Liverpool F.c.

[StevieH]

Another aweful dive imo too but i think Tony Pullis is a hypocrit. banging on about good solid tackles and getting up and getting on with it but no mention of the guy being stamped on! I'm getting sick of Stoke dishing it out and then their manager belly aching after the game

ah well, suarez has now proved me wrong then. it was an awful dive, an appalling effort and he made a tit of himself.

that said the provocation he's getting is beyond a joke. gets the shit kicked out of him, stamped on, three yellow card offences from huth and suarez gets nothing. gets fouled 3 or 4 times in the same incident and norwich last week and doesn't get a penalty. perhaps no wonder he's resorted to that crap histrionics at the weekend to try and get himself a foul or two. not excusing what garbage dive but he must be at his wit's end about the treatment he gets from referees.

[carmine]

Another aweful dive imo too but i think Tony Pullis is a hypocrit. banging on about good solid tackles and getting up and getting on with it but no mention of the guy being stamped on! I'm getting sick of Stoke dishing it out and then their manager belly aching after the game

ah well, suarez has now proved me wrong then. it was an awful dive, an appalling effort and he made a tit of himself.

that said the provocation he's getting is beyond a joke. gets the shit kicked out of him, stamped on, three yellow card offences from huth and suarez gets nothing. gets fouled 3 or 4 times in the same incident and norwich last week and doesn't get a penalty. perhaps no wonder he's resorted to that crap histrionics at the weekend to try and get himself a foul or two. not excusing what garbage dive but he must be at his wit's end about the treatment he gets from referees.

Bales dive was simply dreadful aswell. It wasn't even as if he had anything to gain gain by it. pathetic really. Mindyou i have to say i found Tony Pullis and his holier than thou attitude the most irritating of all. Its also very disapointing that all the rough stuff dished out at the weekend is seemingly going to go unpunished.

[StevieH]

Another aweful dive imo too but i think Tony Pullis is a hypocrit. banging on about good solid tackles and getting up and getting on with it but no mention of the guy being stamped on! I'm getting sick of Stoke dishing it out and then their manager belly aching after the game

ah well, suarez has now proved me wrong then. it was an awful dive, an appalling effort and he made a tit of himself.

that said the provocation he's getting is beyond a joke. gets the shit kicked out of him, stamped on, three yellow card offences from huth and suarez gets nothing. gets fouled 3 or 4 times in the same incident and norwich last week and doesn't get a penalty. perhaps no wonder he's resorted to that crap histrionics at the weekend to try and get himself a foul or two. not excusing what garbage dive but he must be at his wit's end about the treatment he gets from referees.

Bales dive was simply dreadful aswell. It wasn't even as if he had anything to gain gain by it. pathetic really. Mindyou i have to say i found Tony Pullis and his holier than thou attitude the most irritating of all. Its also very disapointing that all the rough stuff dished out at the weekend is seemingly going to go unpunished.

i don't really blame tony pulis, it's what he does. i blame lee mason, the referee. he refereed the player and the context and not the actual incidents, and that was disgraceful. then when he eventually got a yellow card out for yet another stoke assault he did it with that kind of rueful grin. huth assaulted suarez at least twice and got away with it. but suarez is again the bad guy.

[carmine]

i must admit i'm amazed that action isn't being taken against Huth. Sending out all the wrong signals. The FA really is a woeful organisation.

[Chicog]

Another aweful dive imo too but i think Tony Pullis is a hypocrit. banging on about good solid tackles and getting up and getting on with it but no mention of the guy being stamped on! I'm getting sick of Stoke dishing it out and then their manager belly aching after the game

ah well, suarez has now proved me wrong then. it was an awful dive, an appalling effort and he made a tit of himself.

that said the provocation he's getting is beyond a joke. gets the shit kicked out of him, stamped on, three yellow card offences from huth and suarez gets nothing. gets fouled 3 or 4 times in the same incident and norwich last week and doesn't get a penalty. perhaps no wonder he's resorted to that crap histrionics at the weekend to try and get himself a foul or two. not excusing what garbage dive but he must be at his wit's end about the treatment he gets from referees.

