Andy Gray going mad on Sky

corcaighcailin9

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere.

Just watching the games from earlier, onto The Last Word programme now and Andy is still spitting feathers over the Mascherano incident. I feel sorry for poor Richard Keys being on the end of his ranting.

As a Utd fan (and a very happy one ) I of course think Mr Bennett made the right call...

leninbenjamin

Andy Gray is worse than Dunphy for talking Sh1t.

corcaighcailin9

He was comical arguing with Redders at half time in the Utd game tho. RK didn't know where to look. I had been watching Sky Sports News at the time and the lads were joking about RK needing to referee the other two.

Thanx 4 The Fish

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Andy Gray is worse than Dunphy for talking Sh1t.

Hang on now a second, nobody is as crazy as Dunphy.

AckwelFoley

As a united fan, i thought it was harsh providing Macherano didnt use bad language or abuse the ref..

Anyway.. who cares... we won

jesus_thats_gre

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Andy Gray is worse than Dunphy for talking Sh1t.

I ****ing hate Gray but this is way over the top..

corcaighcailin9

I didn't think the sending off was all that harsh given the persistent nature of his dissent. After he got his first booking (which I think he deserved, he floored Scholesy) you could clearly see him say more than once fu!k off to the ref. I know this happens a hundred times a game but it's not on especially when his tackle was ill-timed.

leninbenjamin

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

Hang on now a second, nobody is as crazy as Dunphy.

not a hope. Dunphy is a sensationalist loon who often over exaggerates his point, but Gray has the uncanny ability to spout so much excrement during a game that the viewers start to believe he is talking sense. He is the worst analyst in football.

Chardee MacDennis

corcaighcailin9 wrote: »

you could clearly see him say more than once fu!k off to the ref. I know this happens a hundred times a game but it's not on especially when his tackle was ill-timed.

he may have been speaking spanish:D but i completely agree with Bennett's decision if and only if every other game is refereed the same way in the future. and since masch looked like he was only talking to the ref when he got his marching orders, then the next time we see ANYONE confront Mr. Bennett hurling abuse at them a la John Terry, Rio Ferdinand style then they must walk.

if the rest of the refs dont follow his lead from here in then its just as bad a deicision as against chelski.

when i asked an FAI ref about just booking people who are shouting at the ref last year he said he would never do it as he wouldnt get the support from the organisation, the media or his colleagues.

corcaighcailin9

Yeah it's far too accepted as the norm to abuse the ref. You never see it in rugby it's amazing it's tolerated in soccer.
I agree that for Bennett to be any kind of trendsetter his colleagues will have to be as consistent but I just don't see that happening TBH. It'll be interesting to see of he gets a refereeing gig next weekend or a day off.

walshki

I think the referee shoulders a lot of the blame on what happened today. Masch shouldn't have gone to him but if the referee was getting sick of dissent then he could at least have given some form of final warning. Referees have a responsibility to manage these games and should have the aim of keeping players on the field. A quick word saying no more coming to me etc. and the situation should have been controlled, Masch didn't shout, curse or be aggressive to him at all.

Anyway, in the broader context, what we need is consistency - in the second half Steve G launched a tirade at him straight to his face and nothing happened, and I'm sure he probably wasn't the only one during the game. Referees shouldn't make decisions if they are not prepared to make them consistently.

Mitch Connor

walshki wrote: »

I think the referee shoulders a lot of the blame on what happened today. Masch shouldn't have gone to him but if the referee was getting sick of dissent then he could at least have given some form of final warning. Referees have a responsibility to manage these games and should have the aim of keeping players on the field. A quick word saying no more coming to me etc. and the situation should have been controlled, Masch didn't shout, curse or be aggressive to him at all.

how do you know that he didn't Mascherano has mouthed off a few times previous, and Bennett said something to him before showing him the yellow/red - how do you know he wasn't told to shut it or he'd get a yellow.

corcaighcailin9

I think the problem with consistency is that the ref would have had to send off Stevie G as walshki mentioned and Carragher as well cos he gave the ref a foul mouthed tirade as well towards the end...

themont85

I can't stand his last word show on super sunday. He analysis every single moment with a 'if he just takes a touch here'. Its such hypathetical garbage, does anyone actually enjoy it?

