Ian Holloway- a refreshing perspective on diving

From the Indy

I feel the same way about Ashley Young, Didier Drogba and anyone else who likes to collapse to the ground like a scene from Platoon as I do about Dwayne Chambers. He shouldn't compete at the Olympics because to be an Olympian you should be as quick and as good as you can without additional help. It is the same in football. You shouldn't have to cheat to get an advantage.

I feel very strongly about this and if I see any one of my players play-acting or rolling on the floor I tell them to stop being so stupid and to get up. I once had a player who completely dived in a game to get an opposition player sent off. It caused a big dust-up on the pitch and we went on to win against 10 men. But I was fuming afterwards because I hated what I'd seen. I dragged this lad into my office, fined him, and told him if he did it again I'd sell him. He was good as gold after that.

And that, for me, is the key: the emphasis is on managers more than the players to stop this happening.

But we can only do so much. You couldn't ask John Terry to run up to the referee in the FA Cup semi-final the other week and say "Ref, to be honest that ball didn't cross the line, it wasn't a goal." That won't happen and it shouldn't have to – that is why we have a referee.

But managers can influence how their players behave on the field and that is why I'm not surprised Sir Alex Ferguson has had a word with Young. You won't find a manager within the game who encourages their players to dive. I had David Moyes come into my office a few years ago to apologise for something one of his Everton lads had done during a pre-season game. Managers are like that. They are embarrassed if their players cheat.

This isn't the first time Fergie has had to act. He did the same with Cristiano Ronaldo because the bloke was spending more time on his backside than his feet. Fergie doesn't want Young to get the same reputation, so he has told him to stop being so theatrical, and from my point of view, thank God for that. I don't want to see this year's Premier League title go to someone who has fooled a referee.

Let's not gang up on Young though. There are still too many players who make a meal of things, with Drogba at the top of the list. How can you be a big great unit like he is and collapse to the ground every five minutes? It is nonsensical and it is no wonder crowds boo him everywhere he goes.

The problem we've got is that no matter what condemnation there is in the press, or from managers, it will continue, particularly among the foreign players who come from a culture where rolling around 14 times after being fouled is the norm.

Unfortunately, it all comes back to that great big bugbear of mine: we need technology to help the ref. Use technology and no player would be able to con the ref because he'd be told if something was a foul or not. If it's a foul, penalty or free kick. If not, a booking for the lad who dived.

It is simple. Yet we still persist with this archaic system where a fourth official stands around doing absolutely nowt apart from flashing a silly board around every so often.

If he was actually looking at a camera and making decisions to help the referee on the pitch then diving would disappear from the game, along with every wrong decision made, and we wouldn't have to sit here having this discussion.

 

It was all good until "The problem we've got is that no matter what condemnation there is in the press, or from managers, it will continue, particularly among the foreign players who come from a culture where rolling around 14 times after being fouled is the norm."

British players have been much worse then foreigners this season for diving and play-acting.

 

Holloway for england!

 

Agree with this but they've learnt these trucks from their foreign team mates usually.

 

Bollocks. I've watched kids games and pub football where I've seen dives, and there aren't a lot of Brazilians in those games. Maybe they've seen Klinsmann 20 years ago, but its been an English problem since at least then.