I have no sympathy. He spends all his time going down at the lightest touch (if only my girlfriend would do that - fnar fnar) and then rolling around as if he's been poleaxed. He's a filthy cheat and other teams and refs are fed up with it.

But it wasn't just him that Stoke were battering yesterday, they were doing the Ferguson special and rattling the cages until the ref steps in, and this ref left it far too long.

I was surprised Liverpool didn't start looking for some payback, to be honest.

It's referees like Mason that lose control of games.

[carmine]

Another aweful dive imo too but i think Tony Pullis is a hypocrit. banging on about good solid tackles and getting up and getting on with it but no mention of the guy being stamped on! I'm getting sick of Stoke dishing it out and then their manager belly aching after the game

ah well, suarez has now proved me wrong then. it was an awful dive, an appalling effort and he made a tit of himself.

that said the provocation he's getting is beyond a joke. gets the shit kicked out of him, stamped on, three yellow card offences from huth and suarez gets nothing. gets fouled 3 or 4 times in the same incident and norwich last week and doesn't get a penalty. perhaps no wonder he's resorted to that crap histrionics at the weekend to try and get himself a foul or two. not excusing what garbage dive but he must be at his wit's end about the treatment he gets from referees.

I have no sympathy. He spends all his time going down at the lightest touch (if only my girlfriend would do that - fnar fnar) and then rolling around as if he's been poleaxed. He's a filthy cheat and other teams and refs are fed up with it.

But it wasn't just him that Stoke were battering yesterday, they were doing the Ferguson special and rattling the cages until the ref steps in, and this ref left it far too long.

I was surprised Liverpool didn't start looking for some payback, to be honest.

It's referees like Mason that lose control of games.

We are talking about stamping here! I'm sick of the way Stoke conduct themselves and Pullis is nearly as big a twit as Wenger. Bit off topic here but since i mentioned arsene, are we all allowed to tackle your players this season or is that still unfair treatment to your team?

Edited October 9, 2012 by carmine

[wellred]

I think you all need to get out more and stop spending so much time on TV.

[StevieH]

I have no sympathy. He spends all his time going down at the lightest touch (if only my girlfriend would do that - fnar fnar) and then rolling around as if he's been poleaxed. He's a filthy cheat and other teams and refs are fed up with it.

But it wasn't just him that Stoke were battering yesterday, they were doing the Ferguson special and rattling the cages until the ref steps in, and this ref left it far too long.

I was surprised Liverpool didn't start looking for some payback, to be honest.

It's referees like Mason that lose control of games.

well congratulations on buying the party line. suarez got the sh*t kicked out of him yet again but it's his fault he gets the sh*t kicked out of him? good stuff.

by the way you start off by saying it's all suarez's own fault for being a filthy cheat then say that stoke were kicking the shit out of everyone then say that the referee lost control of the game. which is an amazingly fast turnaround in just three sentences or so.

[SantiSuk]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/19874217

I get this incredible feeling of deja vu.

Witchita lineman, Kenny Rogers. Another manager who gets so immersed in the culture of the town that he can't see his @rse from his elbow and gets sucked into defending the indefensible. Yes it was unfair that Suarez got stamped on, yes it was a pathetic performance by Mason. But I'm with Chicog, Suarez is a diving cheat and the gravest such animal in the EPL since Drogba left these shores. Diving seems to be getting worse every weekend and has to be stamped out* before the comedy turns to ridicule of the game.

[Yes Carmine it is ok for players to tackle robustly within the laws of the game. Unfortunately many refs seem to have contracted contactinental phobia - a disease that has them blowing up at the least sign of a dumping and a disease that has crossed over the English Channel. Arsene, being French has always had the disease and yes he is the number 1 whiner in the EPL, closely followed by SAF then Pulis (doesn't stop him being an excellent manager in many other respects)].

*play on words not intended

Edited October 9, 2012 by SantiSuk

[MrRed]

So the question is .....................suraez is a diver or not......................scousers deliver........

