Johnny Nicholson: VAR is still making football worse
PREMATURE: Everton's Conor Coady celebrates a goal that is ruled offside during the Premier League match at Goodison Park, Liverpool. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Conor Coady celebrated his Everton goal against Liverpool with his teammates, sure in the knowledge it was a goal, but they had forgotten VAR haunts every minute like Banquo’s ghost and ruled out the goal for offside. His shoulder was very marginally offside but in saying that, he gained no advantage, he was unmarked and had he been an inch further back and onside would still have knocked the ball in.
Offside was invented to stop players gaining an advantage by being ahead of the defence when a ball is played, so while it was a correct decision, it was an unfair decision. VAR is supposed to make things more fair but too often does the exact opposite. Across the weekend there were numerous awful VAR decisions, the most egregious of which was at Stamford Bridge to deny West Ham a draw for an invisible foul on the Chelsea keeper.
VAR also took about four minutes to give Nottingham Forest a penalty with the referee staring at the monitor for at least 90 seconds, seemingly unable to see what was perfectly obvious. And it ruled out Alexis MacAllister’s wonder strike for Brighton for an infringement that was anything but clear and obvious. Everyone was furious, the fans were booling. And again at Old Trafford Arsenal suffered from another not clear and not obvious error ruling out the goal for a challenge that is frequently not called for a foul and indeed was not called by the referee largely because they have been instructed to allow more physicality this season.
What is the point in having a system introduced to rule out mistakes which keeps making mistakes, operates on the false premise of correcting only clear and obvious errors and makes every goal an exercise in footballing coitus interruptus.
Something odd has happened to Liverpool. They look like a team that is trying to play like Liverpool play, but aren’t good enough to do it properly. Against Everton they made so many mistakes, almost gifting them a goal on more than one occasion. Passes went astray, crosses didn’t find anyone, headers were missed.
They always look busy, but are too often busy doing nothing. When chances came they couldn’t take them. Virgil Van Dyke looks half the player he was last season. Mo Salah should have scored the winner but is a shadow of his former self. Darwin Nunez, back after his red card suspension, was poor, put an easy header wide, timed his jumps badly, hit the bar when he should’ve scored, waved a leg aimlessly at a cross that should’ve been converted and generally looked not fully fit.
While Jordan Pickford, in between screaming like a banshee, made several decent saves from Bobby Firmino and others. It was a frustrating afternoon for the Reds once again who should be thankful that Alisson was in good form to keep Everton out. When they get everyone back from injury, perhaps they’ll find a more functioning gear but right now a title challenge looks unlikely and their next fixture, away in Napoli, will be another real tester.
Nottingham Forest ended the transfer window with 21 players coming in and 22 players going out, which is a remarkable revolution. No club before has tried to get rid of one squad and replace it with a new one. Instinct suggested that it will end in tears because how on earth do you establish a method of play and develop a team spirit when so many have just arrived?
Things were looking good as they took a 2-0 lead over Bournemouth only to see it overhauled 3-2 by the end. Given the team was so recently assembled this shouldn’t be a surprise. They are showing promise, but if you’re giving away three goals to possibly the worst side in the league, Steve Cooper has got some serious work to do and has to do it quickly.
Going into their game with Leeds, Brentford had rescued points after the 80th minute on four occasions this season, but late heroics were not needed against Leeds as they led all afternoon, finally winning an entertaining game 5-2. Typically, they only had 32% possession but always make the most of what possession they do have.
This is quite deliberate by Thomas Frank. Ivan Toney scored a hattrick and must now be pushing for a place in an England squad. His well-taken penalty, superb free-kick and cheeky high-skill chip made for a classic triple. England lacks a back-up striker to Harry Kane, Ivan Toney could be that man.
Leeds’ manager Jesse Marsch was sent off at Brentford. He absolutely lost his mind, raging at the officials because Leeds were denied a penalty when the exotically-named Cryscencio Summerville was brought down in the box. Clearly, in his mind, this was one injustice too many. At first it was rather funny, but it quickly began to look like a childish tantrum by a middle-aged man in slightly too tight trousers.
