⚽️ Liverpool to PGMOL: Stick Your Apology, We Got Screwed

+ Quick Hitter Match Recaps, Buy or Sell?

Author

Philip Keidel
October 02, 2023

Good morning. You wanted a Premier League weekend filled with action, drama and controversy? Promises made, promises kept. It was wild. Let’s get to it.

The Scores:

  • Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) 2, Manchester City 1: City’s perfect start to the Premier League season was undone by their inability to create enough good chances and by two Wolves goals aided by deflections.

  • Tottenham Hotspur (H) 2, Liverpool 1: Spurs played very well, but the story of the weekend is how a VAR failure took a point away from the Reds.

  • Arsenal (A) 4, Bournemouth 0: Aside from Spurs, Arsenal was the biggest winner of the weekend. The score reflects how dominant the Gunners were. This was a statement game from Mikel Arteta’s men.

  • Crystal Palace (A) 1, Manchester United 0: Remember the recent good feelings about Erik ten Hag and United? Yeah, they’re gone again.

  • Newcastle United (H) 2, Burnley 0: We predicted on Friday that City and Newcastle would prove too much for Wolves and Burnley. We were half right.

  • Aston Villa (H) 6, Brighton & Hove Albion 1: You don’t see Brighton get drilled like this. The match was all but over before the 30-minute mark.

  • Luton Town (A) 2, Everton 1: Break up the Hatters! This win and their prior draw with Wolves launched Luton out of the relegation spots, with Bournemouth taking their place.

  • West Ham United (H) 2, Sheffield United 0: Every week it gets harder to see any way Sheffield can avoid relegation, and they still have 31 matches to play.

  • Nottingham Forest (H) 1, Brentford 1: It was always going to be difficult for the lone Sunday match to live up to all that happened Saturday. This match proved that point.

Top of the Table: [from Google]

In the email today:

  1. 📹️ Liverpool Left Seething After VAR Costs Them Draw with Spurs

  2. 📈 Buy or Sell?

  3. ❌ Tweet of the Day

  4. 🗳️ Poll: Should VAR Be Scrapped?

  5. 🔗 Links Roundup

1) 🔥 Liverpool Irate Over VAR Error in Spurs Match

The margins in the Premier League are so fine. Within matches, within seasons, seemingly small things (bad bounces, random injuries, even weather) can change outcomes. The one constant is supposed to be the officiating because VAR is there to correct errors. But it didn’t work Saturday in the Liverpool/Spurs match, and Liverpool is HOT about it.

  • Liverpool expressed concern over "sporting integrity" in their Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur due to a controversial VAR decision

  • In the first half, Luis Díaz scored a goal for Liverpool, but it was disallowed for offside. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) later admitted a "significant human error" in not awarding the goal through VAR intervention.

  • The officials’ error ultimately cost Liverpool the game as they ended up losing 2-1.

  • PGMOL confirmed that the VAR officials responsible for the mistake, Darren England and Dan Cook, would be replaced for two Premier League games.

  • Liverpool acknowledged PGMOL's admission of the error and expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation, emphasizing the need for transparency and resolution.

  • The club stated that it would explore options for escalation and resolution in light of the error.

Our take: That last bit about Liverpool exploring options for escalation and resolution is little more than fan service. Liverpool supporters want the wrong righted, but we all know that’s not how it works. This result is going to stand. The larger question is: Where does the Prem go from here with VAR? If VAR cannot be counted on to get a call like this right, there may be no place for it in the game.

2) 📈 Buy or Sell

With so many goals flying in and so much movement in the table, the fictional Premier League stock market is buzzing.

  • 🟢 Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa: Watkins started the season slower than many predicted. His hat trick against Brighton suggests that that slow start is over.

  • 🔴 Manchester City: They will still most likely win the league (they’re around -200 with the books). Short term, though, they look lost without Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri, and they cannot seem to get the ball to Erling Haaland.

  • 🟢 Luton Town: We’re not sure if four points from the last two matches is a sign of life or a dead cat bounce. For now, though, the tide is rising. Luton’s next match is tomorrow, home against struggling Burnley. That’s a big opportunity.

  • 🔴 Everyone involved in the disallowed Luis Diaz goal.

  • 🟢 Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace manager: Hodgson is unbeaten in five trips to Old Trafford.

  • 🔴 Bournemouth: Before this weekend, the general consensus was that the three newly-promoted teams (Burnley, Luton Town, Sheffield United) would make quick relegation U-turns. Bournemouth is now firmly in the relegation conversation.

Our take: 🟢 Honorable mention: Ange Postecoglu, Tottenham Hotspur manager. He got a break and he capitalized on it. 🔴 Dishonorable mention: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager: See ❌ of the Day, below.

3) ❌ Tweet of the Day: Say Something Nice or Don’t Say Anything at All

Seriously, Guardiola is too smart and has been at this too long to disrespect an opposing player that way, particularly with a dollop of casual ignorance thrown in. That Hwang Hee-Chan scored the winning goal was pure poetic justice.

4) 🗳️ Poll: Now What Do You Do About VAR?

What should they do with VAR?

Choose one:

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Have additional thoughts? Reply directly to this email to comment, and see if we include your response tomorrow.

5) 🔗 Link Roundup

The newsletter today was written by Phil Keidel. Follow Phil on X @philkeidel.

Thanks for reading!