Nearly forgot this thread as it's a Friday kick off. Whatever did happen to Saturday football. So this is the team we hammered a while back at Home Park much to the utter surprise of myself and the gang. Will they exact total revenge or just revenge. Nah we can do the double over somebody this season so why not Norwich. COYG
There will be a few team selection problems for the Norwich game. We know that Mumba will be missing....serving the second part of his ban. We know that Gyabi is unavailable because of injury....and his season/loan is over at Plymouth. It seems that he is back at Leeds and has had groin surgery. Phillips returned early from his England U21 trip because of illness....so there will be a doubt about his availability. Forshaw is recovering from injury....and with four games in quick succession there is still a question mark about this being to early.
Well considering recent results and relative league positions, that was about as good a first half as it was likely to be. Norwich of course have had possession and a lot of attempts but apart from one shot hitting a post, Cooper’s been relatively unflustered. We could have had one or even two more. So far so good.
Norwich...2-1...Argyle...F/T. Sargent 67mins.....Phillips 74og. Whittaker 10mins. And just to turn the knife Stoke win at Hull.
Very disappointing and in many ways the best performance we’ve seen recently, at least for the first 70 minutes. Both goals came from corners: the first when Norwich played a shorter outswinging corner which Devine should have defended better and the second while Gibson was forced off the pitch by the head injury rules and resulted in a Phillips own-goal after the ball pinged at him from the first header. Looking at the stats, we never we’re going to get a result from this but we a performance which perhaps justifies some hope.
Only one good point about this defeat.....losing by only one goal means our goal difference only depreciates by one.
Just watched the video.....shame Hardie is not on form....he had two good chances today to win this game.
I noted one thing from the game as it went on. Where in hell did the Ref get 7 yellow cards to zero from? At one point we had 4 fouls against and 3 yellow cards. We are not that kind of team so how is that justified. There was a eighth card which was Foster himself.
I'm starting to get the feeling that the football gods have decided who will be relegated this season from the Championship. If luck plays a part in it....then we're doomed. With Gibson off the pitch being checked concerning a head injury...Norwich score from a corner....and just to turn the knife a little an own goal....and of course without Gibson being able to defend it...just having to watch (what did I say about the football gods). Since our surprise 3pts at Middlesboro...we have played five games losing four and drawing against ten men. If we fail to beat the drop....I have no confidence that Ian Foster has the ability to bring Argyle back up.....and of course we will probably be without Whittaker.....who since Foster's reign has lost value. So Bristol City on Monday....who seem to be in some form having just beaten Leicester......maybe we'll have a Referee who has a yellow card that accepts that you can yellow card Argyle's opposition......with a suspicious 7 yellows to nil things didn't look too even at Norwich.....and just to emphasis it Foster got booked as well.
The ref was very poor and very one -sided but Foster's gone over the top about the Devine "penalty". The slo-mo replays show he trailed a leg and tried to buy a penalty to me. and that was one of the 7 yellows. I agree with two others: Miller for one of the wild lunges he's prone to and probably Randell too. The rest we very soft and the fact Norwich got none is ludicrous. PS I'll give you a case-in-point. In the first half, Sorinola is contesting a high ball and rather than trying to head it, tries to shield the bounce so he can take possession. Their guy jumps over the top of him and knees him hard in the back. Sorinola requires treatment but it's a free kick, no card. Ten minutes later the situation is more or less reversed and Sorinola crunches into the back of their guy. There isn't the same dangerous and painful impact from a knee but that's a free kick to them and a card for Sorinola. Go figure.
Maybe the Ref saw Sorinola's tackle as "pay back" and therefore premeditated....I do think we show some streetwise inexperience at times.
The ref can’t infer that 10 minutes after the original offence. It’s a foul and he must judge it on its merits alone.
I just watched the Extended (12 minute) highlights. The ref apparently said that he called the physio on without assessing Gibson because Michael Cooper had indicated Gibson needed attention. The video says different. Cooper last action is to stick his thumb up in the direction of the dug-out in a "he's OK" gesture. You can see it's not a serious injury: Cooper's gloves skim up over the top of Gibson's head rather than making a full-blooded contact. No sign of the Devine "penalty" incident.
