17/18 HAL Grand Final | Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory | Sat 5th May 2018 750pm

[halo se7en]

Stadium still in pretty good condition. I don't know the year, it was only a few ago that MJS got new turf but it has really held up well.. It is one of the better ones?

Just before Asian Cup wasn’t it?

[sorefootballer]

You would be correct

[Retro Jet]

Match Day!

FIRE UP!!!!!!!
:brrr:

[Dylan]

Just about to head to the airport, so pumped for today!!

[Jeterpool]

Match Day!

FIRE UP!!!!!!!
:brrr:

This

Game day!!!!!!!

[The Hacker]

cheaper than some seats


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npd1o_bWSKI

Buzzing

[vikingjet]

The Paddlesteamer is painted blue, red and gold. The staff are ready for post-GF win patronage.

Not as nervous as a decade ago. Newcaaaaastle - we done it!

[Jetmaster]

VJ....wow the plastics are pouring back into the fold.

Now where's Dazza?

[plague]

The Paddlesteamer is painted blue, red and gold. The staff are ready for post-GF win patronage.

Not as nervous as a decade ago. Newcaaaaastle - we done it!

Crying.
We've already won boyz.

[plague]

Lots of victory supporters at the airport (both airports actually). They are all super confident.

Like really super confident.

[MFKS]

Lots of victory supporters at the airport (both airports actually). They are all super confident.

Like really super confident.

Why ??

They dont have Griff

We do


**** these cunce better not **** this up

Today is the day we get another trophy to go with our spoons

Fire up cunce

[Superdylan]

Gotta play my own football at 1pm first

Aids

[Jeterpool]

Lots of victory supporters at the airport (both airports actually). They are all super confident.

Like really super confident.

Good. They can be

[Jetmaster]

Tipping it here - if it goes to pens we will lose.

However, if we score in the first 20-30 mins I can see us tearing them a new one, seriously.

4-1 Jets.

Crowd - just under 30,000 with visible empty seats causing more ruckus than the result.

Forza Jets.....now, where's my first beer?:pissup:

[380]

Tipping it here - if it goes to pens we will lose.

However, if we score in the first 20-30 mins I can see us tearing them a new one, seriously.

4-1 Jets.

Crowd - under 30,000 with visible empty seats causing more ruckus than the result.

Forza Jets.....no where's my first beer?

Agree. I reckon a real possibility of a big result if we grab a early one or even better a couple.

[Jetmaster]

Yeah, Muscat tipping an "arm wrestle"'. That's what he wants to stop our free flow.

We must avoid that at all costs.

[Mark325]

Yeah we gotta go at them the way we went at City in the second half

[MFKS]

Dont forget

Beer Showers for all these plastic ****s today


They need to be baptised correctly

Also is a mass pitch invasion by the fans mandatory at FT after a win??

I thinking so

[The Hacker]

Dont forget

Beer Showers for all these plastic ****s today


They need to be baptised correctly

Also is a mass pitch invasion by the fans mandatory at FT after a win??

I thinking so

I like the idea of the invasion

[hawk]

pumped. Seriously do we have to wait until 8

[MFKS]

Thurgate is playing for the yoof today

So unlikely he be in the squad tonight at all

[Couscous]

I love Newy.

[MFKS]

I love Newy.

You should be right tonight

Whatever the result your jumping on the winning bandwagon

#Plastics

[Couscous]

That's unfair, Member. I've been a Jets fan far longer than a lot of the Novocastrians who have suddenly popped out this week.

[halo se7en]

Also is a mass pitch invasion by the fans mandatory at FT after a win??

I thinking so

Absolutely.

[westjet]

Loved listerning to Remo on abc on the drive back to Griffs country today. He confidently predicted a 2-1 jets win. Really hope the club put the offer for him to be involved in some way today like a few suggested earlier in the week.
Getting close, nerves are starting to set in. Cmon the jets.

[Jetmaster]

Never seen Wests so packed....and Furns just blanked me (dont think he heard me though).

[militiamon]

I really picked a great season to stop following this lot :rof:

Carn Jerks!

[The Dunster]

Jets dominating. But trailing from an offside goal. Gillet you goose.

[halo se7en]

Carbon copy of the City game so far. Let’s hope the 2nd half is as well.

[StannyCFCJET]

Bay 1 no one wants to chant bloody plastics

[The Dunster]

Ernie needs to hook Katroumbis. He's honking tonight

[weston]

Ernie needs to hook Katroumbis. He's honking tonight

Agreed. Had a bit of a good spell but overall yeh he worries me.

[The Dunster]

Jets playing for silver in 2nd half. Need to lift otherwise we will need 3 goals to win.

[The Dunster]

Gillet and Katroumbis easily Melb Victory's best tonight. Hook him Ernie please.

[The Dunster]

We are fuked. The pl astics have ruined it. Sounds like a Knights crowd. Fold the club.

[The Dunster]

Joey!!!!!!!!

[The Dunster]

Troisi you diving khunt

[The Dunster]

Berisha elbow on Roy. Where the **** is Gillet looking. Berisha should be off. VAR is tits on a bull type technology

[The Dunster]

Flare in Victory bay.

[The Dunster]

Kung Fu Roy. Holy shit that was bad.

Well done Melb V. They looked like a team suited to finals football last week and nothing has changed.

[weston]

2 major factors tonight.

VAR and Lawrence Thomas.

VAR for obvious reason and Thomas was absolutely phenominal.

[StannyCFCJET]

**** this feeling and **** the plastics

[halo se7en]

Yep, lack of noise from so many Newy “fans” was embarrassing, as was NTUA. Roy probably figured it was the only way to stop Thomas, but the ref was just as poor as we were. MV sure as **** didn’t deserve to win either.

[weston]

To be fair Victory did **** all attacking wise in that game. Did Berisha play??

[halo se7en]

To be fair Victory did **** all attacking wise in that game. Did Berisha play??

Threw an elbow apparently but got nothing. 17 fouls from Victory and their first and only yellow came in the 92nd minute. Their game plan was simply to stop us playing and the ref let them do it.

[mic22]

Thomas and VAR... well done MV.
Oh and i almost forgot the 278 long balls straight to Donachie's head. What's the point in having creative players on the park and playing like that...

[MFKS]

Can blame the ref all we like but facts are facts we ****ing bottled it

First half despite being 1-0 down we were the better side

Second half we lost the plot
What we do and what we had been doing we stopped doing

We panicked and played the scoreboard instead of the opposition


Hey yeah the ref was honking and Victree offered little but what hurts the mosdt is that we dogged it



The opposition and the ref didnt cost us a star on our shirt tonight


It was the players fault we lost


Been a while since i had that sickly feeling of supporting the Jets

Thanks boys for delivering it in spades tonight


PS


**** off Hoffman

Couldnt score in Iso Park with a fistful of fifties and single handedly cost us the game by his inept perforfmance in the Tard 6 yard box

[380]

Yep first goal entirely on the box head doing the VAR tonight. Linesman done what most punters have been asking for and that is in close calls leave the flag down and let the VAR come up with the proper decision with the benefit of replays.

