.
Westwood had his best game for the club in my opinion and should have got man of the match. Mark Wright proved me wrong tonight. I thought he should have been dropped, but he did play very well indeed and his ball across for Butler's second was top drawer.
The only thing missing from tonights performance was a Hector Sam goal.

Agree with wright, He's move for butler's header was superb!!

Absolutley spot on with the comment on Wrighty - nice to see him keep his head and look up across the box rather than lash it across in hope !

As for Sam - I'm sure he'll score at some point but he holds the ball up better than we've had had for a few years and if the midfield are going to raid in the way they did tonight then he's playing his part in getting us goals by allowing them to come through- even if he's not hiiting the back of the net himself.

[fensaddler]

Thoroughly choked up in the minute's silence - I noticed a few wiping their eyes. Otherwise can't add much to what has already been said - we were due to give someone a real tonking and we duly delivered tonight. They just need to carry that sort of form and confidence forward, especially away from home.

[WFC_Rob]

Agree with wright, He's move for butler's header was superb!!

So why on earth are some people STILL managing to boo him??? He was very much involved in the goals tonight, put over some terrific crosses and generally had what I thought was his best ever game for Walsall. No, he doesn't go in 100%, leave that to Dobson, Keates etc...but he does give us width and pace on the right.

He's very hit and miss though, that's his main problem. He did play very well tonight, like everyone. People don't have a problem with the fact that he doesn't go in for tackles 100%, they have a problem with the fact that he rarely attempts a tackle at all. He's one of the few players who backs out of 60-40 challenges in his favour. As I have already said tonight though, he was very good tonight, and when he plays like that, we can live with his defending. If he can do that more often, you won't see any moaning from myself or anyone else.

[latviancheese]

criminal proceedings for a peck?

you havin a laugh.
wtf is the world coming to.

not saying it was theright thing to do, but criminal proceedings is laughable.

[Pedro]

Match was worth missing Crimewatch for :D

[dornansog]

criminal proceedings for a peck?

you havin a laugh.
wtf is the world coming to.

not saying it was theright thing to do, but criminal proceedings is laughable.

Not saying its it should go further but that action could be construed as assault i would think.
stranger things have happened.

[Registered Saddler]

criminal proceedings for a peck?

you havin a laugh.
wtf is the world coming to.

not saying it was theright thing to do, but criminal proceedings is laughable.

I won't continue the debate because it could run on a thread on its own, but it depends what the circumstances surrounding it were. If it was done in jest with the assistant ref joining in then there isn't any problem. If he just went up and kissed a random woman after there had been some abuse thrown in her direction then yeah I think that could constitute indecent assault. Indeed, imagine how you would feel if you were her other half sitting in the crowd.

[dornansog]

Might be worth a seperate thread but I'm off to bed now so cant be bothered :)

[latviancheese]

if he did it in public, hed get a slap of the woman or her geezer.

he wont get that on a football pitch.

how do you thinbk she feels, bein kissed by a big baldie i kno. Shud of kicked him in the nadgers, that wud of bin funnier.

[latviancheese]

i agree, the striker had his head stooped for a ball, and besides as for having your leg high, and people saying he should of headed it, its called football, therefore you naturally go to kick the ball.

it was a booking. no more.

as for the ref, i actually think that ref is an alright ref, he just had a poor game today.

ive seen far far worse referees.

[Bristol Fan]

Great game! It had the lot. People will say Peterboro were poor - and they were - but believe me, it's only because we made them look poor. Player for player they're miles better than most teams we've faced so far, including the two we somehow only managed to get one point from during the last two away games, but we completely stopped them from playing through superb tactics.

What was great is that (with the possible exception of the once more out-of-sorts Hector Sam) every single player was magnificent, including the three substitutes. The much-maligned (including by me) pairing of Taylor and Fox on the left finally clicked and showed what I guess DD must have been wanting them to do all along, with Fox playing some lovely passes from midfield and Taylor overlapping superbly himself, causing them all sorts of problems. The much-maligned (this time not by me) pairing of Westwood and Wright on the other flank were also magnificent, including Wright who had the best game from a Walsall winger since Pedro in his prime, some magnificent play including his wonderful run and pass to set up the goal of the night, the fourth one. Dobson probably deserved MOM in the middle for his two goals and tireless work, Roper and Gerrard were magnificent at the back... great stuff all round.

Shame the referee decided to take centre stage, Gerrard's "tackle" was a free kick without doubt, but it's very rare to see a ref even give a yellow card for that, let alone red. I haven't seen a replay and I don't know whether those who say it was idiotic have, but from where I was sitting it was no worse than what you see on many occasions in every game of football. The first red for Peterboro was probably justified, I've no idea what the second one was for. Mr Singh just seemed to completely lose the plot.

Macclesfield on Saturday are a far worse team than Peterboro... bring it on!

[WFC_Rob]

Macclesfield on Saturday are a far worse team than Peterboro... bring it on!

Nothing less than a 6-0 win will do then! :wink:
I'd forgotten what it was like to enjoy football as much as this!

[geoffwhiting]

As for the sendings-off, the ref totally lost it. As far as I could see, 2 bookings all night - I for their player on Demontagnac (he DIDN'T book him!!!) and 1 for Gerrard for a slightly reckless challenge but one which had NO malice or intent. Dreadful, dreadful refereeing to send 3 players off in a game with so little "incident".

Spot on, anyone who thinks Gerrard deserved to go off tonight is frankly - well - sorry to say it but, just totally anti-Gerrard, without justification.

[Neuromantic]

As for the sendings-off, the ref totally lost it. As far as I could see, 2 bookings all night - I for their player on Demontagnac (he DIDN'T book him!!!) and 1 for Gerrard for a slightly reckless challenge but one which had NO malice or intent. Dreadful, dreadful refereeing to send 3 players off in a game with so little "incident".

Spot on, anyone who thinks Gerrard deserved to go off tonight is frankly - well - sorry to say it but, just totally anti-Gerrard, without justification.

Im anti - gerrard becaus ehe has been shocking for the last year or so, its beggars belief to people who actually think hes been 'class for us' yes he has the odd game, but would he have the same 'fans' if his surname was 'Smith' , no chance, he would be out the team and tatty bye. yes he has potential , but for me he has been awful.