That's exactly what he should do. Obviously if he wasn't offside then
it's wrong though.



On 5 Dec 2010, at 08:05, "Paul Dally" <[email protected]> wrote:

> for the off side goal, the linesman did flag but very late - I think he 
> waited until howson actually touched the ball rather than anyone else.
>
> It wasn't offside though!
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Walker" <[email protected]>
> To: "Ian Murray" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
> Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 8:02 PM
> Subject: [LU] Palace
>
>
>> What a great afternoon – didn’t even seem cold. We deserved the win, no doubt
>> about that but Palace came to win also and troubled us throughout the 90 
>> mins –
>> more than they should have.
>>
>>
>> So when I saw the line up I went ballastic, 4-5-1 with Becchio as the lone
>> striker. Good God Simon get a grip, we shouldn’t be playing like this 
>> against a
>> bottom of the league team at home. Also, with Bradley Johnson holding the 
>> fort
>> in central midfield nothings going to happen. This system relies heavily on
>> runners from midfield breaking though because Becchio’s movement his limited 
>> so
>> he really doesn’t have much of a role in this system. For 50 minutes we 
>> huffed
>> and puffed, played some nice football, created some good chances and made 
>> lots
>> of mistakes, missed some real sitters, had a great goal chalked off by the 
>> ref
>> (not the linesman) and made some really basic errors which helped Palace go 
>> in
>> 1-0. It could have easily have been 2 if it hadn’t been for a great 
>> Schmeichel
>> save on 45 minutes.
>>
>>
>> First that ‘off-side’ goal. Great movement and great running from Howson saw 
>> him
>> played through. He took the goal brilliantly, took a look at the linesman who
>> had his flag down then slid on his knees and saluted the south stand. The ref
>> then unbelievable cut short the celebrations and pulled back play – we were
>> still dancing in the stands. I always take a glance at the linesman before I 
>> go
>> mental and although it did look close the linesman was in the best position 
>> to
>> judge whether Howson was off-side and he decided not. Really bad officiating.
>>
>>
>> We continued to create chances and then make mistakes. The best chances fell 
>> to
>> Becchio, who lets be honest, should have had 6 today. The worse miss was a 
>> ball
>> in to him, He was stood 2 yards from goal but failed to convert – he was
>> hesitant which is strange because he’s usually full on when he’s in the 6 
>> yard
>> box. Becchio was then presented with a free 6 yard box header but he tamely
>> headed on to the bar. Howson and Gradel also missed good chances. Towards the
>> end of the half though we lost our way. Johnson started to detioriate and 
>> passes
>> started going astray. Gradel changed wings to try and be more effective , 
>> but it
>> just wasn’t working. I watched attack after attack where we neatly played
>> ourselves up to the edge of the box but nobody was making the runs behind 
>> their
>> defence. Becchio in particularly is clueless when it comes to making runs 
>> like
>> this and plays most of the game with his back to the goal. He really 
>> shouldn’t
>> be the striker if we want to play 4-5-1 at home.
>>
>>
>> Then there was their goal. Johnson got caught out on the left, he didn’t have
>> the pace to recover leaving their man in. He crossed and converted 1-0. They
>> didn’t deserve it but we really hadn’t played well enough. The system wasn’t
>> working and Grayson has to change it at the break.
>>
>>
>> Amazingly he didn’t ! Shocking really. So for another 10 minutes we laboured,
>> same formation same problems. It was beginning to turn into a nightmare then
>> Simon jumped into life. He dragged Johnson and Gradel off and out on 
>> McCormack
>> and Sam. Now I’m no fan of Bradley Johnson and as far as I’m concerned he 
>> can go
>> now because he’s not good enough for this league never mind the premiership
>> (what a dreamer his agent must be) but he was badly booed when he left the 
>> field
>> which I thought was out of order. I’d ask those fans to boo the manager for
>> picking him not Johnson who to his credit is trying his best – it’s just that
>> this is not good enough, never has been.
>>
>> The subs changed the formation and changed the match. Suddenly we were 4-4-2
>> which Kilkenny and Howson central (strange that isn’t it !!???) and a winger 
>> in
>> Sam who actually was lively and caused a threat. McCormack was brilliant. He 
>> was
>> lively, he made runs, he controlled the ball well, he had a goal disallowed 
>> and
>> according to Grayson he got the equaliser (need to see it again). The goal 
>> was
>> coming though. Kilkenny had nearly equalised when he brilliantly brought the
>> ball down with his right foot, flicked it on to his left and volleyed from 25
>> yards. It was straight at the keeper which was good for him because he knew 
>> nowt
>> about it. Then Becchio had another free 6 yard header which was easier to 
>> score
>> instead he too put it straight at the keeper. He shook his head, he knew he
>> should have scored.
>>
>>
>> The equaliser to be honest is a bit of a blur but it looked like a few people
>> tried things and it just seemed to come out to Becchio. He had his back to 
>> goal
>> but managed to turn and hit it. Maybe it McCormack on the way on, who knows, 
>> it
>> was Becchio’s goal.
