Oh well first things first, I am a ManUtd fan, Ruuud hasnt been playing well of late, how many goals has he scored? We have Smith and Saha to play if he were given a ban, and from were im standing that might work for us. I mean Saha couldnt have a much worse record in front of goal if he was given a 5 match run could he?. So Wenger and the FA do your worst, try and get RVN a ban, but just think you might be doing ManUtd a favor LOL. Ps: would you really try and make part of the ban that Saha and Smith couldnt play as well LOL. Seriously lets get on with next Weekends matches
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? no, it would not be doing United a favor. That's absolutely ridiculous. we need Ruud in the squad. He hasn't been scoring well, but its more the matter of our midfield being inconsistent most of the season. with respect to the accusation, it was a very physical game, so I don't remember the incident between Ruud and Cole. I do remember Ruud jostling Lehmann around. So at this point, the accusation is a little stupid to me, however, it could've been something the camera did not catch. and as for the 'ps' part of your post, i have no idea what you mean. please explain.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Ruud should get at least a 3 match ban for that - it was intentional and dirty and could have caused a serious injury. If Vieira had done that to Ronaldo, for example, this board would be screaming out for a ban. As fans, we should not just accept this type of play just because he plays for Man U. You can't defend the indefensible
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? He has not been that bad... he has 3 CL goals and 2 Prem goals. He needs to find his form but its not like he has been missing 3 or 4 chances a game or anything - the service has been kind of poor. Smith has had less problems and is in better form but he is a different kind of striker... All in all, I actually would not be too upset with a ban because it would allow us to decide who between Smith and Saha should get the occasional game ahead of Ruud.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? If I believed for one second that it was intentional, I'd be screaming at SAF to kick a boot at Ruuuuud's big ol horse face, but I don't know for sure that there was intent to injure. 1. He receives the ball and immediately turns back 2. The balll skips on a rain-slick durface on a soaked field 3. He feels Cole coming as he turns around 4. He kicks out his boot to (a) get the ball, or (b) kick Cole. Which is it - a or b? I say (a)... On that pitch, the ball coud've popped up two feet high, skipped along the ground, popped up 6 inches, etc - there was so much water on the ground, there's no telling where the ball was going to go. The most logical place for the ball to go was about two feet above ground - where Ruud's foot was. Besides, I just don't think Ruud had time to look for Cole's leg - he was in the process of turning around as Cole came across. If you watch Ruud's eyes, he never takes them off the ball...
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? If thats your opinion then fine - I know from what I saw, from the look on his face after he'd done it and the sheer distance from where the ball was to where he connected that I'm certain it was intentional. This isn't the first time we've seen dirty play from Ruud and it wont be the last - I hate seeing him do it.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Some posts I made on the Arsenal board: "I honestly didn't see anything wrong with it. From what I saw, it looked like Ruud was trying to trap and drag the ball. Cole came in very quickly and the just managed to knock the ball away. To fine or charge anyone for what wasn't even a 50/50 (as Ruud still had possession) is a complete joke. Especially considering some of the stuff Denis "Watch my elbows/studs" Bergkamp has gotten away with." "Watching it in real time, no-one in the bar saw anything wrong. No-one knew why Cole was on the ground. Seeing the first replay, nothing changed. It was only with the third replay from another angle that we all saw what happened, but even then, no-one felt it was deliberate because Ruud had possession and it appeared to everyone as if he was trying to control the ball. If anything (and this came from an Arsenal fan) it was Cole's fault for needlessly jumping into a challenge that he didn't need to make. Ruud was going no-where at the time. He also said that from the angle Cole went in, Ruud probably didn't see him till the last second and thus was unable to prevent the contact. Stick to you guns if you wish, it just sounds like more bitter complaining."
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? I don't think he should be banned. I don't think anybody at Arsenal should be banned either (soup throwing or no). This insipid "Ban Watch" that the papers like to write up everytime the two clubs play is seriously taking the joy out of it all. If Ruud is banned, we still have Rooney, Saha, and Smith so we are fine there....
