Dyche sack, Rice ‘brain dead’ with Arsenal’s ‘PL title challenge over’ and Man Utd to ‘outplay anyone’?

There’s plenty of reaction to ‘brain dead’ Declan Rice’s red card in the Mailbox as Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge could already be ‘over’.

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com …

Arsenal rue inconsistency
You will get plenty of Arsenal fans wrote in to moan about the Rice red card . And I’m sure plenty of opposition fans will lay in to Arsenal fans with a combination of ‘letter of the law’ and ‘always Arsenal moaning about the ref’. There are two reasons Arsenal fans are the most vocal/moany 1. We have a lot of fans so will dominate a lot of discussions in a way a lesser supported sinned against team won’t get the same airtime 2. We genuinely have some staggering decisions – never to be repeated decisions. Don’t kid yourself if your team was on the receiving end that your set of fans would turn the other cheek and accept it. There’s a reason Arsenal fans moan so much is we get some bizarre decisions.

Now let’s address the ‘letter of the law’ part. Again I’d have two things to say on this. 1. The idea that Rice gave Kavanagh ‘no option’ is nonsense, the ref has every option open to them when making any decision as most decisions are subjective and they will decide the strength of the punishment. This like many others Arsenal get is a decision a ref has to WANT to give. Refs don’t get the game, Veltman knows what he’s doing, the more stringent take on delaying the restart has led players to try to get opponents booked by taking a quick free kick to no one and dumb refs fall for it.

2. If you decide you’re going to back the ref here and hide behind the absolute most harsh interpretation of the law then I would expect you to want this type of decision in every game – and yet Kavanagh couldn’t even be consistent in the same game!

So once again we can talk how the ref is technically ok to make that decision and I’m sure plenty of ex refs and pundits will defend it, but Arsenal fans aren’t arguing the decision in isolation we argue the rank inconsistency whereby we far too often seem to be the ones who are punished to the maximum on trivial items and never see this coming back in our favour or in virtually any other game.

Let’s be absolutely clear, if refs applied what Rice did consistently in every game you’d end up with a 5 a side game.

When is there going to be a serious conversation about why such a high proportion of prem refs all reside in the north west of England and have done for years and years?
Rich, AFC

READ: Arsenal fans scream for consistency after Rice red as Arteta’s bus wobbles through Brighton test

‘Brain dead’ Rice…
1. I do think Rice is being a bit brain dead. This is a compliment to Brighton; they played like Porto. Rice got himself booked early on against Porto in the champions league last season and it hurt his game, and I think he needs to read situations in games like this better.

2. The Brighton player absolutely sucks him in and creates a possible red card scenario out of nothing. I’d imagine Veltman is aware of this PGMOL initiative to stop players messing with the ball at opponents’ free kicks (which will no doubt be forgotten after the international break) and he’s aware that Rice is on a yellow.

3. Having said all that, it’s completely crazy to send off Rice in that situation. You CAN send off a player for that, but why? What kind of refereeing is that? I suppose you could argue it’s funny to give him a second yellow for touching the ball away and getting kicked, particularly as you’ve failed to book Joao Pedro for booting the ball clear up the field in the first half after it went out of play. And Kavanagh had a good long think about it too. I’m pretty sure I heard a Brighton player ask the ref if that was a second booking, which is supposed to be worthy of a yellow itself, right?

4. Regardless of inconsistency of decisions, I don’t think it’s the referee’s responsibility to reward players for manufacturing situations like that. I used to stand in front of opponents’ free kicks all the time because it’s annoying so I understand the impulse to get rid of it. I don’t think Veltman was trying to take a quick free kick at all, I think he just saw an opportunity to suck Rice into doing something silly and it just BARELY worked because Rice tapped the ball. Can’t really complain. Would appreciate referees who aren’t completely spineless.
Deadbeat cat dad

I’m not going to yap about Rice getting sent off specifically but we really need to talk about the attitude towards foul play in the Premier League. “The ref had no option but to send him off” will be parrotted by all the one eyed partisan fans of other teams forgetting all the times the refs ignore the laws of the game. Players get elbowed in the head, get their throats grabbed, get clotheslined, studs in the shins, punched and, bizarrely, grabbed by their bumhole. Refs do nothing. VAR does nothing. The PGMOL does nothing. Commentators make fools of themselves making stuff up to excuse the ref. Fans endlessly debate about which part of the arm made contact with the back of a player’s head like it makes a difference.

There’s a problem with serious foul play going completely unpunished while the most minor things are punished by rote. We’ll find excuses why the sucker elbow isn’t a red but no such excuses for a sending off for kicking the ball away. For what reason exactly? It’s as against the laws of the game to elbow someone as it is to kick the ball away and refs have no option but to enforce the laws of the game as I’m sure we’ll hear for the next couple of weeks. Declan Rice now misses an important game for Arsenal while Guimaraes, Joelinton and Mosquera are free to play on, the equivalent of getting sent to prison for not indicating at a roundabout while GBH doesn’t even get you interviewed by the police.