>>
>>
>> Palace to their credit came at us again and again and we wobbled a bit but 
>> when
>> Paynter came on for Hughes we looked like we’d score with every attack. We 
>> tore
>> them apart. The winner when it came was another strange goal. The lively
>> McCormack was fouled as he pushed forward, I think everyone stopped for a 
>> while
>> but the ball came nicely to Becchio who his a side footer – it looked like it
>> should have been saved but it ended up in the back of the net. We went mad, 
>> me
>> and a mate ended up 2 rows down. It was a good atmosphere today in the last 
>> 20
>> mins.
>>
>>
>> We didn’t give up there either and we could have had more. I think the Sam,
>> Paynter and McCormack combination has real potential. This was a great win.
>>
>>
>> Scores:
>>
>> Schmeicel – 7. A couple of good saves but his kicking was dodgy today and he
>> does risk it a bit which nearly cost us a goal in the 2nd half as he was 
>> charged
>> down.
>>
>>
>> Hughes – 4. Maybe the defensive wobbles were because Connelly wasn’t 
>> playing. I
>> think Hughes unbalanced the back 4. He isn’t a right back, he’s not good 
>> enough
>> despite tremendous effort.
>>
>>
>> McCartney – 6. Slightly worried about his defensive abilities at times, he 
>> gets
>> turned very easily.
>>
>>
>> OBrien – 7. Steady and calming influence.
>>
>> Bruce – 7. Many good tackles and last ditch defending. I think these two have
>> real potential.
>>
>>
>> Johnson – 4. Thought he started positively enough but he doesn’t have enough
>> about him and definitely not enough ability.
>>
>>
>> Gradel – 5. Not his day today. Lively at first but the Palace defenders 
>> actually
>> had a bit of pace and didn’t give him an inch. Was subbed and it was the 
>> right
>> decision.
>>
>>
>> Howson – 7. Very lively throughout. Not everything came off, but he is our 
>> main
>> player.
>>
>>
>> Kilkenny – 7. Our best midfielder. Not everything came off, there were a few 
>> bad
>> challenges and at times you just wish he had an extra yard of pace. However, 
>> he
>> controls the game, he gets hold of the ball and he makes things happen. He 
>> also
>> talks a lot and he tells players where they should be and what they should be
>> doing. I don’t see captain Howson doing this. Our best footballer.
>>
>> Snodgrass – 7. I thought he played well today, they couldn’t handle him at
>> times. Sometimes though he just looks a little bit slugglish.
>>
>>
>> Becchio – 6 (3 for each goal). Ok, here we go. I’ve lost the bet before
>> Christmas which I really didn’t expect so I’ve had a think about why I lost 
>> so
>> spectacularly ? Was I wrong about Becchio ? Is he a better player than I give
>> him credit for ? Does he have more pace than I think ? Is he winning more 
>> balls
>> in the air than I can see ? Well, my summary is this. I think he’s improved a
>> lot since last season and I believe he is a player at the top of his game. I
>> also think that the area I have completely underestimated him on is his 
>> Chapman
>> factor. The ability to be in the right place at the right time. Today he 
>> should
>> have had a double hat-trick and that’s because he got himself into the right
>> places. His goals today weren’t what you can call quality goals but he was
>> there, ready to finish off even if he wasn’t pretty. I think there’s a lot of
>> value in someone like that and if he’s putting a few away then all the 
>> better.
>> So for that reason I will admit that I have underestimated him a bit as a
>> striker. There are plenty of strikers out there with much more ability than
>> Becchio that never get in to decent positions to apply their talent.
>>
>> Having said that, I still believe:
>>
>> 1) Becchio is not the best option in a 4-5-1 at home when we’re looking to
>> break down and outfox defences.
>>
>> 2) His aerial ability is poor.
>> 3) His general ability is at best average.
>> 4) He has no pace
>>
>> A million pounds !!! F*ck me, snap their hands off.
>>
>> Ian, where do you want the cheque sending. Send me a mail off list.
>>
>> Subs:
>>
>> McCormack – 8. Lively, aware and made things happen.
>>
>> Sam – 8. Ditto
>>
>> Paynter – 7. Looked lively, maybe should have scored.
>>
>>
>> Grayson – two ways of looking at this.
>>
>> 1) He’s a genius because he realises he needs to change things and when he
>> does it works
>>
>> 2) He’s a numpty because he keeps putting out a 4-5-1 , it doesn’t work so
>> we have to change and go chasing the game. It’s like entering a race with a 
>> leg
>> iron on and then taking it off after 50 metres and then destroying the
>> competition. Why not start the race without the leg iron and obliterate them 
>> ?
>>
>>
>> Crowd – bit of a Christmassy feel today, had a really good day. Looking 
>> forward
>> to 18th when I’m on an all dayer.
>>
>> Going up ? Only 5 points behind Bardiff now.
>>
>>
>>
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