Chelsea Thread

[abigsmurf]

Your manager said he had no issue with the challenge.

Although from the soundbites I've seen from him so far he seems to be into taking cheap shots at everyone in post match interviews, which is highly entertaining.

I'm quite liking his attitude. He'll be friendly until someone takes a shot at his players at which point he shoots back.

Just nice to get a manager with a bit of fire in him again.

[vanpeebles]

Come off it that challenge was 50/50. It must be tough be a Chelsea fan spending all that time nailed to a cross.

[abigsmurf]

50:50... So Drogba jumped in with his fists and didn't get there first?

[nakamura]

Don't be so ridiculous. The keeper has every right to jump in with his fists to clear the ball, it is his job. If Drogba wants to jump in with his head first then he runs the risk. It was very brave of him but there is every chance he will get clattered.

[abigsmurf]

Just because a player has the right to go for something doesn't mean they they're excused if they're late and clatter the player.

If a player goes through another player first to get the ball it's a foul, it's no different if it's a keeper.

[prinnysquad]

So would you send a player off for a clash of heads? Where the ball is in the air, and two players go for it, but one reaches it first, meaning the other bloke nuts him. By your logic, he should be.

[Jebus]

50:50... So Drogba jumped in with his fists and didn't get there first?

So the keeper should have tried to head it away from his goal?

[parkinho]

It was never a red in a million years and I guarantee that smurf would not have been calling for a red if it was Rooney on the receiving end!

[abigsmurf]

So would you send a player off for a clash of heads? Where the ball is in the air, and two players go for it, but one reaches it first, meaning the other bloke nuts him. By your logic, he should be.

Aside from the fact that Head vs fists isn't exactly the most equal of clashes, refs do give fouls for clashes of heads, especially in the box from set pieces.

If a one player jumps, gets the ball, another player charges in, puts his full weight behind a jump into the other player and clatters him on the side of of the head, most refs would give that as a foul for excessive force.

Anyhow it's a moot point. The ref didn't give it and the FA couldn't act even if they wanted to and the keeper got himself sent off anyway.

Drogba's probably out for 3 weeks for safety reasons, even if he's fine. It'll probably give Sturridge a couple of starts and Mata looks to be exactly what we need. We were a different team when he came on.

[prinnysquad]

I didn't ask if he'd give a foul. I asked if he'd send him off.

[abigsmurf]

You're going to argue that wasn't a clear goal scoring chance (had play not stopped)? He would've been heading it into an empty goal.

[prinnysquad]

No, I'm going to argue that it wasn't a red based on 'dangerous play', which is what you argued in the beginning. You twisted the conditions of the red this morning.

Keeper was lucky play had been stopped otherwise he'd have got a straight red a few minutes earlier for what he did to Drogba.

It's a dangerous challenge, just like it doesn't matter if you get the ball in a studs showing tackle. The whistle hadn't gone and there was no doubt the keeper would've walked then. "The other player just got there first" could be applied as a defence for the majority of sending offs anyway.

Yep, no mention of clear goal scoring opportunities there.

[vanpeebles]

Regardless of it being a foul or not Drogba has been feigning injuries for years so he was due a proper one.

[abigsmurf]

No, I'm going to argue that it wasn't a red based on 'dangerous play', which is what you argued in the beginning. You twisted the conditions of the red this morning.

And you're twisting my words now. We're arguing semantics in a hypothetical situation, heaped upon another hypothetical situation now.

I think he wouldn't have been on the pitch had Drogba not been offside, you don't. Neither of us are going to change our minds, there's not going to be any future action taking on this, Drogba's going to be back in a few weeks and Chelsea hardly have a shortage of strikers.

There's no point in going around in circles arguing over the same points again with both sides trying to find a loop hole as it doesn't matter and won't change anything, it's just going to get both sides pissed off at each other. I'm not going to respond to anything else on that incident.

[prinnysquad]

Fine. But your words are there. Yesterday you were arguing a red on dangerous play. Today it's preventing a scoring opportunity. I did not twist those words.