Five players toppled off the Suspension Tightrope this Gameweek, as James Milner, Jeffrey Schlupp, Erik Pieters, Fernandinho and Jack Colback totted up their fifth cautions of the campaign and incurred a one-match ban.
Fortunately for the former quartet, they will serve out their suspensions in Capital One Cup clashes in midweek. Colback, on the other hand, misses Newcastle’s home tie against Stoke next Gameweek as the Magpies were knocked out in the previous round of the competition by Sheffield Wednesday. The midfielder was already a doubt for the Potters clash anyway, after he was forced off early in the second period due to a challenge from Lee Cattermole – early reports indicate he left the stadium on crutches.
In terms of other new suspensions, Fabricio Coloccini received a straight red for a foul on Steven Fletcher that led to the Black Cats’ penalty opener. Like Colback, he’ll be unavailable for selection when the Magpies welcome Stoke to St James’ Park, though reports this evening suggest that the Tyneside team are set to appeal the decision.
Post match, Magpies manager Steve McClaren clearly felt that whistler Bobby Madley made a match-changing error:
“It’s simple: he’s wrong in my opinion. Referees are part and parcel of the game and you control your performance – you can’t control the opponent or the referee and they can affect the result, and they have done today, not so much the opponent, but definitely the referee.”
McClaren’s opposite number, Sam Allardyce, also reckoned the dismissal was a little harsh on the Argentine:
“We’ve taken full of advantage of a piece of good fortune. I did think it’s a foul, personally. I’ve had a look at it. If he hadn’t made contact with him, I think Steven Fletcher would have scored. It was on his left foot, on his best side. It [the red card] is a bit harsh, but those are the rules and we’ve taken full advantage of that today. We had a harsh decision go against us last week, this week it went for us. I thought it was a penalty. The fortunate thing is the sending off”.
Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Everton veteran Gareth Barry were both given their marching orders for two bookable offences but also fulfil their obligations in midweek cup matches. Toffees boss Roberto Martinez is unconcerned over Barry’s midweek absence for a home clash with Norwich, claiming “he was going to be rested anyway”.
Sadio Mane was sent off in a farcical turn of events at Anfield, entering the referee’s notebook twice in stoppage time after bagging an equaliser in the 85th minute. Much to the relief of his 9% ownership, the Senegal international serves his time when Saints play host to Aston Villa in the League Cup, returning for a tasty home fixture against the Cherries.
Elsewhere on the Tightrope, Jonjo Shelvey edged one step closer to a brief spell on the sidelines, earning his fourth yellow of the season. Ciaran Clark, Eliaquim Mangala, Matteo Darmian, Oriol Romeu, Billy Jones, Dele Alli, Mark Noble, Erik Lamela and Claudio Yacob make up the numbers in a ten-strong band of miscreants.
Dwight Gayle completed his one-match ban and returns to Crystal Palace’s squad for their home encounter against Manchester United next Gameweek. With Connor Wickham still uncertain to recover in time from a calf complaint, the 5.1-priced marksman is likely to lead the line ahead of Fraizer Campbell and Patrick Bamford.
As always, mainly thanks to our resident Tightrope expert Anorak, who has been keeping us up-to-date via his twitter stream.
