City v H and Y

Walsh and Watkins start.

Oh dear...ref is Simon Knapp.

Are you still awake Gerry? Still 0-0 with 5 minutes to go.

Roll on the summer and I can start worrying about Somerset.....

FT 0-0

kermit wrote:Oh dear...ref is Simon Knapp.

He's a good referee. Tries to let the game flow (of which there was little tonight) and think he controls it well.

One of those nights tonight. Conditions didn't help either side. H & Y were ok and probably happy with their 0-0. We made a lot of chances which were wasted, a lot into the wind. Odd substitutions I thought seeing as they were mostly defensive and we looked solid enough at the back. I suppose we didn't have many attacking options on the bench. 302 crowd was about par for the course, I suppose, when a meaningless England friendly was on terrestrial TV and the wind was biting.

Whilst it was never a great game - as Marc says the conditions didn't help - I though we did enough to have won the game. We had the best two chances in the first half despite playing into the wind and the second half Mellor was largely a spectator.

Too often we got into good positions only for a poor final pass or shot. But Watkins was unlucky to hit the bar and it looked a fairly nailed on penalty when Stearn was caught as he was about to shoot in stoppage time. On another day the shot flies in or you have a competent referee and we come away with a deserved win.

Yeah, I thought that Stearn was hard done by. While he seems to be gaining a reputation for going over too easily, there is no way that he would have airshot the ball like that in the area.

Did we hit the bar twice or was it just Watkins' chance?

Marc Monitor wrote:Yeah, I thought that Stearn was hard done by. While he seems to be gaining a reputation for going over too easily, there is no way that he would have airshot the ball like that in the area.

Well that's what I thought, but he seemed to be the only one who appealed to the ref.

It was one of those that, whilst I don't think the defender tried to foul him, anywhere else on the pitch it would be a free-kick.

Hey-ho, you can hardly have a game with Simon Knapp refereeing where he doesn't get at least one important decision wrong.

Chas shaped up to hit a volley and went through with it.  Just just cleared the bar but had it gone in we'd be celebrating a magic moment.

Chas played very well tonight and deserved his man of the match. He seems to be the best football brain in the team. However, he generally has a horrendously weak shot. He shoots like I do. Why he was a striker, I will never know.

He's got a lovely touch for a big man.

I'll take your word for it.

yuffie wrote:It was one of those that, whilst I don't think the defender tried to foul him, anywhere else on the pitch it would be a free-kick.

Hey-ho, you can hardly have a game with Simon Knapp refereeing where he doesn't get at least one important decision wrong.

Hold on. Junior says he's a good ref !!

kermit wrote:

yuffie wrote:It was one of those that, whilst I don't think the defender tried to foul him, anywhere else on the pitch it would be a free-kick.

Hey-ho, you can hardly have a game with Simon Knapp refereeing where he doesn't get at least one important decision wrong.

Hold on. Junior says he's a good ref !!

I assumed he was being sarcastic!

I thought it was a penalty but I honestly don't think he's that bad. We end up having him around 5/6 times a season nowadays and can't think that he's stand-out worse than any of the others. Then again maybe he just blends in as the standard has hardly been sparkling this season.

I remember Knapp had one appalling game a couple of seasons ago and our opinion of him has been clouded by that. But I have noticed he has done OK many times since. It was actually the linesman who got it wrong last night.

Apart from the penalty, he seemed fine to me. I may not have been at or remember the appalling game he had for us. To be honest, I never pay much attention to who the refs are even if they have a terrible game. Refs can have bad games and, if they do, it tends to be to the detriment of both sides in my experience. I suppose if Knapp had a load of bad games with us, I would notice but, otherwise, if a team is relying on refs being flawless, they are onto a loser. It is like complaining because of the wind last night. There is nothing you can do about it and you have play accordingly. As does the other team.

Yes, I think it is the case that Knapp's reputation proceeds him. And to be fair, the last minute 'penalty' aside, he was fine last night.

Still can't decide whether this is a fresh air shot, slight clip on Stearney, inside or outside the box. As Yuffie said, anywhere else on the pitch and it's probably given.

Watto chance

Chaz Volley

On another day, this goes in.