Colin Randall takes an old Fleet Street confrère to task for suggesting our win against Liverpool should be cancelled out …
Most of the time, I enjoy Mike Parry and TalkSport (can’t bring myself to start the name in lower case and then write the second syllable in upper).
This morning, Mike was talking nonsense. Yes, the beach ball goal ought to have been disallowed. But to proceed from there to the proposition that on this one and only occasion, a clear injustice should be remedied by having the game played again is absurd and unfair.
Does Mike also think we should turn back the clock and replay the game at Reading when Sunderland lost to a “goal” when nearly everyone in the ground knew, and replays confirmed, that the ball did not cross the line?
And hey, as my (Liverpool-supporting) daughter has just reminded me – yes, I know, failed as a father – what about Gary McAllister? Do we go all the way back to his infamous dive from somewhere near the banks of the Wear that somehow ended in our penalty area, enabling that refereeing Graham from Tring (Graham P Barber, no less, not Mr Poll) to award a penalty and an undeserved point to Liverpool.
Or do errors leading to goals being awarded need to be corrected only when the aggrieved party is one of the Big Four?
Liverpool had an hour and a half to play their way back into the game and make the refereeing error meaningless. Instead, they were largely outplayed until a typically nervy finish and should have lost by three goals or more. Sunderland had a lot less time to do anything about Reading’s dodgy winner (also, let us remember, in an important Premier game) – or about a host of other grossly wrong decisions that have cost us vital points.
Even if the beach ball had been tossed on to the field of play by a Sunderland fan, the argument would be the same. A mistake by officials cannot be rectified after the event by altering a result. Otherwise, we’d need a special panel to make a dozen rulings after each weekend and wouldn’t know the actual league tables much before midweek.
Rafa, for all his despicable conduct when Kenwyne Jones was badly hurt, accepted the defeat with some grace. Mike Parry, and not because he is an Evertonian, should let us all move on and leave our points alone.
* See also: The day the balloon went up
* Photo of Mike Parry by courtesy of TalkSport
That’s an interesting piece Colin, but its best to remember that Mike Parry’s responsibility to his employer is simply to court controversy and is more than happy to spout nonsense (which most of the time he doesn’t believe himself at the time of spouting it).
If there is no “incident” for Mike Parry to take a controversial stand about, then he is brass necked enough to produce a ridiculous scenario in order to get people talking and for people to phone in.
He’s a very sharp bloke, Mr Parry because he gets people talking, even if the subject is facile and pointless. Just as we are now.
Then he’d complain he was too fast, Bill.
Tranmere Joan! Yes, i’d forgotten that one. Maybe that season’s entire FA Cup from that round on should be replayed.
If you were going to start re-playing games then the cup game against Tranmere when they had a player sent off but sneaked another on in his place is a clear contender – but it wasn’t replayed.
If Parry got his wish, then no doubt the egregious Sir Alex would immediately lobby for a replay of the Brandchester United/Sunderland game with a certified marathon-runner as referee.
And that’s the point, Sam. We all know now that a man-made incident that went unseen by the officials probably cost West Ham a point. You feel aggrieved, Stoke fans are relieved (while also citing what they say was a red card challenge on Liam Lawrence). But no one is seriously suggesting there should be a replay, and nor should they do so about another unseen infringement of the rules at Sunderland. If the ref, his linesman and the fourth official didn’t know the rule – I did not, and nor on his own admission did Mike Parry – that’s an issue for the FA.
On TalkSport, Matt, I like the pugnacity of the presenters – Mike included – and therefore overlook the odd pander.
There was bad refereeing mistake in our game against Stoke – Huth should have seen red and we should have had a pentaly with about 15mins to go
Probably would have at least walked away with a draw
Gutted
Don’t listen to that radio station much. Always seems to pander (even more than most) to the lowest common denominator, so maybe that’s why they are biased in favour of the ‘big four’ clubs.