OPENROAD

themont85 wrote: »

I can't stand his last word show on super sunday. He analysis every single moment with a 'if he just takes a touch here'. Its such hypathetical garbage, does anyone actually enjoy it?

I do.

PHB

I really enjoyed him and Redknapp arguing. First time I've actually enjoyed watching Sky.

Chardee MacDennis

PHB wrote: »

I really enjoyed him and Redknapp arguing. First time I've actually enjoyed watching Sky.

+1, it was the highlight of what was a rotten day...

themont85

Meh just ain't my cup of tea...id have to agree it was pretty funny at half time this week though!

_blank_

PHB wrote: »

I really enjoyed him and Redknapp arguing. First time I've actually enjoyed watching Sky.

Never seen Redcrapp so animated.

Dave!

Any vids of it online?

PHB

It was great to see, because they both clearly believed what they were saying, even though they kinda were arguing at cross-purposes.

V9

I was in the jax when it happened, I'd have loved to have seen it. Hopefully it'll be youtube'd soon. On Andy, you crazy scotsman you.

Lex Luthor

Gray was just saying how it is. He might like the sound of his own voice but he knows his stuff. Redknapp on the other hand is a clown. Keys tried to cut him off at the end of the match and he kept sprouting on

Chardee MacDennis

Lex Luthor wrote: »

Gray was just saying how it is. He might like the sound of his own voice but he knows his stuff. Redknapp on the other hand is a clown. Keys tried to cut him off at the end of the match and he kept sprouting on

it's gas watching the dynamic between Keys and Redknapp, seems clear Redknapp has his eyes on Keys' job and not Andy Grays, he always tries to ask question and lead the chat but generally fails.

see how surprised tony adams was when Redknapp picked up on Arsenal not being able to deal with the two men of Chelsea up top!

quad_red

Twas truly an extraordinary sight, Jamie Redknapp showing some backbone.

I thought Gray was going to thump him with his ridiculously oversized bling bling watch.

Mossy Monk

I thought it was hillarious. Richard Keys was trying hard not to laugh.

LegacyUser

Call_me_al wrote: »

+1, it was the highlight of what was a rotten day...

Anyone got this and the last word available for upload? Would greatly appreciate it...

smemon

ah now it wasn't that great :rolleyes: nothing like a dumphy outburst

gray has to be right everytime... jamie is always going to come off second in that battle.

Andy Gray is the George Galloway of football.

Mental Mickey

smemon wrote: »

ah now it wasn't that great :rolleyes: nothing like a dumphy outburst

gray has to be right everytime... jamie is always going to come off second in that battle.

Andy Gray is the George Galloway of football.[/QUOTE]

:DLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

RasTa

Just seen the half-time clip
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/man%2Butd%2Bvs%2Bliverpool/video/x4ttja_man-utd-vs-liverpool-half-time-with_sport. I'll give him the benefit on the doubt because it looks like he thinks he got sent off for that one incident but I didn't see 'The Last Word' where I heard he was harping on about it again. MOTD2 covered it well last night I thought.

Mental Mickey

Andy Gray is soooooooooo obvious. He just does not like that referee(Steve Bennett). Go on, Andy, why don't you put on the black gear and have a go at being a referee...?

It's easy for "analysts" to say what should've happened when they're up in the studio, and not in the thick of the action like referees, who have to make decisions on the spot.

cournioni

Mascherano was at it 5 or 6 times during the game, totally disrespecting Bennett. He was told twice to be quiet, once that he'd get sent off if he kept mouthing off and he got what he deserved. Typical Gray coming out with sensationalist nonsense "ruining the passion" my arse.

