Continental Cup quarter-finals tonight. Arsenal v United on FA Player West Ham v Chelsea on Chelsea 5th stand Tottenham v Liverpool* Man City v Bristol City* *Championship teams
Yup. Och Miedema among the starters, Blackstenius on the bench. Will be interesting to see if Blackstenius will come in, and whether it'll be a straight substitution or if Eidevall will try to play them together.
Well, that's that. Arsenal out of the cup. And neither Miedema nor Blackstenius left much of an impression on the match. Blackstenius came on together with newbie Laura Wienroither and Tobin Heath with about 20 minutes left to play. The goat of the match was Jen Beattie who not only gave away the freekick that resulted in the winning Man U goal, but did a poor job of marking Russo who scored it. Adding salt to the injury was that it happened when there was just 5 minutes left (minus stoppage). Maybe Parris should have put the ball in on one of her two open chances in the first half but this was cancelled out by Ella Toone missing a really good chance on the other end. For me, the most entertaining part of the match was Eidevald getting up into Martha Thomas's face, screaming and berating her after her kick to Beth Mead's (I think it was) midriff. It happened right in front of him. To her credit she stood pat and stared him down. Marc Skinner got involved in the "discussion" as well and both coaches (and Thomas) got a yellow.
Eidevald's anger I think was more towards his team's lackluster performance to be honest because that foul did not look as bad. Kudos to Thomas for standing her ground... she earned my respect for sure.
I thought that foul looked bad, and I would have been fine with a red. (At the very least, it seems like Thomas didn't think she did much wrong, and I personally can't respect that.) I think Eidevall was more angry about the ref's performance as a whole. How Toone didn't get a yellow until the very end and how Thorisdottir avoided a yellow completely, I don't know. Neither team really deserved to win this match in my opinion. United won it in the end thanks to a quality delivery from Zelem and a great header from Russo, their POTS so far in my opinion.
I'm inclined to agree. The ref was a bit inconsistent. But I think we can all agree that , as Yoda would say: "angry he was"...
It was a foul but unless you saw a different angle (or a replay) it didn't really merit such overreaction by Eidivall. From what I saw there was no intention to hurt Mead by Thomas whatsoever otherwise it would have been a straight red card. Arsenal's manager needs to work on his anger on top of his crumbling squad.
So many red cards are because of recklessness with little to no intention to hurt the other player. Her foot was above waist height, and it looks to me like her studs went right into Mead's midriff. That was absolutely careless from Thomas in my opinion. I agree that Eidevall needs to keep his anger in check, but unlike most other people, I didn't think Toone and Zelem's reaction with the pushing was much better. Sure, they were provoked and defending Thomas, but couldn't you say Eidevall was provoked and defending Mead as well? Agree to disagree. Edit: I also said "I would have been fine with a red". That's not the same as thinking it was a clear cut red although it really was a bad challenge in my opinion. Edit: I'm sorry; I just can't with the tweet that Thomas put out. I'm sure you'll disagree, but with that tweet, I still think Thomas believes there was little or nothing wrong with her challenge. I just can't agree with that, but so be it.
On another note, that late offside better have actually been called on McCabe even if it was still wrong. Because if that was on Blackstenius, the ref crew really did have a rough time out there. Of course, Arsenal may well have still messed it up (i.e. Miedema/Parris missing on McCabe crosses in the first half).
It was a bad foul--but I don't like seeing red cards for plays like that. A ball has bounced high and a player gets a leg up to control it and clips an opposing player instead. I'm not a big fan of red cards for inadvertent recklessness--unless it is especially egregious, and while this one was somewhat close to egregious, for me it did not merit a red. The U.S. beat Spain in the last WC when a ball in the Spanish box bounced up and both a Spanish player and U.S. player went for it with their legs and the Spanish player clipped the U.S. player. PK called--and it was the game-winning goal. I didn't like that call. As for Eidevall, I definitely think there was some pent-up frustration in his reaction. The team has looked bad for a while, and while there has been various issues--poor player performances, injuries, Covid, Aussie players missing for the Asian tournament, etc., etc.--at the end of the day the buck stops with him. I think the two drubbings by Barca sucked quite a bit of confidence out of the team--but there are players and coaching issues, too. Arsenal have only had 3 mids on the squad in the last two games, and the midfield has not been good this year. The team has struggled mightily to create quality scoring chances and was shut out again today. Oh, my!
Didn't see it but any male coach who gets in an opposing female players face and aggressive should be suspended and given a clear unequivocal warning. There is NO place for that in women's sport.
It wasn't long ago that Parris was a bona fide star in this league--losing the goal-scoring title to Miedema one year by, as I recall, only one goal. She then goes to Lyon and I don't think even played much there--correct me if I'm wrong. Not surprising given all the talent Lyon gathers. Arsenal then signs her and she has not featured much for the Gunners either.
I'm completely fine with reds for inadvertent recklessness, but fair enough. I thought Little was very good today; she gave Toone a torrid time out there. Unfortunately for Arsenal, both Maanum and Nobbs were well off Little.
He was definitely aggressive, but I don't think he actually got that close to Thomas (i.e. getting in her face). The close proximity and physical pushing came from Toone/Zelem. If he is suspended though, that's fair enough.
