OK, we’ve just see it again, and I’m actually leaning towards the two Robbies in terms of intent – he probably didn’t do it on purpose – but the law doesn’t require it to be. If it’s strict liability, then it’s a red I guess, but it shouldn’t be.
“Robbie is on NBC giving the ‘his hands were in the air’ defence, it’s a yellow card. Rubbish. I am a Everton fan but you are responsible for your studs.”
Hands in the air is as close as football gets to a smoking gun. I guess we’ll see it again in a minute.
Ward-Prowse says his team didn’t like the idea of a team coming to play them unbeaten, and said that if they can get to the ball first, they’re well organised and have the firepower to score goals. He’s also pleased with his goal – and knows he needs to score more, as the manager is demanding of him – but thinks they should’ve won by more.
“Sashes - hope I’m not too late,” says James Bolle. “I’m biased but it’s not been bettered.”
Photograph: Robin Jones/Getty Images
Imagine telling Malcolm Shotton he had to go to work in that!
Photograph: PA/PA Archive/PA Images
“Digne red,” says Arran Ridley. “Digne means worthy in French.”
Affaire classée, Lieutenant Columbo.
Big picture: Southampton vault up to fifth, three points off the lead; Everton stay top.
“Fitting, perhaps, that Everton are decked out in seafoam as they wave goodbye to their unbeaten run,” emails Grant Tennille.
90+5 min “Six points separate the top fifteen teams,” says Bill Hargreaves, “some of which have a game in hand. The bottom five have had it, in terms of title aspirations. Probably.”
It’s great, isn’t it? Before the season, I’d have backed Man City, but having watched them a few times I’m beginning to wonder if this side is finished, and whether Guardiola has the ability or desire to rebuild. So I’d back Liverpool.
90+4 min Alan Smith gives Redmond the man of the match award, which is fair enough, but I’d probably have gone for Ings.
90+2 min Calvert-Lewin leaves a boot in on Vestergaard and is booked. He’s had better days.
90+1 min “Not quite a sash,” says Justin Kavanagh, “but let’s mention the finest Manchester United second strip of all, this three-striped wonder from the 1977 Charity Shield. That game was shown last night on Irish TV and, fool that I am, I watched it through, not remembering that it was a 0-0 draw. Better than their 0-0 draw earlier in the day, mind. There’s a full lockdown in Ireland, in my defence.”
Oh my days, that is inspired scheduling!
90 min There’ll be five additional minutes.
90 min “I watched the replay five times,” returns Mike MacKenzie. “It was a deserved red as Digne’s studs raked Water-Peters achilles area (and it was of course from behind). NBC commentators are useless.”
That was certainly my reading of it.
89 min Another change for Southamton, Dan N’Lundulu making his Premier League debut by replacing Che Adams.
87 min “I’d certainly agree that the Saints have been good overall last season and this one so far,” says Mike MacKenzie. “But I think it shows the main problem with the PL which is unequal distribution of revenue among teams. A team like Southampton (or Wolves in recent years) can become quite decent but it reaches a plateau. Getting better means buying more expensive players which they can’t afford and then the rich teams come calling for their top players. Better revenue sharing is essential to make the league competitive in the long run.”
Yes, I agree with all of that, bar the use of Wolves as an example. It’s tricky, as I don’t believe in making players play anywhere they dom’t want to because their labour belongs to them. The single aspect that’d make the most difference, though, probably isn’t even a financial one, but just reducing the number of subs allowed.
86 min Southampton replace Armstrong, who’s put in a monstrous shift considering, with Diallo. Why we need a stadium announcer to tell us this, I’m not entirely certain.
85 min In fairness to Everton, assuming they lose this, they’ll still be top of the league at full-time.
84 min Lovely from Romeu, lifting insouciantly over the Everton defence, Schuster-style, for the scurrying Ward-Prowse, but he can’t quite catch up with it.
83 min This has been an absolutely comprehensive doing.
81 min “NBC commentator insists Digne red not called for,” tweets Ron Stack, “says a ‘more football-trained eye’ would see it differently.”
