Gooner Corner

[Steve]

Freddie's foul should have been a red card for Rio as he was last man. Rooney and Toure` should have been booked for diving. Ronaldo's tackle in the box should have been a spot kick. The lines man was just a few feet away from RVNs kick on Cole's knee as well as Lehmann's ankle. He should have notified the referee what he saw.

 

If Lehmann or any Arsenal player threw soup at Fergie, they should be fined and suspended by the club.

 

If Freddie's foul had been fairly called and Riley was only 15 yds away, then the remainder of the items I mentioned probably would not have happened. It all would have been moot because Man Utd would have been down to 10 men and Rio, their best defender would have been watching from the changing room.

 

As for Pompey and Pires, I'll say two things about it. First, yes he dived. Fully admit if I'm honest. Would Pompey had won? Debatable. The 'dive' occured in the 28th minute, not the 65th minute like Rooney. Could Pompey hold off an Arsenal attack for over an hour of play left? At Highbury no less? Well, its pure speculation but I'd be willing put up any amount with Ladbrokes to say they couldn't. The 5-1 mauling we gave them...at Fratton Park tells the difference in class right there. Maybe they could but its speculation. Second, I'd accept the 'they deserve it' from Portsmouth fans only because of Pires, all others shouldn't use one dive to justify another, both should be called into question.

 

Well, as I said, this could end up re-engerizing Arsenal and making them committed to another run. The upcoming games will be the best evidence if this game is the beginning of a slip up or its business as usual.

 

The anger by Wenger and Arsenal is completely understandable. However, I think it plays into Fergie's hands. His club needs motivation. They can't put together 2 straight weeks of good performance. They had another 'must win' game v. Liverpool which was supposed to energize the club and give the players belief and they went out the next league game and drew v. a club they should have beaten.

 

If the same continues, then Arsenal could possibly take some comfort in that Man Utd will be out of the running by the return game and Man Utd will be playing 'spoiler' for Chelsea and the ending of their streak will be their 'trophy' for the year.

 

RVN proved why he is hated among the Arsenal players. That's all I'll say about him as his display on Sunday convicted him for all to see. I'll also place the cost of a ticket to LOS that Sky and the manc loving media will not replay RVN's kick on Cole's knee even 10% of the times they replayed Pires' dive. Same with Rooney's dive. 'Same ol Man Utd, always..well you know the rest.

 

Fergie and Giggs saying there's nothing between the two clubs is false. Its a rivalry so it will always be a close match but their record against us doesn't mean they are as good. Man Utd regualrly beat Liverpool in LFC's heyday while Man Utd were enjoying mid table mediocracy but no one would call Man Utd and Liverpool equals during the late '70s and '80s. Its how you do against the rest of the league that matters and Man Utd needs to get that back.

 

As I said, I take solace in that we were cheated out of the game instead of played off the pitch. The players know it and that is why I think they'll continue to play well. Man Utd know it and they may still have lingering thoughts that their problems aren't properly sorted yet. The next 2 or 3 games will tell us what effect this game had on both sides.

 

Cole is the best left back in the world. Hate him, despise him, call him a cockney prat if you wish but he is the best at his position.

 

The targetting of Reyes was particular nasty. To be fair, Ronaldo got a few knocks as well, but no one got it like Reyes. Man Utd fear him more than Henry. They targetting him last season as well.

 

I'd love to get Riley, Fergie and Scholes to come to my old neighborhood for a 'special award', my friends would only need 10 minutes to give them the special recognition I have for them. hahahahaha Can someone say 'get medieval?' hahahahaha

[Fiery Jack]

sayjann said:...but it was a definate penalty when Cole fouled Ronaldo(not Rooney FJ,and no Rooney had not been given a Yellow card previously...

 

Yeah, my mistake(s). I'd been boozing heavily all day and night before the game (which began on the box at midnight here in Japan), so was a bit tired, thus my judgement was by then slightly impaired. ::

 

I wonder what Mr Mike Riley's excuse was...?

 

jack

[Zaad]

CS,

Yep...Man U were VERY fortunate with the Ljungberg-Rio incident.

 

100% red right there...but well, what can I say, every game has this sort of incidents, ref mistakes, what if this..that..etc...it's football.

[sayjann]

Who flung all

the pies?

