Premier League — Matchweek 4

Eze starts for the Gunners, Ange in charge of Forest... let battle commence!

More food for the Big Club Bias conspiracy?

Potter can't have long. Nuno to replace him?

Potter looks doomed for failure down there and I expect a new boss will be in the seat by the time we play them.

Why no lines shown on TV?

The whole ball has to be over the line for the penalty and they didn’t even show a replay or VAR. Was the entire ball over the line when it hit Hannibal’s arm? Didn’t even give us a replay so it must have been close... 🤣

Hope we batter them next week.

Decision, no goal offside, but N’Diaye, only put the ball in the net, after the initial goalbound shot was stopped from going into the goal by a Wolves arm.

I used to get angry but now I just shake my head and think that the game is definitely corrupt. It’s very off putting and actually makes me begin to dislike a major part of top level football, more and more, and not just because it was Liverpool who got this completely subjective, depending on the team, decision🤷‍♂️,

Just swept under the rug as usual.

Poor Burnley.

Fucking fat, bald twat!

(Apologies to fat, bald non-twats)

It was a handball inside the box.

Penalty.

For what it's worth, they look shite, money they've spunked and they are sneaking over the line in injury time against crap.

If we get a fair hearing next week, I mean we won't like, VAR and the bent officials (I think we've well worked out now that David Coote is probably just one of many) will conspire to see they don't lose it, but if all was fair, I think we'd get at least a point at the Circus of the Killer Clowns next Saturday.

Look at Man City with Haaland and Co, in the bottom half because they are a little off the pace… it’s 100% scripted and there is too much money in the game for it to be any other way unfortunately….

Leicester winning the league and Wigan winning the FA Cup was bad for business. Lots of deep pockets failed to get lined on those years and the goal of VAR is to make sure the Leicester story never happens again. Fact.

The big teams had an off-year and a large outsider won the league. Now when the big teams are struggling, one of them still manages to be top.

I absolutely despis the Red Shite, and they definitely get far more decisions in their favour than they naturally deserve (as Ferguson-era United did), but to suggest a conspiracy is, let's be honest, pretty pathetic.

The lad put his arm out and it was a penalty. He looked gutted afterwards and had to be accompanied off the pitch after the match as he was distraught.

Luck is temporary and will always run out. Let's twat them on Saturday!

UTFT!!!

Wirtz is lightweight, Konate's a disaster and Ndiaye will run Kerkez ragged on the right. We've nothing to fear from this lot. They're nowhere near champions level.

For fuck's sake, I realize there’s bias from refs and the Premier League... but scripted? Really? Why are you even bothering to watch then if you believe that?

Needless to say, a further card wasn't given before Slop took him off. If Ndiaye can be on his game next week, he can turn Kerkez inside out and get the bastard sent off.

Also, Jim Ratcliffe said recently that Man Utd would have run out of money before the end of the year if they didn't change things. They are skint!… which also makes sense why they aren't doing well.

I didn't think the Everton v Villa was all that good but I think most neutral fans would have thought it was better than that boring derby match.

Whoever's in charge of this “rigging” is pretty shite at it, don't you think?

I wish I had the same feelings as you, Jake, because sometimes I find it hard to comprehend some of these very inconsistent subjective decisions.

Football has definitely become more bizarre with the invention of VAR but it's very rare for anyone to be called out.

We should be going to Anfield full of confidence, hopefully with a near fully fit squad.

With all the money they've spent during the window, even though they're scraping through games, they are not playing well, and not to be feared.

Only losers would suggest that they or others can't win because the system is rigged. And doing so is far worse than complaining about ‘taking a knife to a gunfight'…

When Lampard got fined for questioning certain decisions at Anfield, by saying that if it had been at the other end of the pitch, then he was sure Liverpool would have got a penalty, I've seen loads of decisions since that prove our former manager had a very valid point.

I love football but a part of it now makes me despair simply because I don't believe that everyone is treated equally and certain teams definitely get a lot more favourable decisions than others.

I enjoyed going to Bramley-Moore Dock yesterday but I really can leave football alone nowadays because I feel it's full of cheating.

A referee giving a decision that he might not give next week can often leave you feeling that you have been cheated, whereas taking a knife to a gunfight suggests a team displaying an attitude that suggests they have already been beaten.

Still subjective, Scott, and nowhere near as comprehensive as the hiding that Man City are giving to their neighbours right now!

I think, if we're honest, referees have always had their biases or been influenced by circumstances. Remember Clive Thomas back in the day? What about the refereeing in the 1966 World Cup Final? Etc etc.

The key is that I don't see it as a joined-up plan or conspiracy. They are weak decisions made by referees, VAR, or both. Fulham's goal being disallowed last week for instance.

Unforgivable but just a stupid decision, albeit one that was made by an official not worrying about the wrath of a club with a huge global fanbase, which it would've been if it was a Chelsea player.

Keep the faith, Tony! We might be off to a gunfight next weekend but a well hidden shiv used at the right moments can be devastating!

UTFT!!!

I will tell you a true story about what happened Ireland during the infamous Thierry Henry handball debacle. The majority of the footballing world were 'outraged' by the handball decision but that wasn't even the real controversy.

Three of the giants, France, Germany and I think Portugal or maybe Holland finished second in their groups that year. Up until that point the second-place teams went into a hat as equal-placed runners-up having been seeded in the original draw.

Before the draw was made, Uefa fucking changed the rules. This is not opinion, conspiracy or tinpot hat stuff. This is a fact, they changed the rules midway during the campaign. They changed the rules as 3 of the establishment were in danger of missing out on the pinnacle of world football.