Tusky

Saying Mascherano had been giving out is all well and good but take a look at the incident in which he was actually sent off. Torres got a yellow card for absolutely nothing and the Liverpool players had a right to be annoyed. It was just unfortunate that it was Mascherano that spoke to the ref instead of a different player.

He wasnt aggressive. He was just asking what the card was for. It was not a sending off offense regardless of how ticked off the red was at Mascherano previously.

Mr.Nice Guy

RasTa wrote: »

Just seen the half-time clip
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/man%2Butd%2Bvs%2Bliverpool/video/x4ttja_man-utd-vs-liverpool-half-time-with_sport.

Wow. Jamie Redknapp speaking sense shocker! :eek: Fair play to him.

Sherifu

Hmmm, seeing the incidents for the first time there was nothing in either of them. I've seen good referees wave that kind of questioning of their decisions aside so easily. Collina's death stare comes to mind here. Weak refs will always get into these situations and end up overreacting.

Im_No_Superman

Tusky wrote: »

Saying Mascherano had been giving out is all well and good but take a look at the incident in which he was actually sent off. Torres got a yellow card for absolutely nothing and the Liverpool players had a right to be annoyed. It was just unfortunate that it was Mascherano that spoke to the ref instead of a different player.

He wasnt aggressive. He was just asking what the card was for. It was not a sending off offense regardless of how ticked off the red was at Mascherano previously.

The way I see it is that if your on a yellow card and you are constantly fouling you will eventually get another yellow and be sent off although the foul you are getting sent off for doesnt look bad. Its the same with Mascherano only instead of constant fouling he was constanly showing disent, so when he got the second yellow it may not have been agressive or looked bad but he was consistenly showing disent so he was threading on thin ice.

It really annoyed me the way Gray just focused on that one bit of disent and not the all the others that led up to the red card being shown.

Kevster

corcaighcailin9 wrote: »

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere.

Just watching the games from earlier, onto The Last Word programme now and Andy is still spitting feathers over the Mascherano incident. I feel sorry for poor Richard Keys being on the end of his ranting.

As a Utd fan (and a very happy one ) I of course think Mr Bennett made the right call...

This is what is called 'getting too much confidence'. You would probably have seen it before in other TV personalities such as: Bill O'Reilly (Fox News), Éamonn Dunphy, Jeremy Paxman, and Tim Marshall (Sky News).


I have noticed a lot of crap coming out of his mouth recently too. He takes it too far at times, but someone just needs to remind him that he's a fat, ugly, ****, with an irritating voice and I'm sure his arrogance will take a dent.

Kevin.

Bubs101

I think the real problem in the incident was that he gave Torres a yellow for descent literally seconds before he booked Mascherano. If he didn't book Mascherano it would have been a big case of double standards

cournioni

Torres did absolutely nothing eh? How do you know this? Were you there on the pitch? Who is to say he didn't call Bennett a baldy prick?! Would Bennett have been right to book him then??

As for Mascherano, who was in the referees face all day to try and intimidate him... Running 20 yards to get in the referees face to repeatedly say "what did he do?" in a raised voice no doubt judging by the footage, I fail to see how this isn't further intimidation. Bennett had already told Mascherano if he persisted with repeating "what did he do" that he would be sent off, he persisted, so he was sent off.

You do the math Tusky.

event

Call_me_al wrote: »

he may have been speaking spanish:D but i completely agree with Bennett's decision if and only if every other game is refereed the same way in the future. and since masch looked like he was only talking to the ref when he got his marching orders, then the next time we see ANYONE confront Mr. Bennett hurling abuse at them a la John Terry, Rio Ferdinand style then they must walk.

if the rest of the refs dont follow his lead from here in then its just as bad a deicision as against chelski.

when i asked an FAI ref about just booking people who are shouting at the ref last year he said he would never do it as he wouldnt get the support from the organisation, the media or his colleagues.

or a yellow card you mean, sure thats all mascherano got?

when i saw his own team-mate pulling him away in alonso, showed he thought he was wrong too

corcaighcailin9

And the way alonso let him go and didn't go after him said a lot as well. after his half-hearted attempts to restrain Mascherano. I think Stevie G should have made it his business to get his ass over to the situation as captain and calm his team mate down. God knows he did precious little else all day.
It was interesting that Sky showed Benitez's reaction in a split screen. He knew what was coming before the ref even showed the yellow.

jesus_thats_gre

PORNAPSTER wrote: »

Torres did absolutely nothing eh? How do you know this? Were you there on the pitch? Who is to say he didn't call Bennett a baldy prick?! Would Bennett have been right to book him then??