[MrRed]

I have no sympathy. He spends all his time going down at the lightest touch (if only my girlfriend would do that - fnar fnar) and then rolling around as if he's been poleaxed. He's a filthy cheat and other teams and refs are fed up with it.

But it wasn't just him that Stoke were battering yesterday, they were doing the Ferguson special and rattling the cages until the ref steps in, and this ref left it far too long.

I was surprised Liverpool didn't start looking for some payback, to be honest.

It's referees like Mason that lose control of games.

well congratulations on buying the party line. suarez got the sh*t kicked out of him yet again but it's his fault he gets the sh*t kicked out of him? good stuff.

by the way you start off by saying it's all suarez's own fault for being a filthy cheat then say that stoke were kicking the shit out of everyone then say that the referee lost control of the game. which is an amazingly fast turnaround in just three sentences or s

typical mickey who knows fuc_k all about football.

[SantiSuk]

I have no sympathy. He spends all his time going down at the lightest touch (if only my girlfriend would do that - fnar fnar) and then rolling around as if he's been poleaxed. He's a filthy cheat and other teams and refs are fed up with it.

But it wasn't just him that Stoke were battering yesterday, they were doing the Ferguson special and rattling the cages until the ref steps in, and this ref left it far too long.

I was surprised Liverpool didn't start looking for some payback, to be honest.

It's referees like Mason that lose control of games.

well congratulations on buying the party line. suarez got the sh*t kicked out of him yet again but it's his fault he gets the sh*t kicked out of him? good stuff.

by the way you start off by saying it's all suarez's own fault for being a filthy cheat then say that stoke were kicking the shit out of everyone then say that the referee lost control of the game. which is an amazingly fast turnaround in just three sentences or s

typical mickey who knows fuc_k all about football.

No make it , Mr Red.

[MrRed]

I have no sympathy. He spends all his time going down at the lightest touch (if only my girlfriend would do that - fnar fnar) and then rolling around as if he's been poleaxed. He's a filthy cheat and other teams and refs are fed up with it.

But it wasn't just him that Stoke were battering yesterday, they were doing the Ferguson special and rattling the cages until the ref steps in, and this ref left it far too long.

I was surprised Liverpool didn't start looking for some payback, to be honest.

It's referees like Mason that lose control of games.

well congratulations on buying the party line. suarez got the sh*t kicked out of him yet again but it's his fault he gets the sh*t kicked out of him? good stuff.

by the way you start off by saying it's all suarez's own fault for being a filthy cheat then say that stoke were kicking the shit out of everyone then say that the referee lost control of the game. which is an amazingly fast turnaround in just three sentences or s

No make it , Mr Red.

typical mickey who knows fuc_k all about football.

Also Nani can get to fuc_k to another useless diving cun_t. who cant cross a ball.

Edited October 9, 2012 by MrRed

[smokie36]

I thought you'd make it to Xmas young red nose.

The pressure is getting to you I see.

Off you go to the Pattaya Forum for your free trip.

[sharecropper]

It looks like Suarez's antics might give enough impetus to clean up the game generally:

From the BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19891034

Also in light of the adverse publicity he is getting, does anyone think Rodgers is looking a little exposed for pretending he didn't see it?

[carmine]

It looks like Suarez's antics might give enough impetus to clean up the game generally:

From the BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/19891034

Also in light of the adverse publicity he is getting, does anyone think Rodgers is looking a little exposed for pretending he didn't see it?

I'm not sure Rodgers is looking exposed, but he is looking like a young inexperienced manager who's making ill advised comments to the camera.

In contrast Suarez has made some very sensible comments of recent about referees and despite his dive he was obviously let down by poor weak refereeing by Mason at the weekend. Just because a player dives doesn't give another player open season to stamp on him to stamp on him. It seems that that wasn't the only offence and Huth should have been red carded.

So is the new FA agenda along the lines of "if its Stoke then its ok because thats the way they play?

