Warrior will you organise the collection for Mike Reilly retirement present.

Is Mike Riley retiring. I see that Mike Dean is but can see no mention of the other ‘expert’.

The scary thing is that it is being suggested that Dean becomes one of two full time VAR officials. Given his self declared arrogance that does not bode well for non contentious decisions.

The City v Liverpool Fa Cup semi final at Wembley has no trains running from the north west to Euston the entire weekend and the planned engineering works were known about ages ago. Fan groups are lobbying for the game to be moved - quite rightly - but it won’t be as cup semis at Wembley bring in huge money to pay off the cost of that stadium

I think someone is already organising something for him.

https://www.change.org/p/the-football-a ... n-the-game

Just come across this observation :

In his last 13 premier league appearances Granit Xhaka has made just 11 fouls. In 10 of these appearances he’s committed 1 foul or less.

In that time he’s been shown 6 yellow cards.

It does rather seem that despite cleaning up his act and cutting out the daft lunges he is still being picked on unfairly.

Hard to take that article seriously when they get his name wrong throughout.

I know Rich has long gone on about bookings for an accumulation of fouls. But when I asked him if there was a rule stating a specific number of fouls when a yellow card should be given, he didn’t think there was.

I’m a bit of a traditionalist in some ways and think players should be booked if the particular offence warrants it, rather than just issuing a yellow card after a set number of fouls, none of which on there own warranted a booking.

I can see the theoretical possibility that Xhaka’s last six bookings in thirteen league games were all worthy of a yellow card. They clearly shouldn’t have been based on an accumulated total per match, despite what Dermot Gallagher is supposed to have said.

Do the maths. If the six yellow cards came from eleven fouls in thirteen matches, on average he commits less than one foul per game. No way can that warrant yellow cards on an accumulated basis, unless they were all packed into one or two games (say 6 + 5), maybe three at the most (4 + 4 + 3). I find that hard to believe. But it would only explain one or two of the six bookings. Three at the very most, and I think three is highly arguable if he only committed 3 fouls in it.

I don’t recall five of the fouls he was booked for. But I do remember the offence at Villa Park on Saturday. No way did that warrant a yellow card. That none of the other five fouls stick in my mind either suggests to me the idea that Xhaka is booked unfairly looks perfectly feasible.

A 9 point deduction would be nice. We would go third.


https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/18008343 ... ng-russia/

It cements in me the growing feeling that refereeing in the Premier league is demonstrably incompetent and biased. Not fit for purpose.

These are the 22 listed Refs:

https://www.transfermarkt.com/premier-league/schiedsrichter/wettbewerb/GB1/saison_id/2021/plus/1

They are drawn overwhelmingly from the NE, the NW and the Midlands. There's one from Wiltshire and one from Oxfordshire. Technically, the only southerner is Jarred Gillet - but only because he's from Australia.

How on earth can there be no representation whatever from London, the Home Counties or southern England? With the exception of the 2 from Oxfordshire and Wiltshire (both hotbeds of footballing fervour), there's nobody from South of Birmingham.

It goes without saying that there are no black or asian refs.

Usmanov in the news again.

Alisher Usmanov claims to have evaded sanctions using a trust

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7c08 ... 2870b94276

I certainly subscribe to the fact of Xhaka being pretty much the most harshly treated player in the league. I also think that he does get a number of first foul yellow cards because the types of fouls he makes are professional fouls, deliberate trips or pull backs - I’m kind of ok with that even though those aren’t always regularly given as yellows to everyone else. But the incident at the weekend tops it all, to be given a yellow for persistent fouling when only making 1 foul and then letting two opponents get away with 3/4 fouls each does start to scream more than just incompetence.

Or women…..yet

Has it happened lower down the leagues or in the cups? I sort of recall seeing the highlights of some game between male teams and I thought the ref was female. Might be wrong and probably am.

You’re correct. Rebecca Welch.

Also Stephanie Frappart in European games.

