Torquay.v. Barnet

[tomogull]

I dont think the ref was anywhere near as bad as he is getting "credit" for as he got most of the decisions correct that mattered.

I think you're being very generous to the referee. He completely lost control of the game and I'm gobsmacked that you can say he got most of the decisions right. Yes - he got the decisions right about who should kick off in each half but apart from that, his bizarre decisions caused frustration amongst both sets of players which resulted in the match becoming bad tempered and degenerating into a kicking match. I try to be fair to referees but when you see refs as inept as this one (and it's not the first time he's been poor at Plainmoor), he really shouldn't be reffing at this level.

[arcadia]

I was looking forward to this match but it was ruined by a 'referee' who must rank amongst one of the worst ever to officiate at Plainmoor. Remember the name - BRETT HUXTABLE. Brucie is absolutely right - he's a total plank. He totally lost control. I wouldn't trust him to ref a South Devon league match. He ref'd a game earlier in the season, Nuneaton I think, and he was just as poor in that game.

Don't wholly agree with Arcadia about Downes. Yes - they were more physical but Akinde was fouling Downes right from the start and getting away with it. I didn't see what happened with the Downes incident - did anyone on here see clearly what happened? If Downes did elbow Akinde, then he got what he deserved. He's a seasoned professional and should have learned by now not to get involved in skirmishes. His disciplinary record is not good.

Huxtable was inconsistent to both teams. Rice's yellow card could well have been a red. It was the linesman's decision that got N'Gaia (spelling?) sent off. I can't comment on Downes because I didn't see it but it was the other linesman who made that decision. Huxtable continued in the second half to make bizarre decisions (against both sides) and then failed to spot an elbow in Pearce's face by Akinde which was clearly seen by everyone on the Pop side. Pearce was not feigning injury because he had a huge bruise above his eye. Credit to Martin Allen for immediately taking Akinde off. Then just to prove how useless he is, Huxtable showed a yellow card to Angus McDonald when it should have been definitely a red when he took out a Barnet player with a horrendous challenge as tempers began to get heated thanks to Mr Huxtable's inconsistencies.

Barnet are nowhere near as good a footballing side as Gateshead or Grimsby but they are well organised and rugged - a typical Martin Allen team. Akinde is the sort of player you hate ..... but we'd love him if he played for us ! If they continue to play like that, they will go up. By the way, that's how to shut up shop when you're winning. Allen obviously decided 2 - 0 was good enough and they hardly got out of their own half in the second half. Not because we were pegging them back, but because they defended with 10 men and we didn't have a hope in hell of breaking them down.

Arcadia is right to mention young Levi Ives. 17 years old and probably the coolest head on the pitch. Arcadia also mentions Briscoe's substitution. Your main striker is on the ground, injured, so you take off your other striker ???? A very strange decision. When we were trying to break them down in the second half, it would have helped to have Briscoe out there.

You could be right about Downes as the referee did not take control of the game. I do feel that Downes struggles against players who dig into him.

[A Realist]

I think you're being very generous to the referee. He completely lost control of the game and I'm gobsmacked that you can say he got most of the decisions right. Yes - he got the decisions right about who should kick off in each half but apart from that, his bizarre decisions caused frustration amongst both sets of players which resulted in the match becoming bad tempered and degenerating into a kicking match. I try to be fair to referees but when you see refs as inept as this one (and it's not the first time he's been poor at Plainmoor), he really shouldn't be reffing at this level.

He got the decision correct about giving Rice a yellow. He got the call right to send off their defender, which he used his linesman to confirm and he also used his other linesman to give the penalty and send off Downes. So even if that proves to be wrong, it was not really him. Using his assistants is what he should be doing. I do think he let them waste time a bit too much and I'm not sure about the McDonald one. I've seen far worse refs give far worse decisions in this league this season than he did.

