Changes MUST be on the way... justice demands it

by Paul O'Donnell

Expect some changes to hit the pitch before a ball is kicked in August. Far too many goals from the spot and worse, too many bad decisions on goals given and not given. There will be changes. If you watched the Blackburn-West Ham match whether you’re a fan of Rovers or not, you know it just has to happen. (WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH HERE)

Yes, Rovers wasted some really good chances in the match that made the horrifying end a possibility. In the end, the injustice of the result surely must leave a bad taste in your mouth even if you are a fan of Curbishley and the Hammers. Credit to Curbishely for stating it straight up in the post match press conference but, the result stands of course because the FA will never correct such a case and never has. They’d rather allow the obvious failure to get the call correct stand forever than they would correct it.

Expect some changes to hit the pitch before a ball is kicked in August. Far too many goals from the spot and worse, too many bad decisions on goals given and not given. There will be changes. If you watched the Blackburn-West Ham match whether you’re a fan of Rovers or not, you know it just has to happen. (WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH HERE)

Yes, Rovers wasted some really good chances in the match that made the horrifying end a possibility. In the end, the injustice of the result surely must leave a bad taste in your mouth even if you are a fan of Curbishley and the Hammers. Credit to Curbishely for stating it straight up in the post match press conference but, the result stands of course because the FA will never correct such a case and never has. They’d rather allow the obvious failure to get the call correct stand forever than they would correct it.

Like it or not that is the way it is and always has been in European football. Those failures become legends and enshrined as marvels despite the injustice of it all. To the American mind this is a part of the game that is truly maddening especially the refusal of the governing bodies to make a concerted effort to correct it.

That said, changes are on the way, and that is for the good of the game.

To set the stage Rovers held the lead 1-0. Then, in a four minute span, that was overturned by the referees whistle. An undeserved penalty was given and Carlos Tevez converted it easily getting Friedel going the wrong way. Four minutes later Tevez, in an obvious offside position nearly a full yard behind Freidel and on the goal line actually prevented the ball from crossing the line. The goal was given despite not crossing the line and in total neglect of his offside position too! Amazing!

Being a Rovers fan I was livid. Being a fan of the EPL and football I felt really sick.

 

It reminded me of the most egregious failure of them all from back in November 2004. Remember that one? Tottenham at Old Trafford; just minutes to go and its a scoreless draw when Mendes sees Roy Carroll well off his line and drives the ball from just inside the half way line over the keeper. Carroll sprints back to his line and turns just in time to have the ball deflect off his chest, over his head and into goal. He snatches it out but not until it had gone a full yard or more over the line. The world wide TV audience saw it clearly. The officials on the pitch did not. No goal. Tottenham was denied a victory. In fact, they still have never defeated Man United at Old Trafford in an EPL game. Whoever said 13 was unlucky didn’t see this.

And fans of Liverpool like to forget this one. I like to call it the goal that never was. It’s a Champions League Quarterfinal between the Reds and Chelsea when a goal is given and with that good fortune the Reds go on to win the trophy in Istanbul in that memorable come from behind win on penalties over AC Milan. Truth is, they never should have been there. Another monumental injustice that is enshrined for posterity somewhat like Maradona’s "hand of God" goal.

Changes are on the way and that is a good thing.

Inter Remains Unbeaten

The Inter Express keeps rolling on. Yes, they’re out of the Champions League, but you know what? They’re still the best team in Europe regardless. Over the weekend they defeated bottom side Ascoli 2-1 behind two more goals from Ibrahimovic to extend their lead at the top of Serie A to 18 points. Inter is still unbeaten on the season after 28 games with 24 of them being victories. A truly remarkable run. Some like to say that yeah, so what, AC Milan started in a big hole (deservedly so), but that’s a scam. Take away the eight point penalty and Milan would still be 25 points behind Inter! Besides that, in their big derby last weekend Inter defeated them straight up to silence the crazies.

Well done Inter!

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