u/Ivoralljack

Not much going on here but I suppose there's not much to write about as we've more or less finished the season. So here's some scraps that might be of interest:

Seems Coventry are interested in Ronald. Anyone want to let him go?

Being reported that, in turn, we are looking at five players who either play midfield or up top. Never heard of any of them tbh but details online for those who want more.

Got a flat shock when I read that Casemiro, in conversation with Rio Ferdinand, said that, in his opinion, Gareth Bale had more all round ability than Cristiano Ronaldo. Obviously he played with them both at Real Madrid and is qualified to judge. He absolutely concedes that Ronaldo was a superb player and brilliant striker, one of the best in the world, but still reckons that Bale offered more in terms of pace, defence etc etc. Thoughts, anyone?

With all the furore going on about referees, VAR and so on, Pep Guardiola says he doesn't have faith in either, not believing they reach the required standards (amongst other things). It's not sour grapes about the recent debacle in the West Ham/Arsenal wrestling match because he says that he formed this opinion within a few weeks of taking over at Citeh many years ago. I can personally vouch for this because I can remember a number of interviews where he expressed this opinion.

As for the game I find it so ironic that Hammers were penalised for using tactics that Arsenal have employed all season leading to goals and points that will probably win them the title. Personally, I have to ask why the officials ignored blatant fouling by some of the Arsenal players - Declan Rice, for instance, looked like he was playing rugby when he grappled his man to the ground. And I like Rice, a player I rate as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Trossard was also busy fouling and wrestling his man with impunity.

Sky brought a former referee to give his opinion and he said that the most SUBSTANTIAL foul should be penalised. Is this man a total idiot?! Listen, mate, the FIRST foul is the one that should be called thus meaning any subsequent actions are irrelevant! Too much common sense for the half-wits at PGMOL to take on board I suppose. As for who committed the first foul I don't know but I believe it was one or more of the Arsenal team.

Finally, the Prediction League has shafted me again. My last two weeks predictions were wiped (that's 4 for the season!) save the last Citeh game that gave me one point. Why on earth keep that particular game and delete the rest?

Ron "Chopper" Harris recalled how it was in his day when Chelsea met Leeds in an enjoyable article talking about the era I grew up in. The infamous Final (battle) in 1970 was reviewed in 1997 by top referee David Elleray and he said that he'd have booked TWENTY players and sent of SIX. Chopper bemoans today's pansy footballers as being too soft by far and intimates that no way would they have survived in his day. I totally agree.

He said about modern footballers, "They fall over so easy and roll around. If you are really hurt you lie still. Players today the first thing they want to do if they get in the penalty area is fall over. Football has become a non-contact sport. That is the big difference with players in my time. You only went down if you were hurt. Today you've only got to push someone and they fall over holding their faces and you get booked. I wouldn't last 10 minutes these days.

"In rugby they don't fall over, roll around and moan like they do in football. The other big difference is in my day, you played if you weren't 100% fit. I pulled a muscle and hadn't trained for about three weeks before the Wembley Final. They said if I had an injection I'd get away with it, which is why I came off in the 90th minute because I was absolutely fcuked! Today they've only got to sneeze and they're out for a week!"

He added, "The Wembley pitch was a disgrace. They had the Horse of the Year Show a few days before. I'd like to see how players today would cope with that."

Choppers agricultural tackle on Leeds Eddie Gray in the 1970 replay - which neutralised the winger for the rest of the match - is often seen as the key to the Blue's win. He said:

"We were kicking lumps out of each other but once the final whistle went we were fine. Years later at a sportsman's dinner, Eddie made a special presentation to me handing me a screw-in stud saying, 'Chopper, you left this in my kneecap at Old Trafford - I thought you'd like it back'. And Jimmy Greaves used to call his dodgy knee his Ron Harris Memorial Knee."

Five different England managers failed to award him so much as one cap. He said: "They probably didn't like my style, the way I used to larrup people. It would have been nice to play just once, I'd have been so proud of that But I'm proud of my Chelsea career."

Hope you're enjoying your retirement, Chopper. I can't say you were a one-off because there were plenty like you at the time. It was my time as well and I enjoyed every second of it and I know that Ducks, for one, would absolutely agree with me.