The media reaction to Sunday's game has really beggared belief, there is just no logic or coherence to their reaction. Adebayor is sent off for two minor offences, one of these was arguably not even a foul, these were his only two fouls and he was not even given a warning prior to his second yellow. This was in the same game that Howard Webb allowed Carragher and Lucas to foul and foul with virtual impunity. This is simply shit refereeing, how the hell can players be expected to respect such incompetent referees who show no consistency with their decisions?
Brain dead haddock fanciers like Des Kelly make a living from chatting breeze, so I'm not surprise to see the him showing an understanding of football comparable to that of a dead flea. It's simply incredible that so many fat hacks who have never even played the game feel able to compare Adebayor shielding the ball to a straight legged studs up lunge, they really are of the armchair breed. At least Alan Hansen labelled Webb's decision to show a second yellow as a 'massive mistake'.
Emmanuel Adebayor has quite rightly been speaking out on the subject and defending himself as he is perfectly entitled to do. It really does stink that the FA's stupid disciplinary system does not allow a two yellowed red card to be appealed, the rule is just lacking in common sense. It also begs the question as to if John Terry or Wayne Rooney had been sent off for so little, would they get such generally harsh words from the press?
The way in which Arbeloa has escaped criticism for what can only be described as cheating is shameful. If an Arsenal player had cheated in such fashion we would not hear the end of it, as it was he's escaped pretty much scott free. He's even had the cheek to deny his cheating:
”Adebayor is player who uses his arms and elbows when playing and that usually means a foul, I had nothing to do with the sending off."
These are the words of a cheat on the defensive. Adebayor has every right to use his body to shield the ball, replays conclusively show that his arm stayed perfectly still next to his body and the arm remained straight and down by his side at all times. The contact was absolutely minimal, if present at all, while Arbeloa's pathetic moaning and rolling around was not the reaction of someone who had been genuinely hurt. A player with a genuine injury does not roll around in agony, they lie still, whereas a cheat who is trying to get his fellow pro sent off will feign injury and roll around to con the ref.
Anyway enough on that incident, the most important thing was that Liverpool showed themselves up to be an average bunch of cloggers, while we showed some real guts with our ten men. Alex Song and Denilson was superb in the middle, while Nasri and RVP really rose to the challenge in the second half, Diaby was not as bad as some suggest but his decision making is slightly foolish to say the least. The only dissappointing thing about the game, other than Arbeloa's thetarics and Webb's vacuous officating, was the lack of concentration at the back for Liverpool's goal. Certainly away to Villa with the pace of Young and Agbonlahor we better not defend so sloppily and high up the pitch, we'd do better to sit back and clog the game up with men behind the ball, then kill them on the break. It would not be sensible to go there and try to control the possession, then let Villa do what they do best, that is play on the counter.Cesc's injury opens up some big doors for Denilson, and possibly young Aaron Ramsey. Hopefully Cesc won't be out for too long, injuries to the medial collateral ligament are slightly unpredictable in their speed of recover, it really could be anything from three weeks to three months. Adebayor's suspension also leaves a bit of a selection headache, I'd quite like to see young Carlos get a game ahead of the lethargic Bendtner. Anyways the Villa game is massive, I just hope we don't get another cretinous performance from the officials.