He’s obviously being treated differently but let’s be honest here he’s cultivated almost an unparalleled unique reputation over time in the league by getting himself sent off 5 times. Also it’s not like Patrick Vieira getting himself carded for over exuberance all of his stuff is utterly cynical usually committed when his lack of pace is being exposed or he’s been caught too far up the pitch or just totally needlessly. Saturday aside it’s very hard to scream at the injustice

May as well get used to this because until he goes this won’t change now. If he stays another year guarantee more reds to come.

Ukrainian Kateryna Monzul refereed the England v Andorra WC 2022 qualifier last year in Andorra. She was the first woman to referee a senior England men's match. Not the first time she's refereed a men's football match. Both Stephanie and Kateryna ref appointments were complimented by Pierluigi Collina at the time.

With four red cards in the Premier League, Xhaka is the joint 23rd most sent off player in Premier League history. If he has an almost unparalleled reputation, it’s hardly a deserved reputation.

https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Top ... ier-League

Old article Bernard he got himself sent off again since that was published

https://youtu.be/sArAQWP5JKI
5 reds for us but only 4 in the league.
This video shows the 5 red cards
The denying a clear goal scoring opportunity you can’t argue with.
Two footer v City id want a red for an opponent for that.
Hand on the throat is a red but plenty get away with this sort of handbags
The other two are joke red cards
He has been harshly treated in this country.

An ex ref trying to explain why Kane wasn’t sent off for his shocking tackle in the Liverpool game said refs study players and will have known that Kane isn’t the sort of player to get sent off so will have got the benefit of any doubt. I find that pretty awful if it’s true because it just exacerbates the problem of those being overly punished and those that continually get away with it.

Xhaka is cynical but there are players who have almost made than an art form and they get away with far more. Look at any Man City defensive mid over the past 5 years

Thing is Fernandinho is more subtle with his tactical fouling. Xhaka is absolutely cynical and obvious committing 2 foot lunges when he gives the ball away that’s why he has the problem.

Also if you don’t think the other 2 are reds I don’t know what to say. It’s one thing dragging a player to the ground and something quite different doing peoples ankles.

So you think the cyclical trip on Swansea’s Mo Barrow 60 yards from goal and by the touchline was deserving of a straight red? The type of red card that has never been repeated since in the premier league

I’m far from Xhaka’s biggest fan but I think I can admit when he’s played well and still forms an important part of our side and would say it is clear that he is treated more strictly than other players as are we as a club. It’s always a case of full force of the laws of the game being applied to Xhaka and Arsenal and others are given the benefit of the doubt.

I think you’re far too entrenched in your views on Xhaka to ever see any other opinion on him though.

Exactly what I’m saying. He’s done the back of the blokes legs as he’s speeding away from him. Drag him back by all means but it looks a spiteful reaction because the player was away. Asking for trouble and plays completely into the refs hands. He’s doing peoples ankles and shins left right and centre, these aren’t shirt pulls. You can have a debate about them but look at the red againest Burnley when he lost it. He’s trying to do the bloke let’s be honest here.

Just because he was finally hard done by Saturday doesn’t mean his poor reputation is unwarranted.

I think that sums it up. I mean, he insists on calling a sending off in the away leg of the League Cup semi-final at Anfield a Premier League sending off to make Xhaka’s Premier League stats look worse. That was even after it was pointed out he’d only been sent off four times in the Premier League which makes him only the joint 23rd most sent off player in Premier League history.

There was one in the AFCON. Extremely impressive.

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/th ... ll-history

This totally ignores the fact that Xhaka was already 25 when he signed for Arsenal and most of the people in that list played their entire careers in the premier league not joined halfway through. If he had also played his whole career here he would have had more reds than vinny Jones by now a player addicted to getting himself sent off to gain notoriety. Easily in double digits by now

Next year Martinelli and Saliba count as home grown players for our squad registration. Current rules allow you to have no more than 17 non home grown players in your squad.
Leno, Cédric, Tierney, Tavares, Gabriel, Xhaka, Partey, Lokonga, Elneny, Pépé, Ødegaard, Lacazette (I’ve not included the likes of Mari and Torreira as I assume they’ll be sold this summer)