Yeah, Torres is renowned for abusing people, referree's in particular. Time to detach yourself from the game and imagine someone else coming up with that hypothetical nonsense to defend a referee that just sent off a United player.

With the reputation that Bennet has and the lack of reputation that Torress has, maybe it is more resonable to assume that Bennett got the booking wrong?

PORNAPSTER wrote: »

As for Mascherano, who was in the referees face all day to try and intimidate him... Running 20 yards to get in the referees face to repeatedly say "what did he do?" in a raised voice no doubt judging by the footage, I fail to see how this isn't further intimidation. Bennett had already told Mascherano if he persisted with repeating "what did he do" that he would be sent off, he persisted, so he was sent off.

There was nothing intimidating about it. I agree that Mascherao acted foolishly and is largely responsible for the sending off but some of the accounts of what happened are way off the mark.

There was nothing about his body language that was remotely threatening or aggressive. Am not sure about you but when angry or being aggressive, it tends to also be reflected in your facial expression. One thing that you do not do is have a big smile on your face.

If what happened occurred 2 weeks ago, it would not have been a sending off. Mascherano is a victim of what happened with Ashley Cole last week and was made an example off by a ref who was singled out for criticism by the boss of the referee association for not acting on what he saw during that incident.

It is done now and it makes little or no real difference but I just cannot understand why you would even waste your energy in having such a biased opinion of it.

Saying that, if whatever rule Bennett was adhering too is consistently enforced throughout the rest of the season the I don't have a problem with it. I think we both know what we will regularly see worse for the rest of the season and no cards will be produced.

cournioni

Ok so the referee is wrong and you are right JTG, you were there on the pitch after all...

jesus_thats_gre

PORNAPSTER wrote: »

Ok so the referee is wrong and you are right JTG, you were there on the pitch after all...

Why do you feel the need to so defend a referee with a reputation of being card happy who was called up by his boss for not acting on the dissent shown by Ashley Cole just last week?

Considering we are both working off the same information, what is more likely 1) that Torres unleased a torrent of abuse towards the ref or 2) the ref over reacted after Torres complained that he wasn't getting enough protection?

An Citeog

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

There was nothing intimidating about it. I agree that Mascherao acted foolishly and is largely responsible for the sending off but some of the accounts of what happened are way off the mark.

There was nothing about his body language that was remotely threatening or aggressive. Am not sure about you but when angry or being aggressive, it tends to also be reflected in your facial expression. One thing that you do not do is have a big smile on your face.

If what happened occurred 2 weeks ago, it would not have been a sending off. Mascherano is a victim of what happened with Ashley Cole last week and was made an example off by a ref who was singled out for criticism by the boss of the referee association for not acting on what he saw during that incident.

