Some matches are sophisticated, exciting and some are boring, but now and again you get the odd one that is just bonkers.
I popped down to Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace welcomed Brighton. Robustly. It wasn’t that dirty but it still ended with nine men playing against 10.
The referee had obviously watched Everton’s James Tarkowski not being sent off against Liverpool and noticed the referee that night being roundly criticised by everyone, including his own bosses at the PGMOL for not reaching for his red card.
So the man in the middle this time was not taking any chances and the flood of yellows turned quickly into reds.
Oddly I did not blame the officials. It was a tough match to keep on track and there were a load of difficult, marginal calls to make. In the end, nine-man Palace came out winners. Brighton’s vague hopes of reaching the Champions League spots melted away in the south London sunshine and the home support celebrated that fact more than any goal on the day.
The age-old British football tradition of enjoying your fiercest rival’s failure as much as your own success was effortlessly maintained. The most heartening thing about the entire day was the atmosphere that crackled noisily throughout.
Bigger clubs now bemoan the hollow atmosphere at many of their Premier League games and I wonder if this is at least a part of the reason why the likes of Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford are above Manchester United and Tottenham in the league table.
Visitors from abroad always want to go to the big stadiums with the most famous names, but more and more often that is not where you will get the most authentic, loudest and most passionate matchday experience.
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25 minutes ago
Some matches are sophisticated, exciting and some are boring, but now and again you get the odd one that is just bonkers.
I popped down to Selhurst Park as Crystal Palace welcomed Brighton. Robustly. It wasn’t that dirty but it still ended with nine men playing against 10.
The referee had obviously watched Everton’s James Tarkowski not being sent off against Liverpool and noticed the referee that night being roundly criticised by everyone, including his own bosses at the PGMOL for not reaching for his red card.
So the man in the middle this time was not taking any chances and the flood of yellows turned quickly into reds.
Oddly I did not blame the officials. It was a tough match to keep on track and there were a load of difficult, marginal calls to make. In the end, nine-man Palace came out winners. Brighton’s vague hopes of reaching the Champions League spots melted away in the south London sunshine and the home support celebrated that fact more than any goal on the day.
The age-old British football tradition of enjoying your fiercest rival’s failure as much as your own success was effortlessly maintained. The most heartening thing about the entire day was the atmosphere that crackled noisily throughout.
Bigger clubs now bemoan the hollow atmosphere at many of their Premier League games and I wonder if this is at least a part of the reason why the likes of Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford are above Manchester United and Tottenham in the league table.
Visitors from abroad always want to go to the big stadiums with the most famous names, but more and more often that is not where you will get the most authentic, loudest and most passionate matchday experience.
Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter
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