Last week he talked of having to ‘escalate my emotions’ with another official, this week he did that and then some. He’s just got to control himself better. Even when not going seven shades of crazy, he looks like the tensest person in the ground, his body rigid with angst as he paces around the technical area. He’s of no use to anyone when he’s so wound up. It may be worth Jesse visiting the club’s psychotherapist for a bit of anger management.
David Moyes has never won an away game as a manager at Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. He’s drawn 21 and lost a mighty 47. That is a uniquely awful record over a long period of time and cannot be a mere statistical quirk. It must say something about how he sets up his teams to play against the better teams.
Perhaps it also reveals a subconscious inferiority complex. In West Ham’s game against Chelsea, he put everyone behind the ball for corners making the penalty area very congested with no thought of scoring on the break, clearly. The first half was dreadful but the second half much better and West Ham even took the lead with a badly defended, scruffy goal.
But Moyes' innate negativity is such that he tried to defend with a back five and conceded two goals in doing so. Just trying to pack the defence is such a crude, old-fashioned tactic, more is not better. While another terrible VAR decision ruled out an equaliser, Moyes’ tactics effectively cost the Hammers the points. But as ever, the fawning English press will offer sympathy but no critique.
It’s a sign of the times that Aston Villa were so delighted with a draw at home to Manchester City. You can understand why, but Villa is a big old English club, playing to over 42,000 at Villa Park, so to see them behaving like a fourth tier side that had got a draw against a Premier League club in the FA Cup was a little depressing.
But this is where financial disparity, even within the top flight, has brought us to. Like a fourth tier side, they ended the game on just 27% possession with only three shots, the one on target was an excellent goal. Sometimes the media, especially TV, treats a draw with City as though it is a win.
Sometimes using it to claim that ‘anyone can beat anyone in this league’ when it is largely untrue. City remain unbeaten and on target for another 90+ point season. Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard must be losing patience with Phllippe Coutinho who now has just one goal and no assists in his last 16 appearances and has played with an air of disinterest about him.
Brighton’s usually tight defence conceded two against Leicester City, but their strike force is really hitting its stride and scored five and that should’ve been six. In a fairer game, Alexis MacAllister’s thunderous strike would not have been ruled out by VAR. But Brighton played some great attacking football and took the Foxes to the cleaners anyway, MacAllister scoring another beauty at the end.
They end the weekend in an impressive fourth position. Brendan Rodgers looked rightly dejected after taking a first-minute lead. They remain bottom of the league. Unless their form changes markedly and quickly, Rodgers will surely either walk away or the owners will dismiss him.
Manchester United went in at half-time a goal up despite being the inferior team by some measure. Arsenal had good reason to feel aggrieved having had a goal VAR-ed out for a little bit of contact by Martin Odegaard on Christian Eriksen, the sort of physicality that is supposed to be allowed this season. But in the end, Arsenal paid the price for wasteful finishing with 12 shots off target and only two at the goal.
They were undone by direct, counter-attacking football and that will disappoint Mikel Arteta not least because he changed systems and introduced substitutes just before conceding the second and third goals. Arsenal had been trying to win their first six games of a season since 1947 but it was a bridge too far.
Four straight wins is impressive. Erik ten Hag’s influence is showing signs of making United cohesive in very short order. A couple of weekends ago, I said Christian Erikson was not a defensive midfielder, which is where he’s been playing. I was wrong. He was axiomatic to all three goals against Arsenal.
He is such an intelligent footballer and has been crucial to the recent turnaround in how he uses the ball in second phases and hooks up with Bruno Fernandez. It means their defence has been turned into a more creative force. The difference between this team and the sorry assemblage of players that lost 4-0 to Brentford is like night and day. Rashford got his first double since December 2020. Even Fred is playing well! This is impressive transformational work by ten Hag.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