Is this what we want from football? It all just stinks of the PGMOL hiding from serious decisions while gratefully taking the easy opportunities to enforce their authority and the whole Premier League machine justifying it for them. Imagine trying to explain to someone who doesn’t follow football how Declan Rice’s behaviour was so egregious that he had to be removed from the field of play but Mosquera’s behaviour wasn’t even a free kick. It’s so back to front it’s not even funny, why would anyone pay to watch this joke?
SC, Belfast

Is Arsenal’s title challenge over?
Hi F365! I’m going to try not to focus on what we all (should) know about the Rice red card.
i.e.
1. The ball was in motion when it was swung at by the Brighton player so it’s not a legitimate free kick.
2. João Pedro smashed the ball 40/50yards to stop Arsenal taking a quick throw in the first half (and got no punishment).
3. Arsenal should have won the game regardless of being down to 10 men. The chances were there.

I’d like to give to all the people who want to cry “letter of the law”, “it’s hard being a ref”, “Rice should have known better”, etc, a pre-emptive F**K OFF! Seriously. I’d also like to commend the Arsenal players on not bullying the ref in the face of such a farcical decision. This reminded me a lot of the Martinelli double yellow against Wolves. You have to really want to give that second yellow. That’s some prime 50-year-old virgin energy right there from the ref.

Is it too early to say this is Arsenal’s title challenge over? Maybe. But, now I feel we could go the season unbeaten and still miss out on the league by those two dropped points.
Simon, Norf London Gooner
P.S. Make all referee reports public!

Dyche sack…
Everton doing Everton things.

Dyche pulls off our most creative and aggressive player and our domination ceases. Bournemouth gets a foothold in the game and the rest is history. I don’t know where they got six minutes of stoppage time from but who cares? Dyche couldn’t manage his way out of a wet paper bag.

From 2-0 up and really no threat to 2-3 down in the space of nine minutes. That has to be one of if not the biggest collapse in Premier League history.

Dyche has to be sacked but unfortunately, there’s no one running the club to make that decision.
TX Bill (I’d take anyone to manage the club at this point, anyone) EFC

READ: F365’s 3pm Blackout… Everton find new ways to torture their fans while others ponder transfer choices

Liverpool perspective
Perspective is a funny old thing.

I for one think Liverpool have done exactly the right thing by not chasing lots of players or even any. There was that one guy, and that was a bit embarrassing, but still.

This is Arne’s first season. He’s inherited a good side (that Klopp lovers would be defending until the cows shat on the Sun). He needs to give all the squad a chance to prove themselves before making wholesale changes and unsettling things. Even if they get to the end of the season and it’s not gone great (fingers crossed) then next summer they can make changes. Assuming the money is there of course.

United fans preached patience so it would be churlish not to share the same view with others. (I kind of wish they’d thrown money around and unsettled the squad instead.)

Meanwhile, United needed to take action this season and they have. Nearly all the boxes ticked, certainly on incomings. A few more leavers would have been good but those golden anchors were always going to be problematic to move. Shifting Sancho is a huge win. That will change the mood of the squad no end. Maguire may be hanging around but he doesn’t sulk the place out, and can occasionally do a job (albeit badly).

Patience is a virtue, as is action when action when action is needed.

I’m excited about this season, to see things come together, and the style of play finally be possible. Heart surgery may not be complete, but it’s well underway, hopefully the patient remains stable. The only issue is that it took us till nearly three games into the season to get the deals completed.

Now, I can brush off my judging hat and we can see how it plays out.
Badwolf

TRANSFER FEATURES ON F365…
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Man Utd ‘outplaying anybody’…
Hi, long time follower, Man Utd fan all my life Dad’s influence. Grew up in the 80s when they were always on the cusp but never got there. My old classmate used to call then the suicide team.

Yes you can get all the players but the players need to believe it. Alex Ferguson knew this. That’s why he is, next to Ancellotti the greatest. Ten Hag might not be the best but who else would step into the the role.

Another year of melodrama but what if it works out, Ferguson had had four years and a Robin’s goal to stay.

They have made some good signings but still don’t have any pattern of play. Once that’s fixed l, I believe they can outplay anybody.
Andre, Crestline California formerly Tallaght Dublin.

Sterling to Arsenal is perfect…
Sterling to Arsenal is a perfect fit. Arsenal love a Chelsea hand-me-down (Gallas, Diarra, Benayoun, Cech, Luiz, Willian, Jorginho, Havertz) and Arteta loves a Guardiola reject (Jesus, Zinchenko), so in Sterling they’ve combined those two things into a single player. Notice how those signings either didn’t work or the jury is still out on them.
Matthew, Belfast

Man City FFP
Michael The Bert wrote in last week essentially saying I was wilfully misreading signals and creating sin where none existed.

It’s also funny how many city fans insist on their innocence based on the UEFA and CAS outcome. It’s like they actively don’t want to understand that “time barred” is not the same as innocent.

He’s also keen to point out a lack of facts. So how fun that this came out over the weekend: https://x.com/themagic_tophat/status/1829830018677006629?s=48

This is evidence that what was said by Man City execs at the UEFA trial was fabricated and helped them be found “innocent” at the time.

