Crystal Palace vs West Ham, Sat 29th April, 12.30pm

alderz

I don’t think we’re safe, but I also think we will be by the end of the season.

Slacker

I thought we looked like a team that have played an awful lot of games in the past month. I was impressed with Palace and they pretty much schooled us today.
I don’t like picking out individual players for criticism ( we were pretty poor all over the pitch ) but Benrhama was shocking in that second half, muscled out of possession and never once found a team mate , not once.

OldCastleSwift

alderz said:

OldCastleSwift said:

Forest beat Brighton. Not sure anyone expected that. They have Southampton coming up too, and Brentford and Chelsea teams with nothing to play for. Can see them picking up six more points. Can see Leicester picking up four before they play us.

I don’t understand why those can be cited as examples of crazy results, yet we’re nailed on to lose all our games?

Where have I said that?

All I've said is that I don't think we're as safe as others seem to think we are.

Of course we have the ability to get something from the rest of our games, but I worry about our mentality, particularly going into those last two games.

BubblesNeverDies

The VAR is the Aussie idiot who ruled out the goal against Chelsea but he couldn't see that Pawson had made an error with his penalty decision. Something stinks.

Whitehorsehammer

Didn’t play well, Palace were the better side.

jay_in_cpt

While I agree the penalty was soft, it was never going to be overruled IMO.
Sadly our performance was the most worrying aspect rather than the referee..
Far too many abject, not good enough performances.
Fornals was given a chance and showed nothing.
Benrahama simply isn't good enough.
Rice went missing...
Fabianski is passed his best and at the end of the day, it was a very below par performance.
We are going to have to rely on other teams being worse than us and results going our way, because the next 2 games are likely to offer a massive swing in goal difference then its crunch time.....
It's going to be a tough few weeks ahead IMO..........

OldCastleSwift

BubblesNeverDies said:

The VAR is the Aussie idiot who ruled out the goal against Chelsea but he couldn't see that Pawson had made an error with his penalty decision. Something stinks.

I'm glad you've said this.

I'm not usually a tin-hatter, but something isn't right. I'm sure these officials have agendas and I think the people that run the game have theirs, too.

I'm still not convinced Bowen's goal against Liverpool was offside. They flashed up the lines quickly and didn’t analyse or reference it at all, and then there was the penalty not given, both decisions that could have lead to Liverpool dropping points in their quest for 6th place.

And now today's decision which was as soft as I've seen all season.

I dunno, just feels like VAR has actually increased the bad calls and controversy that it was designed to reduce.

buffybegood

I really feel as though, with genuine penalty decisions, the ref should get involved to have a look on a regular basis. Penalties are huge decisions, and we know the reluctance of the VAR to overturn a buddy's decision unless they really have no choice, so how about giving the person who made the decision a chance to have a proper look with an improved or alternative line of sight to see if he still agrees with his original decision.

No "clear and obvious error", but a "it's close, you might want to take another look mate". If he sticks with his original decision, fine, no big deal, but I think we'll get better decisions if we adopt something along these lines, kinda similar to how rugby union operates.

Hamstew

Wasn't a pen but we were generally just dreadful today and deserved nothing.

Lukerz

It wasn’t a pen but when you defend like that what do you expect? I do feel VAR needs an overhaul, though. If you can look at that & not send the referee over to the monitor, what is the point.

PrestonHammer

He was on the way down before he ran into Aguerds arm.

PrestonHammer

We'll lose the next 2 but will pick up 4 points from our remaining 4. Everton aren't picking up 10 points to go level terms with us, that's more than a third of all points they've amassed do far this season. The same goes for Forest, Leeds and Leicester. Even in the unlikely scenario that 2 of them do, then definitely the other 2 either won't or can't.

EXETERHAMMER

Very Abject Refereeing

claretandbluesky

The Penalty for me was a Kane in as much as with Kane a sock gets brushed but it didn't cause him to fall. I think in this case the deciding factor was that his arm reached back for the player but that should have also produced a yellow card for a professional foul. If it was not a professional foul in deliberately pulling the player back then the contact of not intentional should not have been called a foul and could even have been a booking for the Palace player for simulation.

I am ok with it being given if a deliberate foul to prevent the player proceeding. It could fall into this category as he did reach for the player and contact was made, but why no yellow? I can't see how it can be given with the degree of contact causing a penalty if not deliberate.

The big question referees will never address is that each and every corner results in a deliberate and greater degree of contact yet they do nothing. They implement the rules when they wish not when they are broken.

Fortuneseeker

candbsky, It was said years ago that if you start giving penalties like the one today there will be several given per game. As you said the amount of blocking and holding that goes on at corners and free kicks but I have yet to see any penalties given for something which is a much stronger contact.

claretandbluesky

We did get one earlier this season Fortune, a foul on Dawson but the opposing player had tried wrestle him to ground and submit him.... twice.

PrestonHammer

Simulation is another thing that rarely gets a booking, yet goes on all the time.

alderz

Preston - it feels like the rule now is if there is even the slightest contact it’s not simulation, which is crazy. Last time I remember a booking for diving was Bowen against Arsenal last year where if he hadn’t jumped Ramsdale would have cut him in half.

steve

The Zouma injure did not look good

PrestonHammer

I remember when they brought in the 3 match retrospective ban. I think the only player who received it was Lanzini against Liverpool, when he took what he thought was evasive action from the Croatian defender Dejan Lovren.

Brother_Sledge

Think we had our few lucky breaks for the season against Bournemouth. Penalty should have had another look same as Liverpool, but we were second best by some margin. Maybe it is fatigue but It appears to me that we allow the opposition plenty of time and space in midfield to make their passes and yet they allow us very little of either. We lose possession so often and don't get anywhere near half of the loose balls. I'm thinking we will be lucky to get 20% possession against City. Hopefully we can pull out a performance and get something from United.

steve

I do think we should target the Utd game ,there kind of hit and miss after them we only have Leeds at home

Pengeman

In the second consecutive game, we scored first and lost. Hope it isn't some sort of curse.

steve

Why take Antonio off around the 88th min .when we needed a goal .Saving him for city

Hamstew

Still can't believe what I witnessed earlier. Absolute horror show!

PrestonHammer

Believe it Ham and then you can start the healing process.

Hamstew

I've not even started the drinking process

OldCastleSwift

Any update on the mop?

MrsGrey

Yes! Actually.

I was totally baffled ( and not a little perturbed, cos it was new - only used once!) as I searched all the likely places, to no avail.

I definitely remember buying it, and using it. Then I 🤔... After I used it I put it out on my balcony to dry. ( 9th floor, no access from anywhere else). I had some builder/ decorator chaps around ( the block is having external refurbishment done) but couldn't think they would really want to steal my mop 😂. Wondered about a version of student traffic cone purloining but for grown up blokes... Still couldn't see it tbh.

So I leaned over precarious balcony rail and saw.. a mop... wedged into the scaffolding somewhere around the 6th floor!! I think it must have been swept away in a 🌪️

Not sure how it can be retrieved. But I'm relieved in all sorts of ways. Course, I'm not happy about cleaning bathroom and kitchen floors on my hands and knees.

But at least there's not some flying mop stealing low life terrorising SE London. Phew

I'm sure you'll all be relieved to know this. Especially if you live in SE London.

OutcastLondoner

Rumours Wilf Zaha threw your mop off the balcony to spite Ham