Ireland at the time could have drawn Bosnia or Albania in the play-off. Instead they got France. Ireland played the French off the park yet were apparently on the wrong end of a poor refereeing decision. All the big 3 qualified against Ireland, Albania and Bosnia.

Yeah, that's a bit like Uefa changing the rules so a certain unnamed team can take part in a certain tournament.

Seriously, I see a lot of these weak, subjective decisions, being made on a regular basis and the inconsistency of some of these decisions has already started driving me away from watching a sport that I have always loved.

I stayed in and watched the two games today and I can honestly say I don't think I will be doing that very often in the future.

Each to his own, but watching them talking about today's game now on the television, with their expert analysis, actually bores me to tears.

The better teams spend more time in their opponents' penalty area and exert more pressure in general and have more of the ball, hence the obvious outcome: more free kicks and penalties.

Simple really.

But put aside whatever had happened in the previous 94 minutes, how many chances Liverpool had had, how much time they'd spent camped in the Burnley penalty area etc because they are not relevant to the decision: do you think if Burnley had been on the attack in the 95th minute, that penalty would have been given to Burnley? Because I don't.

Sorry, it might have been given if Liverpool were already 3-0 and out of sight; but to decide a game? No way.

It's probably worse in Spain. The refereeing favouritism for Real and Barca is pretty scandalous but I think they're desensitised to it.

VAR is being used to aid the so-called big clubs, just as PSR is. Without PSR, Newcastle could have bulit a squad the equal or better than any of the Big 6.

What happened? They had to sell Anderson to adhere to PSR. Whilst they have to take a slower lane to get to the top, one of the Big 6 - the RS - comes along and cherry picks Isak off them.

Oh yes, they get mega bucks... but ask Howe what would he rather have, money in the bank or Isak at ce
ntre-forward?

Palace have had Olise and Eze cherry picked and Wharton will be next. Bournemouth have had practically all of their defense from last season picked off. Kudus was picked up by Spurs from West Ham Utd. Spurs took Richarlson from us because of PSR.

The game is corrupt because money talks. Sky will be really pissed if the RS runaway with the title as it will affect their revenues.

Maybe having the RS win title after title won't be a bad thing in the long run, because in my opinion the game is losing its drawing power. Many fans are fed up to the back teeth of the way the game is going. The tail is wagging the dog more and more.

Of course it's rigged, from the TV, news coverage, media bias, refereeing bias, advertising, the whole game is rigged for the big boys.

They even love it when a Palace wins a cup, cos it hides the whole rigged league cult, and European football is more rigged than ours.

What's the point?

Referees have been trying so hard to be part of the game. They finally partnered Liverpool to become PGMOL FC.

That would have been given at any time in any game for any team. It sucks that the RS were handed that gift, but the blame is all on the player.

Exactly right, they give decisions to the lower profile teams when it doesn't matter, that's where the unevenness/cheating happens.

Not enough people speak up about this and our managers are particularly pathetic at getting this point across.

Joe Royle famously used to say in the tunnel at Anfield, ‘Are we playing by the same rules today, ref?'

No other sports team anywhere in the world that even get close to them. Ever.

Obviously... in the Top 6's favour but what happens when those teams meet each other? And what's the directive when non-top 6 teams meet?

Pretty sure when we were docked points because of PSR and it was reduced on appeal, there were plenty of fans of the teams in the relegation mix at the time screaming "Of course the Premier League were never going to let a team like Everton go down".

In recent seasons, the three promoted teams have been the teams to go back down... is that also rigged?

The application of rules to suit a team or a situation is corrupt; if nothing is being done to remedy, it's corrupt.

Institutionalized corruption — and I long for the end of the Premier League because of it.

The bigger clubs will always get conscious or subconscious refereeing bias and attention, but the idea that the whole sport is deliberately and entirely manipulated by Sky, sponsors, betting companies, oil states is just alehouse gibberish.

Up until the end of last season, the rs were obsessed that VAR was all controlled by the UAE so Man City would win the Premier League every year. Funny that they've shut up about it now. Because even they've realised it's bollocks. And they're the ultimate gobshites.

With respect, if you only watch Everton, how can you have an accurate perspective on whether the decisions currently being made by Premier League officials are unfair?

I see decisions, highlights, and frankly that's enough, but add in when we play those so-called top teams and you don't need to be an all-seeing entity to see what's happening, week-in & week-out.

As I've said on this and another thread, I genuinely believe that, on the spot, officials unintentionally favour certain teams. I don't think that means there's intentional favouritism within the sport, and definitely no ‘rigging', collusion or corruption of that nature. I guess, based on your original comments, we kind of agree! 😜

I think I probably reacted because your comment looked a little like: “I don't follow current affairs but this is what I think!”

Its a case of TV rules ok, without TV we wouldn't see most matches, thats the reason they favour those teams because they put more bums on seats. The same goes for radio and newspapers. If the refs make a poor decision against the biggest teams they know subconciously they are going to get slated more, so they tend not to.

I think the officials should have an eye and IQ test at least once a year because theres a few of them that definitely would not pass.

You see players blatantly pushed over in the box and no penalty given, the excuse by commentors is 'he wasn't strong enough' what sort of excuse is that.

Not sure Manchester City have a big following outside of Manchester or even inside...

I remember Moyes Mk1 sending a video to the FA of Everton on the wrong side of bad ref decisions.

Pretty sure he got a sympathetic response...

Read the interview from the former referee Mark Halsey.

Halsey, who was actually one of the better ones, spills all on what the refs were told prior to kick-off when being in control of a gas involving the media darlings.

It's even worse now I imagine what with the betting companies and tne scandal that's ran through other sports.