Monday 11th May 2026
Foul or no foul?
I refer, of course, to the decision made to disallow West Ham’s stoppage time equaliser against PL leaders Arsenal yesterday. If you look at the contact of Pablo’s arm with Raya in isolation, yes it was a foul but that is not the whole story. Pablo’s arm did impede Raya’s attempt to get to the ball but Pablo was being manhandled by Trossard beforehand which caused his arm to go up in the first place. Pablo was looking at the ball, trying to get a header. Trossard had his back to the ball and was solely concerned with holding Pablo. All this before Raya was impeded. Why was Trossard not penalised since it was the first offence? VAR often winds back footage to check for possible infringements in build up play so why did they not look at Trossard? Perhaps they think it is all 6 of one and half dozen of the other since there is so much holding and pushing from both sides in the area these days. Either way, West Ham can rightly feel aggrieved by the decision yesterday, as can Manchester City of course. West Ham may well still get relegated even if they had salvaged a point yesterday but the 2 points that would have been dropped by Arsenal would have left City with the chance once again to get level on points with the same number of matches played. As it is, Arsenal are likely to win their final 2 matches and claim the title. They won’t care and nor will their fans.
Something has to be done to try to stop players holding each other and the impeding of goalkeepers at set pieces. Pundits call it “clever” but let’s call it for what it is really, it’s cheating. A clever way of cheating but it is cheating nonetheless. Arsenal have perfected it, pushing it to the limit without getting penalised. Having seen their success with the approach all teams seem to try it now with varying degrees of success. It is not a good watch. I do wonder whether, like the NFL, there should be additional officials who look specifically for infringements of this nature at set pieces so that the Trossard’s of this world may stop getting away with it. Hopefully the lawmakers will think of something before the title becomes a case of who gets away with the most cheating!
On a more positive note, it still looks very possible that 6th place will earn CL football next season and if so, one of AFC Bournemouth or Brighton & Hove Albion will experience CL football for the first time. Brentford are also in the running but their defeat at Manchester City probably leaves them too much to do but whoever does finish 6th, it surely has to be good for the PL and English football that 3 of the so-called less fashionable clubs are vying for that position ahead of more established PL clubs. Genuine competition is vital to keep the PL fresh and with the extra revenue from playing in the CL and the attraction that has to bigger name players, they may be able to sustain their position and challenge the top clubs on a regular basis.
| Arsenal | Manchester City |
|---|---|
| Crystal Palace (H) | |
| Burnley (H) | AFC Bournemouth (A) |
| Crystal Palace (A) | Aston Villa (H) |
| West Ham United | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|
| Leeds United (H) | |
| Newcastle (A) | Chelsea (A) |
| Leeds United (H) | Everton (H) |
Premier League Prediction Competition 2024-25 – Session 8, Week 3 (of 5)
Still one match to come this evening as Tottenham look to all but confirm PL football next season and relegate West Ham in the process as they host, the now safe, Leeds United.
John S currently leads both the POTW and overall but only by a single point from Stefan and myself in the POTW and 5 points from Stefan overall with John F one point further back with 2 weeks remaining.
Don’t forget those predictions!
Prizes are very modest currently due to modest entry. If anyone has friends, family, work colleagues etc… who may be interested in taking part, please pass on an invitation to them. More competitors means bigger prizes.
PLEASE INVITE ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART.
CONTACT ME AT… contact.sytykf@gmail.com
Season: 2025-26 - Session: 8
| Pos | Person | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | John Spencer | 106 |
| 2nd | Stefan Perry | 101 |
| 3rd | John Faulkner | 100 |
| 4th | Steve Leach | 91 |
| 5th | Tony Kenley | 88 |
| 6th | Martin Wilson | 86 |
| 7th | Peter Gillespy | 83 |
| 8th | Helen Bold | 79 |
| 9th | Nick King | 77 |
| 10th | Guy Hitch | 68 |
| 11th | Vince Hemsley | 12 |
Season: 2025-26 - Match Week 35 - Results
Friday 1st May
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Leeds United | 3 - 1 | Burnley |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Brentford | 3 - 0 | West Ham United |
| Newcastle United | 3 - 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 - 1 | Sunderland |
| Arsenal | 3 - 0 | Fulham |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| AFC Bournemouth | 3 - 0 | Crystal Palace |
| Manchester United | 3 - 2 | Liverpool |
| Aston Villa | 1 - 2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 1 - 3 | Nottingham Forest |
| Everton | 3 - 3 | Manchester City |
Season: 2025-26 - Match Week 36 - Next Fixtures
Saturday 9th May
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 1 - 1 | Chelsea |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 - 0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Fulham | 0 - 1 | AFC Bournemouth |
| Sunderland | 0 - 0 | Manchester United |
| Manchester City | 3 - 0 | Brentford |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 2 - 2 | Aston Villa |
| Crystal Palace | 2 - 2 | Everton |
| Nottingham Forest | 1 - 1 | Newcastle United |
| West Ham United | 0 - 1 | Arsenal |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1 - 1 | Leeds United |
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