 

By GUY PATRICK

 

FURIOUS Arsenal stars pelted Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson with PIZZA in an astonishing bust-up after Sunday?s crunch match.

 

They also hurled soup and sandwiches at Fergie, 62, as tempers exploded in the players? tunnel.

 

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, 55, yelled abuse at Fergie, branded United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy a cheat and ripped into Wayne Rooney.

 

All hell broke loose minutes after United beat Arsenal 2-0, ending a record run of 49 Premiership games without defeat.

 

Van Nistelrooy, who scored a disputed penalty, lit the fuse by tapping Wenger on the arm and making a quip about the result.

 

A United insider said: ?Wenger then turned on Fergie and started screaming and finger-prodding him.

 

?That?s when food was hurled from the Arsenal dressing room. Fergie?s shirt and blazer were covered in soup and pizza.?

 

The FA is to probe the Old Trafford bust-up.

 

 

But last night the question on every footie fan?s lips was: Who flung all the pies?

 

A United insider said all hell broke loose behind the scenes after van Nistelrooy riled Wenger, who then spotted Sir Alex.

 

The insider said: ?Wenger literally turned on Fergie. He started screaming and shouting and finger-prodding the United manager.

 

?Then he systematically had a go at Ferguson?s players, starting with van Nistelrooy. He called him a lazy cheat, then questioned Ferguson?s decency at accepting a fraud penalty.

 

?Then he gave Wayne Rooney a character assassination, yelling all the time. Ferguson looked shocked as no one had ever seen Wenger lose it like this.

 

?Wenger, instead of calming down, became even more abusive. There was suddenly a crowd of players who had been in the dressing room eating their post-match food.

 

?And that?s when the food from the Arsenal dressing room started being hurled at Ferguson. His shirt and blazer were getting covered in soup and bits of pizza ? and all the time Wenger was still ranting at him.?

The insider added; ?Ferguson stayed cool throughout and actually laughed ? which seemed to make the Arsenal lot even MORE agitated.

 

?Eventually the United security staff bundled the Arsenal crowd back into their dressing room.

?Fergie kept his cool and the United players waited in their dressing room until their rivals had left the ground. The whole thing was unbelievable.?

 

Last night sources at Old Trafford, some based at the Manchester ground for decades, said the scenes were ?like nothing ever witnessed here before?.

 

Arsenal?s Brazilian midfielder Edu said: ?As we went down the tunnel, I saw people being pulled apart, people pushing, pointing and shouting.

?United players were shouting at us and trying to wind us up about the result. But I didn?t see any soup being thrown at anyone.?

 

And an Arsenal spokesman insisted star striker Thierry Henry and goalie Jens Lehmann were with him after the game.

He said: ?Thierry was with me in the tunnel at the end of the game ? watching TV replays of the penalty. He and Jens were with me for a good while. Everyone is speculating, but no one knows what happened.?

 

The chaotic incidents are the latest in a series of clashes between the clubs.

They will almost certainly land both in the FA dock once again.

After bust-ups on the pitch during last year?s match at Old Trafford, Arsenal were fined and had four players banned for a total of nine games.

 

 

Last night FA bosses charged van Nistelrooy with serious foul play for his tackle on England?s Ashley Cole.

And they asked Wenger to explain his scathing comments about referee Mike Riley?s performance.

A spokesman said: ?The Arsenal manager has been asked to explain his post-match comments about van Nistelrooy and the referee. The FA is also looking into reports of an alleged incident in the tunnel.?

 

Wenger blasted Riley for awarding a disputed penalty against his team.

He fumed in a post-match interview: ?This defeat is very difficult to take because we feel like we were robbed today.

?We were the better team, but the referee made the difference.?

 

However Fergie, 62, insisted: ?Rooney was brought down in the box, and to me that?s a penalty. The referee had an impossible job, but we edged it.?

 

United?s 2-0 win left them eight points behind Arsenal in the Premiership title race.

 

Arsenal and United officials refused to comment on the food-throwing claims last night.

 

 

[Fiery Jack]

Post-match food = soup and pizza!? :doah. My, my, how the times have changed. Back in the 1970s it would have been cans of Watney's Red Barrel ale and packets of Woodbines.

 

jack

[limbo]

Jack,

 

Whatever happened to Watney's?

[kman]

The Truth ... Well its one of the better stories i've seen going around ..

