Jozy and the Footycats: Altidore at Sunderland

Diving is part of the game. For the World Cup, it's been reported that several teams practice diving. And some of the most important games have been decided by a well-acted dive. If the best, Ronaldo, Messi, Villa, Neymar, Robben, Ribery, etc. dive, why not?



It's a tool in the arsenal. Not doing it marks you as a dang fool.

 

I used to care a lot more. There are certain players, especially from latin america who drove me crazy. I think his name was Lopez from Argentina who dives so often it made me wonder at the stupidity of the ref. Also the former striker from paraguay (?) who dove non-stop.

If a player is getting fouled and there are no calls, then diving is an equalizer. I have no problem with that, but you can't watch the last 65min of any La Liga match anymore without it turning into a greg louganis clinic.

 

It's everywhere. Bayern is well known because Rib & Rob are the Diving Comedy Club. See here:



For some reason I cannot fathom, English and German people only see the diving done by Italians and Spaniards. Their own leagues are full of it.

 

It comes from a similar perspective that sees Stop and Frisk as necessary law enforcement while that Bundy dude is right to stand up to law enforcement.

 

Is very bad you drink Jo-Boo's rum. Very bad.

 

If I remember correctly the player did clip Torres there. Rather fast barely noticeable but still he clipped him. And he was already on a Yellow over some incident that could have been a Red. I think this was discussed in the SPAIN forum.

 

I hate diving by anyone even players on my own team. Diving is for people having a momentary mental frailty. At that moment the don't trust their skills to finish and they look for help. It's not a tool to me. It's a cop out. If you're good stay on your feet and finish. Same in basketball. Real ballers don't flop, they take the foul or dunk in your face. I don't care if others do it. I don't care that people tolerate it. I loathe it. And i don't like it when my own players do it either. It's mental frailty to me. And i hate weak minds.

 

I think it sucks that players become accustomed to going to ground because they often have to do it to get appropriate fouls called.

If going down is a precondition for getting a call, players will go down. It's trying to win a match. It sucks, but it's the reality of the situation.

 

I agree. But that's poor refereeing because "going down isn't a precondition for getting a call." Not according to the rules. That's just using bad football to compensate for bad refereeing. That's a problem of refereeing that European football doesn't have the balls to enforce. If you trip someone it's a foul. They don't need to hit the ground. The refs in europe are reluctant to call the game as they see it. There is an irrational expectation that they "manage" he game. If a guy on your team makes a yellow card challenge in the first minute they don't expect to get a yellow card in order "not to ruin the game." In most American sports there's no such expectation. If you're playing hockey and you launch yourself at some guys head you're gonna get thrown out in the first minute just like the last and people blame the player's poor judgement not the ref. But European football is so tribal that your guy is never wrong and the ref is always wrong. If your guy get's a thrown out it's not his fault the ref shouldn't have ruined the game. And that mentality perpetuates nutless refs that don't call stuff, like shirt holds in the box, trips, collisions, reckless challenges all over. The problem you've pointed out is a referee problem. The solution isn't to allow a player to engage in misconduct, the play acting and diving, the solution is fix the referee problem. But European football doesn't have the balls to actually enforce their own rules. You ever wonder why 10 yards is never 10 yards and they won't even use the spray? They don't actually like enforcing rules in those leagues. It's why Fifa and UEFA are so spineless. It's why if there is a fine for racism it's always paltry. It's why there's a long appeals process and people get cards rescinded and fines reduced. It's why just this week Barcelona got their transfer ban lifted. If it's gonna insult the powers that be they lack the stomach for actually enforcing rules. Did you know they refs were instructed to stop enforcing the rules about giving cards to players that curse at them. And remember when players were supposed to not crowd the ref or ask for yellows? John Terry did it a few weeks ago. Nah they don't enforce that rule either cause it would mean tossing or carding Terry at the very least for doing exactly what was banned, lobbying for people to get sent off. And remember that world cup game where there were about 14 yellow cards? Watch those challenges again. There honestly could have been 20 cards. And everyone blamed the ref when really the players lost it and said screw it i'm kicking people anyways. See i'm not like that. I'm not blaming refs. ******** it. If my guy dives toss him. Start doing it and people will stop. Same goes for crowding the ref. Regardless it's just my opinon. I loathe that aspect of the game. And i always will. And when detractors bring it up i'm right with them on it. I don't want to see little bitches without the concentration to execute to look at the ref for help. Man up. Execute. If they foul you yell at the refs. It's the ref's fault then.

 

Hey, Ref!

 

I am AMAZED y'all are still talking about this

the conversation was played out on Monday, since then I've checked back in morbid fascination.

 

Agree with this. Ariel Ortega was the guy that always pissed me off.

 

Posters here care more then Chelsea fans

 

Exactly, the problem isn't the players doing what's (unfortunately) necessary in order to win at the highest levels, the problem is that the game is officiated in such a way as to make the tactic work. And that's not all on the refs, they can't see or interpret everything accurately, but I really would like to see more retroactive punishment for dives or simulation of all kinds. And I'm talking serious punishment, not just a slap on the wrist.

 

I think that should tell you something about the mania stirred up by those who cannot accept the idea of Altidore earning a legit PK. I mean, now, we have an extended discussion of diving/simulation... why? Who knows, because this play was in no way of any kind either of these things. But somehow, that is what the Altidore thread is now.

Meanwhile, just to make things that much more goofy around here, some Turkish DJ has a track titled Altidore (Dirty-Dutch). No, really.

 

This is what it would take, a sweeping change to how you retroactively punish simulation.

 

that's the guy. Made watching argentina in the 90 to naughts impossible.

 

I think you'd have to simultaneously punish b.s. in the box on defenders too. But I agree. I'd love to see it.

 

I agree. If I were in charge I'd want to stamp out all the simulation, but even more than that stop teams from preventing quick free kicks, stop all the action in the box on corners, stop entire teams crowding around the referees and begging for calls or trying to intimidate them. I'd put in the stricter new rules knowing that during the first month of the inaugural season there would be 3 players sent off in each match. Then, the clubs, coaches and players would have to get wise to it or risk fielding their U21 sides.

Taking drastic measures is the only way to stem the tide.

 

If there is any justice in football, Jozy will bag a really important goal before the season is over.

 

and hand out retroactive red cards to players who rake their opponents Achilles with their studs while jogging back up the field. What could go wrong...

 

I remember the first five months or so of this thread when before each weekend people would predict that Jozy would finally come through and bag a brace and get rolling. It never happened. But man it would be great to see him score the goal(s) that keep them up.

 

For that to happen, he's going to have to shoot instead of passing decent opportunities to take a shot.....

I honestly can not even remember the last time Jozy took a shot which is a huge statement against him...While you can blame some of that on his teammates, the main reason why he doesn't shoot is because he's lost all confidence to ever score a goal.....If he doesn't shoot, things will get worse...He's got to find it in himself to shoot and even force some shot...you never know when you shoot..ball could take a massive deflection and go in....Just ask Dempsey at Spurs and all his terrible shots that deflected off a player's body.