Correct me if I'm wrong, but since TP took over, I cannot remember one of our players taking off their shirt after scoring a goal. If TP has warned players not to do this, it is another stroke of genius that shows that all the little details matter. Last time I looked , we were in the top half of the fairplay league and i'm sure TP realised that although we have a large squad the depth of premiere league talent is quite shallow and losing players through poor discipline would be very frustrating.Once again the belief that a TP team has to knock lumps out of the opposition is diproved.

has resisted writing a single post on the Ross McCormack thread !!!

It's a stupid thing anyway. Hardly spontaneous. As a manager, I'd fine every player who did this because it accumulates towards a suspension and puts you one (forward's) tackle away from a sending off.

Here's the most stupid example of it though: [Link]

We don't do possession; we do defense and attack. Everything else is just wa**ing with a football.

My only slight disciplinary gripe this season relates to a player who I absolutely love and have no other gripes with really, Chamakh.

I love his passion and have joked it a bit saying "get stuck in Chammers" but he's reacted to tackles he's not liked with hands in opponent's faces a few times and he's lucky not to have been sent off. If I was TP i'd try to keep him for doing that. As I say, I think it's an extension of just how passionate he is becoming about his game, but he won't get away with it forever.

Edited by Part Time James (12 May 2014 4.42pm)

Wasn't it the Norwich home game on New Years day when he tapped an opposition defender in the face? At the time I thought, oh no, he's off. As it was the ref. saw fit to just give a yellow, but he was a lucky man that day.

I can't remember, have we had any suspensions this season through accumulated yellow cards? Delaney, Jedi and Cham have been top of the league for yellows.

It is interesting to note that Ward ended with only 3 yellows ( he had none until March) which is I am sure a testament to his skill, timing and composure.

Yeah, it was the Norwich game. He put his head against one of the Fulham players after already having been booked on Sunday as well and I have a feeling there were other little snaps.

Regarding the stats....I don't think we had any suspensions as a result of accumulated cards.

Although getting a card for taking off your shirt is annoying, it shows the way the officiating of matches has gone. What's so bad about removing your shirt after scoring? Far more aggressive stuff is allowed to go. As for the clip of the player being booked (and subsequently being sent off) for removing his shirt shows how silly that ref is. That is more of a threat to the future of the discipline of the game as such actions can only reduce the esteem in which the refs are held. TP is clever enough to realise this.