[Bremsstrahlung]

1. What’s the point of VAR if they can’t make a correct decision? What’s their justification of that? That it was only a yard offside? That it wasn’t a clear error? Cause where I was that looked offside.
2. We were all over them first half. Should’ve been up at half time. I felt like we needed something to show for our dominance.
3. Second half was rubbish. Long balls were getting cut out all second half. We played so much better when we passed it around.
4. Roy Donovan was like a snake with his head cut off after that collision. Haven’t seen the replays yet. But it looked pretty bad. Bit of a bad taste. Love the guy and he brings a lot of passion. Just not sure if it was warranted. I’ll reserve that until I see replays.
5. Berisha and Troisi and Muscat are ****s. Roy should’ve gone through one of them.
6. Thought Boogaard did well, Moss barely had much to do all game, Petratos was getting double teamed every time he got the ball, thought Champness would’ve given us a better outlet on the wing.
7. Their tactics and gamble that the ref wouldn’t have the balls to enforce the rules and dish out some cards paid off. Every chance of a counter attack they fouled early and broke it up. Never let us get going, especially in the second half.
8. Well done on a great season. Grand final is a great achievement. One better next year

[Jetmaster]

As I predicted the crowd was under 30,000 and there were dozens of empty seats.

[The Dunster]

All season we had composure when behind in a game but last night the occasion might have got to us and we panicked.

In hindsight Katroumbis on bench. Crazy Geoge at left back, Hoff right back and Pato to start.

Big fan of Katroumbis but i think Ernie was asking too much of someone so young and inexperieced - with limited game time as well.

[The Hacker]

All season we had composure when behind in a game but last night the occasion might have got to us and we panicked.

In hindsight Katroumbis on bench. Crazy Geoge at left back, Hoff right back and Pato to start.

Big fan of Katroumbis but i think Ernie was asking too much of someone so young and inexperieced - with limited game time as well.

This is spot on

[Jetmaster]

Another point on the crowd...being in different seats surrounded by plastics gave it a different vibe. It just didn't have the feel of the previous week. Having those same faces around you and being able to carry on without tut tutting nearby.
Give the members their seats and fill the gaps....ain't that hard. I could see a few seats in our usual spot were vacant, about a dozen.

[halo se7en]

Another point on the crowd...being in different seats surrounded by plastics gave it a different vibe. It just didn't have the feel of the previous week. Having those same faces around you and being able to carry on without tut tutting nearby.
Give the members their seats and fill the gaps....ain't that hard. I could see a few seats in our usual spot were vacant, about a dozen.

Yep, it definitely had a better vibe with 10k less last week.

[De-Champ]

Another point on the crowd...being in different seats surrounded by plastics gave it a different vibe. It just didn't have the feel of the previous week. Having those same faces around you and being able to carry on without tut tutting nearby.
Give the members their seats and fill the gaps....ain't that hard. I could see a few seats in our usual spot were vacant, about a dozen.

Until you get rid of the ffa "running" the finals, you will always have this problem. I don't see any reason why the clubs do not keep control of final games, why do the ffa have to get involved at all.

[Grimario]

FFA have said the VAR broke for a few minutes and had no footage to review the offside. ****ing lol.

[Jeterpool]

Of course it did. How convenient

[StannyCFCJET]

FFA have said the VAR broke for a few minutes and had no footage to review the offside. ****ing lol.

****ing horseshits. FFA **** off you ****

[Bremsstrahlung]

Here, have some more salt for those wounds.
30,000 people could see it on the big screen and in their corporate boxes.
VAR couldnt?
Surely they have a backup. What prompted them to check it in the first place?

[Jetmaster]

What was wrong with looking at the Fox coverage as backup?

[Jetmaster]

https://www.theherald.com.au/story/5383053/its-official-ffa-admit-var-got-it-wrong/?cs=305

FFS...remember the Brady Bunch episode when Greg got a football final replayed?

[MFKS]

Slow down people

Why the salt about this??

Yes VAR ****ed up
Yes the goal should have been not allowed

But


We know that this is football

We had 84 mins to turn it around

We were not good enough to do so


Where we need to look is within for the cause of our defeat last night because that where we lost.

We were not beaten by the ref VAR or Victory


We beat ourselves

So stop making excuses

[redwah]

Here, have some more salt for those wounds.
30,000 people could see it on the big screen and in their corporate boxes.
VAR couldnt?
Surely they have a backup. What prompted them to check it in the first place?

Why can’t the ref go to the sideline to check this if the VAR is “broken”. He is in communication with the VAR official so he could have been told.

What is pissing me off the most is that this is being reported as a “controversial “ decision....no a controversial decision would be if a linesman missed a lineball decision and he didn’t have a system in place to get the decisions correct...No my friends this wa simply a case of 1 of 2 things...a) a complete and utter case of incompetence or b) a complete and utter case of conspiracy.

If the FFA have come out and said the VAR was “broken” then I’m running with b).

[Imyourhero]

We were not good enough.
Always difficult to accept but true.

[Jetmaster]

Slow down people

Why the salt about this??

Yes VAR ****ed up
Yes the goal should have been not allowed

But


We know that this is football

We had 84 mins to turn it around

We were not good enough to do so


Where we need to look is within for the cause of our defeat last night because that where we lost.

We were not beaten by the ref VAR or Victory


We beat ourselves

So stop making excuses

Wake up....disallowed goal changes the dynamics of the game. We could have lost 4-0, or maybe we went down the other end and scored.

This is bad.....very bad for the game, not just the Jets.

[redwah]

Wake up....disallowed goal changes the dynamics of the game. We could have lost 4-0, or maybe we went down the other end and scored.

This is bad.....very bad for the game, not just the Jets.

Agree...we were more than good enough....second half the victory turned it into a afl spectacle...ball hardly hit the ground

[The Dunster]

Melbourne Victory did everything the referee allowed them to do. It might have been ugly but they got the job done. The FFA for their part have been letting Sydney kick the shit out of teams all season and in the grand final the torch was passed to Melbourne who fouled us 17 times or so, including a vicious elbow before even a yellow was produced.

Again, Melbourne Victory did the job - but if grinding out a result like that is the future of this game in Australia then we might as well follow Rugby League instead where they do thuggery over technical skill better than anyone.

[MFKS]

Wake up....disallowed goal changes the dynamics of the game. We could have lost 4-0, or maybe we went down the other end and scored.

This is bad.....very bad for the game, not just the Jets.

VAR has been shit sinced it was brought in

Changes dynamic well duh of course that is correct

But it also failed last week when we werent penalised for fouling Arzani. Different game at 2-0 Heart ??