[aitch52]

Interesting piece Sharecropper, it's not just Suarez there are plenty of divers in the Prem. I agree that it should be punished retrospectively if the referee doesn't pick it up at the time. I did the FA half badge coaching course, didn't pass I was just there to make up the numbers lol, but part of the course was the 3rd class referees exam. It was a first class ref that gave the lectures, he taught that if the arms go back just prior to the contact or during the tackle it's a dive, if a player is caught the arms immediately go forward. It's the way we are programmed, for a dive the arms first movement is to go back to generate impetus, if genuine then the arms go straight forward to protect ourselves in the fall. Ok not easy to spot in real time but retrospectively it is. Divers should have heavy bans and fines, eradicate this cheating from the game. It's a great course by the way did mine when serving in UK forces.

[rixalex]

Of all the three incidents i saw of violent conduct at the weekend - Tiote's foot on Cleverley's shin, RVP's arm across the face of Cabaye, and Huth's "stamp" on Suarez, i thought that whilst Huth's was probably the most blatant, it wasn't potentially the most dangerous, and was not what i would class as being a "stamp". It was more like he trod on Suarez. Not that makes any difference to the punishment that should have been awarded - should have been a red card, as all three incidents i believe should have been - but to actually have done any damage to that part of the torso, would require some real force behind the foot, and there wasn't. Hits to the shin or face however don't require much force to do a lot of damage - shin especially.

Anyway, i accept whether it be a tread or a stamp, if the intention is there, it is somewhat academic, as it is violent conduct either way. I just think the situation is being a little over-dramatised... much like Suarez's reaction.

As for Suarez's diving, the argument within the Liverpool camp seems to have switched from the, "he only ever dives when he has been touched/fouled" - which was clearly head in the sand nonsense - to, "yes he does dive when he hasn't been touched/fouled, but who can blame him with the way refs treat him?".

Who can blame him? I can blame him. He, and he alone, has built up this reputation for himself, and now he is suffering for it. Deary me, are we expected to sympathise with his "plight"?

Perhaps his mum never read to him the fable of the boy who cried wolf. He should learn about it now, and resolve to spend the next three or four weeks not crying wolf; staying on his feet as much as he possibly can. That is the only remedy to his problem. Blaming the refs for treating him with more suspicion than other players when he falls over, will get him and Liverpool nowhere. Refs are human. If they know someone has a history, they will take that into account, it's human nature. Imagine you are a ref and you award a penalty to Suarez - or any other player for that matter, after you think he has been tripped, and then you go home and see on Match of the Day that you were tricked by cheating? If you ref a game with that player again, how can you not have thoughts of, "this time i won't let that bastard fool me again" somewhere in the back of your head"? I don't think you can not have those thoughts. Liverpool need to accept that and stop blaming refs for being human, and take responsibility for Suarez's cheating actions which have created the problem that he and Liverpool now pathetically whinge about.

[carmine]

Of all the three incidents i saw of violent conduct at the weekend - Tiote's foot on Cleverley's shin, RVP's arm across the face of Cabaye, and Huth's "stamp" on Suarez, i thought that whilst Huth's was probably the most blatant, it wasn't potentially the most dangerous, and was not what i would class as being a "stamp". It was more like he trod on Suarez. Not that makes any difference to the punishment that should have been awarded - should have been a red card, as all three incidents i believe should have been - but to actually have done any damage to that part of the torso, would require some real force behind the foot, and there wasn't. Hits to the shin or face however don't require much force to do a lot of damage - shin especially.

Anyway, i accept whether it be a tread or a stamp, if the intention is there, it is somewhat academic, as it is violent conduct either way. I just think the situation is being a little over-dramatised... much like Suarez's reaction.

As for Suarez's diving, the argument within the Liverpool camp seems to have switched from the, "he only ever dives when he has been touched/fouled" - which was clearly head in the sand nonsense - to, "yes he does dive when he hasn't been touched/fouled, but who can blame him with the way refs treat him?".

Who can blame him? I can blame him. He, and he alone, has built up this reputation for himself, and now he is suffering for it. Deary me, are we expected to sympathise with his "plight"?