[brucie]

Had Huxtable sent Rice off he would probably have done us a favour as we wouldn't have to put up with him for three games.
I know Huxtable personally - He is a total prick. Still referees the odd local game now and again. Nothing personal but really if he is reffing games of this standard then the Conference is a total farce.
Yes it was the Nuneaton game (remember the slow theatrical way he sent off the Nuneaton player).
Anyone remember the watering of the goalmouth incident - that was him as well running across the pitch like a fat budgie.
His first game on the line at Plainmoor
Really he is an embarassment.
Great decision by me not to go again - what a waste of £70 that would have been.
As someone else said Downes will be on his way out definately at the end of the season. Hargreaves was already moaning about "tired bodies" on Tuesday and having "noone to pick from"
Hargreaves picked the same team yet again today and seems unable to "rotate" the team at all.
How can Briscoe who onlys seems to be able to last 50 minutes be picked continously - he should be left out for startes on Tuesday.
All maybe not lost as Macdonald and Pearce maybe are our best centre back pairing.
Cameron has had rest and and possibly Cruise should return as well.
The manager just has to freshen it up a bit. With all the games and travelling he just cannot persist with the same eleven game in game out.

[arcadia]

He got the decision correct about giving Rice a yellow. He got the call right to send off their defender, which he used his linesman to confirm and he also used his other linesman to give the penalty and send off Downes. So even if that proves to be wrong, it was not really him. Using his assistants is what he should be doing. I do think he let them waste time a bit too much and I'm not sure about the McDonald one. I've seen far worse refs give far worse decisions in this league this season than he did.

You are right about his decisions but he missed so much and got caught in the headlights as he made himself look an idiot by letting play carry on when he could have booked players. Barnet took full advantage and got away with murder where our nieve players all got caught by the ref.

[goodluckgull]

The trouble was that Huxtable wasn't consistent. He stopped the game when a Barnet player got a "head" injury but let play go on when Kyrstian was elbowed in the face. Kyrstian had a huge lump come up near his eye and could hardly see out of his eye for the last quarter of the game. Duane was pulled all over the place by the Barnet defence and got nothing. When the whole of Plainmoor is singing "you're not fit to referee" , I think it's fair to say the Ref got a lot wrong.

[PlainmoorRoar]

Had Huxtable sent Rice off he would probably have done us a favour as we wouldn't have to put up with him for three games.
I know Huxtable personally - He is a total prick. Still referees the odd local game now and again. Nothing personal but really if he is reffing games of this standard then the Conference is a total farce.
Yes it was the Nuneaton game (remember the slow theatrical way he sent off the Nuneaton player).
Anyone remember the watering of the goalmouth incident - that was him as well running across the pitch like a fat budgie.
His first game on the line at Plainmoor
Really he is an embarassment.
Great decision by me not to go again - what a waste of £70 that would have been.
As someone else said Downes will be on his way out definately at the end of the season. Hargreaves was already moaning about "tired bodies" on Tuesday and having "noone to pick from"
Hargreaves picked the same team yet again today and seems unable to "rotate" the team at all.
How can Briscoe who onlys seems to be able to last 50 minutes be picked continously - he should be left out for startes on Tuesday.
All maybe not lost as Macdonald and Pearce maybe are our best centre back pairing.
Cameron has had rest and and possibly Cruise should return as well.
The manager just has to freshen it up a bit. With all the games and travelling he just cannot persist with the same eleven game in game out.

idiot.

[tomogull]

He got the decision correct about giving Rice a yellow. He got the call right to send off their defender, which he used his linesman to confirm and he also used his other linesman to give the penalty and send off Downes. So even if that proves to be wrong, it was not really him. Using his assistants is what he should be doing. I do think he let them waste time a bit too much and I'm not sure about the McDonald one. I've seen far worse refs give far worse decisions in this league this season than he did.

Yes - he got the two sending offs right and did well to consult his linesmen. The decision on Rice is debatable but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt. The elbow in Pearce's face was obvious and seen by everyone on the Pop side and MacDonald's assault on the Barnet player happened right in front of me and was a dead cert red card as everyone else stood around me agreed. The trouble was not so much the big decisions, but the run of the mill decisions that he got wrong for both sides. For example, Akinde was fouling Downes right from the start and getting away with it (maybe it was 'afters' from the game at Barnet, I don't know). That is what frustrates players and that is why this afternoon's game boiled over into an ugly spectacle. Huxtable lost control - end of story. The fact that he's been refereeing at this level for at least three seasons and has not progressed to be a league referee speaks for itself.

