Newcastle wasted a lot of time, spent a net of $230 million, and was praised for cheating. Why?

The English football media would be outraged if Atletico Madrid ever used such shithouse methods.Newcastle

Diego Simeone’s team was put to shame by Newcastle, who were managed by Eddie Howe, an Englishman, for wasting time and acting injured.

In the second half, a Newcastle player faked being injured 11 times, according to my count. Some commentators have commended them for their savvy. Maintaining possession, keeping players behind the ball, or dribbling the ball into the corner are all examples of cunning play. Being injured in order for the game to end is not clever; it is cheating.

And since diving at least needs a certain level of talent and situational awareness, cheating is worse than diving. During an attack by another team, anyone may take a seat on the ground.

Let’s get one thing straight: when Fabio Carvalho scored in the 98th minute last night, Newcastle received precisely what they deserved. Nick Pope was down for three minutes after 90 seconds even though there were just five additional minutes of overtime.

Congrats, Andre Marriner. After 95 minutes, other referees would have lost it, but at least this one could see what was going on.

Given that the ball had been in play for almost 15 minutes after we equalized in the 61st minute, the first five minutes were actually far from long enough.

Newcastle supporters say they were robbed. There was nothing taken from them. Since Saudi Arabia took control, which is represented by the nation whose flag is on their away kit, they have spent a total of £230 million and have a wealth of excellent players. The fact that Alexander Isak appears to be a superb acquisition doesn’t erase the reality that nearly every Newcastle player pretended to be injured during a game that spectators paid to watch. Why is that okay…?

I couldn’t have said it better than Philippe Auclair.

Particularly at Anfield, outrageous time-wasting is becoming increasingly frequent. And it’s not only to “waste time,” but also to mess with the game’s flow.

Pope ruined the initial energy and crushed the crowd when he went down for two minutes in the second minute of the game. There was a plan. Howe, in spite of his post-match lies, was well aware of what was happening.

Additionally, it’s not just a Liverpool thing. Midweek, Jesse Marsch, the manager of Leeds, discussed Everton’s strategy.

What should football do in response, then? First off, officials should allow athletes to continue playing through cramp. Unless there is a brain injury, they do it in rugby. Of course, there’s always the chance of athletes fabricating head injuries, though that’s probably more difficult.

If this doesn’t work, some sort of trial with a stop-start clock should be conducted. About 60 of the 90 minutes of a typical game are spent with the ball in play. The clock will stop every moment the ball is out of play for the duration of the two 30 minute halves. It’s something that should be tested over the course of a summer, possibly. However, in friendly, nobody would time-waste, so it would be a major adjustment that would have an impact on TV companies because the lengths of the halves would vary.

We prevailed 2-1, but unless anything changes, it will continue to happen each time a game is close this year.