Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I Want an Oompa Loompa Now ...

... cries Carolyn Radford about her side, Mansfield Town, losing to Liverpool.

It reminds me of the clip below from the original Willy Wonka.



To see her silly demand, and even sillier statements in context, take a look here from SportsMole.

While I can appreciate nearly stealing one from Liverpool, and love for the club that she is CEO for, her knowledge of the LOTG came through when she said:

"I have enjoyed the day but it feels like it was stolen from us, whether it (a ball that hit Suarez in the hand that he subsequently finished making it 2 - 0) was deliberate or not."

She continued with statements like "We were robbed ..." and "There should be a replay ...".

This is what happens when people who don't know The Game, are in a position of power to manage, and subsequently comment on, technical aspects of The Game.

I applaud her vigor, and clear love for The Game. I just wished she kept that one to herself as it served to show just how little she knows, yet feels fit to criticize the referee.

I was actually always always amazed how little folks actually knew about the LOTG that really should know. Players, owners, league staff ... and not just the "was it a push or not" type of stuff. It was black letter laws that folks had no clue about.

It serves as a reminder that it takes all disciplines to run a business enterprise like a team. Our role, when we are inside the field, is to manage the match.

Do your job as best you can ... and let the others do theirs.

2 comments:

  1. What would you have done on this play? I feel that having his arm out as such did in fact make him bigger and gained an advantage, had it be down by his side in a more natural position the ball would have passed by him. Can not see it from the videos I found but did the AR signal for handling?
    Very bang bang play indeed.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the question Steven.

      I agree with the referee in this case, and like you did not see, or read about a signal from the AR.

      There are (2) components for my analysis.
      First, I do not believe his hand went to the ball insofar as he moved in an unnatural way or position to get it there (e.g. over his head).

      Second, his hand was in a reasonably natural position when the contact occurred. So when the ball came, his arm and hand were approximately where they should have been, or more reasonably, could have been.

      Now, he is a clever enough player to take advantage of these coincidences and not move his hand out of the way, which itself may have gained him an advantage. I can't punish a player for coming under a lucky star in this case.

      Granted being in the right place at the right time is not luck, but Suarez (to me) makes no obvious attempts to play the ball, or take advantage of an unnatural position, but rather a lucky bounce.

      To punish him here, would require similar punishment for a defender that has a ball hit his arm when running. Yes, the ball hits the arm, but the unlucky bounce should not give rise to a penalty.

      Take it for what it is worth =)

      Thanks for reading,
      PK

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