I actually feel differently about this game today than I did immediately afterwards. While I was relieved and delighted with the three points as I came away from Anfield, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the performance and it didn’t do a great deal to restore a lot of the faith in the team that was lost after that Cup Final shambles.
Today though, having slept on it and had a proper think about things, I see it much differently. Much as I’d have loved us to have given them a proper hiding to put them back in their box after the last couple of derbies (both at Goodison), I don’t think that was ever a realistic prospect. We’re not really that kind of team these days and, I say this through gritted teeth, they’re really fucking hard to play against. They were on a nine game unbeaten run going into this. Why? Because, limited as they are, they’re really fucking hard to beat and Moyes has done a remarkable job with them.
We might have got the big win I wanted if we’d scored early, or if the ref and Paul Tierney had done their job and got that animal Tarkowski off the pitch, but when neither of those things happened it was always going to be a bit of a grind and it was only ever then about finding a way to get the points.
The first half was shite, but that’s standard these days. When do we ever play well in the first half? It’s invariably slow, ponderous, completely lacking in any tempo and we rely on an improved second half to get the job done. More often than not we’ve been able to do it, but it’s reaching a point where it’s not even worth watching the first half of our games as it’s passive, stodgy, uneventful shite.
As I say though, if Tarkowski gets what he deserved then it’s a different game. Everton’s gameplay wouldn’t change, but they’ve have to carry it out with one man less and their most aerially dominant player. In real time I wasn’t sure what had happened. It looked bad as it was clearly reckless and out of control, but there’s no way I could tell what kind of contact was made. Within a few seconds though the group chat was full of comments about it being a clear red.
So I sat there awaiting the VAR check, but it was over so quickly that the stadium announcer didn’t even have time to put it up on the scoreboard. Having now seen it back a few times, it’s mind boggling that the ref wasn’t sent to the screen. At least it would be if it had been someone other than Paul Tierney on VAR.
The first thing to say is that the referee shouldn’t need help on that decision, but there are some mitigating circumstances for him. I always say this, but it’s much easier to excuse the match referee for making a bad decision because he sees it once at normal speed. He’s close to the incident and sees enough of it to immediately produce a yellow card though, so why not a red? Well it’s his first Merseyside Derby and he no doubt doesn’t want to be the ref that sends someone off early in the game. You do that and there’s a danger you lose control of the game. The problem is, if you don’t do it you’re more likely to lose control.
Most refs are reluctant to do make that call so early in a big game, and when you’re as inexperienced as this lad then you’re going to err on the side of caution. He also can’t see the point of contact where Tarkowski’s studs smash into Macca’s shin. I don’t think that really matters too much though as you can see the excessive force in the challenge and how high the follow through is. He should still be producing a red card and if he’s wrong then that’s what VAR is there for (in theory at least), but as I say, you can make excuses for the on-field referee and I usually do give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes they need help. After all, isn’t this why they subjected us to the misery that is VAR?
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