EPL has it's own set of rules.

7 games in and already several broken legs,i don't mind refs letting the game flow but some games seem a bit like rugby at times.

Not sure what you mean by 'different rules'? The fact that we don't punish Grade A tackles? If you call the ref out on the 2 penalty incidents he got wrong, fine, but De Jong made a tackle in which he got the ball and his foot didn't go in high. I fail to see anything wrong with the tackle at all. Was it unfortunate for Ben Arfa? Yes, but the fact no Newcastle player or member of staff even complained tells the whole story to be honest.

Hatem Ben Arfa's broken leg the result of an unnecessary tackle, says Chris Hughton

Is that the main reason though for all the broken legs?I don't know but it surely doesn't help.Gomez would have a broken leg if Carl Henry's challenge had connected completely.

LINK

not sure if you call that a "complaint" but they're not happy about it.

'It's slit-your-wrists time at St. Andrews

'I hate to be negative but I've been saying for weeks he's (Zigic) a very poor man's Savo. The fans are starting to jeer any time he touches the ball. He looks like a deer in headlights, has nothing about him... at all and I fear he's gonna go even further into his shell. Doesn't win headers, usually doesn't even challenge for the ball. The latest chant is "he's 7 foot tall and doesn't win **** all".

Jerome is a good lad and the only player in the team that can run but has the worst touch in front of goal I've ever seen. And he's our lone striker. Carr is the best winger we've got right now and he's a 40 yr old right back. McFadden is out for months and Bowyer is really starting to look past it.

McLeish is a stubborn ******* and refuses to change from the 4-5-1, the sleep-enducing ultra-defensive tactics and the picking of players like Fahey. Someone on the forum yesterday said, "memo to McLeish: why not try 4-6-0 and kick the ball into the stands every time we get it?" Relegation is not out of the question, the fans are starting to turn and there's just a bad feeling about it all.

PS: **** Mark Lawrenson for calling Blues fans idiots for booing. Yes we've had a great unbeaten run but we've won 2 in 17, haven't scored at home for 3 games and play literally the most boring football I have ever seen from any team'

Henry's been doing that week in, week out, he's just a dirty player. He was sent off for it and that was the right decision.

As for the number of broken legs, it's simply down to luck. Freddie Bouma was out injured for 2 years with a big injury, nobody even touched him. The Eduardo and Ramsey injuries are just part of football, they're professionals who have very quick feet and even if you;re 0.1 of a second late, you can end up breaking someones leg. It doesn't mean there's any intent, you're just unlucky if you happen to end up with a broken leg. People are unable to react to a split second, so they can hardly stop themself. Cisse's leg break at Liverpool was nohing more than a tangle of legs between 2 players.

I prefer the physiucality of the league, it allows the game to flow and generally results in less diving.



Hadn't seen that, but I have to ask what sport he thinks this is if he feels that was unnecesary? He was running inside the Man City half, what did he expect him to do, let Ben Arfa through on goal?

WOW that's alot of unlucky players and those that you talk about are all very recent.

What I find funny is that De Jong makes a top class tackle and everybody on Earth is up in arms about how the Premier League allows horrific tackles. Sidwell breaks a Wolves players leg last weekend in what wasn't a good tackle and nobody even so much as mentions it. People just jump on the bandwagon when they feel like it.

People react far, far too much to the outcome of an incident, rather than the incident itself. If Ben Arfa's leg hadn't broke, would anyone have said ANYTHING about the tackle at all? Not a chance, if Ben Arfa's leg didn't get stuck under De Jong, it wouldn't have broke and nobody would have said a thing, despite it essentially being the exact same tackle.

If Ben Arfa's leg hadn't broke, would anyone have said ANYTHING about the tackle at all?

I also imagine the memory of De Jong's kung fu kick is fresh in memory too. That kick on Xabi Alonso was inside the Netherlands half. What was he supposed to do, let Xabi have space to shoot?

But then again..I was supporting Holland and I dislike Alonso, so at that time I cheered.

De Jong makes a top class tackle

But i still stick to my referees theory i don't believe there are that many unlucky players in one league.I think EPL has created circumstances where these things can happen frequently.

But then again..I was supporting Holland and I dislike Alonso, so at that time I cheered.

This one is worse than the kung fu imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQbTu1wS4Gg

What I find funny is that De Jong makes a top class tackle and everybody on Earth is up in arms about how the Premier League allows horrific tackles.

Nonono, it can't be. kicking someone in the chest like that can be 'really' dangerous - even life threatening.

Last I heard, scissors tackles were illegal.

Haha if this was only a joke, but come on Jack, this is not funny.


Nonono, it can't be. kicking someone in the chest like that can be 'really' dangerous - even life threatening.

Come on man,you sound like a reasonable guy,you don't have to always blindingly defend the EPL,i enjoy watching it too as a neutral.I'd think that reducing these incidents would improve the league no?

Here we go kurt:

De Jong dropped by Dutch coach

Look..just bow down and accept I'm right (er) than you are.

Last I heard, scissors tackles were illegal.

The ball was in front of Ben Arfa, De Jongs left leg came in and took the ball with making any contact with Ben Arfa. His right leg hit the side of Ben Arfa's leg, but due to Ben Arfa's studs getting caught, it broke his leg.

Like I said though, everybody is jumping on the bandwagon now. If this was an isolated thing and everybody bought it up, fine. But it's nothing more than a case of guilty before proven innocent, just because he has a reputation. If it wasn't De Jong, nobody would have even said anything - Sidwell breaking a leg last weekend and nobody so much as mentioning it proves this. The evidence gains even more strength on the fact that Sidwell's tackle was terrible, while De Jong's was within the laws of the game. It also puts my 'defending the EPL' myth to bed because not only am I criticising Sidwell, but he's a Villa player.