Perhaps his mum never read to him the fable of the boy who cried wolf. He should learn about it now, and resolve to spend the next three or four weeks not crying wolf; staying on his feet as much as he possibly can. That is the only remedy to his problem. Blaming the refs for treating him with more suspicion than other players when he falls over, will get him and Liverpool nowhere. Refs are human. If they know someone has a history, they will take that into account, it's human nature. Imagine you are a ref and you award a penalty to Suarez - or any other player for that matter, after you think he has been tripped, and then you go home and see on Match of the Day that you were tricked by cheating? If you ref a game with that player again, how can you not have thoughts of, "this time i won't let that bastard fool me again" somewhere in the back of your head"? I don't think you can not have those thoughts. Liverpool need to accept that and stop blaming refs for being human, and take responsibility for Suarez's cheating actions which have created the problem that he and Liverpool now pathetically whinge about.

This is why i think Rodgers has been such a fool in the comments he's made. Absolutely absurd infact yet Suarez was quite the opposite saying that referees have to make split second decisions and cannot be blamed for all the mistakes. i thought he was making a clever gesture to the refs and then he goes a does that stupid dive! i think that someone at the club needs to have a word with both of them and would very much hope that AVB has a strong would in Bales ear too.

What i do agree with is that Suarez takes a kicking everytime i've seem him play and deserves more protection from referees.

[BangrakBob]

Of all the three incidents i saw of violent conduct at the weekend - Tiote's foot on Cleverley's shin, RVP's arm across the face of Cabaye, and Huth's "stamp" on Suarez, i thought that whilst Huth's was probably the most blatant, it wasn't potentially the most dangerous, and was not what i would class as being a "stamp". It was more like he trod on Suarez. Not that makes any difference to the punishment that should have been awarded - should have been a red card, as all three incidents i believe should have been - but to actually have done any damage to that part of the torso, would require some real force behind the foot, and there wasn't. Hits to the shin or face however don't require much force to do a lot of damage - shin especially.

Anyway, i accept whether it be a tread or a stamp, if the intention is there, it is somewhat academic, as it is violent conduct either way. I just think the situation is being a little over-dramatised... much like Suarez's reaction.

As for Suarez's diving, the argument within the Liverpool camp seems to have switched from the, "he only ever dives when he has been touched/fouled" - which was clearly head in the sand nonsense - to, "yes he does dive when he hasn't been touched/fouled, but who can blame him with the way refs treat him?".

Who can blame him? I can blame him. He, and he alone, has built up this reputation for himself, and now he is suffering for it. Deary me, are we expected to sympathise with his "plight"?

Perhaps his mum never read to him the fable of the boy who cried wolf. He should learn about it now, and resolve to spend the next three or four weeks not crying wolf; staying on his feet as much as he possibly can. That is the only remedy to his problem. Blaming the refs for treating him with more suspicion than other players when he falls over, will get him and Liverpool nowhere. Refs are human. If they know someone has a history, they will take that into account, it's human nature. Imagine you are a ref and you award a penalty to Suarez - or any other player for that matter, after you think he has been tripped, and then you go home and see on Match of the Day that you were tricked by cheating? If you ref a game with that player again, how can you not have thoughts of, "this time i won't let that bastard fool me again" somewhere in the back of your head"? I don't think you can not have those thoughts. Liverpool need to accept that and stop blaming refs for being human, and take responsibility for Suarez's cheating actions which have created the problem that he and Liverpool now pathetically whinge about.

This is why i think Rodgers has been such a fool in the comments he's made. Absolutely absurd infact yet Suarez was quite the opposite saying that referees have to make split second decisions and cannot be blamed for all the mistakes. i thought he was making a clever gesture to the refs and then he goes a does that stupid dive! i think that someone at the club needs to have a word with both of them and would very much hope that AVB has a strong would in Bales ear too.

What i do agree with is that Suarez takes a kicking everytime i've seem him play and deserves more protection from referees.

As a Liverpool fan, i can't really disagree, as much as I love Suarez he has a knack of digging his own hole again and again. He could have handled the amount of unwanted attention he gets in tackles in a better way and to his advantage. i think coaches and manager should have caught this early and helped him to do that.

