Pulis ponders the Premier League's hatred for all things Stoke City
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis is likely to be heading to to a disciplinary hearing sometime soon after being the latest manager to criticize this years refereeing. Pulis believes that refs hate Stoke so much that they are willing to fudge time added on to make sure the Potters do not win. Hmmm.
While refereeing this season has reached a new level of suckage, this is a little much I feel.
“The facts state that we’re being hard done by, If we’re losing, we get less time added on, and if we’re winning, we get more. When we played Portsmouth in the Carling Cup, the referee added two minutes at the end of the first half. In the second half, there were three goals scored, six substitutions, and he adds two minutes on at the end (a game Stoke lost 4-0). We know it’s happening and it means our supporters have to work harder, we have to work harder, and the club needs to be more resilient.” – Tony Pulis
Wow, its a conspiracy! Pulis says that the greatest example of a refs desire to see Stoke lose was against Tottenham. A game they won…
“They said we were taking too much time with our throw-in. I took Rory [Delap] off after half-time (known for long throw-ins, taken slowly), and he adds five minutes on.” – Pulis on the win at White Hart Lane.
Somebody is going to be in hot water! Pulis is right that the refereeing is inconsistent and its not just the time keeping, there have been some shocking decisions this season from wrong players being booked to beach balls scoring goals, but its league wide and not some elaborate scheme to screw Stoke City.
Maybe its time for replay? Personally I like the NFL ‘flag’ system. Managers should get just one flag per game leading to one replay per team max. This way its likely that coaches will hold onto their challenge until a real situation arises and replay won’t be called into action over every free kick, shot at goal or corner decision.
However, the FA does not like positive change so we will continue to see bad refereeing decisions deciding games for years to come.
@ Tony Pulis: Did a beach ball score on your club? No? Then there’s no conspiracy…
Generally when you’re down 4 – nil and the ref cuts a bit of time it’s called mercy and not maliciousness.
Oh, I think this is a classic ripped straight from the SAF playbook. Embarrassed in midweek, then they blew a 2 goal lead against Wolves on the weekend, it’s time to give the supporters something to rally around, instead of letting the supporters rally around TP’s poor managerial decisions or the squads shortcomings, let them rally around the idea that everyone is against them.
I concur on the flag proposal, with a friendly amendment.
Managers should get a flag attached to a flag pole, like a corner-flag. They should have to chuck the flag pole at one of the 4 officials when they want to use their challenge.
I couldn’t care less about Stoke City, but the added-time stuff really has gotten ridiculous, across the whole league. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the amounts given.
I know a guy, a total soccer noob (even hater to some extent), who gave the EPL a chance last season. Got FSC and everything. He really did get into it, and got intrigued enough by the sport that he’ll at least be relishing the World Cup next year.
But he dropped his EPL interest once the season was over, and the first reason he gave is that the reffing — specifically added time — was too arbitrary and erratic. It all struck him as inherently unfair, and soured an otherwise enjoyable new experience.
The only way it won’t be arbitrary is if they move to a non-continuous clock. Can’t see that happening.
There is a little momentum behind it though, I can’t find the article, only references to it, but there was an article in the Times a week or two ago about how some referees and managers, Don Fabio included, favor going to two 30-minute halves with an official in charge of stopping the clock.
It seems that 10 years ago that idea was being dismissed as that of a stupid American, now at least there’s discussion of it.
Pulis is full of s**t on the Tottenham match. He didn’t pull Delap at the half, he pulled him on 57′, shortly after Delap had taken forever and a day to make a throw, and ‘Arry began to chirp at the sideline official about the time-wasting Delap had been doing the entire match. 5 minutes was excessive, but the incessant anti-football tactics employed by Pulis’ side, especially in away matches, are as much to blame for their timing problems as anything else.
I don’t really mind Stoke, and I think Pulis is actually a decent manager, but I’d imagine the tactics he employs to get his team ahead occasionally rely on some shifty time-wasting gamesmanship to get there. I mean…it’s Stoke. They did that all last season, too.
Pulis and Delap could learn something from Birmingham City’s Liam Ridgewell. That guy knows how to milk a throw-in for all it’s worth. Picks up the ball, scoots 10-15 yards further down the line and whips it in. Amazing.
Also, a non-continuous clock would be ridiculous. Same for 30-minute halves? Surely that was an April Fool’s. Managers need to understand that the referee decides how much added time to add, and that there’s nothing they can do about it.