Home grown: Ramsdale, Holding, White, Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Martinelli, Saliba

So there are still 5 non home grown spaces we can add to the squad. And possibly 7 more spaces if Elneny and Lacezette leave. Matt Turner the US gk will probably replace Leno

So in summary plenty of scope to add any player we want to the squad

Hardly surprising if practically everyone except you, who even claims his laughable sending off against Swansea was the correct decision, seems to accept he’s harshly treated in comparison with normality for other players. The point is you’re not really worth engaging in discussion about Xhaka. We might as well just let you spout your small minded irrational hatred of him without bothering to reply.

Between January 2017 and December 2020 Xhaka went nearly four years without getting sent off. He's more a collector of yellows than the walking red card he's being made out to be, and it seems to me that the red card thing is mostly brought up by Arsenal fans who don't like him and need a stick to beat him with when he's playing so undeniably well that even his fiercest detractors can't ignore it.

There's no doubt he's being treated harsher than many other players. Also, of his four red cards in the PL, we won two of the games I think, and in the City game earlier this season season we were thoroughly outplayed with and without him on the pitch and would've lost handily no matter what. In nearly six seasons in the league, the only game where you can point to Xhaka getting sent off costing Arsenal points is Burnley in 2020. So at the very most his red cards have cost us three points so far, in 5 ½ seasons.

You’re the one the can’t take criticism of him. I can’t comment on Xhaka without you replying with a thesis in return.

I have no hatred of the bloke and actually pointed out he did well in the first half v Liverpool but have little time for reading such nonsense about him

Also btw the whole “Referees are against him” theme doesn’t stand up when you look at the Leeds game when he should have been sent off again for kicking the ball away and a pre meditated stamp and he wasn’t even booked.

In complete denial if you think his reputation he created is unwarranted. Everyone knows he’s a Liability

Xhaka’s reputation was entirely warranted. He was a serial offender of idiocy.

More recently though he has cleaned up his act beyond recognition.

His recent treatment by officials appears to be based on how he was rather than how he is. Statistically it just doesn’t hold up by comparison to others.

Yep he’s made a rod for his own back entirely

So you found one incident in his arsenal career (178 appearances) where he was treated leniently ...

Even the referees admit that they allow a players reputation to influence them, and that players like Kane get away with it. Do you deny that too.

"Everyone knows" is a really irritating expression btw, as is describing anyone who disagrees with you as "in denial".

No in fact this is precisely my point. Kane has got away with murder on 2 or 3 occasions due to the England captain syndrome thing but xhaka has created a reputation that he walks round the pitch making deliberate fouls and antagonising the opposition. There is no problem with this at all unless it’s blatantly obvious which it is in his case and then you are risking cards.

Btw everyone does know it so there’s no point pretending otherwise as the refs wouldn’t be booking him left right and centre. His reputation now proceeds him and he won’t shake this. He just dives in and commits nasty obvious fouls if someone gets the better of him. Always has.

So I’m all for pointing out disparity with how he’s getting booked and others are treated which is true but let’s be honest here and cut out the bollocks. We all know how we got here and what the bloke does.

The only reason I bother is your over the top, repetitive nonsense. You say you’ve no hatred of the bloke? Blimey, I wonder how you’d drone on about someone you did hate?

And still you can’t have it. Just can’t let it sit. You’d rather pretend you don’t watch Arsenal every week and see what happens

You cannot stop yourself talking about Xhaka. I must go and see if there’s a term for extreme obsessiveness. If there is, you have it.

Seems it’s OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. My advice - get yourself an appointment with a specialist.

I wrote 1 post simply suggesting he was responsible for the reputation he created (which is obviously true as LTG rightly pointed out) and you have rattled off 4 responses to it now. Look who is obsessive. This happens every time he’s mentioned.

This is entirely inside you’re head.

You CANNOT stop moaning about Xhaka. Let’s see how quickly you reply. Bet that’s a symptom of OCD.