Reality is we did not do enough to win that game last night


Grand Finals are won and lost by seizing chances capitalising on mistakes and most importantly belief in victory

Our guys blinked first


All the sour grapes this morning about the VAR is a poor touch from our supporters


We lost last night because our efforts were not good enough and we need to develop more as a club to achieve the triumph we aspire to


Blame the VAR
Blame the ref


But all we are doing is veing ungracious losers and failing to acknowledge our failure

Hey Victory were not great last night

But

They won the game fair and square

They took their chance and busted their arses to claim the prize


Hats off to them they done what they had to do

[Jetmaster]

You dont get it mate. This isn't about them shutting us down or us choking.

It also isn't just salty Jets fans up in arms at the moment. This is about VARs failings coming to a head. Had there been no VAR we'd be pissed off but life would go on.

Replay is pie in the sky....I reckon they should give us one of the many toilet seat copies and call it a draw.

Playoff for the direct ACL spot.

[Couscous]

MFKS is right. Sh|t happens in football. Teams should always aim for that 2 or 3 goal margin in case. We couldn't.

Thomas won the game; he was astounding. Roy was battered and angry and, ultimately, incredibly reckless and stupid. You think we would have won in extra time playing a man down?

[Couscous]

And re: the VAR cock-up, yes it was astoundingly bad, but it's the kind of mistake organisations learn from. One tiny benefit.

[Mark325]

Lawrence Thomas for me was the game changer, if his first half wasn't as good as it was at minimum we were going into that second half 1-1.

Unfortunately the Jets also shot themselves in the foot in the second half, just didn't come at them with the same energy and didn't pepper them nearly enough. If we played to the same level as we did in the first I feel like we surely would've nabbed one.

Obviously there are things out of the Jets control such as poor reffing and the VAR incident that also 100% led to us not pulling away with a win.

And i hate being this guy, but at least there's a silver lining in that a team that was wooden spooners last year just competed in the grand final and just about won the whole thing. We have almost the same team for next season, with the same coach so if we can move some stuff around, sort out some kinks and get them back into it for next season, i see no reason why we can't replicate very similar results

[Jetmaster]

FFA....."we'll fairly award the Championship to the best team and that is Sydney FC".

[halo se7en]

MFKS is right. Sh|t happens in football. Teams should always aim for that 2 or 3 goal margin in case. We couldn't.

Thomas won the game; he was astounding. Roy was battered and angry and, ultimately, incredibly reckless and stupid. You think we would have won in extra time playing a man down?

Do you think Roy would have been so desperate at 0-0?

[halo se7en]

And it’s not just bitter Jets fans. The consensus is that we were well & truly robbed. If that goal is disallowed, Victory don’t shut up shop. The ref let them drag the game into the ****ing mud after that and it was game over. Yep Thomas made some great saves but Moss didn’t- because MV didn’t even threaten our goal. I can admit we could have performed a lot better, but MV sure as hell didn’t deserve to lift the trophy for their performance.

[The Hacker]

Is this karma for the James Holland handball 10yrs ago.

[380]

The sooner the running of the actual competition is taken away from the FFA shit like this will always be the norm. They are accountable only to themselves and whilst that incompetent ( history proven ) Gallop and buy my position Lowy Jnr are running it and employing scapegoats such as Rourke and previously Damien de Bohun, Remember the amateurish lets forget to book a stadium for the GF under de Bohun a few years ago.

If it weren't for the fact the FFA is so obviously incompetent you could almost make a case for an inquiry in to whether the organisation has a corrupt presence within it. I am NOT saying it is but with all the inconsistencies we have seen in recent times you could hardly blame any fan for thinking an inquiry would be a good thing for the game in general.

BTW there is no way in hell somebody like Ben Wilson can continue in his role in the game for starters.

[MFKS]

And it’s not just bitter Jets fans. The consensus is that we were well & truly robbed. If that goal is disallowed, Victory don’t shut up shop. The ref let them drag the game into the ****ing mud after that and it was game over. Yep Thomas made some great saves but Moss didn’t- because MV didn’t even threaten our goal. I can admit we could have performed a lot better, but MV sure as hell didn’t deserve to lift the trophy for their performance.

WTF you talking about??

They got a goal by hook or by crook

Then they defended well
Their keeper pulled a couple of saves out of his arse to keep them in front
They gave away fouls
They ran the clock down
They frustrated the opposition
They ground out the result


If that was us we be talking about how great we were to grind out a result when not playing scinitilating football


The idea last night wasnt to play joga bonito

The idea was to get the result

Victory did and they did it pretty well.
They were not free flowing great but they actually out fought us physically out thought us mentally and won the battle where it mattered


Credit where it is due

They won fair and square

[MFKS]

Do you think Roy would have been so desperate at 0-0?

Roy needed to pull his head in regardless of the scoreline

As soon as he got carded it cost us any hope

We had a slim chance of pulling it out

Goals in injury time happen but thgat card cost us what little chance we had

2 of our biggest games of the season and this bloke has cost his team by getting sent off needlessly .


Not ****ing good enough really

[halo se7en]

They won fair and square

Except they didn’t.

[halo se7en]

Roy needed to pull his head in regardless of the scoreline

As soon as he got carded it cost us any hope

We had a slim chance of pulling it out

Goals in injury time happen but thgat card cost us what little chance we had

2 of our biggest games of the season and this bloke has cost his team by getting sent off needlessly .


Not ****ing good enough really

I know you’ve been away for a while but at least read the whole post AND the post I was replying to before shooting your mouth off.

Someone made the comment that at 0-0, that action from Roy would have cost us in extra time. My comment was that at 0-0, Roy probably doesn’t make that action.

[MFKS]

Except they didn’t.

They were the beneficiary of an incorrect refereeing decision just as we were the beneficiary the week before when Johnny K fouled Arzani and we got away with it fortuitously

Swings and Roundabouts

So Tards didnt cheat they just played to the referees whistle and got a decision their way which we didnt


Unless ypu got some proof that Muscat met Gillette with a bag full of cash in King Edward Park yesterday morning then all that happened was Victory got a generous ref call their way and nothing more.

That football

Deal with it

[gussie_l]

It's not good enough to just come out and say it was a technical error. Is this like saying pre-var the linesman chosen for the game had known to suffer from poor vision. You want to introduce this fancy pants technology you gotta build and provide an available/bullet proof system. In the end the guys marking that line would be taking a risk to expose offside also knowing that it would be captured on VAR if the linesman "failed to see it". It has definitely influenced the game and outcome.
How far does this go, playing devils advocate, if VAR goes down, is it also the equivalent of the lights at the ground turning off/power outage, should it be detected and play stop? This would be yet another "test case" to show the world of the VAR frailties.

Yes, yes, yes, overall we should have done better and to also complete some of our opportunities. Ernesto has been great in getting our players to make many many more attacking opportunities this year but sometimes/some games it felt like we couldn't take them...... This was another of those games.

Anyway, here is the photo to plaster it onto this foz to re-inforce how crap it was....... taken from eSaBeSa - via Fox
1571
(https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2018/05/06/var-failed-grand-final-due-malfunction-admits-ffa).

Ernesto's post-game conference was pretty good.