[tomogull]

Had Huxtable sent Rice off he would probably have done us a favour as we wouldn't have to put up with him for three games.
I know Huxtable personally - He is a total prick. Still referees the odd local game now and again. Nothing personal but really if he is reffing games of this standard then the Conference is a total farce.
Yes it was the Nuneaton game (remember the slow theatrical way he sent off the Nuneaton player).

Great decision by me not to go again - what a waste of £70 that would have been.

How can Briscoe who onlys seems to be able to last 50 minutes be picked continously - he should be left out for startes on Tuesday.

All maybe not lost as Macdonald and Pearce maybe are our best centre back pairing.

Cameron has had rest and and possibly Cruise should return as well.

a. No criticism of Martin Rice today. Apart from his rather rash dash out to bring down Akinde, he did okay.
b. Probably a good decision not to go, but only because the game was totally ruined by an inept referee.
c. Briscoe only went off today so that MacDonald could come on when Downes was sent off. Personally, I thought it was a wrong decision by Hargreaves and thought that Chappell should have been taken off - not because Chappell was playing poorly.
d. Nope - I think MacDonald and Downes are the best pairing but Downes has to cut out the silly stuff.
e. Why bring back Cruise when Levi Ives was one of our best players today?

[arcadia]

Had Huxtable sent Rice off he would probably have done us a favour as we wouldn't have to put up with him for three games.
I know Huxtable personally - He is a total prick. Still referees the odd local game now and again. Nothing personal but really if he is reffing games of this standard then the Conference is a total farce.
Yes it was the Nuneaton game (remember the slow theatrical way he sent off the Nuneaton player).
Anyone remember the watering of the goalmouth incident - that was him as well running across the pitch like a fat budgie.
His first game on the line at Plainmoor
Really he is an embarassment.
Great decision by me not to go again - what a waste of £70 that would have been.
As someone else said Downes will be on his way out definately at the end of the season. Hargreaves was already moaning about "tired bodies" on Tuesday and having "noone to pick from"
Hargreaves picked the same team yet again today and seems unable to "rotate" the team at all.
How can Briscoe who onlys seems to be able to last 50 minutes be picked continously - he should be left out for startes on Tuesday.
All maybe not lost as Macdonald and Pearce maybe are our best centre back pairing.
Cameron has had rest and and possibly Cruise should return as well.
The manager just has to freshen it up a bit. With all the games and travelling he just cannot persist with the same eleven game in game out.

How can you call Huxtable a prick, a prick is useful he isn't. Your making statements about Cameron and Ives and you were not at the game. Ives was outstanding and should have been playing a month ago, Cameron needs a bullet up his ass so Hargreaves has got his work cut out with him. Briscoe is our best striker do you ever watch Torquay.

[brucie]

Plainmoor Turd - You are actually a prize bell end. If I choose not to waste money watching Torquay I bloody well will do so. Its up to me.
Goodluckgull - you have hit the nail right on the head. That is Huxtable to a tee, Same as the Nuneaton game his possee of gonads drove down to watch him ref and sure as eggs are eggs he will play up to them.
How unprofessional is that to have the referee shaking hands with the spectators before the match - it is nothing short of pathetic.

[torq2u]

The ref consulting linesmen is one thing. But at one point, when Vilhete was booked for a clear foul in front of the Popside, the linesman was mouthing "fair challenge" to one of our players.

That lino was disgracefully poor, missing a host of offsides and fouls, especially Akinde's elbow activity.

[gullsdiv2]

With it being Downes' second sending off this season for violent conduct does he get an extra game ban or is it just the standard 3 matches?

[Dave]

It's more than likely going to be a 4 game ban.

[A Realist]

Given how annoyed CH was yesterday about it, I would think it will be a 4 game ban and a ticket back to Australia that Downes is getting.