I think they did......and they didn't.

They did because of the de-facto rule that when ya play the ball out because of an injury ya expect to get it back......however.....the Boro player down didn't look that injured and Ince played the ball out after he realised he had no other options.

Still..it was funny as hell watching all the Boro players standing still while Derby raced away :-)

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Answers

I agree You could say Boro cheated first as Ince knew his teammate wasn't injured....Did you see him grinning ? But then Derby broke the unwritten rule so both cheated and it doesn't take away the fact the

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Were WE talking about cheats then ?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

I agree You could say Boro cheated first as Ince knew his teammate wasn't injured....Did you see him grinning ? But then Derby broke the unwritten rule so both cheated and it didn't alter the fact that Boro threw away a 3 goal lead :-))

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

It's a hard one to call so I'll stay perched on my Close Boarded Timber perch at the minute.

I did like the Bald Eagle's interpretation that they didn't score directly from it. Boro had to defend a corner and didn't.....GGGGOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

You can tell I don't know what I'm doing can't you ;-))

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

A bit of a fumbler eh Kats?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Kats be careful , i think Gav was looking at that NUFC on your T- shirt too closely last night : - )

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Not usually ;-)))

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Did Derby say anything after the match about the cheating?

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Boro were cheated out of the throw in, but I'm not sure I really care. Seeing the Smogmeisters writhe in purple faced anger was worth the licence fee alone :-)

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Jay

Smith reckoned Boro were playing at time wasting when Ince hoofed the ball out and that their goal did not arise directly from the throw in, but from a corner...which was given away by a surprised defender when faced with an attacking County player directly from the throw- in.

Laugh? Oh yes, lots :-))

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Ahhhhh poor Smogs!

I was talking to a Mackem (hey I was drunk) on Friday night and we both laughed when they said on MOTD that Smogs v Leeds was a Yorkshire derby. The Smog supporter who was with him was not a happy camper!.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Jim Smith can rationalise it any way he wants, but if the shoe was on the other foot he'd be blathering his eyes out.
IMO, it was definitely breaking an unwritten law that has been a welcome sportsmanlike addition to the game in recent years, and to be regretted. It will only take a few incidents like the Derby one to put an end to a positive feature of the game which would be most unfortunate.
This incident, however regrettable, doesn't explain Boro losing a three goal lead, despite Robbo's ludicrous claim that it cost his side two points.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

The acid test is how you would react if it happened to Newcastle. I would not have been happy especially cos it altered the result.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Same principle as Charvets dive as far as I'm concerned....it's cheating I don't like it and something should be done about it....no-one however can say that they'd not be happy if it went the way of their team or alternately would be pissed off if it went against them....

I can't help but chuckle that it happened to boro though....could only be better if it was against the mackems....

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

I do not think it was cheating. Derby are under an obligation to their fan base to gather as many points as they can this season, as are all teams in the Premiership. They certainly aren't the only team to behave in an unsportsmanlike fashion. Besides, it's such a minor quibble; like playing down the clock, like crowding the ref calling for red not yellow.

The more money involved in the game, the higher the stakes - nicities such as giving the ball back won't encourage your fans to show up and fill Pride Park when yer bottom of the league. Fair play to them, I therefore muse.

If there ever is a ruling which makes giving the ball back mandatory, then I think something should be done about the other type of cheating - I refer to those teams who run down the pitch and score while their opposition celebrate a goal that was not awarded. That pisses me off!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Perhaps Derby have actually made a stand against cheats with this action! If the "unwritten law" is to give the ball back when it is put out of play for an injury then it does rather give carte blanche to cheats like the Smoggies who were using the pretend injury followed by hoof into touch as a deliberate time wasting tactic.

I am writing here on the basic premise that everything Paul Ince does is wrong and Phil Stamp is so ugly he deserved it anyway!

If the score had remained at 3-2 would anyone have made a fuss? Are Derby being castigated as cheats simply because the Smoggies defence is so incompetent?

One of my best mates is a Derby fan and he is honest as the day is long, whereas I know hundreds of Smoggies who would cheat their own grannies!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

Jacko that's two posts in a row from you that's had me laughing out loud and getting funny looks from others in the office. You're on fire bonny lass !!

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000

IF they had scored from a move directly from the throw then yes, it could be argued that they broke the unwritten rule (cheated) but fact is, the throw in was taken, the ball was played into the box from the right and even if they were annoyed that they hadn't been given the ball back, the Smoggies were of mind enough to clear the ball and give away a corner. They were then given the opportunity to defend that corner, which they failed miserably to do.....

Sour grapes on the Smoggies part, not cheating.....manager whinges louder than a stuck pig.....I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's in training to replace Taggart.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2000