The FA can be criticised for an awful lot but they have taken their time and gathered an awful lot evidence more than UEFA did. To the extent that these execs don’t want to completely pop their reputation in the gutter now the truth is being upturned and unveiled by continuing to lie.

Will the league deduct points for all the years of cheating and relegate them? I’d be surprised but also think it fair since it’s becoming more and more clear what we have always suspected; Man City have cheated the system to gain an upper hand. They have done so with intention and then done their best to deceive everyone of the truth when questioned. They are cheats and their success is down to cheating.

Don’t get me wrong either; I’m open to a debate about whether the system is fair or designed to maintain the status quo but if you still want to kid yourself that City have done nothing wrong based on the rules that exist then you’re just a silly tribal fan who can’t take the blinders off.
Minty, LFC

READ: Man City FFP: Guardiola ‘fed up’ as he ‘shakes Citizens’ foundations’ with ‘natural successor’ lined up

Newcastle transfer business…
There’s not a single Newcastle United supporter that’s happy with the club’s summer business. Many – perhaps most – United supporters have the sense that something has gone wrong at the club. There’s speculation that Darren Eales complained that Staveley and Ghodoussi were interfering in his work, putting them in a position where they *had to sell out. I don’t know whether I buy that; their quick targeting of Spurs makes me think the exit was planned for and intentionally timed. Besides, Eales seems too positive a bloke to be going behind their backs like that. Still, the supporters are pretty convinced something’s off.

I’m not quite sure, meself. Eales media appearances have often been really encouraging, but basically his first act was to sell promising youngsters Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson while paying way over the odds for an unneeded goalkeeper in what was obviously an attempt to exploit some perceived accounting loophole. It’s no wonder fans are suspicious. But if Eddie Howe told Eales that Guehi was the top priority, the signing he really wanted, then Eales may have been right not to chase early targets like Malik Thiaw harder. Overruling the manager is not a great way to start a fruitful relationship.

It appeared to me that the terms we offered Palace would have hurt the club next if we failed to make it to the UEFA Cup at least. In which case, what’s wrong could be Eddie himself. Did he suffer from over-focus? Did he convince himself that a slightly better offer would loosen Palace’s hold on the player? As a response to last season’s injury nightmare, we’re now going to field an even thinner squad until January, starting the season without Botman, Wilson, or Lacelles, so it looks like a bad call from here. It’s also frustrating that okayers like

For my part, having secured Lloyd Kelly, I’m surprised and worried that we didn’t upgrade at right wing. Murphy and Almiron are both goers, but I’m pretty sure Chelsea alone bought three right wingers that would improve our squad. Heck, Yankuba Minteh himself has more assists (and points) for Brighton than RW position has produced for us, i.e., none. (I discount that Gordon goal assisted by Barnes; they’re both left wingers.) It’s also frustrating that we haven’t been able to move Isaac Hayde, Alex Murphy, or even Dubravka along.

I remind myself that we’ve retained our flexibility for the transfer window, when perhaps Guehi (or a forgotten Chelsea RW) will see a price drop. But it’s small comfort, and it makes the first half of this season more daunting than expected. Tomorrow’s match against Spurs is likely to presage how it will go. If we look anything like we have the last two years, I’ll be satisfied…but Spurs have moved on, and we haven’t. Here’s hoping Tonali starts as sharply as he did against Forest in the Cup.
Chris C, Toon Army DC (Oof, Everton are so cursed. The season’s biggest drama seems likely to be whether their long stay in the top flight will finally end.)

A call for pragmatism
There’s going to be a load of hand-wringing come the end of the season about financial disparities when the three promoted clubs are relegated for the second season in a row. Whilst it’s impossible to refute that the argument is relevant, especially when combined with the very specific, PSR infused financial belt-tightening happening at the moment, there is also something else, something on the pitch at play.

The Championship is increasingly being won by possession-heavy, Pep-lite sides, aping the best sides across Europe as they adeptly play the ball from the back and through the lines. This is all well and good when you’re lining up against Andre Dozzell or Liam f**king Palmer, but this Guardiola inspired iteration of football is only functional when you have players at an equivalent or higher standard than your opposition. Bournemouth have a £40m, Brazilian international striker. Bournemouth. As such, being some kind of puritanical ideologue, wedded to his “system” whilst spouting nonsense like “well this is just the way we play, we just have to play it better” will only lead to relegation and/or a sacking.

Pragmatism does not mean being defensive, it means forgoing ideology to maximise the hand you’ve been dealt. Brentford and Thomas Frank are the best example of this. From what I believe (I didn’t watch much of them in their promotion season), they dominated the ball, but upon promotion became more direct because it was the best route to achieving their goals. And do you know who else is pragmatic? Ancelotti. Worked out alright for him.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat and there’s more than one way to play football. Having watched the absolute sh*t-show Southampton served up at the back today, alongside any game of Burnley’s I caught last season, this is a message that could do with drumming into the heads of some football managers. It’s not heresy to occasionally go long, in fact it’s eminently sensible.
Lewis, Busby Way