First of all, it was a second yellow card. It wasn't as if Bennett brandished a straight red. Mascherano has nobody to blame but himself. He got a deserved yellow card for a late tackle on Scholes and one of the most blatant fouls in the game. He then gets up with that smile on his face and starts giving the ref an earful. Same thing when the free was given against him for obstruction on Giggs. Still that same smile on his face as he turned his attention towards the referee's assistant. The third foul on Ronaldo was pushing it slightly. He was never going to get a second booking for the foul itself but he was threading on thin ice and it really doesn't take much for Steve Bennett to brandish the card, particularly if the player is beginning to annoy him and questioning every decision he makes. I guess the Torres one was the straw that broke the camel's back. He had no reason to go near the referee, particularly not when he had to go out of his way to get there. You've already been booked, made a couple of fouls since then and are beginning to get on the ref's nerves and your teammate has just been booked for dissent; so when exactly does it seem like a good idea to go racing over to the ref, past one of your own players who tries to hold you back, just so you can ask him "what was that for", with that same smirk/grin/whatever you want to call it. It wasn't exactly a "let's be friends" smirk on his face, more like a "you're a joke" one. I'm sure that's exactly what Steve Bennett, Rafa Benitez and Mascherano's 10 teammates were thinking at the time. He has nobody but himself to blame. I'm sure Steve Bennett will have no problem justifying his decision to his superiors but how does Mascherano explain his own behaviour during the match? It was clear (to me anyway) that Mascherano had already pressed the self-destruct button and wasn't going the last much longer.

I think the Torres booking was farcical though. He got a couple of kicks (which happens when you're rolling around on the ground trying to protect the ball) and complained about it to the ref. Ref should have just told him it's a free kick, nothing else and left it at that.

cournioni

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Why do you feel the need to so defend a referee with a reputation of being card happy who was called up by his boss for not acting on the dissent shown by Ashley Cole just last week?

Why do you feel the need to attack the referee when Mascherano was clearly showing dissent 5 or 6 times during the game? Having been warned twice (once to say that he would be sent off if he continued).

I think that repeating "why did you book him" seven or eight times is a bookable offence especially if the referee had warned him about his conduct prior and during the incident. Not to mention the amount of times he told the ref to "F*ck off" and waving imaginary cards to try and get another player booked while on the yellow card. Bennett gave him plenty of chances to tone down his behaviour and in the end he said enough was enough.

Kevster

What's worse is that Benitez has publicly supported Mascherano, who will now probably never learn from his mistake.

Chardee MacDennis

event wrote: »

or a yellow card you mean, sure thats all mascherano got?

when i saw his own team-mate pulling him away in alonso, showed he thought he was wrong too

sorry thats what i meant :eek:

Kevster wrote: »

What's worse is that Benitez has publicly supported Mascherano, who will now probably never learn from his mistake.

what? that makes no sense, do you really think benitez is gonna lambast him publicly? i highly doubt it, he probably will have a few words with him and rafa will make sure it doesnt happen again.

BaZmO*

Tusky wrote: »

Torres got a yellow card for absolutely nothing and the Liverpool players had a right to be annoyed. It was just unfortunate that it was Mascherano that spoke to the ref instead of a different player.

He wasnt aggressive. He was just asking what the card was for. It was not a sending off offense regardless of how ticked off the red was at Mascherano previously.

I thought Bennett just got p1ssed at Torres for trying to tell him to book another player.

But having said that, even if Torres just said "Thank you very much Mr. Bennett, you were right to book me, I'll just get on with my game now"
Surely Mascherano could've seen that the ref was obviously card happy and that just perhaps maybe if he was to run 20 yards to ask wtf? he might end up with another yellow himself? Then again, footballers aren't generally renowned for their intelligence.

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

There was nothing about his body language that was remotely threatening or aggressive. Am not sure about you but when angry or being aggressive, it tends to also be reflected in your facial expression. One thing that you do not do is have a big smile on your face.

It must be an Argentinian thing so, Heinze used to always have a big smile on his face while remonstrating to the ref just after he'd hacked down a player.

kryogen

if you watch the Benitez interview after the game and read between the lines a little it is clear to see that he is irritated by mascheranos behaviour and knows his player was wrong, he intimated that mascherano was aware he let his team mates down without using those exact words, im sure he blasted him for it privately.he simply cannot throw him to the wolves publicly, that would make him a very bad manager and he would lose alot of respect in the dressing room