I'd just like to add in reply to rix point about referees, i don't think their opinion, bias, dislike or pay back for being fooled in previous matches should influence critical decisions or any decisions in a match. Agreed they are human and can make mistakes, but their intentional mistakes based on feeling or justification is not right. They are there to referee impartially and each play that needs to be ruled upon should be done without partiality. I understand that this is very difficult, considering the amount of pressure they are under with players, managers, fans and the pace of the match, and that is as much to do with the problem. These pressures should have been alleviated from referees many years ago and it is going to be very hard to change that now, i think retro punishment and video refereeing in areas of a match could go a long way to helping the game, but still more needs to be done.

i watch a game of rugby, and the referees are treated with respect on and off the park, there is no descent, they have support of video referees and are not ridiculed in the press by media or players or managers about indiscretions. More often than not they do a fair and impartial job.

[rixalex]

I'd just like to add in reply to rix point about referees, i don't think their opinion, bias, dislike or pay back for being fooled in previous matches should influence critical decisions or any decisions in a match.

I agree it shouldn't, but if we want to talk about all the things that shouldn't happen on a football pitch, i think that discussion needs to begin with the things the players shouldn't be doing.

I think we have to accept that bias is a normal part of the human psyche, and we can't simply remove it from refs. The answer lies with the players. If they start playing fairly, start respecting refs, stop trying to trick refs, the chances of refs becoming in any way prejudiced in the decisions they make is i believe greatly reduced... and I think your example of rugby refs bears this point out.

Actually though i'm not sure i would even call it "bias". It's like if you get caught stealing from someone three times and something of theirs goes missing again, and they point the finger at you... are they biased for doing that, or are they just coming to a logical and rationale conclusion based on past history? Bias to me implies being against something without any cause or reason.

Suarez created the reason for doubt. It's his problem if refs are "biased" against him... and only he can do something about it.

[mrbojangles]

It looks like Suarez's antics might give enough impetus to clean up the game generally:

From the BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/19891034

Also in light of the adverse publicity he is getting, does anyone think Rodgers is looking a little exposed for pretending he didn't see it?

Funny how the picture in the article, is one where he did get cropped good and proper.

[rixalex]

and would very much hope that AVB has a strong would in Bales ear too.

Those sorts of ears, not really necessary to talk in to them. They collect the sound of church mice from ten paces.

[carmine]

and would very much hope that AVB has a strong would in Bales ear too.

Those sorts of ears, not really necessary to talk in to them. They collect the sound of church mice from ten paces.

well maybe Andre should reduce his daily allowance of bananas instead. i actually thought that Bale looked more like a monkey than a couple of the made up actors on Rise of the planet of the apes that was on the other night. scary...

He's a great player but Bale must be some sort of a tit not only to do that pathetic love sign when he scores but to do to the utd fans like he did a couple of weeks ago! Jusy saying, know what i mean...

[sharecropper]

It looks like Suarez's antics might give enough impetus to clean up the game generally:

From the BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/19891034

Also in light of the adverse publicity he is getting, does anyone think Rodgers is looking a little exposed for pretending he didn't see it?

Funny how the picture in the article, is one where he did get cropped good and proper.

I hadn't noticed that piece of pictoral irony.

[StevieH]

It looks like Suarez's antics might give enough impetus to clean up the game generally:

From the BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/19891034

Also in light of the adverse publicity he is getting, does anyone think Rodgers is looking a little exposed for pretending he didn't see it?

Funny how the picture in the article, is one where he did get cropped good and proper.

that was whitehead, who i think was a sub on for stoke. they rotated the kicking of suarez around the team. huth, shawcross, walters, adam, whitehead. was disgraceful.

i'd be interested to hear - perhaps in a separate thread - why diving is 'worse' than kicking the shit out of a player and trying to hurt him. they're both cheating. only one of them you can get arrested for though.