It's easy to overlook how great this year was compared to previous years ........ Here's to next year....... arrrrrrgh

[MFKS]

I know you’ve been away for a while but at least read the whole post AND the post I was replying to before shooting your mouth off.

Someone made the comment that at 0-0, that action from Roy would have cost us in extra time. My comment was that at 0-0, Roy probably doesn’t make that action.

So the old if my auntie had balls she would be my uncle debate.

Dont matter what could or should have occurred

At 90th minute 0-1 down in a GF

You dont do what Roy done.

He let his team mates down. He let the coach down. He let thge fans down


If we were 5-0 up and that was Hutcho then maybe you can justify it.5 5 5

But that was a scandalous act and a disgrace to the shirt in the circumstances


I hope Gypo Bert and Griff take some form of stronger action as a message needs to be sent that we as a club dont play that way

[Bremsstrahlung]

I think the biggest problem is that linesmen are being urged to “not flag borderline offsides” and to “let play unfold and let VAR sort it out”.
Was watching Victory semi final today and heard the commentators banging on about how great it is when linesmen let play go on and let var sort out the finer details of offside. FFS.

I really hope the linesmen got it wrong. I hope he didn’t think it was offside. I hope he didn’t let it go to var like everyone wants.’

[Grimario]

Can you just go on about homophobic tirade and get banned again please? This place was so much better without your brand of stupidity.

[belchardo]

I think the biggest problem is that linesmen are being urged to “not flag borderline offsides” and to “let play unfold and let VAR sort it out”.
Was watching Victory semi final today and heard the commentators banging on about how great it is when linesmen let play go on and let var sort out the finer details of offside. FFS.

I really hope the linesmen got it wrong. I hope he didn’t think it was offside. I hope he didn’t let it go to var like everyone wants.’

i was thinking about everytime robbie slater, brenton speed and john aloisi implored the assistant to keep the flag down and let VAR sort it out.

[Jetmaster]

So the old if my auntie had balls she would be my uncle debate.

Dont matter what could or should have occurred

At 90th minute 0-1 down in a GF

You dont do what Roy done.

He let his team mates down. He let the coach down. He let thge fans down


If we were 5-0 up and that was Hutcho then maybe you can justify it.5 5 5

But that was a scandalous act and a disgrace to the shirt in the circumstances


I hope Gypo Bert and Griff take some form of stronger action as a message needs to be sent that we as a club dont play that way

Mate, will you read the other posts properly please? Or just get yourself banned again to avoid the frustration of talking to a brick wall. I'm not wasting my breath again for one.

[380]

At the end of the day we did not play anywhere near our best football and what we are capable of. At our best we overcome that early ripp off setback in a canter. I do agree there is some decision making and a line drawn in the sand re Roy, No excuses desperation or not. We would be dead set baying for blood if the shoe was on the other foot ie Bess on Moss.

Bring on next season, Plenty to look forward too IMO. How many of us would have taken a home GF this season before the season proper kicked off in a heartbeat.Wonderful season all things considered.

Many thanks to JP and Turbo for the stats and media updates.

[hawk]

You dont do what Roy done.

He let his team mates down. He let the coach down. He let thge fans down


You cant be serious.

Roy doesnt try a dangerous kick at 0-0. He is a hero for inflicting some comedic pain on the victards.

Gfs can get fkd. Not worth the hype when the ffa have to find excuses to get a team up.

Sticking with comp games, semis are for tv maybe.

[halo se7en]

Bring on next season, Plenty to look forward too IMO. How many of us would have taken a home GF this season before the season proper kicked off in a heartbeat.Wonderful season all things considered.

Spot on. Give it another few days/weeks/a month for the GF hurt to subside and more people will get back to this point.

[StannyCFCJET]

Ernie Merrick post match presser giving it to some journo

[mic22]

So, apparently the VAR software had a failure "about 30 seconds before Victory scored" and was "restored a few minutes after"
Hilarious... after this, I don't feel so bad about losing a GF anymore. It is pretty clear we were never going to win.
Being the best team on the park is the real result: the trophy is meaningless.

I found my ticket in the end: 120$ on tmresale for a seat right behind the Jets bench, row A. 3 hrs before the game. Phew.
Sh*t view, I moved to a GA area for the 2nd half :D

Good atmosphere but "cold" crowd: only reason why the whole stadium was not booing after the VAR mistake was exposed on the big screen is... about 10000 of them didn't know what "offside" is ;)

[hawk]

It is pretty clear we were never going to win.
Good atmosphere but "cold" crowd: only reason why the whole stadium was not booing after the VAR mistake was exposed on the big screen is... about 10000 of them didn't know what "offside" is ;)

Spot on. maybe 15k.

Its the "you're just lucky to be here" crowd. But i dd see lots of passion from many of the one timers so im not complain.

Pretty happy so many jumped on board from this league town.

[Bon]

You cant be serious.

Roy doesnt try a dangerous kick at 0-0. He is a hero for inflicting some comedic pain on the victards.

Gfs can get fkd. Not worth the hype when the ffa have to find excuses to get a team up.

Sticking with comp games, semis are for tv maybe.

Have heard that Roy doesn't remember much/anything after copping the elbow from "Bess"...
Not condoning the kung-fu stuff, but I wouldn't be surprised if procedures for concussion were looked in to in the future.. (ala the thugby where he wouldn't have been allowed to come back on)

[Bon]

As for the rest of the game..
I don't want to get too far in to the whole VAR horsesh!t.. Absolute fvcking joke.. I was sitting in Bay 52, directly in line with it.. Ball goes in "Nah, old mate blondie was offside when he headed it back, you watch VAR bring it back, we are all good.... Yep, any minute now.. Here it comes........And..... WTF??"..

A few points:
- Member, if you can't see what everyones saying, then there is something wrong.. It DID change the game.. Yes we had chances, but it changed the game. Victory didn't have to attack anymore, they clogged everything up, compressed and didn't need to go forward. They wasted time, fell over at the drop of a hat, they ran the clock out and did it well. Yes, we would have done the same and ground out a result, but they got that opportunity BECAUSE of the refereeing error..
- Why weren't blokes like Ange's Rentboy (Troisi) and Berisha carded or looked in to for some of their tackles/elbows? There was a sliding, studs-up tackle from-behind early in the first half that Troisi did which was a yellow any day of the week, except GF day..
- The first half, we were all over them. We used the width of the pitch and kept pushing. Second half, everyone was so close together you could have thrown a blanket over the lot..
- Vargas looked a class above whenever he was on the ball.. Dimi and McGree looked dangerous each time they got it, however they were taken out of play in second half.. Poor old Johnny K had a rough night.. Even Georgie wasn't having the greatest game and was subbed pretty much to make sure he wasn't sent.. Poor old Hoffa and his open goal chances..

