Distin says it was like a wrestling match

Distin does it a fair amount himself..

However, I certainly agree with him on the consistentcy point. I made that quite clear when we had the debate about the penalty awarded against Fellaini. I was in a small minority of people who thought it was a penalty and that those sort of antics should be consistently penalised.

I haven't changed my opinion.

Every team up and down the country do this stuff at set pieces, including us.

In an ideal world there would be a clampdown and retribution against diving, spiteful little bastard fouls trying to send players off injured, etc with a minimum of a 4/5 game ban. It should be applied across the board with every team getting looked at and players dealt with.

In reality, nothing will happen, the FA will pucker up and bend over for their cash cow teams, the remainder will get inconsistency and it will continue.

I am all for clamping down on holding and pushing at set pieces. Just make them all penalties and they would soon stop

I don't think anyone thought - by the letter of the law - it wasn't a penalty, just that it was unusual for that kind of offence to be given as one. You said yourself it goes on 'in every game', yet only one penalty has been awarded this season for it.

Shawcross man-handled Fellaini at every opportunity all through the game and was not even spoken to. It seems that everyone - including referees - accepts that it is part of Stoke's game and therefore escapes punishment.

Some teams do more of this type of stuff than others, and never get penalised for it, which is frustrating.

It can only mean iMHO that referees are deliberately singling us out for 'treatment' as another poster mentioned how many times has Pienaar been the victim of a tackle from behind?

11 versus 12 in most games no wonder we haven't won as many points as we ought to have done.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

I'm certainly not condoning the head butt, but, as a referee, I know that players take things into their own hands when a referee is absent. The amount of whinging by the players from both teams tells you something. That crew had a bad day. Even Baines was screaming at the assistant. He never says boo. The Stoke GK came 20 yards to argue something. It was not football.

And if you also factor in the narrow pitch, you have a recipe for trouble. No space along the touchlines, 10 men in midfield, and challenges left unpunished.

Stoke are an embarrassment to the Premier League. Their style of play would have me running for the exits if I held a ticket to that match. But, Halsey deserves the lions share of the blame for letting it occur. A lack of match control caused the reaction from our guy.

Does that mean you'll be tuning out of Toffeeweb for a while?

You're probably the 1,000th person to use that stupid line, so congrats on not being original at all. It's sort of hard to have bite over the internet though isn't it, so very courageous of you to say that I don't.

As to the bigger point, La Liga is getting a hell of a lot of press in the US, with Messi and Ronaldo. Highlights of the Premier League generally don't make it to the most watched sports network right now, but Messi and Ronaldo do. If Messi was to play against the likes of Stoke all the time he would be an injured mess. In Spain they don't let the thuggish play go unpenalized, and look at how their players thrive. Spain wins all the international accolades while England, Scotland, Wales, the home of "physical football" get played off the pitch at every tournament (if they even qualify, which they generally don't).

Once on the international stage, where they aren't allowed to just manhandle opposing players, that physical football is useless and because British players generally stay in Britain, they never get to play that free flowing football, week-in and week-out. They go to Stoke and West Ham and have to absorb tackles from behind and being held on every set piece. England's upcoming teenage star gets his leg snapped in 6 places by Shawcross while the Spanish youngsters and international stars who ply their trade in Spain generally know there won't be reckless challenges flying in at their shins.

I'm watching Barcelona take on Atletico Madrid right now and Atletico play the ball, not the man. They don't just come flying in at the ankles. But if Barcelona were playing like that against Stoke there would be tackles flying in at players every few seconds. In Spain they would get whistled, in European competition they would be punished, but in England they get praised. Until someone's leg breaks and we have a few days of discussion about tackling. Shawcross has broken two player's legs in his young career. You don't think that's in the back of the minds of attacking players when they come up against Stoke, when they might be through on goal but wonder if as they shoot a tackle will come in and snap their shin? In Spain they pass the ball and play the game the right way and it has been rewarded with trophy after trophy.

Stoke got away with disgusting clutching, grabbing, hauling... u name it. Don't condone Fella's actions, but honestly don't blame him a bit. Ida snapped long before he did.

The standard of refereeing is simply awful. no consistency whatsoever

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es of Howard,Dempsey etc. so I don't see the Premier league dying anytime soon.

The main threat IMO is coming from the lack of success in the CL despite Chelsea (Poorly) winning it last season.

What in the world happened there???

not sure I'd a ever guessed one existed

1. Huh?
2. Can't wait to read what follows.

You fellows never disappoint. Laughed out loud several times. TW is the best.

On La Liga though, Messi and Ronaldo (Messi by quite a margin) are the media darlings over here, not the La Target Practicia Liga they play in.