Penalty Appeal On Saturday...

[Dutch Uncle]

That is an excellent site Skellow - a real attempt to analyse and quantify which I applaud. It would seem to be objective as well, and in my eyes credible. I definitely will follow it in the coming weeks/months.

If I were from the PGMOB I would publicly distance myself from it..........and privately follow and use it, or better still use its structure and implement a parallel private version. Maybe they do but somehow I doubt it. 

[IDM]

The problem is officials have an impossible task. The main arguments seem to stem from offside decisions.

In order for a linesman to judge an offside situation correctly, he would have to have eyes like Marty Feldman. One eye would need to be on the suspect offside player whilst simultaneously the other eye on the player making the pass.

It is expected of them to perform a task that is humanly impossible!

As a linesman you have a choice - focus either on the furthest attacker, or 2nd last defender (including the keeper).  Given the speed of the play, it may be easier to track the 2nd last defender as any forward further up is in an offside position.

Another way of improving judgment is to listen for the ball being kicked forward.  This works better for longer passes where the ball is kicked harder, where to look across and back would be more difficult.  For closer passes the passer and last defender should be in eyesight.

The old system worked better, if you were in an offside position, you're offside.   None of this being directly active etc.. As someone once said (was it Shankly?) if you're not interfering with play, you shouldn't be on the pitch....

[IDM]

I have also just seen the highlights on Sky's website.  That is a stonewall penalty - the keeper knocks Syers over and the ball continues on it's original path. 

Shocking decision, or lack of it...

[DonnyNoel]

The problem is officials have an impossible task. The main arguments seem to stem from offside decisions.

In order for a linesman to judge an offside situation correctly, he would have to have eyes like Marty Feldman. One eye would need to be on the suspect offside player whilst simultaneously the other eye on the player making the pass.

It is expected of them to perform a task that is humanly impossible!

As a linesman you have a choice - focus either on the furthest attacker, or 2nd last defender (including the keeper).  Given the speed of the play, it may be easier to track the 2nd last defender as any forward further up is in an offside position.

Another way of improving judgment is to listen for the ball being kicked forward.  This works better for longer passes where the ball is kicked harder, where to look across and back would be more difficult.  For closer passes the passer and last defender should be in eyesight.

The old system worked better, if you were in an offside position, you're offside.   None of this being directly active etc.. As someone once said (was it Shankly?) if you're not interfering with play, you shouldn't be on the pitch....

The ball being kicked on is a trick I've employed many a time at amateur level but I would think its hard to do with any significant crowd noise at a professional game, and this is where you're going to get more complex movement from players? I got to run the line in a friendly for Rovers at conference level and the movement and intelligence of the runs from players even at that level was scary when it came to judging offsides.

Re Saturdays decision, again I'll go back to my original point about the refs position, theres no way he could have seen it given how far back he was stood. We may have got lucky had it been on the other side of the pitch and the lino been able to see it.

[IDM]

It is probably something you don't notice if you're not listening for it, but next time, at the match, keep an ear out for the sound - especially with a long kick or a corner etc, it is a very distinctive sound in amongst the general noise. 

[PDX_Rover]

Just watched the extended highlights on Rovers Player. It could have been 6-2 to Rovers on another day. The penalty - I'm hard pressed to see a clearer one that hasn't been given. Absolute stonewall penalty every time. Whether he was atoning for the possible pen against Jones is irrelevant, and two wrongs don't make a right, as my Mum always says.

Mind you, it was that eejit Ilderton, who did us at Brighton, and perhaps he wanted some retribution for JR's comments after that game.

And how Paynter missed that header....

On the up side - great performance by Rovers. HOPEFULLY we kick on from there. Exciting times.