Overall, it hurts like buggery to have lost like that. However if you'd told me at the start of the season that we would be playing in the grand final, let alone actually hosting it in Nyeeeeeeeeewy, I would have taken it in a heartbeat..
I'm trying so hard to be "silver linings and all that" but can't help but feel disappointed and cut that it went down the way it did..
As others have said, perhaps it is karma for the gypos ten years ago, perhaps not..
That's football, can't wait to do it all again next season..

[Jetmaster]

Heard bits of Berisha on ABC News, something that sounded like "yes it was offside but this team deserves to win because we work so hard all year".

That's alright then.

This is now a VAR issue - has anyone heard from VARk Bosnich at all? Can't wait for Hilly to get stuck in on the Fox pod tomorrow.

If something like this happens in the World Cup it will be mayhem.

The thing is I don't believe the FFA story for a second - I'm thinking it is something as stupid as Zetter not paying much attention and rushing (as Kenny Lowe said), or he got the teams mixed up and thought white was the Jets, or he was in the poo palace and got caught out. Surely there must have been a backup plan incase of equipment failure practiced a number of times over the last 12 months?

No VAR and this conversation would not be happening.

[halo se7en]

As for the rest of the game..
I don't want to get too far in to the whole VAR horsesh!t.. Absolute fvcking joke.. I was sitting in Bay 52, directly in line with it.. Ball goes in "Nah, old mate blondie was offside when he headed it back, you watch VAR bring it back, we are all good.... Yep, any minute now.. Here it comes........And..... WTF??"..

A few points:
- Member, if you can't see what everyones saying, then there is something wrong.. It DID change the game.. Yes we had chances, but it changed the game. Victory didn't have to attack anymore, they clogged everything up, compressed and didn't need to go forward. They wasted time, fell over at the drop of a hat, they ran the clock out and did it well. Yes, we would have done the same and ground out a result, but they got that opportunity BECAUSE of the refereeing error..
- Why weren't blokes like Ange's Rentboy (Troisi) and Berisha carded or looked in to for some of their tackles/elbows? There was a sliding, studs-up tackle from-behind early in the first half that Troisi did which was a yellow any day of the week, except GF day..
- The first half, we were all over them. We used the width of the pitch and kept pushing. Second half, everyone was so close together you could have thrown a blanket over the lot..
- Vargas looked a class above whenever he was on the ball.. Dimi and McGree looked dangerous each time they got it, however they were taken out of play in second half.. Poor old Johnny K had a rough night.. Even Georgie wasn't having the greatest game and was subbed pretty much to make sure he wasn't sent.. Poor old Hoffa and his open goal chances..

Overall, it hurts like buggery to have lost like that. However if you'd told me at the start of the season that we would be playing in the grand final, let alone actually hosting it in Nyeeeeeeeeewy, I would have taken it in a heartbeat..
I'm trying so hard to be "silver linings and all that" but can't help but feel disappointed and cut that it went down the way it did..
As others have said, perhaps it is karma for the gypos ten years ago, perhaps not..
That's football, can't wait to do it all again next season..

I think you've summed up the night, and our season, perfectly.

[Jetmaster]

New season usually starts with a GF rematch doesn't it?

[halo se7en]

New season usually starts with a GF rematch doesn't it?

Would be a good way to get some punters back to MJS to kick the new season off.

[Jetmaster]

Would be a good way to get some punters back to MJS to kick the new season off.

Great for marketing - the "rematch" we wanted.

[Jetmaster]

I found my ticket in the end: 120$ on tmresale for a seat right behind the Jets bench, row A. 3 hrs before the game. Phew.
Sh*t view, I moved to a GA area for the 2nd half :D

Good to see you managed to get a ticket - the VAR controversy will paper over the number of empty seats in the stadium and inability to reach capacity.

[Frodo]

Took a few days to digest.

My main gripe with the game was the coward of a Referee they put in charge. If he had a pair he would have dolled out a few yellows within the first 20 mins to settle the crap down and Victory would have been forced to actually try to pass the ball rather than hoof it up field and niggle us into playing like crap.

The VAR effectively nullified the result for history's sake but the spectacle was ruined by the referee. I don't think the VAR decision was made to hand Victory the win, I think the referee was given a directive to lean the playing field in Victory's way otherwise we would have ran rings around them all game and won 4-0. They way we started that game, no matter how good Thomas was he would have been breached.


Salty i know, but i'll survive.

[MFKS]

As for the rest of the game..
I don't want to get too far in to the whole VAR horsesh!t.. Absolute fvcking joke.. I was sitting in Bay 52, directly in line with it.. Ball goes in "Nah, old mate blondie was offside when he headed it back, you watch VAR bring it back, we are all good.... Yep, any minute now.. Here it comes........And..... WTF??"..

A few points:
- Member, if you can't see what everyones saying, then there is something wrong.. It DID change the game.. Yes we had chances, but it changed the game. Victory didn't have to attack anymore, they clogged everything up, compressed and didn't need to go forward. They wasted time, fell over at the drop of a hat, they ran the clock out and did it well. Yes, we would have done the same and ground out a result, but they got that opportunity BECAUSE of the refereeing error..
- Why weren't blokes like Ange's Rentboy (Troisi) and Berisha carded or looked in to for some of their tackles/elbows? There was a sliding, studs-up tackle from-behind early in the first half that Troisi did which was a yellow any day of the week, except GF day..
- The first half, we were all over them. We used the width of the pitch and kept pushing. Second half, everyone was so close together you could have thrown a blanket over the lot..
- Vargas looked a class above whenever he was on the ball.. Dimi and McGree looked dangerous each time they got it, however they were taken out of play in second half.. Poor old Johnny K had a rough night.. Even Georgie wasn't having the greatest game and was subbed pretty much to make sure he wasn't sent.. Poor old Hoffa and his open goal chances..

Overall, it hurts like buggery to have lost like that. However if you'd told me at the start of the season that we would be playing in the grand final, let alone actually hosting it in Nyeeeeeeeeewy, I would have taken it in a heartbeat..
I'm trying so hard to be "silver linings and all that" but can't help but feel disappointed and cut that it went down the way it did..
As others have said, perhaps it is karma for the gypos ten years ago, perhaps not..
That's football, can't wait to do it all again next season..

Totally disagree

If the goal didnt come in the 9th minute Mus**** had his team set up to defend, disrupt the game and wait for a chance for Barbarousis Berisha Troisi or Plagues mate Leroy to take

Tactically he set up this way in minute 1 and the goal didnt change his strategy

End of the day Mus**** tactically outwitted Bert who failed to tweak much at all to change the game and its course

The decision to start neither Pato or Champness to offer genuine width against 2 makeshift fullbacks was a pretty bad call
By the time they come on they were unable to make enough of an impact

[Jeterpool]

Is this karma for the James Holland handball 10yrs ago.

That's where my head went yesterday.

Surely we have paid our due for that...surely after the last 10 years of crap we're able to move on. Hopefully that's our curse done.

[Jeterpool]

I'm still gutted, still feel hollow.