 

Fabregas threw the food. Horseface went into Arsenal dressing room after the game going mad winding up Arsenal players after last year. Wenger called him a Fucking Cheat and told him to get out. Horseface went for Wenger, Edu stepped in and hit him, security guards piled in going mad. The kitman was hit by the guards and got a broken nose. He wants to pursue assault charge but Arsenal don't want him to. Ferguson then came in and started as well, ranting at the Arsenal players. They told him to fuck off, he grabbed Fabregas who responded in kind. Manure dont want any comebacks as Horseface started it and their stewards were out of order. Ferguson also knows he should not have gone in to the Arsenal changing room. If Manure complain the kitman will pursue his claim. The police know what happened. Difficult one for the FA.

 

Cheers

K.

[Fiery Jack]

limbo said:

Jack,

 

Whatever happened to Watney's?

 

I drank it all.

 

Cheers,

 

jack

 

PS. Serious answer: they went out of business in the late 1970s in the UK when "real ale" made a comeback and punters realised that Watney's (which was cheap, but only 3.2% alcohol i.e. no use to man nor beast ) was actually watery piss. Apparently, there's still a 'bottled beer' available in the US called Watney's Red Barrel that's also shite but is no relative of the defunct UK company Watney's ale. Ah, Watney's Red Barrel Party Fours... four pints of piss for less than a quid... big fuckers the size of a castrol oil can but you were still stone cold sober even after you'd supped the whole keg... 14 years old and desperate for a shag... the memories...

[Steve]

Wenger has come out and denied the incident. Fergie, has not spoken publicly about it and if it did occur I'm amazed he has kept quiet knowing him. Did it happen? No one knows for sure. I have heard more variations about this than the JFK assassination.

I've heard that it was made up by security. That there were some exchange of words and it was brief and they embellished the rest, to the story that Sayjann posted.

I said in my post that if it was true, while understanding the anger, the club should fine and/or suspend the player. I'd do it inhouse though and not report it to the FA. You lose the loyalty of the players if you throw them to the 'wolves' so to speak. If it did occur it can't be tolerated. If the reverse happened to us, given the same situations I'd be asking for Fergie's head. So to be fair I can't tolerate it, understanding the anger, from our players. If my son was in a youth football game and the same set of circumstances caused his team to lose and he threw soup at the opposing manager I'd punish him for it.

 

Fergie needs the drama though. If they don't get anything but 3 points at Fratton Park against Pompey then the game that he called the game of the decade to get his clubs season kick started didn't work and will expose MUFC's lack of ideas. If we don't get all 3 points v. Soton then the back pages will say we're in a tail spin. We have a league cup game v. Citeh and we'll use a reserve squad. If we lose, they'll say 'Arsenal loses 2 games on the trot' and it will be rubbish of course and I couldn't be bothered with that talk if it happens as the players won't be either. Soton and Pompey will tell us all we need to know about the effects of the game.

 

My guess is it won't jump start Man Utd's season. There is still fundamental problems. The win over LFC was supposed to jump start their season and 2 weeks later they draw at home to a Boro team that didn't have Viduka or JFH and played without 6 starters and they were behind most of the game.

 

This could be a blessing in disquise and like I said, when they 2 meet Feb. 1st, MUFC could well be out of the title race anyway and playing spoiler for Chelsea.

 

The shift has occurred. Old Trafford used to be the league's fortress. No longer. Clubs no longer give up while in the tunnel and every club knows its very possible to nick a point if not 3 at OT. Highbury is the new fortress. Not bragging but its a fact. At least for the time being and over the last year or so. Will it remain so? We'll have see. There is a difference in quality right now 'tween the two sides. Hard fought games between the 2 doesn't mean much in the larger scope of things. MUFC were regularly getting the best of Liverpool at times in the late '70s and '80s but were a midtable side. No one would say there is not much between the sides in the '80s.

 

Still 50 games and not beaten....FAIRLY. ::

 

3 points is 3 points though. Whether its won by cheating or by skill, its still 3 points and that's all there is left that is a fact from the game.

[check_bin_krap]

Its the ref's call CS. And you have a couple of not so clean players in yr squad when it comes to cheating, might I mention Dennis the menace?

 

Games at Old Trafford - well, stats prove it. Penalties and sending offs are in Man.U. favour. Just have to accept it (easy to say 1 div under)

 

Cheers!