EPL GAME WEEK 9: A SUMMARY OF GAMES WATCHED. IS VAR A MISTAKE? ANCELOTTI NAME CHECKS CROSBY ON AMERICAN TV AS LOCAL SIDE MARINE DRAWS SPURS

I’m a Liverpool fan so I have lots of thoughts about the Brighton game. I will leave those to the end. First some quick thoughts on the games I also watched this weekend.

Crystal Palace vs Newcastle. Actually, I couldn’t bring myself to watch this game. Both teams have good players but the dire playing style of each side didn’t make it an enticing prospect. Turns out my pre-game thoughts were correct! (Until the last few minutes!!)

Man City vs Burnley. It’s a cliche that Burnley is a difficult team to play against. Maybe but scratch the thought when they play City. They arrived at the Ethiad having conceded 5 goals in each of their previous 4 visits. Even before City scored an early goal the Clarets had laid down and died. Manchester City 5 - Burnley 0. Man City was my preseason choice for the title so I’ve never subscribed to the thought that this season they will not be in contention. All the post-match thoughts on City having re-discovered their ‘mojo’ are probably not applicable either. They were just playing Burnley as they show up against Manchester City!!

Everton vs Leeds. The flip side of Palace vs Newcastle, Everton & Leeds are 2 teams that like to play and so it proved. The game was open and exciting packed full of incidents. In truth, neither team deserved to lose. Leeds shaded it with a late goal but some great saves by both keepers and the vision of James Rodriguez were just some of the highlights in a very enjoyable game for the neutral. Thoughts on the Rodriguez goal disallowed by VAR below.

Southampton vs Man United. Credit to the evil empire for coming back from 2 goals down to win this game. Edinson Cavani showed he still has what it takes. However, I can’t help wonder what the game would look like if Hasenhuttl was manager of United & OGS was at Southampton. Note to teams playing Southampton … don’t concede free-kicks in and around the penalty area!! James Ward-Prowse may be just about the best ever Brit when it comes to taking free-kicks.

Chelsea vs Tottenham. The weekend’s big game and whilst it was ‘interesting’ it turned out to be the kind of game we feared it might be. Jose came for the draw and his team did a good job of ensuring that that happened. His plan almost worked in full as Lo Celso could have won it at the end for Spurs. Suggestion for Frank Lampard … play Olivier Giroud more. You won’t be disappointed!

Arsenal vs Wolves. Good game, in spite of the horrendous collision early in the game between Jimenez & David Luiz. What has happened at Arsenal? Not so long ago they were going so well under Arteta? This is looking more and more like they have plateaued, going backward even. Wolves have an excellent manager in Nuno and several skilled, speedy attackers. Wolves at Anfield next weekend! Should be a good game. 

West Ham vs Aston Villa. Very entertaining game spoiled at the end by yet another silly VAR decision. Both teams have improved tremendously from last season. Discussion of Watkins’ disallowed goal below.

JURGEN! Jurgen Klopp is in the news due to his persistence over 5 substitutes especially with Liverpool losing another player to a muscle injury against Brighton. I’m assuming his attitude is different in the changing room as he prepares the team for each game. He’s a passionate guy and is drawing a lot of criticism for his that passion & persistence. Part of me would like to see him dial it down but he is someone with strong beliefs. One of the great things about Jurgen Klopp is he sticks to what he believes in. Something to my knowledge nobody has pointed out is that all the major European leagues and the Football League are using 5 subs. Why should the EPL be any different? Are some as equally dogmatic as Jurgen but at the other end of the spectrum? I think it would be appropriate to have that equally pointed out as well.

CROSBY IN THE NEWS!! Carlo Ancelotti name-checks Crosby (where I grew up!) on American TV!! Carlo was interviewed by Roger Bennett on the very entertaining “Men in Blazers” show. Scenes of Crosby beach too! Bennett is a ‘blue-nose’ so I was pleased he finally had the chance to interview an Everton manager as he has had to interview LFC’s manager numerous times in recent years. To top it all off local Crosby club, Marine AFC, drew the top of the EPL Tottenham Hotspur in the 3rd round of the FA Cup!! It’s only the second time that an 8th tier club has made it so far in the history of the cup. What a day that is going to be. The last time I was home Spurs were in the shadow of my mother’s home playing Tranmere Rovers. Rovers were given a real hammering by Tottenham. Let’s hope Marine can do a bit better! Video of Robbie Savage making the draw at Marine below.

