Souness silent on Bennett

[Scottish Mag 3]

Newcastle United boss Graeme Souness refused to talk about referee Steve Bennett's performance in Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Arsenal.

 

The former Rangers, Galatasaray and Blackburn Rovers manager was left fuming at Bennett's decision to send off Jermaine Jenas for his first half challenge on Gilberto Silva.

 

With ten men, The Magpies succumbed to a late Thierry Henry penalty and a Robin van Persie strike in their Premiership season-opener at Highbury.

 

Souness was so angered by the events of Sunday that he initially banned himself and his players from speaking to the media after the match.

 

The fiery Scot, however, did speak to Newcastle's official website but refused to talk about the performance of referee Bennett for fear of facing further sanctions from the Football Association.

 

"I am not going to talk about the referee," Souness told the club's official website.

 

"If you speak your mind, you end up in trouble, so I'm not going to speak about him and the same goes for my players.

 

"They are quite rightfully upset at the things that went on out there, and I am protecting them from saying something that might land them in trouble.

 

"Up until the sending off of JJ, we were more than a match for a team who will be challenging for the championship come the end of the season.

 

"We defended well, we were on top in midfield and I felt we could cause them problems in the final third as the game went on.

 

"But that decision changed the game for us. I'm certain that with 11 men on the field we would have got something from the match.

 

"I blame myself to be honest. About 10 seconds before the sending off, I was standing on the touchline shouting to Jermaine to be stronger in the tackle.

 

"He was strong in the tackle, and that happens to him. He is very down about it, and he has every right to be because it was a wrong decision."

 

Souness also believed the challenge that Charles N'Zogbia made on Freddie Ljungberg in the box was not a penalty late on.

 

"It was a dubious penalty, it wasn't a 100 percent penalty yet the referee awarded it," he added.

 

"We've come away with nothing. There were plenty of positives to take from the performance, but we go home empty-handed and the players don't deserve that."

[Papa Lazaru 0]

What Souness forgot to shout at JJ was, "Remember we are playing in a league where the cheating scum that pretend to be refs are up the backside of a certain 2 teams, so when i say tackle harder i mean don't make any contact whatsoever or the twat will red card you!"

[Jimbo 175]

he's making all the right noises as usual....

[The Mighty Hog 526]

The sooner our players start bullying and harrassing Refs the better. Make them dread giving anything against us. It's the only way we'll start getting descisions.

[Papa Lazaru 0]

The sooner our players start bullying and harrassing Refs the better. Make them dread giving anything against us. It's the only way we'll start getting descisions.

12179[/snapback]

 

If we do that now we'll get a red card for threatening the officals!

 

Sadly that sort of attitude will help to an extent with decisions as the refs in this country are idiots, but unless you change your shirt t an arse or manu top you are never going to get their level of decisions.

[The Mighty Hog 526]

The sooner our players start bullying and harrassing Refs the better. Make them dread giving anything against us. It's the only way we'll start getting descisions.

12179[/snapback]

 

If we do that now we'll get a red card for threatening the officals!

 

Sadly that sort of attitude will help to an extent with decisions as the refs in this country are idiots, but unless you change your shirt t an arse or manu top you are never going to get their level of decisions.

12184[/snapback]

 

 

How did Man Utd or Arse get this monopoly over Refs? By hounding every descision. It took a couple of seasons but it worked. They picked up bookings here and there because of it, but it works on the weaker refs. I know I'd be bricking it if I got surounded by 7 or 8 angry blokes. It's intimidation pure and simple. Today Henry was twisting his face no matter whether he was tackled fairly or not. It's ingrained on the team now, so much it's second nature and accepted by most people watching.

[Papa Lazaru 0]

Thats part of it, but for some reason the pricks in charge in this country have alway favoured those teams regardless of how they behaved.

 

Manu weren't always like this but you knew for sure you weren't getting a penalty at Old Trafford whatever happened.

 

Its actually inexplicable why the refs are the way they are being so far up the arse of some teams that you can't solve the problem.

 

Its not the "Big crowd thing" that some people like to peddle as a reason why refs do what they do, that is bollocks. We have the 2nd biggest crowd going and get shafted at St. ames time and time again, in fact last season i saw (and tv backed it up) about 15 blatant pens turned down.

 

Other clubs like the mackems, Smogs, Leeds, Man City etc. etc. have had big or reasonalby big crowds but don't get the refs up their arse, its always manu, arsenal, Liverpool in the past and still a bit now and London clubs when the likes of us play them.

Big crowds isn't the reason as refs actually like to stick it up vociferous crowds who've abused them, unless its at OT or Highbury of course!

[adios 717]

Someone mentioned the Rate The Ref site on one of the newcastle forums recently, so after today's preformance I decided to check it out. Slightly surprised to find our new best friend in second place I was even more surprised to find Riley in third. Just the sight of that man's face makes me want to break things, though in fairness he probably had that effect before he was a referee. And in fourth place I find the man responsible for the worst refereeing in a football match I have ever seen - it was Arsenal v (I think) Westham a couple of seasons ago.

 

1. Webb, Howard

2. Bennett, Steve

3. Riley, Mike

4. Dean, Mike

5. Styles, Rob

 

Interestingly enough Dean was incompetent to the extreme in favour of Arsenal in that match and I remember Steve Bennett was christened Steve 'Gordon' Bennett by nufc.com a few seasons back for his repeated bad treatments of us. It's also worth noting Mike Riley's impressive favouritism towards the home team when it came to giving penalties at Old Trafford last season. So the point of my rather long winded post - how have these guys got near the top - unless due to the disproportionate number of fans of the top 3 clubs they have had more favourable votes because of their rediculous bias towards their teams?

 

Or is it us who are delusional?

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

I wonder what Henry was saying to Souness after the sending off.

[shakermaker 0]

I wonder what Henry was saying to Souness after the sending off.

12210[/snapback]

 

"ok then...blue flames on monday then..20 grand a week and i can get rid of the clio,peg next to lee bowyer..count me in!"