I immediately moved on from the VAR debarcle but everything that's come out from it post game has me shaking my head. The goal stands if we're in a non-VAR world and serves the argument why we needed technology. Now we have it, it ****s up and serves the argument to get rid of it! I don't like it personally.

We were good for a goal in the first half but couldn't do what we've done all season and find the back of the net. Second, Victory were the better team. Lawrence Thomas had a blinder and deserved his JMM. An under rated shot stopper. Either team could have won it and I agree that had Gillett thrown a card around earlier the nature of the game could have changed but he didn't. The breaks in play killed any ability for us to gain momentum.

The crowd were quiet but I was in Bay 60 and we were trying our hardest!

I'll remember the performances and goals this season, but still doesn't feel great.

Oh, and Roy O'Donovan - what a dope. That's a shocking challenge and he will get ruled out for a few weeks, affecting his availability at the start of the next season. We need to get an additional striker.

I now fear the dismantling. I expect Dimi and Stevie U-G to get a move overseas. I think we will keep one of Vargas and Pato. Can't see McGree coming back (though I hope he does). That's our middle that needs replacing.

[Jeterpool]

And to whoever started a petition to have the game replayed - FFS. Don't be so daft - you make us look like many of the clueless fans in the crowd on the weekend.

[Frodo]

Totally disagree

If the goal didnt come in the 9th minute Mus**** had his team set up to defend, disrupt the game and wait for a chance for Barbarousis Berisha Troisi or Plagues mate Leroy to take

Tactically he set up this way in minute 1 and the goal didnt change his strategy

End of the day Mus**** tactically outwitted Bert who failed to tweak much at all to change the game and its course

The decision to start neither Pato or Champness to offer genuine width against 2 makeshift fullbacks was a pretty bad call
By the time they come on they were unable to make enough of an impact

Outwitted??

Muscats tactics kept the score at 0-0. How does that mean he outwitted us?

I know you are trying to play up the "Member disagrees with everything" schtick you have going on, but Victory didn't play well on Saturday. They couldn't pass well, they didn't beat us on the counter much at all considering we were in all out attack mode for 80 minutes, they defended well but only inside their own box. I can't see how you can praise them for anything other than Thomas having a blinder in goals (which isn't really Muscats fault), fouling us into submission and then riding their luck.

The fact that we joined in on the shitty tackles and then stopped playing our game is a massive negative. But that can't be attributed to Victards and Muscat. We were maybe naive thinking that playing better than them for 90 minutes would win us the game, but Ernie set us up well enough to win.

They got lucky and we didn't deal with the niggle and long ball style of game well enough.

[Macca]

I found it funny listening to Muscat's presser that he said they were keen to play an attractive brand of football as well, but they were "prepared for" the aerial assault that Newcastle apparently threw at them. He had several goes at us for not playing good football, including saying stuff like "there were more headers than passes out there tonight", and that Merrick's comments about wanting to play free flowing football were a bit of a laugh.

Bit rich considering they really didn't offer that much from a football sense in the game other than to abuse the long leash the referee gave them in constantly breaking up the play.
It seemed to work and unfortunately Ernie wasn't able to get the lads to maintain their composure in the second half, and the occasion got to them a bit.

It stings to happen like this - but there has to be a loser on the night, and we put up a decent enough performance - let alone the season we've had.

Reading the Dimi "family" article in the Herald from Turbo's links, I'd like to think he's relatively settled here for now. I think Stevie still has some learning to do and hope he would be keen for another year under Merrick. Majority of the squad would surely have had to enjoyed this season immensely and would take something big for them to want to move on.

Vargas is reportedly keen to stay on - but will come down to talks between his agent and the club. I'd love to see him stay after his showings in the finals.
Pato I can give or take, won't be too upset if he goes but would be happy if he stayed as well.
McGree has grown immensely, given us drive forward and goal threat as well as being versatile. He will be a big miss.

[halo se7en]

The goal stands if we're in a non-VAR world.

This is where it becomes even more grey though. If it's true that the linesmen were told to keep their flag down on line-ball calls so VAR could rule correctly, he may have thrown it up if there was no VAR.

[Jeterpool]

If it's true that the linesmen were told to keep their flag down on line-ball calls so VAR could rule correctly, he may have thrown it up if there was no VAR.

I hadn't heard that, so yes, it adds an additional element.

Essentially the rules, mistakes, interpretations and reliability of VAR is building built as it is being used - the equivalent of building the plane while you're flying it.

[MonkeyKplunk]

This is where it becomes even more grey though. If it's true that the linesmen were told to keep their flag down on line-ball calls so VAR could rule correctly, he may have thrown it up if there was no VAR.

He may have or he may not have.
This is the difference between human and technical error though.

Human error you can get mad about but then forgive.
Technical error should never happen. There should always be a fail safe, that's just common sense.

[halo se7en]

He may have or he may not have.
This is the difference between human and technical error though.

Human error you can get mad about but then forgive.
Technical error should never happen. There should always be a fail safe, that's just common sense.

I totally agree. I've just seen a few people say if VAR wasn't around, then the goal would have stood, which may not be 100% correct. We won't ever know unless the lino comes out publicly and says it (which he shouldn't, and I don't want him to).

[Jetmaster]

If you look at the pic..

https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/25767374365c9975c4f216f46f4f95be?width=700

* the linesman is dead level and in position

* he is about 20 metres away

* there are THREE players offside

* they are all on the linesman's side of play

* one of those players has bleached hair and cannot be missed

The question has to be why has he not flagged? He surely could not miss three players. Was he told to keep it down and leave offsides to VAR? If so, who gave that directive?

When the equipment had failed Zetter or Gillet could have asked him if he originally saw an offside in seconds - but "officially", they are not meant to keep their flag down for that reason. I am convinced if there was no VAR on the night he would have flagged.

The game is gone but there needs to be an enquiry into what actually happened in that one minute period, a fully transparent explanation given and penalties to those responsible. I think this is the kind of action Ronny and George are alluding to by saying "sorry" isn't enough.

[MFKS]

Outwitted??

Muscats tactics kept the score at 0-0. How does that mean he outwitted us?

I know you are trying to play up the "Member disagrees with everything" schtick you have going on, but Victory didn't play well on Saturday. They couldn't pass well, they didn't beat us on the counter much at all considering we were in all out attack mode for 80 minutes, they defended well but only inside their own box. I can't see how you can praise them for anything other than Thomas having a blinder in goals (which isn't really Muscats fault), fouling us into submission and then riding their luck.

The fact that we joined in on the shitty tackles and then stopped playing our game is a massive negative. But that can't be attributed to Victards and Muscat. We were maybe naive thinking that playing better than them for 90 minutes would win us the game, but Ernie set us up well enough to win.

They got lucky and we didn't deal with the niggle and long ball style of game well enough.

Dont for a second think i just disagreeing for the sake of it.I genuinely believe thatMus**** outwitted Ernie

He knew perfectly well how Bert wanted to play
He had some weapons to play that way against us but chose not to
He dragged the game to a place we were not good at and then beat us at it.

