A booking for timewasting and a skillful Algerian

Ironic isn't it how you see every goalkeeper that comes to Oakwell taking as much time as he likes over everything (provided they are winning) but Steele gets booked for it. It looked towards the end as if he might get red carded as well because he didn't seem to be speeding up and the ref was definitely giving him some looks. He got away with it though. I hate to see time wasting by either team but you can't stop it. Just a pity that punishments are not consistent, but then again when are they ever?

I was horrified when they put five minutes up on the board but not surprised - probably all down to our "cheating" goalkeeper

Their number 39, the Algerian Abdoun, looked a handful and he was unlucky with the shot that rattled the post. He looked dangerous most of the time he had it but, at the same time, was also prone to falling over for no reason. Probably thinks he deserves better than having to play the likes of Barnsley.

Fantastic win. Jennings confounded my prediction that he would never score a goal for Barnsley. He has certainly got a shot on him and could have had a brace today. More of that from him would be great. He also looked effective on the ball and even with three defenders on him he looked like he could still do something with it. One frustrating thing about him though. He's not a defender so why not hang around in the centre circle when we are defending like today? He is no use in our box but would keep two or three of their players back to watch him. Would also give us an outlet instead of constantly pumping the ball to nobody and it coming back.

No criticism though tonight. I said before the game that we needed a game like Leeds last season and it wasn't far off it. A few more of those and we will be fine. A point in each of the next two games would help and then beat Bournemouth and we will SURELY be out of the bottom three by then. Can't keep on having the ladder pulled up just as we are about to reach for it, can we?

 

Luke's booking was ridiculous. He was taking no longer than either keeper at any point in the match and it wasn't even late on. Plus the referee should look at the rules, as he is supposed to blow his whistle on goal kicks, which he started doing only after the booking.

 

Abdoun was the best player on the pitch IMO.

 

Correct, and if anything Darlow was taking much longer trying to kill our momentum. He noticeably sped up after we scored!

 

The two things that annoy me most about time wasting by the opposition, when they are winning, are:

1. Before a goal kick, when the keeper goes as far away from his goal as he can to get the ball, even though a ball boy is there and can kick it to him. They go walkabout, then do a couple more circuits of the six yard box before finally settling on a spot to take the kick from. Bit like when a cat is trying to get comfortable in your lap. They stomp around on your legs, go this way and that before finally choosing where to flop.

2. When they opposition score and all congregate down by the corner flag. They exchange phone numbers, talk about plans for Sunday, have a nice chat about the weather, go back and have some more high fiving, then a bit more, then one by one they drift back to their own half. Not forgetting to traverse the centre circle, obviously, to delay the kick off as much as possible. Why don't referees EVER do anything about this? One mass booking - book 8 or 9 players I mean - just might cure it. Now that would be funny, to watch them all protesting. If it is such a sin to take your shirt off after scoring why not the same punishment for taking two minutes to get back to the other half?

 

There should be a rule change so that the conceding team can kick off as soon as they're ready and have the ball back on the centre spot. If the scoring team is still busy putting their boy bits up each other near the corner flag then that's their tough luck. It'd soon get them to get a wriggle on

 

I'm never going to say stop them celebrating a goal - it would be impossible and would be plain stupid to try it. But what we see on every ground in the country is just plain cheating and if you are going to to book a keeper for taking a few seconds too long to take a goal kick then you have to do it at the other end as well.

Just more inconsistency of course. Apparently some time wasting is ok, some isn't. I wish the referees association would come out with an explanation as to why that is so.

 

had steele been previously warned about time wasting,i never noticed if he was.fcukin ridiculous booking.

 

Wasnt it because he was warned and then immediately picked the ball back up and started walking towards the other end of his box? thats what somebody said on the radio but I was doing an hemsworth and looking the other way at the time

 

He was told to move across to the other side by the bench. He was trying to tell the ref that. And he gestured to the bench that they had got him booked. It was a crazy booking though, just came out of the blue, it wasn't even near to time wasting territory.

 

like I said,i never noticed,.

 

I'm not 100% convinced that Luke knew he had been booked.

 

Hm, he certainly waved his card from a long way off so maybe he didn't know. I certainly never saw him go right up to Steele beforehand and warn him properly. Poor referee overall, mistakes for both sides

 

Steele saved us two points with a brilliant save in injury time

 

Yes he did. Similar to the Forest keeper's save from Jennings first half

 

Either Cardiff or Swansea did this once when Nardiello scored against them. He scored and celebrated by running along the front of the East Stand and crucially he and the rest if the team ended up celebrating in our half of the pitch. The other side took the opportunity to kick off (well within the rules as no Barnsley player was in their half of the pitch) and had a virtual free run toward Kevin Miller (iirc) in the Barnsley goal.

 

It drives me mad this and it happens every time we are in the lead. Luke gets told to hurry up and booked when he wasn't taking any more time than any opposition keeper.

I can only assume it's the opposition players in the refs ear and we are too naive to do the same. You never ever see the opposition keeper so much as warned when they kick the posts and walk as though they have been shot when they are winning.

Something not right somewhere.

 

Usually a keeper takes his time on one kick and gets away with it. Then the ref gives him the hurry up on the second. if he does it again he gets a booking. Luke Steele was booked on the very first. I didn't think he was taking the piss too much at all. Not like some I've seen.

5 minutes injury time without a single player staying down or the physio entering the field once. If that wasn't bad enough we actually played 7 'n' half minutes. It was 2 minutes to 5 when he blew the whistle.

And that booking for Hunt. Ridiculous.

It's not incompetence, it's cheating.