Disgrace

[brucie]

I have seen the video and basically it seems to me that you are talking nonsense. It appears as the Torquay management stated that Goodwin's shoulder made contact with the Newport player. There is absolutely no way that it was intentional.
It appears that Goodwin was also pushed in the back by the Newport number 11 as he was about to challenge for the ball.
Perhaps that is why the referee blew for the free kick in the first place as in fact the decision should quite clearly should have gone our way.
The Newport player made it look like he was seriously injured when he wasn't and half a dozen of their players seem to be appealing for a red card.
There is no way that was a sending off at all. It was a seriously crap decision from a crap referee.

[brucie]

Fonda - were you actually at the match or did you just watch the video highlights? - I am the first to admit that we have been dire all season but lets be fair Newports goal was clearly against the run of play.
To suggest it was "men against boys" is quite clearly bollocks. We lost because we had ten men for three quarters of the game.

[Dave]

Not going to enter into an argument with anyone here, just watched the video two more times, agree with Jeff ref made a mistake in which way he initially pointed, there's no way looking at the position of the Newport player and Goodwin his shoulder could have made contact, and it doesn't matter whether he meant it or not, he did it.

If I'm right the club will not appeal, if I'm wrong they will, lets see shall we.

[brucie]

Absolute bullshit. Are you seriously suggesting the referee forgot which way we were playing? - thats absolute nonsense.
You can see by the way he has run towards the incident that he was miles away from it. He has given us the free kick because of the push by the Newport number eleven on Goodwin. Thats the only possible explanation - suggesting he has had a brain lapse is ridiculous.
He has been harrangued by half the Newport team and their player rolling around like he has been shot.
He has then reversed the free kick decision as soon as the Newport players have told him to send Goodwin off.
The clue is in what injury the Newport player suffered - apparently nothing.
An absoluetly terrible decision from the ref who got it completely wrong.

[brucie]

Whether the club appeal or not doesn't make you right or wrong - its a waste of time I would agree with that. This is the FA and we are Torquay - what do you think that the outcome would be

[Dave]

Doesn't matter who you are or what league your in, if you have just grounds to appeal you appeal, if the F.A agree as they've done in some cases they will over turn the red card. Our club will not choose to avoid an appeal on the grounds that we're little Torquay and F.A wont find in our favour.

If there' just cause we will appeal, I don't think there is, think the ref's got it right, like I say, lets wait and see.

[Fonda]

Err, yeah I was there. In fact that 'challenge happened about 15 yards in front of where I was stood. We were awful - both before the sending off and obviously after it. We posed absolutely zero threat throughout. I had two friends in tow, neither of whom had seen TUFC for a couple of seasons, and both were staggered by our complete incompetence in all areas of the pitch. Two more that won't be back in a hurry unfortunately. Keep on swearing though Brucie, it makes your arguments much stronger.

[hector]

The assessment of how bad we actually played is largely irrelevant. Both teams have played loads of games of late and whoever had played three quarters of the game with ten men would have lost.
So really the incident that changed the game was the sending off.
If you have awarded a free kick to one side then that must mean an infringement was comitted by the opposing side.
I havn't bothered to watch the incident again - I don't need to.
To suddenly change your mind and award the free kick to the other team and send off a player from the team you awarded the foul to in the first place is quite clearly ludicrous officiating.
It is quite frankly astonishing.

How can you suggest the sending off changed the game? It was the goal that changed the game and that occurred before the sending off. We were never going to score yesterday. We did not look like we would before the sending off and just as unlikely afterwards.

A forward line that includes Benyon, particularly when the only strategy is to hit long balls to a short player, who is so easily knocked off the ball, cannot turn, is slow and doesn't score, was only ever going to end up with nil. Our best hope of a goal is our central defenders at set pieces. That is so damning of how poor and ineffective the players masquerading as forwards are for us.

[hector]

Looked a pretty clear red to me. He didn't 'swing ' his elbow, but clearly led with it and it could have been nasty. Quite what was going through his mind I have no idea. Like Labadie, we've been let down by a player temporarily losing their mind.

As for why we lost the game? Well, there's a bit of a pattern developing here that I've noticed - We aren't good enough! The ref was poor, but not nearly as poor as our team. Pearce was decent again, Mansell worked hard, Bodin showed glimpses of quality and Ricey made some decent saves. Apart from that? Awful. Newport won at a canter. It was men against boys again - even before the sending off. Quite apart from ability, they looked physically stronger all over the pitch.

We're going down because we can't string two semi-decent performances together. Look for other excuses if you like, but the principle reason is closer to home.

[hector]

Fonda - were you actually at the match or did you just watch the video highlights? - I am the first to admit that we have been dire all season but lets be fair Newports goal was clearly against the run of play.
To suggest it was "men against boys" is quite clearly bollocks. We lost because we had ten men for three quarters of the game.

We lost because we were/are appalling. Newport didn't have to break sweat to beat us.

[ROADRUNNER]

Off course we didnt pose a threat we played most of the game without the one player who gives us pace, once he had gone we were out of it, the ref was poor and no way was it a sending off, the club should appeal, we may look like a park side but I think the ref must have been plucked from easterfield lane, he was shocking, at least we may have stood a chance with 11 players on the pitch., just read clive thomas talking about the refs in this country, even he thinks they are getting worse.

[Swanny]

I've done a freeze frame of the incident and this clearly shows the Newport player leading with HIS arm first

[gateman49]

Just watched the Sky highlights and will Hargreaves be in trouble for his 'handshake' at the end? There were clearly some angry words and hand waving from the ref after CH had said goodbye.

After doing my match day routines I sat in the bench to watch the rest of the first half and my first reaction to the sending off incident was that we'd won a free kick for arm up by the Newport player! The rest has been well aired by others so no further comment on that.

Another reflection, at half time I went up to buy a cuppa in the restaurant in the family stand. I gazed idly out of the window onto the green next to the swimming pool to see two police dog handlers exercising their German Shepherds. What a pretty pass when we have to have these in attendance for such a match - I despair

[brucie]

Some people conveniently ignore what is staring them in the face. Apparently playing with ten men for three quarters of the game didn't make any difference to us losing.
Apparently the ref had a "brainstorm" despite the fact he clearly gave a free kick to us because Goodwin was fouled immediately before the clash.
The picture above clearly shows the Newport player leading with his elbow - perhaps Goodwin should have gone down and rolled around the floor.
Clearly the Newport players got Goodwin sent off - but of course none of that matters.

[brucie]

The comment about the police dogs is interesting. On the way up to the ground the two Newport coaches were escorted in by two police motorcyclists - I don't think they were Devon and Motor Patrol Policeman so assume they were from Wales.
At the end of the game the police presence when the ref exited the pitch was by two welsh patrol officers.
So god knows how much overtime this lot were on but presume that we were paying for it.
Talk about overkill -it seems completely farcical to me.