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Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:29 amby Jimmy the Weasel
Ok, seeing as the other one went...
I've been really impressed so far - I was open minded enough when we bought him, to consider that in the handful of games he played for Man City he was surrounded by dross and managed by Stuart Pearce, a man with very little experience in the job.
I think he's slotted in quickly and naturally both to the team and the league - and provides everything we've lacked in terms of natural width, a good left peg, trickery, guile and a final ball into the box.
Ultimately he's another player in our arsenal who the opposition have to worry about because he can produce something that creates a goal from nowhere.
I thought it was really encouraging that he hit the shot against Wigan with his right - imagine Riise doing a full circle to get round the ball and take it with his left?!
If he takes a couple of bookings and wins us a couple of penalties for his tumbles then I'll accept that - everyone else does it, I don't like it, but why disadvantage ourselves by trying to win matches through "whiter than white" means?
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:45 amby Bad Bob
andy_g wrote:he looks like a cartoon character as well.
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:26 pmby LFC2007
andy_g wrote:i thought the penalty shout was pretty much stonewall actually. you could see the defender deliberately stick his leg out behind him and riera went over it.
You avin a laugh?
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:45 pmby Jimmy the Weasel
LFC2007 wrote:andy_g wrote:i thought the penalty shout was pretty much stonewall actually. you could see the defender deliberately stick his leg out behind him and riera went over it.
You avin a laugh?
I think it was a a questionable foul - but it was one of those that doesn't get given in the modern game unless you fall over.
The guy did blatantly try and trip him with his trailing leg - I wouldn't call it stonewall, I don't think the defender did enough to justify Riera going down, so not surprised he got booked.
If he'd have followed through a bit more as Riera probably thought he would, then things might have been different.
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:49 pmby GYBS
reira went down too easily . would of been a free kick outside the box but you dont see penalties given for those sort of challenges unless its Styles as the ref or Riley for the mancs
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:50 pmby LFC2007
I thought it was a pretty clear dive to be honest. There was perhaps very light contact with his trailing leg, but he was looking for it and he didn't appeal for the penalty, he just kept his head down because I think he knew he was in the wrong. Gerrard seemed to have a word with him about it too.
Posted:
Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:57 pmby Jimmy the Weasel
LFC2007 wrote:I thought it was a pretty clear dive to be honest. There was perhaps very light contact with his trailing leg, but he was looking for it and he didn't appeal for the penalty, he just kept his head down because I think he knew he was in the wrong. Gerrard seemed to have a word with him about it too.
It did end up looking like a pretty clear dive, however as I said, I think he was probably expecting that leg to follow through a bit more and anticipated heavier contact than there was.
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:54 amby GOAT_2.0
Unless your a f.ucking fanny there was no reaosn for him to go to ground like that off minimal contact, blatent dive IMO
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 2:16 amby bigmick
It's merely a football cultural thing, and in fairness the bloke did stck his leg out, and there was some minimal contact. Equally, there was minimal contact moments later when Maniche went down like a sack of spuds at the other end. The key here though for me, and I've been saying this for a while now (there's a shock), is not whether or not there was contact, it's whether or not it was a foul.
The two things are not the same. You often see a striker go one on one with the keeper and then knock it past the goalie as he comes out and goes down. They then drag their trailing leg into him to ensure there's contact. Not a foul though. The key question for me, is was the contact sufficient to prevent the player going about his normal business. If the contact is minimal enough for the bloke to ignore it should he see fit, but instead he decides to hurl himself to the ground, then for me it's not a foul. If you're about to shoot as Riera was and the guys leg brushes against yours, not causing you to trip nor even break stride, it's not a foul.
I've long advocated having a panel look at instances from week to week. Divers and play actors should be absolutely hammered. Five game bans dished out willy-nilly. As it is, it's nowhere near as bad in England as it is on the continent. This for me is THE single most significant reason that the English Premier League is the best league in the World, both in terms of quality and spectacle. If you are actually allowed to compete to try and win the ball back, you take more risks going forward. If you are allowed to tackle, to get tight, you don't need to defend in such great numbers.
Riera is no different to many who have come before him. Hopefully he'll learn, and when he does he might just be a really good player.
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:25 amby Sabre
If you are actually allowed to compete to try and win the ball back, you take more risks going forward. If you are allowed to tackle, to get tight, you don't need to defend in such great numbers.
I agree about the spectacle, but for me the reason of it is the amount of interruptions. A set pieces situation is very different to open play, an in Spain the players positions are realigned too many times with free kicks in the middle. If you are a Keane, your team is being besieged and you get the ball in the middle, you'll only have to make a quality turn and wait till you are tackled to get a free kick, allow your defence to go upper, and allow the team to re-position.
About the penalties, perhaps there's less difference than you think. Not that we teach kids to dive at school here 
I disagree about the panel thing. It would be enough with punishing it in the pitch, Riera got a card for instance from a DAnish keeper, but Yakubu didn't get one against us this season when he dived in a pathetic manner. No panels, cards will do. That's what the refs are for, judge what's going on.
P.S. BTW, Riera's reputation here is not "diver"
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:13 pmby Jimmy the Weasel
GOAT_2.0 wrote:Unless your a f.ucking fanny there was no reaosn for him to go to ground like that off minimal contact, blatent dive IMO
But there is a need to go to ground though isn't there?
Not always because the contact causes you to fall over, but because referees in the modern game only give fouls when the player falls over now.
It's one of the main reasons why diving is so prevalent in football these days in my opinion - somebody can be fouled and still remain on their feet, but not in the view of most referees.
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 2:43 pmby andy_g
LFC2007 wrote:andy_g wrote:i thought the penalty shout was pretty much stonewall actually. you could see the defender deliberately stick his leg out behind him and riera went over it.
You avin a laugh?
no, i'm not.
in my opinion another thing you have to look at here is the intent of the defender. riera was going past him so he stuck his leg out behind him to try and stop him. the ball was gone so he can't have been going after it, so his intention was to get the man. you don't perform little contortions like that accidentally.
even if the contact was minimal there was still contact and that contact was intentional.
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:33 pmby LFC2007
I saw a reply of it last night and I'm even more convinced that he dived. He purposely left his trailing leg behind in an attempt to make contact with the defender's outstretched leg, he made minimal contact with the bloke's leg and went over, when he could've stayed on his feet. When he got up, he didn't protest, he kept his head down and jogged on because he knew he was in the wrong, just after Gerrard had a word with him about it. Drawing a foul is one thing, and I haven't a problem with that so long as there is sufficient contact (which inhibits the player's movement significantly), there wasn't though.
Posted:
Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:54 pmby maypaxvobiscum
i honestly dont care if any of our player dives so long as we win.