I'm more concerned with Fellaini and Tim Cahill getting away with elbowing people in the face week in, week out.

Then you've clearly not seen my posts in this thread.
vs West Ham: Awful ref.
vs Newcastle: Awful ref.
vs Everton: Awful ref.
vs Stoke: Can he even be called a ref?
vs Bolton: You can just about call this guy competent.
vs Wolves: Joke of a ref.
vs Spurs: Competent, but made big mistake.

I'd hardly call that blindly defending the Premier League.

Funny, we must've watched a different game then. Sure looked like a scissors challenge to me. I can't believe you're even trying to defend this, Kurt.

No, I'd call that blindly defending your own team.

I'd say he's close to indefensible at this point considering this is his second such incident in less than one year.

If that was Pirlo I'd want De Jong to be behind bars....but I did see the 'kick' and it was more of an outstretched leg from the leap and not really an intentional boot to the chest. If it had been, Alonso would be on the ground spitting blood.

ALEXANDER Hleb is on a collision course with ­Birmingham boss Alex McLeish after claiming his move to the Midlands was a step backwards.

And the Belarus ­international risked ­angering his new manager even further by attacking his long-ball approach.

Hleb completed a shock loan move to St Andrew’s from Barcelona just before the summer transfer ­window slammed shut.

His capture was heralded as a major coup by McLeish, given the midfielder’s ­proven European pedigree.

But the former Arsenal star could have some ­explaining to do when he ­returns from international duty after admitting life in Birmingham has come as a massive culture shock.

Hleb, who is preparing for Euro 2012 qualifiers against Luxembourg and Albania, said: “I’m not quite happy with the level of the team, but such things do happen. It’s just life.

“I did tell the papers that Birmingham is not exactly Barcelona or Arsenal.

In the recent Birmingham games there was a lot of struggle – they were ­constantly hoofing the long ball forward.” The 29-year-old ­excelled under Arsene Wenger’s attractive style, with his displays enhancing his reputation as one of the ­continent’s most potent ­attacking midfielders, ­bagging him a dream move to the Nou Camp.

But despite the Catalans’ offensive approach, Hleb flopped in Spain and boss Pep Guardiola sent him out on loan to Stuttgart – the club where he first made his name – at the back end of last season.

But Hleb admits he longs to play sexy football again,­ ­saying: “Naturally I miss the ­combinational and creative football by Arsenal and ­Barca, but that was my own choice.

“The Birmingham style is not the kind of game I dreamed about.

“It is good that now I have a lot of time on the pitch, but I want to play football of a ­different kind.”

However, Hleb insists he is 100 per cent committed to the St Andrew’s cause and ­insists he is willing to drop his footballing principles to make a go of it.

He said: “Birmingham is more a team of fighters, but now I need to get used to their manner of playing.

“But as a whole everything suits me now – a good ­manager and fine relations with my team-mates.”

@Kurt, who is their best ever player then? Just curious.

10.42am: JUDGE RULES MANDATORY INJUNCTION WANTED BY RBS AGAINST OWNERS IS GRANTED: SALE CAN GO AHEAD

10.49am: Mr Justice Floyd: "The owners do not have an absolute right to veto a sale."

10.50am: The injunction means the board is reconstituted with Purslow and Ayre back in place and Broughton allowed to see through the sale, reports Sachin Nakrani

Great, so a completely mismanaged club who spent themselves into stupid debt won't be punished, there is a God.

What a joke.

Wilshere - I will learn from red card

Jack Wilshere admits he deserved to be sent off against Birmingham on Saturday but has vowed to learn from the incident.

The Arsenal midfielder received a straight red card in the dying minutes at Emirates Stadium following a challenge on Nikola Zigic.

The 19-year-old was contrite when he spoke to Arsenal.com afterwards but he will still be punished with a three-game domestic ban.

“I just want to say that I mistimed the challenge on Zigic and accept that I deserved to be sent off,” said Wilshere.

“I have no complaints about getting the red card and I will learn from this. I’m missing three matches now which I’m really disappointed about, but I just want to say that I deserved the red card.”

Wenger: 'Jack said he deserved the red card'

on Jack Wilshere's red card...
He mistimed his tackle and he got the red card he deserved. But it was his first tackle in the game and you have to acknowledge that he got a red card and he deserved it but he didn't spend the whole game kicking people. He played football and was one of the best players on the football pitch. Unfortunately it happened to him but I think it was more frustration. He didn't want to harm the player - he mistimed his tackle. We do not complain about his red card but you cannot say he had a dirty game.

on raising the issue of tackling with his players...
Of course I will. You know we are the team who has the most fouled committed against them. I encourage my players to play football but we got a red card we deserved and what can we do about it? Nothing else. Wilshere will be suspended for three games and he will be punished.

on what Jack said about the challenge...
He said he mistimed his tackle and touched him on the ankle and deserved the red card

HT Everton 1-0 Liverpool, Cahill.

What're you going to hide behind with Hicks and Gillett gone, Liverpool fans? God forbid you just admit you're ****.

EDIT: 2-0, Arteta!

HT Everton 1-0 Liverpool, Cahill.

What're you going to hide behind with Hicks and Gillett gone, Liverpool fans? God forbid you just admit you're ****.

EDIT: 2-0, Arteta!