Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the month “March, 2017”

05 Mar 2017
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Ipswich 1 Brentford 1. A good point for Bees but should have been three . Some good signs for next season


Being fortunate enough to photograph the game one gets fairly close to the action and able to see some of the little things that might get missed. Let me start with the highly supportive nature of Dean Smith to all his players after the game, and also the embrace between Toumani and himself.

A fairly wet night and a fairly boggy pitch certainly not of the Griffin Park standard. Ipswich is a very friendly club and when arriving to collect press pass one is greeted by a serious of smiling and mischievous souls in the ticket office, all wearing smart clean blazers and ties. In fact I cannot fault the Ipswich club at all. Nice people, who deserve a good and decent football team. Whether they deserve mick McCarthy as a manger is a separate question. The fans I spoke to were mixed in their views.  Inconsistency of the team was a common theme. As a negative though the entrance price of 35£ for adults is excessive, 25.50£ for concessions, and 24.50£ for under 20. There is no need to charge these prices.

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There are plenty of good match reports online so no need for me to repeat much. This game was not a classic but was fully competitive until the last kick of the game. Although both sides are truly mid-table and arguably satisfied with a point, even in the 4 added minutes both pressed for a winner.

The goal was a nice pass from Romain Sawyers and a neat finish from Yennaris.

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Nico Yennaris scores

Brentford played the better football. Ipswich did a lot of shirt pulling and pushing and a few dubious tackles and manoeuvres . Maybe someone in the FA or the Referees select committee can explain to me how this “rugby league” tackle ( illegal even there and seriously punishable in the NFL in USA) was not given as a foul. The role of assistants talking to the referees arises weekly. How this was not given as a foul against Vibe I am unsure.

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An interesting style of tackling from Ipswich 

Brentford looked well set up with Woods looking more solid and winning more than his share of the 50-50 balls. The full backs looking better with every game. Maxime Colin has improved enormously this season.

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Maxime Colin demonstrating an interesting style of tackling

00007689 Bjelland went off injured, without having an inspiring game, and Barbet came on, who still looks suspect to me. 0000767300007763

Justin Shaibu had 20 minutes and as against Rotherham caused all manner of problems to the Ipswich defence and was unlucky not to score. The days of Hoffmann are truly over and he needs to move on. 000077610000774400007746

So I take away a lot of positivity in this team and performance. The sort of game a while agao that Brentford would not have drawn. The worry remains over the number of goals conceded. This will improve.

Sergi Canos is such an exciting talent and could be a truly great player.

0000770200007703Rico Henry looks a class player and fast coming forward.

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Rico Henry

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03 Mar 2017

Thoughts on Brentford team for Ipswich? 


The old rhetoric is do not change a winning side. And certainly do not disrupt a winning formation. Dean Smith however has a few things to consider before deciding his team

  1. Justin Shaibu looked strong and certainly troubled the Rotherham defence in his 20 minute debut. Should he start upfront? If he does then does Romaine Sawyers drop to the bench or takes a midfield role in place of KK? 
  2. Vibe is only back in light training and there seems no need to start him however a place on the bench looks likely 
  3. The defence looks settled although Tom Field can consider himself unlucky to lose his place. 

For me I would send the same team out and consider if needed giving Shaibu more than the seemingly obligatory 15 minutes. 

Ipswich are a side it seems fairly bereft on confidence with many of their fans clamouring for the tenure of Mick McCarthy to end. This is essentially what they were saying last year before the infamous Hyams game. 


The game however could be tougher than one might think and who knows the mind set or motivation of Jonathon Douglas. A draw might be a good point for the Bees. Mostly however I would like to see consistency and evidence of clear building for next season. Personally I still harbour doubts over Yennaris. There is no doubt he has some talent but his general workrate and contributions remain too variable. If he ups his game he could be a good player. Too often this season he has been locked in mediocrity. I hope to be proved wrong . 

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02 Mar 2017

Sin Bins in football? FA discussing this on Friday 


IFAB who make the laws of association football have their 131st AGM on Friday. The potential introduction of sin bins is one of their topics. Many sports including hockey, ice hockey and more recently rugby already use sin bins effectively. 

My own view is that this is a good idea. Currently yellow cards are not a deterrent to teams or players . Furthermore the eventual totting up process and inevitable ban serves little in the way of punishment for the team and of no value to the team who were fouled against. Yellow cards are almost pointless . Cynical challenges have become more commonplace. Dissent seems almost obligatory. Most games contain a large number of fouls which disrupt the game and free kicks often do not serve as an appropriate swap for such fouls. 

A sin bin would mean immediate punishment and cause disruption to the offending side. Whereas red cards allow tactical substitutions this would not be feasible in the majority of sin bin offences. 

Rugby union introduced sin bins in 2001 and yellow card offences are punished with 10 minutes in the sin bin. 

A quick search through social media this morning suggests that at least 70% are not in favour of introduction of sin bins. Let’s see how the FA manage this issue. 

I would suggest that there are 2 levels of sin bin punishment as in ice hockey. A yellow equivalent should be rewarded with 10 minutes in the sin bin. The option should also be there for a 20 minute penalty for a second yellow card offence rather than a red card. 

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01 Mar 2017
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Orient face winding up petition March 20th


For all football fans this is sad news. At this stage not so much is known other than that the winding up petition has been brought by HMRC for an unknown amount clearly relating to a tax bill. 

What is known is the debts of the club exceed the last stated value of the company as 5.5 million £. 

Winding up petitions are not unknown in football but the Orient fans , who deserve the support of the whole football community, await the response of their owner. Will he pay the tax bill and then sell the club? 

LOFT the fans group are holding a speciallly convened meeting tomorrow . 

This is their response 

The real question is what exactly has gone wrong since Francesco Becchetti bought the club in July 2014. From Barry Hearn. The club had been doing well under his auspices. They narrowly missed promotion being beaten by Rotherham in a play off final. That year Orient were a great team with good attitude and gave Brentford a run for their money. The Trotta goal lives in all Brentford fans memories. Since then they have had nine managers. This speaks volumes for an ownership style . 
I always have been a Brentford fan and have always respected Orient. A decent club with decent fans. Struggling in the geographical shadow of West Ham. I truly hope this situation is resolved and the club is sold to someone with passion for football with some knowledge and insights. Becchetti has already rejected at least one offer. Let us hope there is someone out there who will buy Orient. The potential is there for a stable league 1 side. Liquidation is a terrible option but relegation to the National League is also not a great one . The better option is a quick sale allowing some prospect of avoiding relegation. 

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