Latics Fan SJK
Well-Known Member
nijinsky's fetlocks said:stony said:nijinsky's fetlocks said:If there is an organised campaign to stop City winning the Premiership,can anyone explain what went wrong last season?
If it's all about money,which institutionalised corruption usually is,then couldn't we just buy all these refs instead,given that manure haven't got a pot to piss in,and we are the richest club on the planet?
Or are the top referees throwing games for fun?
Can one of our resident paranoid folk please explain this conundrum for me?
I don't believe there's any sort of campaign to stop City winning, but I do believe that the rags get favourable refereeing decisions too often for it to be coincidence. I'm not saying that the refs are bent but I do think they are scared of bacon face and they know that if he doesn't like them, they won't ref rag games again. With the rags being the biggest club in the country, refereeing their games is the pinnacle of a refs career. It's in their own self interests to favour the rags, as Howard Webb, Englands top ref has shown. 18% of his career penalties have been awarded to the rags. That in itself is a damning statistic.
Do you think that only certain referees are scared of incurring the wrath of the pisscan,or are some capable of objectivity?
Yes,they do get some dodgy decisions on occasion,but they were denied a cast-iron penalty on Saturday.
You can argue that the most successful club over the last 20 years will always get more penalties anyway,because they attack more,therefore spend more time in the opposition penalty area than anyone else.Referees make mistakes - sometimes they go in your favour,sometimes they don't.
If you ask fans of other clubs,they probably reckon their team get a poor deal too.
Wigan have consistantly been on the receiving end of some of the worst refereeing decisions I have ever seen over the last couple of years.
I just don't see what would be gained by referees making intentionally incorrect decisions just to get awarded the 'big' games,because I assume their match fee is the same whatever fixture they are in charge of,and it makes them look daft when they are shown on the telly to be wrong.
To suggest a general bias towards the rags without an ultimate aim,(such as them winning the title),just doesn't add up.
Another point that's been brought up many a time:
02/03 to 11/12
(No. Penalties - awarded vs given - in the Premiership)
Man Utd: 60/26
Chelsea: 56/29
Arsenal: 58/42
Liverpool: 55/38
Man City: 48/40
Looking at those stats, it's understandable that the (old Sky 4), who generally bossed the majoirty of game, would earn more penalties.
Since the takeover.....
Man Utd 32/14
Man City 30/18
So, the number of penalties awarded to each club in the league is quite similar since City's rise up the Premiership.
Also, in the 15 seasons City have spent in the Premier League, they have averaged 3.5 red cards per season in comparison to United's 2.5. That's only 1 Red Card per season.
Liverpool & Aston Villa are the two clubs who have spent the same length of time in the Premiership as Man Utd and accrued more red cards over that period.
Now I know stats aren't the be all and end all before you start piping up, but there's nothing alarming in there to suggest United get unbelievable favouritism in the League.