There are many ways to skin a cat and he chose his way to win

Mus**** could have set Victree up to go toe to toe with us throwing the big ones
In Berisha Barbarousis Plagues mate and Troisi he had the artillery to do so

But he chose to not go there.

He chose to turn it into a grind and backed his side to be better at it than us.
They were.

If things had of turned to shit he could easily have chosen to take the brakes off and unleashed the big names asnd stretched the game and gambled to get back in it that way


Everyone keeps hammering on about there goal keeper. Sure he made a couple of great saves and was a deserving MoM for coming up with the big plays but reality was we never threatened him anywhere near as much as we could have.

I can recall 3-4 shots of note. All the great stuff the Jets done was outside the box in the build up play. That shit dont win games. It what you do in the bix that matters and Mus**** set his side up to limit our opportunities in the box.

Credit where it is due. We were outwitted by Mus**** tactically
GFs are about results not free flowing football.

He chose a method to achieve the result and his logic actually is sound as to why to play that way against us

[plague]

How trash was Leeroy George?
Was he typical trash or extra trash befitting occasion?

[halo se7en]

How trash was Leeroy George?
Was he typical trash or extra trash befitting occasion?

Extra trash. Should have kicked the ball a second earlier and he might have avoided this whole VAR fiasco. George out.

[rhysd]

I can not see any logic or sense in argument that states Muscat outwitted merrick.

Thomas had one of the nights of his career. No way in hell would a manager be relying on their keeper to make those saves that he did. Newcastle would have been up 3 or 4-1 on another night.

The goal that was scored.. did.. make a difference. It changed the entire nature of the game.

Merrick will be ruing starting with johnny k over not giving pato a chance to wreck their back 4.

We should have won that game on our first half alone.. but that is football.

I am incredibly excited about the future of the jets.

[halo se7en]

I can not see any logic or sense in argument that states Muscat outwitted merrick.

Don’t worry, there only seems to be one person peddling that nonsense.

From his “logic” Merrick should instruct Roy & Kanta to ‘accidently’ break the legs of Kosta & George and take them out of the game, so MV lose their major attacking threats and then we can claim we tactically outsmarted them.

[Jetmaster]

Some interesting points coming from Kozzie and Bozza on A-League Hour last night.

* On field officials were not told there were technical issues although the rules state they should be.
* The VAR rules state there should be a screen from the host broadcaster in the room as backup.
* Kozzie believes we don't know the full story yet and everyone is trying to cover their arse. He also said Zetter has previous form.
* Bozza agrees VAR in its current form cannot continue. He also thinks the current story is a ruse and wants to know if it has happened before and we don't know about it.

FFA hoping Socceroos and a bit of time will take the heat off and it will be swept under the carpet.

Oh....we did get 1 and 2 in Goal of the Year....Ninkos "greatest A-League goal ever" came third.

[Macca]

Will be interested to hear if further story around what happened with the VAR incident comes out.

Were they the two Nabbout goals? Or McGree's came second?

[Jetmaster]

Will be interested to hear if further story around what happened with the VAR incident comes out.

Were they the two Nabbout goals? Or McGree's came second?

McGree first, Nabbout v WSW second.

[The Dunster]

Dont for a second think i just disagreeing for the sake of it.I genuinely believe thatMus**** outwitted Ernie

He knew perfectly well how Bert wanted to play
He had some weapons to play that way against us but chose not to
He dragged the game to a place we were not good at and then beat us at it.

There are many ways to skin a cat and he chose his way to win

Mus**** could have set Victree up to go toe to toe with us throwing the big ones
In Berisha Barbarousis Plagues mate and Troisi he had the artillery to do so

But he chose to not go there.

He chose to turn it into a grind and backed his side to be better at it than us.
They were.

If things had of turned to shit he could easily have chosen to take the brakes off and unleashed the big names asnd stretched the game and gambled to get back in it that way


Everyone keeps hammering on about there goal keeper. Sure he made a couple of great saves and was a deserving MoM for coming up with the big plays but reality was we never threatened him anywhere near as much as we could have.

I can recall 3-4 shots of note. All the great stuff the Jets done was outside the box in the build up play. That shit dont win games. It what you do in the bix that matters and Mus**** set his side up to limit our opportunities in the box.

Credit where it is due. We were outwitted by Mus**** tactically
GFs are about results not free flowing football.

He chose a method to achieve the result and his logic actually is sound as to why to play that way against us

You are completely wrong here Member. Muscat's lads played exactly the way Ernie and everyone else of sound mind would have expected them to.
Outwitted suggests Muscat did something both unexpected and spectacular - and nothing could be further from the truth.
The only thing Ernie got wrong was he had too much faith in the referees and officials to stop the niggling / gamesmanship tactics of Victory.
If it was an ACL game there is absolutely no way 17 fouls would have been committed by Victory without a yellow being produced, nor would Berisha have stayed on the ground after that blatant elbow to Roy.

[MonkeyKplunk]

It still dumbfounds me that we (FFA & poor referees branch) set the standard when they sent Roy off against FC, and then can't uphold that standard in the "biggest game of the year"

You blatantly elbow a bloke in the face, deliberate or not, you deserve to be sent.

[gussie_l]

Some interesting points coming from Kozzie and Bozza on A-League Hour last night.

* On field officials were not told there were technical issues although the rules state they should be.
* The VAR rules state there should be a screen from the host broadcaster in the room as backup.
* Kozzie believes we don't know the full story yet and everyone is trying to cover their arse. He also said Zetter has previous form.
* Bozza agrees VAR in its current form cannot continue. He also thinks the current story is a ruse and wants to know if it has happened before and we don't know about it.

FFA hoping Socceroos and a bit of time will take the heat off and it will be swept under the carpet.

Great summary, cheers. The outcome so far is just not good enough and shouldn't be accepted. Good to see more is and has to be coming out over this. As other's have said, imagine if this happened in the WC. Given FIFA "should" be watching, feeling pressure, they may not allow the FFA to go on ignoring it, so there is a "learning" if they stick with VAR. Also we deserve the whole story (but i agree don't hold my breath - i hope there are external influences / leaks on more accurately of what happened). Won't change anything for us. We get to say we were dudded, tarnishes Victree's win more but mostly peeps need to be made accountable otherwise nothing changes.

Yes, i'm still not over it, but am looking fwd.

[Bon]

Great summary, cheers. The outcome so far is just not good enough and shouldn't be accepted. Good to see more is and has to be coming out over this. As other's have said, imagine if this happened in the WC. Given FIFA "should" be watching, feeling pressure, they may not allow the FFA to go on ignoring it, so there is a "learning" if they stick with VAR. Also we deserve the whole story (but i agree don't hold my breath - i hope there are external influences / leaks on more accurately of what happened). Won't change anything for us. We get to say we were dudded, tarnishes Victree's win more but mostly peeps need to be made accountable otherwise nothing changes.

Yes, i'm still not over it, but am looking fwd.