I don’t know – I’d need to see it again, because doing MBMs, you spend as much time watching fingers and console as the actual game, but it looked bang to rights on first half-glance. I’m not sure who gave that opinion, but I’ve been watching football for 38 years; how many are necessary to be deemed “football-trained”? I daresay the officials have a few years in them too.
80 min Everton finally get Calvert-Lewin on the ball in the box, but he’s double-teamed ad easily unloaded.
78 min Southampton fancy more here and win a corner down the right which Betrand swings in towards the far post, where Vestergaard, 9”4 tall, has somehow got himself in a battle with Gordon, 3”5 tall. But he can only head over the bar.
77 min “Sashed kits,” emails Ed Thorpe. “Can we have a shout-out for this lovely effort from Dulwich Hamlet Women, which is so nice the men sometimes borrow it as a third kit?”
A bit Party Rings, but very smart nevertheless.
Photograph: Ed Thorpe
76 min Calvert-Lewin has barely had a kick, and tearing down the left, he’s easily thwarted by Bednarek.
75 min Digne will miss the away games with Newcastle and Fulham, which sandwich the home game with Manchester United. With Richarlison also absent for the first two of those and Coleman out injured, they’ve got a problem.
73 min Digne insists he didn’t mean it and hoofs something on his way down the tunnel; if only there was some course of dealing to give us an insight into his intention.
Dearie me, what a misplacing of noggin that is! Walker-Peters runs away from Digne, who has a hack, misses, raises arms which makes all the difference, then administers a stamp to the achilles. See you in three games mate; absolute later.
Digne fouls Walker-Peters before being sent off. Photograph: Frank Augstein/Reuters
71 min “It would be helpful for the neutral if Southampton could decide if they’re going to be woeful or decent,” says Stephen Carr, “as I’m struggling to keep up.”
They’ve been good for quite sometime, I’d say, and they’ve been very good tonight.
70 min Bern “bites yer legs” Ard accidentally clatters Walker-Peters, who comes through on his blind side. He’s down briefly, but we’re quickly on with the game.
69 min Everton are pressing now, but still struggling to create. A clincher looks more likely than a livener.
67 min This is it.
65 min I’ve just discovered the Clive Allen played for seven London clubs, if we count his not playing for Arsenal. Can anyone beat that? I also recall the absolutely lush kit he wore for Bordeaux, complete with long shorts. This isn’t quite it, but is also nice.
Photograph: VI-Images/VI-Images via Getty Images
64 min In a game almost entirely devoid of reducers, it takes the smallest man on the pitch to administer one, Bernard clattering Romeu. He’s booked, and would be well advised to watch his step from here on in.
Bernard is shown a yellow card by referee Kevin Friend. Photograph: Naomi Baker/Reuters
63 min Looking again, Ings might’ve been marginally ahead of play. He must’ve left it for the man coming in.
62 min What?! Redmond collects a loose ball after useful foraging by Adams, slipping outside him to Armstrong; his cross is a doozy, but somehow Ings manages to avoid tapping it home! Not a clue.
61 min I saw Gordon play for Everton in the League Cup game against Salford. He looked a serious talent, and my guess is he’ll play in behind Calvert-Lewin.
59 min “No discussion on sash kits would be complete without mentioning Crystal Palace. Here’s a mid-80s beauty.”
The one I found was earlier than that, but it’s the same idea. I assume the photo was taken after Allen signed for Palace from Arsenal, who he’d joined for £1.25m only to leave without playing a game, in a swap deal for Kenny Sansom.
Photograph: Getty Images
58 min Ancelotti goes again, bringing on the extremely exciting Anthony Gordon for Doucoure, and also sending on Delph for Sigurdsson.
57 min Digne crosses and Walker-Peters has both hands above his head, giving Everton a free-kick just outside the box, left-hand side. Sigurdsson decides to swing it out, but can’t avoid the first man.
56 min Whatever Ancelotti said at half-time, it hasn’t worked. Problem being, he’s not replete with options that might solve it. Two strikers would at least change things though.
54 min But look at this work of art from Southampton, as referenced earlier.
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