Part 7 of my sporting diary, as the TMO causes controversy, Harry Kane annoys me again, and English teams thrive in Europe.
A lot has been made of VAR and the teething problems the system is experiencing in football. Apparently football needs video technology in the game, though, as it is a multi-billion pound industry, and it works so well in cricket and rugby.
Ah. It's not often that I'll say this, but I felt a bit sorry for the Welsh last Saturday. To my untrained eye I thought they had scored a try against England in the Six Nations. Sadly for Wales, the TMO didn't agree with me. They probably shouldn't have let Anne Robinson step into the TMO hot seat this week.
We'll never know how the match would have developed had the try been given. But it's odd that a system brought in for incidents such as this has, in the opinion of many, led to a wrong decision being made. When we start booing the VAR, third umpire, or TMO, then you have to wonder if it is worth it.
Sadly I wasn't surprised that Arsenal lost the North London derby. Luckily a combination of Petr Cech and some bad finishing kept us in the match, up until the final whistle. Unfortunately, both our big chances fell to Alexandre Lacazette, a man who looks so low on confidence at the moment.
Lacazette won't have the chance to right these wrongs, as he's been ruled out of action for six weeks. It's a shame, as he could have been a key player for us in the Europa League. Realistically this appears to be the only route into the Champions League for Arsene Wenger now. However, there are some decent teams left in that tournament. My optimism regarding us winning that trophy is probably comparable to Lacazette's state of mind. You never know, though.
On Monday, my son and I attended the semi-final of the Hertfordshire Senior Cup between Boreham Wood and Kings Langley. The Wood won 2-0, but an injury to key player Tom Champion was worrying. Hopefully he'll be ok for Saturday, as we make our way to Meadow Park for the match against Gateshead.
Morgan Ferrier has notched two in as many games since his return to the club. Exciting times ahead as the season draws towards squeaky bum time. I just hope that the players hold their nerve better than me, as I'm always a mess come the end of a pressurised season.
In supposedly bigger competitions, the English clubs did very well in Europe this week. Manchester City continue to march towards a quadruple, which is a major surprise seeing as they have a top coach and a bottomless pit of money; Liverpool's attacking trio of Mane, Salah, and Firmino continue to terrorise defences; and congratulations to Tottenham, who according to some of the press have just won their first Champions League after drawing 2-2 in Turin.
The lack of Champions League football on Sky must be a right choker. On Thursday morning, presenters on Sky Sports News talked about Liverpool's fine win in Porto, whilst showing still photos of the action. Very BBC News covering major boxing bouts in the 1990s. They then went on to discuss the success of Liverpool's orange kit, before hastily showing actual football clips from their match against Southampton. I'm sure I could hear the screams of Sky Sports bosses as the feature went out.
Previous entries:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