[StevieH]

I agree it shouldn't, but if we want to talk about all the things that shouldn't happen on a football pitch, i think that discussion needs to begin with the things the players shouldn't be doing.

shall we start with fouling and handball? or would people consider those 'part of the game'?

[sharecropper]

I agree it shouldn't, but if we want to talk about all the things that shouldn't happen on a football pitch, i think that discussion needs to begin with the things the players shouldn't be doing.

shall we start with fouling and handball? or would people consider those 'part of the game'?

Great point. Remember Suarez's outrageous handball against Ghana in the World Cup?

[wellred]

The thing is Brendan was left short on deadline day as he thought he was getting in at least 2 more players 1 of which is a striker. He only really has 1 recognised striker in Suarez and if he comes out and berates him what's that going to do for his own relationship with the player? Despite his antics and dark side which sometimes comes out he is a hell of a player on his day so Brendan is well within his remit of his manager to keep the player on his side.

The problem is we are not seeing a level playing field. Some incidents get pulled up where others go seemingly unpunished. This weekend just gone was a perfect example of that. I would happily endorse retrospective action being enforced from for anything from diving to violent conduct. Doing that would send a message to players that they need to smarten up and the managers wouldn't have to risk falling out with the players because the punishment is there to be seen.

In the last game did Suarez not have at least 1 genuine penalty shout turned down? The boy cried wolf analogy may seem a fitting analogy however I feel referees should also be judged retrospectively. They go out there with multiple assistants and a range of video equipment. If the powers that be want to start using that to deter players who resort to childish or silly tactics fine, but they need to equally look at the referees that are making bad decisions week in week out. Who was it Everton were playing against the other day when they had 2 goals ruled out? The game needs sweeping changes if you ask me and Luis Suarez is the least of the FAs problems. People love a scapegoat, and it's usually a player everyone fears.

[rixalex]

The thing is Brendan was left short on deadline day as he thought he was getting in at least 2 more players 1 of which is a striker. He only really has 1 recognised striker in Suarez and if he comes out and berates him what's that going to do for his own relationship with the player? Despite his antics and dark side which sometimes comes out he is a hell of a player on his day so Brendan is well within his remit of his manager to keep the player on his side.

Of course it is up to BR how he manages the team and the players, and if he thinks keeping Suarez "on side" is so important that he is prepared to make a tit of himself defending blatant cheating, up to him, but personally i prefer the sort of relationship dynamic between manager and player whereby it isn't the manager worried about keeping the player on side, but rather the player worried about keeping the manager on side. Much healthier for both player and team as a whole in the long run. I think we saw with King Kenny and the ridiculous t-shirt saga, the negative consequences both for the team and for the manager, of being so publicly overly supportive to one player.

The game needs sweeping changes if you ask me and Luis Suarez is the least of the FAs problems. People love a scapegoat, and it's usually a player everyone fears.

Firstly, i don't agree that the game needs sweeping changes. Yes, goal line technology should be tried and tested and then introduced forthwith. Video technology needs consideration, but cautious consideration in my opinion. Nothing drastic. Personally i like the idea of managers being able to contest two or three contentious issues per half, a bit like the way tennis players can contest 3 line calls per set. It would need some parameters set about the type of incident that you could contest though, and i haven't thought it through hard enough to say what they would be.

With regards, retroactive punishment, there are of course exceptions, but generally, i'm not a great fan. I like the idea that all the officiating being done during the game. When the whistle goes, the game is over, and the result is final. If mistakes have been made by the ref, so be it. Try and find ways in which less mistakes are made during the game, but don't start fiddling with things after the game is over.

Secondly, Suarez is not a scapegoat. He has been diving for a long time now, and you guys have been in serious denial. The current backlash is just what has been building up in the minds of all those outside of Liverpool FC, who are tired of all these excuses and justifications we have had to listen to for so long. It gets people's backs up almost as much as the diving. If people at Liverpool had put their hands up last season and said, yes, he has a problem with this, and we expect him to address it because that's not the way we play football here, i think everyone would have a much better understanding - after all, we all know what it is like to have a diver in the team, we all have them - and perhaps we wouldn't be here today still talking about Suarez.