GRAHAM POLL is controversial in every game now but I’m not sure how much of it is deserved. I certainly would not trust the reported comments of Ashley Cole after Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Spurs on Sunday.
In last night’s Carling Cup Fourth Round game at Goodison, Andy Johnson tangled with Senderos in the box and went down, Poll waved play on, James McFadden thought it was a penalty, said something abusive to Poll, and was sent off. Poll said the Scot called him a cheat but McFadden told reporters he said,”That was fucking shite.”
Having seen the incident twice on TV this morning, it didn’t look like a penalty.
If I see it again later I may rewrite this paragraph.
I thought Johnson threw his left leg between the legs of Senderos when the ball was not in playing distance, and tumbled. For me it was never a penalty in a million years and I haven’t seen Andy Johnson do that before.
Johnson is talented enough not to have to do that. He has his own way of going down, it’s very distinctive, falling as his thigh is clipped by the defender’s thigh, which knocks him off balance and prevents him reaching the ball to score.
I would tend to agree with Arsene that eight out of ten penalties Johnson gets ARE penalties.
Andy Johnson is not a serial diver but he not a saint either.He is a quick, direct, sharp, compact striker with good balance and acceleration.He is one of the best at pinching a yard in the box to have a shot.He is working close to defenders who are often bigger than him and a bit clumsy, or not as sharp.They stick their legs out and clip him.It’s often a small movement and hard for the ref to see in real time.From the stand it looks like a dive.
It was 0-0 after 85 minutes as Everton’s ten men held out. Then Adebayor, unmarked, headed in a left wing corner from Flamini..
Arsene Wenger left Goodison without speaking to the media.
Earlier in the day he and Alan Pardew were given till November 23 to respond to FA charges of improper conduct.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard; Neville, Yobo, Lescott, Valente; Arteta, Cahill, Carsley (Anichebe, 90), Osman; Johnson, McFadden.
Subs not used: Weir, Davies, Turner (gk), Stubbs.
ARSENAL (4-1-4-1): Almunia (Poom, h-t); Eboue, Djourou, Senderos, Traore; Song; Walcott, Denilson (Randall, 69), Flamini, Aliadiere; Adebayor.
Subs not used: Connolly, Garry, Perez.
Liverpool won 1-0 at Birmingham with an opportunist goal by Daniel Agger, who stabbed in a loose ball after a corner.Great reflexes, classy finish for a centreback.
A nasty foul by Nafti sent Sissoko crashing to the ground and he spent the night in hospital with what looked like a dislocated shoulder. He will be out for months and Liverpool will miss him on Sunday. His ball-winning is vital to their style and Benitez needed him to mark Fabregas and lead the breaking up of Arsenal’s short-passing style.
So Southend, Arsenal and Chelsea have had good wins in the Carling Cup this week and Spurs beat Port Vale 3-1 in extra time.
Southend striker Freddie Eastwood scored a fabulous free-kick to beat Manchester United in front of 11,000 fans at Roots Hall and I watched that one on Sky.
It was a fascinating battle in which Cristiano Ronaldo did everything but score. Ronaldo is six foot one and thirteeen stone two and he has become a warrior. A nice lad from Madeira has been made into a top warrior by Sir Alex and Big Phil Scolari.
Jose Mourinho was furious after losing 2-1 to Spurs and blamed Graham Poll for sending off John Terry.
On Monday afternoon sports desks were in uproar over a John Terry story but none of them could stand it up and it was not in the papers on Tuesday, which surprised me.
Villa boss Martin O’Neill had a pop at Chelsea as well and that would not have amused Mourinho, following a ton of bad publicity after the 2-2 in Barcelona, and a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.
So The Special One picked a side designed to demolish Aston Villa and it was 4-0 at Stamford Bridge last night.
The quarter-final draw is at noon on Saturday.
The eight clubs are Arsenal, Charlton, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southend, Tottenham and Wycombe Wanderers.