Something i have been thinking about is where was the captain? where was Gerrard, and not just for the second yellow incident, why didnt he pull Masch aside at some stage previous and calm him down, it was obvious to most people that he was gonna be sent off sooner rather then later with his tackles and his constant attempted intimidation of the ref, is it not the captains job to steady the ship and try keep his players cool? he showed very little sympathy when the red card was produced too meaning to me at least that he also knew that it was a justified sending off and he was rightly pissed off with his team mate for being so stupid

the torres booking is a joke to me, i dont know what he said, i did see the hand gesture he made after being told to walk away though and since its bennet he decided to take a strong line. but for the little argie to run 20 yards across the pitch to have a go again was inexcusable. he was stupid.

anytime he fouled a player he got in bennets face, anytime a liverpool player was fouled he got in bennets face, its not acceptable behaviour and it had to be stoppped one way or the other, he was given plenty of warnings which he choose to ignore so he must accept the consequences. as for him not using foul language, bollox, he quite clearly tells the ref to **** off repeatedly during the game and just because he didnt use abusive language the last time doesnt mean he didnt deserve to go for repeated offenses.

i actually wouldnt be suprised to see his mandatory ban extended for his behaviour after he was told to leave the pitch, and maybe it wont be such a bad thing. but i doubt it will really change the way players treat refs because the other ones wont follow suit imo

on a side note, did fernando make it out of Ferdinands pocket safe again this time?

Mr.Nice Guy

Just wondering if Andy Gray's attitude about the sending off had anything to do with the backlash he received for his commentary on the Inter/'Pool tie...

Sky Sports under fire for alleged anti-LFC bias

Sky Sports was under fire last night over claims the broadcaster was biased in its commentary of Liverpool's Champions League victory over Inter Milan.

A legion of angry fans have accused top pundit Andy Gray of favouring the Italian champions over the British club with his comments.

Now Reds supporters are threatening a boycott of the broadcasting giant unless ex Everton star Gray is removed from the commentary team for their club's televised games.

The £20,0000-a-week Scottish pundit incensed Kop fans by branding the sending off of Inter midfielder Nicolas Burdisso "shocking", claiming Liverpool star Lucas commited the foul.

And he got their backs up further by appearing to sound down when Fernando Torres bagged the goal that killed the tie and sent his team into the last 16. Gray said: "It's game over I guess."

Season ticket holder Carl Rittenburg stormed: "I pay £48 per month so I can watch Liverpool's matches on Sky but I'll stop my subscription if they continue to let Andy Gray commentate.

"The man knows his stuff but he is so anti-Liverpool it's shocking and that was clearly evident during the Inter Milan game when he slated us at every chance.

"Gray seemed really annoyed when the Inter guy was sent off - he did nothing but go on about it all game.

"Yet he was calling for Liverpool players to get booked at the end of the match.

"Even when Torres scored the winner - that saw another British side through to the quarter finals - he sounded disappointed. It was like he wanted the Italians to win.

"We're not asking for bias towards Liverpool - were just asking for a fair commentary.

"But in having Gray to cover our games we're not getting that from Sky.

Kop fan Peter Stenton said: "As viewers we pay Sky for a service and a fair commentary when we watch live football - and in most cases that's we get.

"But it seems every time Andy Gray covers Liverpool games out team is given a verbal demolition."

Rita Walsh, 40, said: "I was so disgusted with the one-sided commentary during the game I wrote a letter to Sky to complain.

"Sky Sports has an obligation to provide fair and accurate coverage but in allowing Andy Gray to commentate on liverpool games it is falling woefully short."

Liverpool fans' revolt against Glasgow-born Gray, 53, has been simmering since he was signed up by Sky in 1990.

One Kopite has even set up a facebook group calling for the former nand Aston Villa striker to be taken off Liverpool games.

Scouser Alex Parkin, 28, said: "I set up the group to get Gray off our games.

"If Sky don't take him off then I'll seriously be thinking about scrapping my subscription in protest."

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_headline=sky-sports-under-fire-for-alleged-anti-lfc-bias%26method=full%26objectid=20635031%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Maybe he was uneasy about getting on 'Pool fans' wicks again?