Luton v Forest - Match Thread

Derby 2 Fulham 1, championship summed up in one go. Crazy division.

Perhaps that will play into our hands!

11.1 Offside position

It is not an offence to be in an offside position.

A player is in an offside position if:

- any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and

- any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent

The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered. For the purposes of determining offside, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit.

A player is not in an offside position if level with the:

- second-last opponent or

- last two opponents

11.2 Offside offence

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched* by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:

- interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate: or

- interfering with an opponent by:

- preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or

- challenging an opponent for the ball or

- clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or

- making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball

or

- gaining an advantage by playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when it has:

- rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar, match official or an opponent

- been deliberately saved by any opponent

A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent.

A ‘save’ is when a player stops, or attempts to stop, a ball which is going into or very close to the goal with any part of the body except the hands/arms (unless the goalkeeper within the penalty area).

In situations where:

- a player moving from, or standing in, an offside position is in the way of an opponent and interferes with the movement of the opponent towards the ball this is an offside offence if it impacts on the ability of the opponent to play or challenge for the ball; if the player moves into the way of an opponent and impedes the opponent’s progress (e.g. blocks the opponent), the offence should be penalised under Law 12

- a player in an offside position is moving towards the ball with the intention of playing the ball and is fouled before playing or attempting to play the ball, or challenging an opponent for the ball, the foul is penalised as it has occurred before the offside offence

- an offence is committed against a player in an offside position who is already playing or attempting to play the ball, or challenging an opponent for the ball, the offside offence is penalised as it has occurred before the foul challenge

*The first point of contact of the ‘play’ or ‘touch’ of the ball should be used

Game 40 April

15th 'Good' Friday 2022

Lutontown 1 v 0 Nottm Forest
Naismith (37, pen ) FT

WENT THE DAY WELL...?

No. Well, sort of. In parts. But overall, no. Curate's egg stuff. Some you win, some you lose. A day of mixed fortunes. A bit of a stupid day, really. A Championship day.

It began badly, of course. In a game they should have won under normal circumstances, Forest lost to the thugs of Lutontown. Under normal circumstances, the Lutontown players would not have been so fired up they would have sacrificed family members to the cause, nor would they have been urged on by some prehistoric wood-goblin whose game plan was based on the Orc assault at Helm's Deep. The only normal circumstance to be had in this match was the predictable incompetence of the referee. This normality will no doubt continue for the rest of the campaign, but we must hope that Forest can equalise the odds by playing the kind of football that got them here in the first place. And no, AFC Muffs are not out of reach yet.

As the day went on, however, it became obvious that the fiercely competitive nature of the Championship was beginning to take its toll on expectations, so that gradually Forest's loss became less significant. Both managers pretended to be happy with the 0-0 draw between AFC Muffs and Miserablebugger. Scott "Jawbone" Parker said the only thing he insisted on was that his players enjoyed themselves, which might make sense if they were listening to him, but they, like the Miserablebugger brigade, are finding things hard going.

In a particularly lunatic match, Boremingham went down 2-4 to Coventricity after leading 2-0. Coventricity are now three points off the playoffs, whilst Boremingham are a mess. Manager Lee Bowyer said, "We don't fold, but that's what I see us do." He needs help.

Hullsby Town beat Caerdydd 2-1, but nobody went, whereas Peterburger's 2-1 defeat of Blackbum came as a bit of a welcome shock, both because the worst-team-in-the-Championship-by-far overtook Derby, but also because Blackbum could well be crippling themselves on the miserable rock-splintered track reserved for all Mowbray teams.

Preston Nob End drew with Mewo, leaving Mewo 3 points off the playoffs (ridiculous, isn't it?). Abertawe drew 1-1 with Barnsleh, and Stokes got so bored with themselves they decided to lose 0-1 to the Bristols. Wet Baggies, whom everybody thought was dead, flickered back to life with a 2-1 win over Blackpoo, and the mighty Uddersfeel struggled to a 2-2 draw with perennial bottlers Q P Ladies. All these results boiled down to very little, to be honest. Nobody gained a lot, nobody crashed and burned.

Sheffield Undead might crash and burn if they're not careful. They're still in the top 6, but being beaten at home by the Mince family doesn't inspire confidence.

Not even the Cottage People succeeded on this daftest of days. Fulham, drunk with arrogance and lazy dreams, staggered out of the pub, tripped and brained themselves on a badly fitted drain cover called Derby.

So ended this unfunny muddle of a Championship day. Next up is Wet Bags on Monday, by which time the inconvenient relatives waiting for me in the other room will have gone home and life will return to normal. Please.

Stress & Pie 2022

www.stressandpie.co.uk

No wonder the officials don't understand the offside rule is it?

Actually, I think it's quite well written Bear.

Had Djed touched the ball, or challenged or directly interfered with the player that touched the ball, it would have been offside. However, he didn't in this instance, so the following applies:

"A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent."

It wasn't a 'deliberate save' by the opposing player - so, it was not offside (clearly) and the goal should have stood.

and when I say it wasn't 'offside', I mean it wasn't an 'offside offence'. Djed 'may' have initially been 'offside' but he did not commit an 'offside offence'. The deliberate touch from the defending player played him back onside.