The Idiots Guidc to Losing Respect by Steve Clarke

Nick 0208 Ldn

West Ham respond to Steve Bruce 'play-acting' allegations | Football | guardian.co.uk

narnar

aye i'd agree with that. don't like the play acting myself, especially as it was obvious jones was getting a red card.

on your point of deflecting attention from the issue by blaming another instead of your own, isn't that what Bruce was doing by calling Ilunga a pansy?

R_Nick

Saw this on SSN this morning and from the replay they showed Jones pushed the guy and he went down like a sack of shit holding his face as if he'd punched him, then the physio came on holding an ice pack on his non existent face injury, so IMO Bruce is bang on the money.

Also he's a bit of an idiot saying "maybe he thought a punch was coming" because at the end of the day a punch didn't come, so what excuse does he have for rolling around and having ice put on his face?

EDIT: re narnar's point - Bruce said that Jones was totally in the wrong and he would be being appropriately punished and then went on to say what he said about the oppo player (who's name escapes me)

RedPhil1957

Strange; I heard a Zola interview after the game when he said Ilunga was wrong to act like that and he was disapointed.

R_Nick

Makes Clarke look even more stupid that!

If you've not seen Clarke talking there is a video on skysports

prateik

play acting is never good , but the sad fact is that if the player doesnt go down dramatically , there is a good chance the ref wont get the red out (that is if he doesnt have a clear view)

it does draw attention to the foul

a shove in the face would hardly send any athlete down , but if illunga just stood straight and walked away, the ref probably wouldnt have sent jones off

well ,maybe in this case he would have , but little head butts and stamps are missed all the time
doesnt make the acting right, but if overdoing it can get the team a deserved advantage , then why not

R_Nick

Going down is one thing, clutching at a non existent face injury and having the physio hold an ice pack on it for a few minutes is quite another.

prateik

did he really get an ice pack .. haha
like the dida incident at celtic ?

that is inexcusable .. if that is what happened then Ilunga is a proper cock

Nick 0208 Ldn

Quite.

It makes accomplices of the medical staff too.

At the risk of being controversial here, should a slap that is more grazing someone's face with your hand actually mean a three match ban? I don't think so, not at all.

And i'm of the view that it's not the player's responsibility to be determining the decision of the ref, not that that was so here.

R_Nick

The push:



The initial reaction:



The dismissal (Ilunga still rolling aruond):



Can't find a pic or video of the ice pack bit but it was on SSN this morning.

Makki

I like how he left the ground with both feet as well, like in those action movies. Great playacting from Handball.

noodlehair

Yeah, but Zola's about the only classy thing associated with West Ham, so it's not really surprising.

Nick 0208 Ldn

Tony Carr and the West Ham youth system?

Christofaux

You push someone in the face, you deserve a red card, doesnt matter what the reaction is.

antihenry

That should have been the second and last post on this thread.

Nick 0208 Ldn

Whatever you think of the sanction you're surely not defending Inlunga's actions and Clark'e silly attempt to defend them though?

antihenry

Clarke said Ilunga recently recovered from a triple fracture to the jaw, so maybe he wasn't acting. When a big strong dude like Kenwyine Jones pushes you in a face, there's a good chance you won't enjoy it, to put it mildly.

I'm not trying to justify playacting if Ilunga did in fact go over the top in his reaction but Steve Bruce should concentrate on the wrongdoing of his own player. It was a red card offense, end of. Talking about ice packs and West Ham medical staff is petty and off point.

Andersonsonson

Though to think Dean Richards got a ban in rugby for instructing a player to feign a blood injury while a medic treated it.... hmmmm.

In my eyes whats good for the goose is good for the gander Ilunga should be dismissed for a few games for timewasting and playacting. Really i cant see much difference between what he did, and what that Tom Williams who had the fake blood capsule in rugby did.

peterstorey

Look just because Steve Clarke made a complete dick of himself you don't have to do the same. Ilunga was pushed with most of the force being directed towards his chest, it probably wasn't enough to make him fall over let alone be pole-axed.

Christofaux

You can't 100% tell if its play acting. An offence was committed and punished. There is no way you can blame the victim for time lost if a player who wants to save as much time as possible is going to do such a thing.

antihenry

Good thing you don't even have to try to be a dick, it's your natural state.

I don't care which parts of Ilunga's body Jones applied most of his force, the fact is, he placed his hand on the opponent's face and pushed. Red card, end of story.

peterstorey

You've been watching too much Drogba, you pansy.

noodlehair

Yes you can. I mean, fecking hell, are you really that naive?

It shouldn't be a red card though. It's only because the people who make the rules are a bunch of pansified cretins. A football pitch must be the only place in the world where pushing someone slightly in the heat of the moment, carries the same punishment as a prememitated attempt to break someone's leg.

R_Nick

Bruce said categorically in his interview that Jones was completely in the wrong and that he would be appropriately punished. He has not in any way made an attempt to defend Jones' actions, rather has criticised Jones and then taken the opportunity to point out the rather blatant acting up from Ilunga.

Its like the incident Scholes was sent off for where he pull out of that tackle and the oppo player was clutching as his face as if Scholes had kicked him (can't remember who it was) - people feigning injury need to man the fuck up and get on with the game.

gaffs

Why is Bruce loosing respect. He has a valid point. Ilungas reaction was embarrassing.

kouroux

I still wonder why players who are in pain roll around in the ground so actively?Maybe people react to pain differently but each something hurt me really bad, I'd do my best to limit my movement

R_Nick

Its Clarke who is referred to as losing respect for his defence of Ilunga.

eric le roi

Urrrgh, that image of a player lying on the ground in the foetal position clutching his face sums up everything that's wrong with professional football - self-absorbed, 'precious' players with not an ounce of sportsmanship in their bodies.

There are exceptions but not many.

Christofaux

don't touch his face, he wont go down... sportsmanship ended when he pushed him in my opinion. the guy has just come back from a facial injury. All players are told when your injured go to ground instantly.

R_Nick

Fuck that; just because one guy is in the wrong doesn't give the other player carte blanche to act like he's been shot.

Nobody is saying Jones was incorrectly sent off, but you cannot excuse Ilunga's actions. FFS he was pushed, how is that reaction in any way justified? And a fucking ice pack? Give me a break.

Bearded but no genius

Amended for accuracy.

This guy isn't mortally wounded. He's cheating and timewasting, taking advantage of the fact that someone else has committed an offence which is being punished.

ERICSAGOD

Well said mate! Totally agree.

Namliam

Totally agree - why a slight shove should result in a red card has always baffled me. Get rid of the rule and you wouldn't see so many people play-acting. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Having said that, given how clear the rules are, it still amazes me how many players get sent off for this every season. Given the way the rules work, you may as well scythe through a player's legs and earn a yellow rather than tapping him and getting a red!

Wibble

Playacting pure and simple. Disgraceful behaviour.

Makki

Ooh, Tom Huddlestone. Still makes my blood boil, that. What a twat.

And why shouldn't a ref be able to send Jones off and book Ilunga for simulation? The term simulation was invented for situations like this. It isn't a dive, but it's a simulation of an injury that's much worse than the actual damage inflicted by the opponent.