I'm amazed

[wallya]

I'm amazed that the Aston Vila- Tottenham game hasn't come under more scrutiny. I can understand Villa resting players and not bothering
about the result to feck us, but by handing 3 points to Spurs, they have screwed West Ham over. They literally threw the game and have got away with it.

 

[Baronvon]

Would be incredibly difficult to prove.

I can definitely understand the anger though. Never seen a side less interested in winning the game and it will likely be the three points that keep Spurs up at West Hams expense.

 

[I'm Red Till Dead]

It's been said before that it was acknowledged a few years ago by the Premier League that it's now a squad game and a team can pick whatever team they want from their squad to suit their own purposes.

Whilst it feels so wrong, it's not exactly new. Remember Forest switched their team around in 1898, resting players against Derby in the match before the FA Cup final. Forest lost 5-0. Derby were just two points above the relegation zone at that time with just a couple of games to be payed after that game.

 

[Otis Redding]

I'm amazed that the Aston Vila- Tottenham game hasn't come under more scrutiny. I can understand Villa resting players and not bothering
about the result to feck us, but by handing 3 points to Spurs, they have screwed West Ham over. They literally threw the game and have got away with it.

That team certainly went out with very little, if any, motivation. As has been said, proving anything untoward is virtually impossible.

 

[Abdooonk]

It's been said before that it was acknowledged a few years ago by the Premier League that it's now a squad game and a team can pick whatever team they want from their squad to suit their own purposes.

Whilst it feels so wrong, it's not exactly new. Remember Forest switched their team around in 1898, resting players against Derby in the match before the FA Cup final. Forest lost 5-0. Derby were just two points above the relegation zone at that time with just a couple of games to be payed after that game.

I’m sure it’s been said before but this misses the point. Villa were not just resting players, they wanted to lose to pile the pressure on Forest to make sure we couldn’t rest players ourselves.

 

[Steve Stone’s Brylcreem]

As it’s been said, squad game so absolutely in their rights to do it. I’m still more amazed that when we did it vs Chelsea we won!

 

[Rob1965]

It’ll likely be a long time coming but hopefully West Ham will get the chance to return the favour at some point, should they go down.

 

[Rob1965]

As it’s been said, squad game so absolutely in their rights to do it. I’m still more amazed that when we did it vs Chelsea we won!

Agree it’s a squad game and Villa had the right to field whatever team they liked, the difference between them and the team we put out against Chelsea is we made an effort to win the game, Villa had no intention of being remotely competitive.

 

[Flaggers]

It's been said before that it was acknowledged a few years ago by the Premier League that it's now a squad game and a team can pick whatever team they want from their squad to suit their own purposes.

Whilst it feels so wrong, it's not exactly new. Remember Forest switched their team around in 1898, resting players against Derby in the match before the FA Cup final. Forest lost 5-0. Derby were just two points above the relegation zone at that time with just a couple of games to be payed after that game.

I don't have a problem with it being "a squad game" (well, I do, but that's another argument) - after all we changed 8 players for the Chelsea game.

The issue is the manner in which the games were played.

5 minutes in it was blindingly obvious that Villa weren't trying, whereas in our game we were 1 up and hammering for the 2nd.

 

[HBB]

That the Vila performance was abject is undeniable - however there's a massive difference between a team that went out under "instruction" to lose and a team that just couldn't give a toss and was saving key players and energy for the Europa, which was clearly the priority and a tie in which they were trailing.

Given the unfortunate world we live in then people tend to seek a corruption narrative and the only way to prove that would be to see a money trail if funds were involved and you'd need evidence of a manager or coaches "telling" the team to give Spurs the win which, I would argue, would be impossible to keep secret. So on balance I'd go for the most obvious answer - they didn't care about this tie and would have played the same whoever they faced.

 

[Captain Sinister]

Would be incredibly difficult to prove.

I can definitely understand the anger though. Never seen a side less interested in winning the game and it will likely be the three points that keep Spurs up at West Hams expense.

Or a manager more dedicated to telling his players to throw the game and changing f***-all to even try to play football.
He is niow in my "Sinister's Guide to Absolute w**kers".

 

[Carlos]

I don't know why anyone is bothered anymore, pretty much everyone was in agreement - Villa were the favourites to win the whole thing, to get to the semi was an achievement in itself with the shit show of a season. Forest are safe, Villa are a million miles ahead.. who cares? Just enjoy the ride and being able to relax now

 

[PynchonForest]

I'm amazed that the Aston Vila- Tottenham game hasn't come under more scrutiny. I can understand Villa resting players and not bothering
about the result to feck us, but by handing 3 points to Spurs, they have screwed West Ham over. They literally threw the game and have got away with it.

Ultimately Villa won the Europa league and will almost certainly finish fourth. Emery did a perfect juggle. The fact we got a bit screwed by it is our concern, not his. Not everything in life is based around a some sort of conspiracy.

