KEEP CALM’ is the mantra coming out of Anfield these days; players and fans alike have been urged by Snr. Benitez to focus solely on winning the next game, and not to get too excited about beating Manchester United and Chelsea and opening up an eight-point gap over the former.
Yet listening to the ‘Rafatollah’ after last weekend’s win over Bolton, it would appear that the man himself might shortly be reaching for the Tamazepan.
How else to explain his extraordinary exposition of an imaginary Law of the game, the one apparently stating that goalkeepers cannot be challenged in the six-yard box, which ‘belongs’ to them? According to Rafa, this is clearly set out ‘in the rules’.
Presumably this is the same rule book which makes it compulsory for managers to wear goatee beards, and to play without wingers for four years.
Gary Megson also blotted his copybook by claiming a penalty for Reina’s push on Nolan, even though the ball was not yet in play.
Leaving aside for the moment the curious ignorance of the Laws of the game displayed by almost all who make a living from it, this incident did raise an interesting point (at least for those of us who care about this sort of thing) about the correctness of Rob Styles’ decision to disallow Cahill’s ‘goal’.
Nolan clearly did just stand his ground, and in theory there’s nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, it was a clear attempt to impede Reina, with no attempt to play the ball. So which way to blow?
The truth is that most of the Laws of the game are open to interpretation – hence the endless analysis of decisions we see on the TV all the time.
And though they might be technically permissible, some tactics cannot be allowed to stand for the good of the game as a spectator sport.
If what Nolan did was legal, then every time there’s a corner we’d be treated to the unedifying sight of players clustered and jostling round the goalkeeper. I’m not paying to watch that.
It’s a similar situation to the practice of nicking the ball off the goalkeeper’s toe just as he’s released it to clear upfield, as memorably demonstrated by George Best against Gordon Banks so many years ago. Let this go, and we’d never see the ball in play again.
So, dislike Styles as you may, on this occasion he got it right, and we’re all the better for it. And we don’t need to make up rules to justify it.
Those of us who are fortunate (that’s not the word my missus uses) to follow Liverpool up and down the country may have cause to doubt the alleged commercial culture which saturates our game, respecting our rights as ‘customers’ first and foremost.
In the last few weeks I’ve been frisked for concealed weapons despite being ‘of a certain age’ and, I like to think, of mature countenance; paid over the odds because I support Liverpool rather than, say, Stoke; and been presented with half-time highlights on a large video screen which seemed to be have been purged of any Liverpool activity at all (even the goal we had scored). Forgive me if I don’t feel valued for parting with my hard-earned cash.
And it really doesn’t help when the likes of Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, pleads for the end of the recent spate of coin-throwing, saying we don’t want to ‘return to the 80s when fans were searched entering the ground’. Perish the thought.
Yet listening to the ‘Rafatollah’ after last weekend’s win over Bolton, it would appear that the man himself might shortly be reaching for the Tamazepan.
How else to explain his extraordinary exposition of an imaginary Law of the game, the one apparently stating that goalkeepers cannot be challenged in the six-yard box, which ‘belongs’ to them? According to Rafa, this is clearly set out ‘in the rules’.
Presumably this is the same rule book which makes it compulsory for managers to wear goatee beards, and to play without wingers for four years.
Gary Megson also blotted his copybook by claiming a penalty for Reina’s push on Nolan, even though the ball was not yet in play.
Leaving aside for the moment the curious ignorance of the Laws of the game displayed by almost all who make a living from it, this incident did raise an interesting point (at least for those of us who care about this sort of thing) about the correctness of Rob Styles’ decision to disallow Cahill’s ‘goal’.
Nolan clearly did just stand his ground, and in theory there’s nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, it was a clear attempt to impede Reina, with no attempt to play the ball. So which way to blow?
The truth is that most of the Laws of the game are open to interpretation – hence the endless analysis of decisions we see on the TV all the time.
And though they might be technically permissible, some tactics cannot be allowed to stand for the good of the game as a spectator sport.
If what Nolan did was legal, then every time there’s a corner we’d be treated to the unedifying sight of players clustered and jostling round the goalkeeper. I’m not paying to watch that.
It’s a similar situation to the practice of nicking the ball off the goalkeeper’s toe just as he’s released it to clear upfield, as memorably demonstrated by George Best against Gordon Banks so many years ago. Let this go, and we’d never see the ball in play again.
So, dislike Styles as you may, on this occasion he got it right, and we’re all the better for it. And we don’t need to make up rules to justify it.
Those of us who are fortunate (that’s not the word my missus uses) to follow Liverpool up and down the country may have cause to doubt the alleged commercial culture which saturates our game, respecting our rights as ‘customers’ first and foremost.
In the last few weeks I’ve been frisked for concealed weapons despite being ‘of a certain age’ and, I like to think, of mature countenance; paid over the odds because I support Liverpool rather than, say, Stoke; and been presented with half-time highlights on a large video screen which seemed to be have been purged of any Liverpool activity at all (even the goal we had scored). Forgive me if I don’t feel valued for parting with my hard-earned cash.
And it really doesn’t help when the likes of Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, pleads for the end of the recent spate of coin-throwing, saying we don’t want to ‘return to the 80s when fans were searched entering the ground’. Perish the thought.
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