Oldham perspective on things.
Firstly, I've not seen any TV coverage yet. I also had a Wenger moment on any punch being thrown or reaction to that, so won't comment on that incident.
As for Chris Taylor the player: I thought he was magnificent yesterday. Worked his tripe out, ran at defenders, was a creative force spreading the ball wide and probably played his best game in 18 months.
He got booked for telling the referee he was having his shirt pulled at a corner ... I'm sure that was the truth of the matter, equally I don't doubt Oldham players did as much of that stuff as Brentford. No moral high ground to claim there.
The penalty? I was 90 yards away, but it looked certain to me and it seemed to me the referee pointed straight to the spot. I didn't notice any arguments from Brentford players - maybe that's a frame of mind playing the the bottom four, more likely it was a blatant penalty.
As a player Taylor is one of the more skilful at this level. He tends to take a kicking week in week out as a result. I don't think he's ever been booked for diving, and while I would agree that he has a tendancy to go down easily, I've never seen him hit the floor without some sort of contact first.
Some of the earlier posts wishing nasty injury or painful death are out of order in my view. After watching an Oldham team play some of the most gutless and insipid football in living memory last season it's an absolute joy to see Dickov sending a team out that (1) wants to win a game and (2) is prepared to mix it a little in order to achieve it and (3) entertains the paying public along the way.
Oldham probably not quite good enough for the play-offs, but I think they will entertain this season and shouldn't be taken for mugs. If they actually start to win headers defending set pieces they might actually exceed my expectations come May. Average age of the Oldham team is around 22.
A quote from a Brentford supporter on a different thread:
It was nice to see a young manager set up his side in an attacking formation, utilising exciting young talent, passing the ball on the ground and all this with a small budget. Sadly this manager was Paul Dickov
You really cannot imagine how refreshing that is after a season of Dave Penney's negativity in 2009/10. If Chris Taylor got under the opposition's skin, as part of an excellent team performance, I'm afraid I'm all for it.
Good luck for the rest of the season.
EDIT:
Just seen a replay of the penalty on The Football League Show. Looks to me like Taylor has failed to control the ball, your guy has stretched in for the tackle, missed the ball and clattered the side of Taylor's ankle. A penalty as far as I can see. And I think it would have hurt too.