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Hey, I just saw a replay of the match. The Ruud incident, well, I do say it's 50/50. I will admit that if you look at it one way, he's a cheating dirty bastard. If you look at it another, then he was just an innocent who NEVER TOOK his eyes off the ball, as mentioned in an earlier post. But, and I hate to sound like a whiner, what about Henry? Did everyone forget how he kneed a man u player (Heinze?) in the back of the Head? The Manu player slid, got the ball, but stayed down. Henry looked pissed off as he stepped over the slider, and just dipped his trailing leg to knock the player on the ground in the back of the head with his knee. Now, usually I'd say "Hey, part of the game", but it just annoys me how everyone's harping on Ruud but neglecting Henry.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? There's no way you can conclusively say that Ruud really thought Ashley Cole's foot was going to be there. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. He's the only person on the planet who knows, because from the physical video evidence...it's impossible to tell. To pretend otherwise is lunacy, and will just betray one's bias. It was a nasty game. There were many bad challenges made by just about every player on the pitch. Something needs to be done about the United-Arsenal games. I actually enjoy it to an extent-it's entertaining and the passion is almost unique these days in English football-but for the first time, I thought it was truly mean-spirited instead of just very hard fought. Someone's (brilliant) career's going to end out there sooner or later.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Arsene Whinger's comments: 'We know how Ruud van Nistelrooy behaves,' said the Frenchman. 'He can only cheat people - we know him very well.' Whinger, you really are a great coach but please just STFU. Accept the fact that you lost the game to a team who was better on the day and move on. If you want to be considered one of the truly great coaches, you need to learn to be a gracious loser as well. The fact that small incidents such as these affect you and your players so greatly is partly responsible for your piss-poor disciplinary record as well. Part of the reason I love beating them is to hear his laughable excuses.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? I actually don't mind it when coaches whine about cheating after the game. Cheating should never be outcome determinative. I do mind Wenger whining about it. He's "not seen" far too many plays to have clean hands himself. And he's allowed his Arsenal team to exhibit far too much indiscipline (in this game, no less) to whine about any poor displays of sportsmanship or nasty tackles. I'll listen to it from other coaches, but not Wenger...when he's so complicit himself.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? After watching the replay of this over and over the thing that gets me is the fact that Ruud SMILES and quickly looks away after he clips Cole as if he's havign a moment of schadenfreude.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? And I thought Reuters was a news organization. There was no contact between Campbell and Rooney. Has Wenger said that Riley was on the take or called him an idiot of the highest degree in the press? (I'm really asking.) If not, why the need to review Wenger's comments? If you think the refs calls were bad, then why can't you say so? What's the big deal.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Wenger's comments last year about Ruud being a cheat were investigated as well. Most people thought it was a stick-on pen when it happened. Only after slow motion replays from mutiliple angles does it appear that the contact was minimal, I haven't seen one yet that shows NO contact. Wenger will gladly pay any fines out there, it's worth it to him to make his team seem as hard done by as possible....
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? I agree with Motterman that now after every game these two sides play people expect a lot of charges and suspensions. Face it it was a very heated game on both sides. Both sides could have some players rightly banned. Towards the end for example, how about that Viera Tackle on Giggs right after the Ruud Penalty.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? When has that french tw@t ever seen a two footed Cole stamp, or what about Bercamp trying to strike Smither or Peanut head, trying to knee someone in the head or Pires diving or Veria hounding the referee on every decision. That paedophile can stfu.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Try engaging your brain before posted more of your biased crap again. footballer10 - you are a joke.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Well, I thought I saw one that showed no contact. Could be wrong. I don't blame Riley for the call. I'm sure it looked like one from his vantage point. Only in slow-mo could one see what really happened. Calling Ruud a cheat is a bit unprofessional and should be fined for that. No problem there.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Teso, if you think that, I don't care. I try damn hard to see the game unbiased. Read my posts again. I have a different take than you. In no way have I said that Arsenal dominated anyone. The game was tight. It turned on the penalty.
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? Cant Managers get a match ban for unsporting behavior, I say make Wegner serve a match ban and apologize to the FA for calling Riley a cheat
Re: Ruud going to get Ban ??? I haven't seen that Wenger called him a cheat. If he did, then fine him. I've seen where Wenger pointed out Riley's record for giving penalties to Utd. That could be questionable I suppose.