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QPR aggrieved by Norwich’s lesson in dark arts — full match report
at 02:00:17

As a Norwich fan, could I politely offer some thoughts about the game? Firstly, can I just say that your article is an excellent read, well written and entertaining. And whilst I appreciate it is often a pain in the arse to read words from an opposing fan on your site, I genuinely just want to put the other side.

Getting to the main point. You have it spot on about the refereeing shambles. A referee should give what he sees. Also the lino did not flag at all. I also totally agree that Barton's reputation preceded him and it smacked a lot of "well he must have done something". At the time, from the lower tier of the away end, I could see a bit of handbags, with Barton pushing his shoulder into Johnson, then coming towards him again, Johnson turning around holding his face etc. Then when I got home I watched it on MOTD.

There are a number of things that don't sit easy with me. I think there were provocations from both sides. Firstly Lappin's tackle on Barton deserved a yellow, and was possibly excused (wrongly) at the time because it was early in the game. That stokes the fire a bit. Next, Barton doesn't help himself by taunting the City fans after he scores. I might sound a bit precious here, but trust me I also despise it if any of our players do it when we score. It just adds a bit more needle. Next there was a coming together between Whitbread and Barton in the centre of the park. It appeared on tv to be six of one etc, but then it looks like Johnson had a go at Barton because of it. This then resulted in the shoulder charge and Eskimo rather than Glasgow kiss.

That's my hopefully unbiased view of the incident. Now, I must admit that Johnson's actions were pathetic (as was his attempted humour at the darts) but Barton doesn't help himself. Unfortunately there are too many players who take a dive to get players sent off, including Barton himself. I don't like it one bit. In fact Marc Tierney did a disgusting swan dive at Bolton (our only other away win) and got Klasnic sent off. It is conning the refs. However, Owen Coyle said after that one that Klasnic was stupid putting his head near his face. He also said it is an aggressive gesture that is a red card offence. Incidentally the linesman at that game who saw the vicious skull-smashing event was the SAME one as at Loftus Road.

Anyway, one last word on the incident, is that the fourth official may have seen it. It is well within his remit to bring an incident to the ref's attention if he sees an offence that the ref hasn't. So, as it was near the half way line, on his side of the pitch, he may have thought he saw Barton's head move towards Johnson and assume contact had been made. That would at least explain why the ref or linesman didn't stop play. I know it's still a crap decision, but at least it will have been made out of incompetent perception rather than guesswork.

Apart from that I thought it was an entertaining game. As you say, things aren't really going for Rangers at the moment, but I genuinely hope all three promoted teams stay up. From an outsider's view, I think a lot depends on who Warnock buys. It sometimes seems as if money to spend brings added pressure. Warnock has always appeared to me to do best when he has his hands tied somewhat. In his days at Huddersfield, Sheff Utd, Oldham etc he always managed to motivate average players and mould them together and adopt a siege mentality. Now he has money to spend it seems like he just wants to go shopping, buy what he can and hope that it works out. This contrasts a bit to Lambert who has had to be more prudent, identify the players that will fit into his system, are hungry and ambitious, and then attempt to get those specific men in.

Best wishes for the rest of the season.

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