“…and that there’s nothing they can do about it.”
Except bitch to the press.
I think they’ve figured that one out already, JT.
Good point about Ridgewell, JT, but Delap has now added a new element to his time-wasting throw-ins: the ball wipedown. He sets the ball down, brushes off the front of his shirt, then picks the ball up, wraps it in the bottom of the shirt, wipes the entire ball off, then skips down a few yards and throws it. Every. F-n. Time. It’s ridiculous.
You’re so right, Phil. That ball-wipe should be the 4th official’s job
I would love a 4th official for a ball wipe.
I’m amazed we made it through that discussion without a scrotum joke.
Damn you, NYK, for your sneak attack double entendre.
@phil – ooooooooooh, so close.
You’ll be pleased to know The NY Kid has been red-carded for that shockingly bad pun. He is now serving a five-match suspension for conduct detrimental to the blog.
Tony Pulis thinks the blog is conspiring against NYK.
Since when are ball jokes detrimental to the blog? I’m on NYK’s side on this one. FIFA needs an anti-anti-ball joke campaign immediately.
Not sure if anyone’s seen a college soccer match lately but the time keeping for it is quite odd. I watched a game here a few weeks ago and immediately had to go look up what the NCAA rules were. The clock counts down form 45:00 and the ref can stop it. Once the clock hits 0, that’s it even if a shot is in the air. While this type of thing strikes me as the most fair, there’s something disconcerting about changing something that’s been in place for so long and that would drastically alter the game. I like that the ref will allow a play to continue or a corner kick to take place even if the amount of stoppage time has technically expired.
@Anonsters: I run UF like Blatter runs FIFA… with incompetence, haste, and hilarity.
Perhaps teams could employ comely lasses as ball girls, just like MLB, whose duties could include ball wiping.
BTW, I’m disappointed that UF has yet to pick up on this important breaking football news.
Goat: I’ve noticed that in the past, yes. It’s a very literal reading of the rules, but you’d hope that refs apply some common sense to the laws as they read them. For example, not blowing for full-time when a corner kick is currently floating into the penalty area, or when someone’s about to shoot from 10 yards out.
Hilariously, the former happened in the 1974 World Cup. A Welsh ref blew for full-time in a game between Brazil and Sweden right after Brazil took a corner. Of course, he blew when the ball was in the air, and what happened next? Zico nodded it in for what should have been the winning goal. The ref had none of it and the game ended 1-1. Bit silly, really.
Perhaps the best model would be to follow rugby; they have a siren that blows once “full time” is reached, and the ref stops the game at the next stoppage in play. Logical, sensible, not much to complain about really.
Perhaps refs could also develop a system of hand signals to show when they are stopping and restarting the clock for any goals, subs, cards, injuries, general time-wasting, etc. with the assumption that they still have some leeway in determining exactly when the final whistle will blow.
@Anon: I love how that story makes no mention of why anyone would be dressed as a sheep–it implies a certain knowledge of such things.
I’d applaud that. Anything to make them look more ridiculous on the pitch. Perhaps they could just start with a basic addition cribbed from the NFL: give ‘em a mic so they can explain exactly what they’re doing. If they give a fella a yellow or red, tell us in real-time why.
RC to Joey Barton, because he is a t**t!
NYK: please, go back to the dressing room.
“He’s down there giving him the business.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eslz06J9hFw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D8aAC4jrPM
eh, it’s not the first time I’ve refused to leave the pitch
Goat: Good point. I like the sentence, “It is understood a number of the fans at the match and on the train were dressed as sheep.” It’s like the BBC’s going, “Ahem. Well, it’s Scotland….”
Didn’t Delap have a towel boy for his ball-wiping last year? Making him use his shirt this year’s kind of slumming it, really.
Magnakai: it also gives him the ability to show off those abs
JT: I never saw the Rory Delap/Exhibitionism connection before now, but you’re right. Someone had to take Ronaldo’s place in the “randomly shows off chest” department, though. Delap’s fighting the good fight against clothing wearers everywhere.
Dammit, Anonsters, I just saw this thread after using that link in a later story.
Anyway, Aberdeen inhabitants, being so far away from the culture that is the rest of Scotland, have often been derided as sheep shaggers. Aberdeen fans, to a certain extent, have taken on the nickname with pride, kind of like what Tottenham Hotspur fans did with “Yids”. Plus, it was Halloween, Scots are drunks, etc.
@u75: Somehow I knew you’d enlighten us.
I try.