I agree technology should be implemented but there is no substitute for common sense. I don't know what the training for refs at the top level is like but I would hope they get daily training on how to read the game, what to look out for and other common sense issues. I know refs are now professional but other than refereeing a game twice a week and keeping fit (questionable for some) what else do they do? Thats not a criticism but a genuine question. RE Holt the ref got it spot on. Holt has lightening pace and no defender in the world would of got to him Fortunately I have a selective memory so cant remember his challenge.
I love a good tackle almost as much as a goal. For example, bennetts last ditch tackle late on against fulham was as good a tackle as any. I also love seeing players like Drury making sliding tackles on players charging down the wing.
This is my point but do you feel the arm chair fans enjoy it as much as true fans? To make football more marketable I feel tackling has taken a back seat to attacking play
Mick McCarthy was spot on earlier in the season after Millias was sent off against Arsenal for what was a hard but fair tackle! In the modern game players like Beattie, Hunter and Forbes would be sent off every week!
If you look back at the old fans favourites, there was just as many defenders in there as centre forwards, you had the likes of Chopper Harris, Tommy Smith, Norman Hunter, we had Terry Butcher and Kevin Beattie and i'm sure you had yours. Nowadays its all about the glory of scoring a goal, but a good tackle can be as much a match winner as a goal!
It depends what you mean by armchair fan. I think it doesn't help that the goalscorer is considered the hero and when kids are playing matches no one wants to be the 'keeper or a defender, they all want to be up front.
Maybe not so much arm chair fan. But I would say football now has a new group of fans, where as you say believe its all about the glory of scoring a goal.
We have to accept that this bias towards big clubs exists and it is not just penalties - what about the temporary blindness of the linesman at Chelsea v Wigan. If that had been at the other end the flag would have gone up like a rocket. My views on referees performances are extreme to say the least as I cannot get out of my head that the referee is the only person who can be guaranteed to fix a match as has been proven in Italy and Holland and with the amount of money spent on gambling in the far east it does make me wonder. The media does not help in cutting out diving as has been mentioned by others and I am fed up with hearing the likes of Shearer say on MOTD ' if you feel contact you go down ' Who, however, said not so long ago ' if you don't go down you won't get a penalty ' - Howard Webb which brings us back to Referees!! I fully agree with retrospective action on diving as this provides accountability for cheats. Could we not have the same accountabilty for Refs? In the course of the last week the same referee who with an unhindered view from 5 yards did not spot the leg breaker challenge on Song by Balotteli apparently saw, with a hindered view from 15 yards, that the ball had crossed the Spurs line when it clearly hadn't. I hear and accept the arguement that all humans make mistakes and Refs are only human but that, to me, is not the point. Very few players deliberately pick up red or yellow card. They make mistakes and mistime tackles. A goalkeeper in a one on one situation goes for the ball, misses it and fouls the player. He did not mean to do it - he made a mistake but gets a red card and a ban. I am not saying that refs should face the same level of ' one major mistake and you are banned' but surely there can be a higher level of accountablity than exists at present especially for persistent offenders. It happens in other sports - several Cricket Umpires have been suspended or demoted over the years.
I think referees should be accountable for mistakes, however with diving and the lack of technology their job is so hard it may seem a bit unfair. If retrospective action and technology are in future used it makes holding referees accountable a much fairer process
The old chestnut is the inconsistency of decisions made by referees every week. One referee will be guarenteed to make a different judgement call and punishment different from another for the same offence! This is the thing that drives players and fans ballistic every week. There seems to be some referees that always want to be the centre of attention like Mr Atkinson and Mr Clattenburg for example. The excellent referees are anonymous throughout the game. With regards to diving I'm afraid that the genie is already out of the bottle. Since the advent of the premier league and the win at all costs attitude that has prevailed, we have seen more and more players resort to what can only be described as blatant cheating and unsportsmanship. Take John Terry yesterday for example! He knew damn well that the ball hadn't crossed the line but he was the first to celebrate the "goal". This cancer has spread down to the grassroots with over eager parents egging their offspring to cheat and dive or take out an opponent on a sunday morning. I have sent more parents off the field than I have the kids ffs!
all i'll say is that i believe that referees have not got worse over the years, its just that the media coverage has become more clinical. there have been some terrible decisions over the years but they are still being made today. the difference today is that they should get more help to deal with tough calls. the media highlight every mistake over and over again, often only deciding themselves if its the right call having seen it from three angles. GIVE THEM SOME BLOODY HELP! it can be done now so lets do it. it doesn't need to be over-complicated. either use the technology or stop showing every decision countless times. either way would give the impression that things are better!
The behaviour in some sunday league football from parents is shocking! Its so sad to see it it at grassroots level