School boy tantrum in the face of @mart__thomas Was good to see the rest of the team run over (missed by me and not shown on the replay) pic.twitter.com/ApVi4k5Wq6— 48 hours (@48hours8) January 19, 2022 I've just seen the full clip again, and it looks as bad as it did on my viewing of the first replay. I was looking at an edited clip previously that didn't catch the full extent of Thomas' challenge. Her right leg was fully extended out, and in my opinion, she caught Mead full on with her studs. Thomas had enough time to react to that situation and not go up for the ball or pull out of the challenge, and I think she should have done so. Also, looking at the clip again, I think it's clear that Eidevall went after the ref, which is something that all coaches have done plenty of time. Martha Thomas, with her ridiculous hands up "I did nothing wrong" gesture, was the one who actually initiated the dialogue with Eidevall, presumably claiming her innocence. Now, Eidevall should have definitely controlled himself better, but if Thomas hadn't initiated, would he have actually gone after her? I'm sorry; unlike others here, I'm not giving Thomas any credit or respect.
It looks to me like Thomas got the ball first then clipped Mead's forearm who couldn't slow down her momentum making the impact greater. The yellow card was well deserved but it wasn't some intentional nefarious foul. Eidevall's extravagant yelling I honestly believe was more to his squad and Thomas was the scapegoat. I mean did Arsenal even have a single shot on goal? I don't recall seeing one.
I stand by a lot of red cards being unintentional. It wasn't some intentional nefarious foul, but I don't think there was any way Thomas was going to pull off that challenge without making studs contact with Mead. It also wasn't like Mead came out of nowhere; Thomas should have been aware of her the whole time. I still think her challenge was very reckless, and you agree that a yellow card was well deserved. So, why has she been acting like she executed some good/great play? At least it seems that way to me. There should have been shots on goal from Miedema and Parris in my opinion off of McCabe crosses in the first half. I recall a tame effort on goal from Maanum. A Heath flick on from a Weinrother cross/shot just went wide late on. I don't dispute frustration from his team's play, but I still think the refereeing performance played a part in Eidevall's reaction as well.
I think VAR would have reviewed the Thomas foul, the stamp on Beattie in the first half and the Arsenal defender fouled on the United goal. But Arsenal were not good enough on the day: lack of creativity and movement, defensive transition all over the shop again plus stupid defending = defeat.
So the semi finals is going to be Man City vs Spurs which I think Man City will win with most of their starters back on the pitch. Then Chelsea vs Man United which will be and interesting game, think Chelsea will win.
And the toxicity from United fans is coming back in full force. Blundell also freaking liked a post mocking Arsenal fans who thought Thomas caught Mead with her studs on the face; Boe Risa applauded Thomas on Twitter, thus helping to make fun of a situation that involved a bad foul that left a player on the ground. Yeah, those Arsenal fans are obviously mistaken, but I never thought that and have had a problem with Thomas' challenge from the start. I guess studs anywhere other than the head is completely fine/legal with United fans; some even claim that it wasn't a foul or her studs weren't even up. If your foot is at waist height and your leg is pretty much fully extended, your studs are up, and it looks like Thomas may have caught Mead with her knee on the follow through as well. Intent shouldn't matter here in my opinion; a player has to deal with the consequence of any contact made when attempting to make that kind of play. I know professional football is a ridiculously competitive, high octane level, but when I've even just accidentally stepped on an opposing player's foot, I've immediately turned back and apologized for it. I have to admit that the raised hands "What did I do?" gesture less than like a second after Thomas made the challenge has riled me up more than it should have. Also, United fans are mocking the FA for not taking further action against Eidevall. I'm trying to understand what exactly they can do. Thomas actually covered more ground to approach Eidevall; Eidevall went to the sidelines because of his initial rant to the ref. (Of course, when I brought that up, I got my words twisted despite making it clear that I thought Eidevall was wrong in his reaction.) When he turned his focus to Thomas' objections, he pretty much didn't move his feet forward, leaned forward a bit, and did some yelling and hand gestures before Toone and Zelem came in. Poor form, but unless what he yelled was something particularly in poor taste, what is that remarkable about the FA not taking more action? I don't even like Mead off the football pitch, but non Arsenal fans joking about how Thomas would have done people a favor if her foot had actually been higher? You can't make that up.
Some fans in are not intelligent. I mean Thomas injured Mead who was subbed. Referee gives her a yellow card and also to Eidevall and Skinner who were both agitated. That's ok. I think if they would have gone to punish Eidevall Arsenal would have told the FA to reconsider the fact that Thomas injured Mead. That's what happens in France, but not in England obviously. They don't really care about rules. There was a case in third division (Gillingham v Lewes) where the referee and his assistant prevented Lewes to do a 4th substitution, despite being allowed 5. Lewes lost the game, appealed the League FA WNL gave the game to be replayed, but in appeal, the appeal comittee reversed the verdict of replay and gave the won to Gillingham 1-0 again as referees error are part of the game. What a lot of crap.
Interesting. Crap yes but still not illogical or out of the realm of comprehension. We've seen a lot of other decisions in the run of play affect the outcome that were clearly wrong. You can't ask for a replay on every one. Again I didn't see it but I'm not sure a players injury gives a get-out-of-jail-free card for a coach to become aggressive with a player on the opposing team. It's a dangerous precedent. The FA obviously disagrees because they have determined he will not be sanctioned. I should probably try and find a clip somewhere.
Imagine if that was Georgia Stanway instead of Martha Thomas... Eidevall's yelling is not illegal but should be eschewed. Anyway, I rest my case on this.
I've been watching women's handball lately, good Lord if this standard was applied there the coaches would be constantly raging.