I know it's not going to change any outcomes, I've accepted that its all done now, it just feels like there needs to be some sort of culpability other than "oh yeah, woops, our bad, sorry"..
Does anyone know an email address I can perhaps write a "frustrated/dejected football fan" email to FFA? Their website, unsurprisingly, is pretty sh!t and lacking..

[380]

This has been ongoing situation all season long where nobody at the FFA is being held to account for negligence and incompetence. Week in week out from one cock up to the next blokes at FFA HQ remain in there positions.

It astounds me this can be the case, in most other organisations someone or some people would have been moved on by now. There is a real protection racket mentality going on at the FFA.

Things need to change quick smart down there and Ben Wilson and David Gallop should be the first frog marched out the door but this will not happen. Can't believe some of these incompetent imbeciles will get the experience of a lifetime at the World Cup all on the company credit card funded by us.

Disgrace the way these incompetent muppets run the game. You could make a pretty good case for these blokes being derelict in there duty.

[The Dunster]

Two extremes are ruining the league for me.

1. Overly physical play is being encouraged rather than penalised by referees.
2. Simulation / Diving from the same teams that are excessively physical is being rewarded.

The main culprits being SFC, Victory, and City - who are also the three highest profile / cashed up teams in the league.

IF playing attractive football means finishing 2nd I'll take that every day over a league or grand final win.

[halo se7en]

Two extremes are ruining the league for me.

1. Overly physical play is being encouraged rather than penalised by referees.
2. Simulation / Diving from the same teams that are excessively physical is being rewarded.

The main culprits being SFC, Victory, and City - who are also the three highest profile / cashed up teams in the league.

IF playing attractive football means finishing 2nd I'll take that every day over a league or grand final win.

I brought this up when hacks like Golec & Alex Grant were cutting down Arzani. Don't get me wrong - Arzani knows how to find the dirt without too much persuasion, but those two made a point of targeting him early in their matches and were leaving a lot in every challenge they made with the aim to take him out of the game. It wasn't subtle, yet the referee seemed completely blind to it. These weren't faint ankle taps either, they were shoulders into the sternum after heading or kicking the ball away.

[Macca]

Franjic also made a point of being very physical in their matchup in the elimination final (or whatever it called) a few weeks ago. I think most of the tackles were clean, but particularly in the first hour of the game, just about every time Arzani came down the wing, Franjic was sliding in hard and fast. I don't necessarily have a problem with blokes taking that approach - but it needs to be a risk, the downside being if you get it wrong you get carded.

The other thing I think refs need to work on policing is cynical fouls - I see so often in games, random fouls in the last half hour of a game will receive a yellow when really there was nothing in it. On the other hand, blatant shirt pulling and deliberate professional fouls in the first half go uncarded. Players will do what you allow them to get away with. You're not "ruining the game" by enforcing the rules, you're setting the standard.

[380]

They do police cynical fouls , Just not against Shitney. Victory or City. It is one of those great inconsistencies we have witnessed all season.

[MFKS]

You are completely wrong here Member. Muscat's lads played exactly the way Ernie and everyone else of sound mind would have expected them to.
Outwitted suggests Muscat did something both unexpected and spectacular - and nothing could be further from the truth.
The only thing Ernie got wrong was he had too much faith in the referees and officials to stop the niggling / gamesmanship tactics of Victory.
If it was an ACL game there is absolutely no way 17 fouls would have been committed by Victory without a yellow being produced, nor would Berisha have stayed on the ground after that blatant elbow to Roy.

So if Mus**** played the game exactly how Ernie and everyone else expected them to...

How dumb is Ernie for coming up with the shitful tactics he did??

Because he has been outwitted then if your sypnosis is correct.


Plenty of people here who cant give Mus**** the credit he deserves here. Parking the bus and playing negative football is a legitimate tactic.

The bloke took a risk to play this way and it came off for him.

As for Victory fouling us the ref was generous with the cards and could have been more strict and less lenient but there wasnt exactly a hell of a lot of cast iron cards by Victree bar the Berisha elbow that went unpunished.

[Roundball Enthusiast]

As for Victory fouling us the ref was generous with the cards and could have been more strict and less lenient but there wasnt exactly a hell of a lot of cast iron cards by Victree bar the Berisha elbow that went unpunished.

Shirt pulls (several), ankle trips (several) from behind, Lunging knee height on Ronnie.

Just to name a couple that are clear yellow cards any day of the week, zero given.

[hawk]

We knew it was coming and copped it. Losers

[StannyCFCJET]

Linesmen wasnt in line with our backline for the freekick so was struggling to get in line once it was taken

[Jetmaster]

Linesmen wasnt in line with our backline for the freekick so was struggling to get in line once it was taken

Interesting angle of the goal just came out via NCL Facey..

https://www.facebook.com/NCLboys/videos/986538161520073/?t=0

To the naked eye looks bloody offside to me.

[MFKS]

Interesting angle of the goal just came out via NCL Facey..

https://www.facebook.com/NCLboys/videos/986538161520073/?t=0

To the naked eye looks bloody offside to me.
Eyes painted on really

To be fair though the bloke is just as incompoetrent as any other official in the country really

[Frodo]

So if Mus**** played the game exactly how Ernie and everyone else expected them to...

How dumb is Ernie for coming up with the shitful tactics he did??

Because he has been outwitted then if your sypnosis is correct.


Plenty of people here who cant give Mus**** the credit he deserves here. Parking the bus and playing negative football is a legitimate tactic.

The bloke took a risk to play this way and it came off for him.

As for Victory fouling us the ref was generous with the cards and could have been more strict and less lenient but there wasnt exactly a hell of a lot of cast iron cards by Victree bar the Berisha elbow that went unpunished.



I'm definitely sick of talking about this game for a while. But just to reiterate my points against your claim.

Muscats negative tactics were a smart move however if they hadn't received their gift from the VAR all those tactics would have achieved was extra time. Hence my argument that Muscat didn't "outsmart" Ernie. He did what any coach would do when coming up against a better team but his tactics weren't anything special.

I also don't think that Victory were that much worse than us when it came down to bad fouls or even the number of fouls. We didn't want to play that sort of game but the referee set the tone and we were dumb enough to play that way. (however i'm not sure we really had an alternative.)
I just wish he'd brought the cards out much much earlier in order to save the game from being a dire and stunted as it ended up. We all wanted to see a balls to the wall attacking GF but the Tards and the Ref put good to that after about 20 mins.

Muscat is a mediocre coach and won't go farther than the HAL before becoming a terribly biased pundit. He's also a smug p*^&k like Arnie so I will never have a positive word to say about either.

[sorefootballer]

It was a good thread while it lasted. We made the GF, didn't win. End game, close thread

[StannyCFCJET]

It was a good thread while it lasted. We made the GF, didn't win. End game, close thread

And never mention it again

[plague]

And never mention it again

Mention what?

[Couscous]

Let this thread die.

[Jetmaster]

Let this thread die.

*Bump*

[plague]

What thread?