70’s CONNECTION BETWEEN MARINE & SPURS. I wonder if any of my peers remember the connection between Marine & Spurs from the 70s? Central defender John Lacy played for the Mariners before heading down to University in London. World Cup winner George Cohen recommended Lacy to Fulham before he ended up at White Hart Lane playing over 100 times for Spurs. Obscure trivia fact!

VAR MISTAKE(S) OF THE WEEK After the Brighton vs Liverpool game VAR is now looking like a total & utter mistake. I am a Liverpool fan so in the eyes of some, that may well negate what I am about to say. I would like to think I am a football fan as well as a fan of the Mighty Reds!! I pose this question to you all …

1). Footballers are notorious for appealing to the referee for just about every incident. “Our ball!”, “Handball!!”, “Penalty ref!!!”. Did any Brighton players appeal for a penalty after the Robertson-Welback incident?

2). If the game had been completed without the second Brighton penalty having been awarded would there have been any discussion about that by commentators and pundits after the game?

If the answer is “no” then I would suggest that VAR is interfering with football in a manner it was not originally supposed to do. Or at least in a way that myself and many others thought the introduction of VAR could be employed to help improve the game. To quote Henry Winter of The Sunday Times:

    “Clear and obvious is dead and buried. It is no more. It is now all about pedants at Stockley Park looking for anything in slow motion. VAR good if used as a safety net just to catch shockers. Why not let the game flow, use VAR judiciously & invest more in developing better refs?”

Well said, Henry! So going back over a history of occasions in notable games where VAR could have helped and ensured the correct decision was made …

? The ‘Hand of God’ Goal (RIP Diego!)

? Frank Lampard’s shot off the underside of the bar in the 2010 World Cup against Germany (I would also include when the boot was on the other foot in 1966 but I think that call was really one for goal-line technology).

? Roy Carroll of Man United scoping the ball from well behind the line against Tottenham in the FA Cup

? Sheffield United’s ‘ghost goal’ against Aston Villa in the first EPL game after lockdown

Oh, VAR was available for the last game on the list. Further proof that the system just doesn’t work when it could have helped ensure a CLEAR AND OBVIOUS ERROR was rectified… i.e. ensure that a blatantly obvious oversight was not missed.

In the Brighton game, Robertson’s challenge on Welback was truly insignificant. VAR intrusion was not warranted at all. Similarly, the Patrick Bamford goal for Leeds called back against Leicester because he was pointing where he wanted the ball was ridiculous. None of the Leicester players were appealing for offside. Some will say that VAR was just following the rules. That being the case there is a problem within the game overall that needs to be changed. If you have involvement in the game at any level you will probably know to what I am referring.

Sadly, the last game of the weekend was similarly spoiled at the end when Ollie Watkins appeared to have scored a deserved equalizer for Villa. As soon as the VAR replay comes up with Watkin's arm sticking out a la Bamford you just know what is going to happen next. Still, we have to go through all the rigamarole and the nonsense with lines. Read on …

WHEN VAR WORKED THIS WEEKEND …

1). Sadio Mane’s disallowed goal against Brighton. I don’t believe the assistant referee flagged. VAR showed he was clearly offside.

2). James Rodriguez disallowed goal against Leeds. Fantastic finish but on replay, it could be seen with the naked eye that Rodriquez was just offside.

The latter situation leads to a point I have made before …. do away with the lines on VAR!! The armpit goal should not be penalized. I may be old-fashioned but I believe in the spirit of the game. Whoever is looking at the monitor should make the call by what they see. There may still be controversies but personally, I would rather have that than the slide-ruler which takes time for a difference that is so minuscule. Why can’t the attacking team be given the benefit of the doubt? These borderline decisions should favour the attacking team since it helps the game be more open and enjoyable. It’s that simple.

Following this thought, Salah’s goal against Brighton would have counted but then I’m going to say that because I’m a Liverpool fan. Correct? Then, Rodriguez's goal, therefore, was not a goal in my eyes as he plays for our local rivals? It may appear that way to some but I'm trying my best to put allegiances to one side so we can get a system that might be of some value.

VAR, as it is conducted right now, is the mistake. It has not really improved over the time it has been used in the EPL. Unless it is put into the hands of those who play/have played the game I don’t see there any use for it in its present form. I would suggest someone like Arsene Wenger putting together a group and we try to develop a VAR system that has a better chance of doing what it was supposed to do when originally conceived. The VAR system as it stands right now is clearly failing and every week it becomes more and more apparent.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/football/55139259