Next up--Chem Trails. Are they real? Or just misguided sky painting?

 

[Your Dad's Ashamed Of You]

There must be stats on distance covered and sprints that surely would go some way to prove the game was thrown. I've seen hung over Sunday morning sides play with more intensity.

 

[sammy the snake]

Everyone knew exactly what Villa did. It worked.

What I can’t stand was giving spurs a lift which may prove to be the difference. I f***ing hate spurs

 

[valspoodle]

Ultimately Villa won the Europa league and will almost certainly finish fourth. Emery did a perfect juggle. The fact we got a bit screwed by it is our concern, not his. Not everything in life is based around a some sort of conspiracy.

Next up--Chem Trails. Are they real? Or just misguided sky painting?

Sitting on the flight deck at 35,000 feet and watching an aircraft coming towards you at a closing speed of over 1,000 mph with a vapour trail out behind it is awe inspiring. I was actually just trying to get the football results at the time (they used to let me sit quietly in the jump seat with a headset on), but it was a great adjunct to Forest winning yet again.

 

[Doctor Gonzo]

Sitting on the flight deck at 35,000 feet and watching an aircraft coming towards you at a closing speed of over 1,000 mph with a vapour trail out behind it is awe inspiring. I was actually just trying to get the football results at the time (they used to let me sit quietly in the jump seat with a headset on), but it was a great adjunct to Forest winning yet again.

And then you bombed Dresden.

(Joke btw)

 

[MaxiRobriguez]

Ultimately Villa won the Europa league and will almost certainly finish fourth. Emery did a perfect juggle. The fact we got a bit screwed by it is our concern, not his. Not everything in life is based around a some sort of conspiracy.

Next up--Chem Trails. Are they real? Or just misguided sky painting?

I don't get this thought process.

Villa threw the game. They brought the league into disrepute by creating a deliberate result.

It wasn't us that got screwed by it it was West Ham. West Ham are one hundred million pounds worse off because of Villa deliberately deliberately throwing a game.

If people want to argue that's acceptable and not of Villa's concern because it was in their interest to do it then where do you draw the line? Would it have been acceptable to Forest not to try at all yesterday in order to guarantee Bournemouth 6th place is they paid us a sum of money? It would have been in our interest....

 

[Berkshire Red]

I don't get this thought process.

Villa threw the game. They brought the league into disrepute by creating a deliberate result.

It wasn't us that got screwed by it it was West Ham. West Ham are one hundred million pounds worse off because of Villa deliberately deliberately throwing a game.

If people want to argue that's acceptable and not of Villa's concern because it was in their interest to do it then where do you draw the line? Would it have been acceptable to Forest not to try at all yesterday in order to guarantee Bournemouth 6th place is they paid us a sum of money? It would have been in our interest....

Everton clearly did it for Spurs. Happens more often than we think, IMHO.

 

[andyd]

Everton clearly did it for Spurs. Happens more often than we think, IMHO.

I think that’s very harsh. It was a tired end of season performance from Everton but you could see they were putting the effort in (I watched it on multiple screens with the West Ham game and ours). Spurs actually got quite lucky as they never looked like scoring outside the goal. It was night and day to that Villa game.

 

[valspoodle]

And then you bombed Dresden.

(Joke btw)

When I was very young living in Hamberg, I used to draw bombing runs on my school atlas whilst day dreaming. One of my heroes in those days was in one of the magazines I used to read (usually the Dandy or the Beano) named Bomber Braddock, an ace pilot. The other hero was Battler Brittain, as you can guess, a Spitfire pilot. I might have the exact details wrong, age dulls the brain, I'm afraid.

Actually, whilst Vietnam was going on we used to fly over the area and actually see smoke etc on the ground, though nothing specific. And we used to love Bangkok because the R&R guys were there letting off steam. The Dew Drop Inn was just by our hotel, a lively evening was had by all!

 

[All I want is a boat]

It's been said before that it was acknowledged a few years ago by the Premier League that it's now a squad game and a team can pick whatever team they want from their squad to suit their own purposes.

Whilst it feels so wrong, it's not exactly new. Remember Forest switched their team around in 1898, resting players against Derby in the match before the FA Cup final. Forest lost 5-0. Derby were just two points above the relegation zone at that time with just a couple of games to be payed after that game.

Auntie Sue was banging on about that one the other day. Fuming she was. Me and my son advised her to lay off the Bensons.

 

[PynchonForest]

I don't get this thought process.

Villa threw the game. They brought the league into disrepute by creating a deliberate result.

Bullshit. Emery had a juggle and he got it right. Too bad for us.

 

[MaxiRobriguez]

Bullshit. Emery had a juggle and he got it right. Too bad for us.

He could have instructed his juggled team to try to compete in a game of football

And its 'too bad' for West Ham, not us.

You can quote and respond to the rest of my original post if you like but I suspect that was too inconvenient to answer to.