Over the past week, more than ever, has seen controversial i sues, refereeing decisions, and pre s conferences that have made football fans query the sanity of the game. From sending offs to goals, fouls to ignorant managers, the last few days have thrown together such a wide variety of talking points, its no wonder that football forums such as these are continually growing in numbers. A few incidents particularly over the recent weeks have intrigued me, and I want to explore a few of them.The first thing that struck me, was Neil Warnocks post match pre s conference after the Arsenal game. Anyone who has any interest in football this year, has not only been impre sed, but revelled in watching Van Persie during 2011, as hes displayed all the qualities that lead many to suggest he is the most in form striker in the Welington Castillo Jersey world. As many goals as games, and a real rose amongst a plethora of thorns in the Arsenal side, Van Persie has matured into a world cla s striker, carrying the Gunners back into the top four in the Premier League. One of the most notable qualities Van Persie displays on a regular basis, is his exquisite touch. Any ball, played at any pace, is brought down with such precision, giving him that split second extra to move past a defender before he has realised what has happened. So when Neil Warnock mentioned Van Persie being a clever player I was all ready to agree with him. What a clever player indeed, his touch, his pace, his awarene s, far better than any of those in the QPR side that day. Carlos Rodon Jersey But Warnock decided that Van Persie was not only clever with his football skills, but also clever as a dirty player!Now I am aware that Arsenal have had their fair share of aggre sive, firm players (Adams and Keown spring to mind) but Robin Van Persie hasnt even registered with me on a list of some of the Premier Leagues more physical players. Skillful yes, great vision yes, but never cynical, rarely diving. In fact, hes probably up there as one of the closest things well get to an honest player. Now Neil Warnock is hardly known for his reserved personality, but his bitter attitude in deciding Van Persie was clever because he elbows players and batters them out of the way has only served to add to the difficulty I have in finding anything to like in the man. His pre s conferences are entertaining, but frankly he needs to acknowledge that Van Persie ran rings around his side, and thats nothing to be ashamed of right now.The next points both concern Referees, one good and one bad. The first is Arsene Wengers statement after Arsenals lo s to Fulham that the ref was naive, because the Fulham players were constantly trying to get Djourou into tackles after picking up his booking. I think its fair to say that Arsene Wenger has been in football long enough to know how the game works. Firstly, no player is going to risk a horrific injury for the sake of sending the opposition team down to ten men. Secondly, any manager in the world, himself included, would use a tactic of trying to draw a player on a booking into slightly more 50-50 balls. It is common knowledge that you focus more pre sure on a player like that, because if nothing else, it forces more cover over to help him tackle, and leaves space in the Lucas Giolito Jersey rest of the pitch. Finally, he has criticised the referee for not giving Gervinho a penalty in the first half. Now in an age of such critical coverage of the way sports are controlled, particularly during a digital era where goal-line technology and video replays are discu sed on a weekly basis, being a referee is a thankle s task. They are a se sed by everyone with such scrutiny, and I think Lee Probert actually did a very solid job. There are some times, as youll see in a second, where referees come in for justified criticism, but like Mr. Warnock above, Wenger (who I am incidentally a big fan of) has been bitter because his side have simply not got a result. The second refereeing decision is unsurprisingly the Joey Barton sending off. If reports based on Bartons personal Twitter account are to be believed, then the officials actually told him at half time that they had made a wrong decision. It seems that despite a large portion of the public sharing a dislike of Joey Barton, the majority are in agreement that the referee made a mistake. He didnt see it, judging in a Utilitarian way (by basing the action on the consequence). There may be people who say his reputation proceeded him; that he has got away with things like that Alex Colome Jersey enough times that he deserves to then be picked up for it at others. I disagree, if we start judging matches like that, the game will fall apart. Referees have a hard job, but if they dont know then they shouldnt make a decision. The fourth official could have told the referee in seconds that there was nothing to do, and this is where the arrogance of FIFA to keep the purity of the game is in fact ruining it. Yes video replays may slow the match down a bit, but by doing so, they will conversely rule out the incidents that are now ruining matches.There were further incidents, Lampard and Cole both lucky to be on the pitch against Wolves, Sunderlands Ji Dong-Won sneaking a goal in the last minute against City when he was clearly offside. The truth is, that dramas such as these keep everyone talking about football. They can sometimes make such a big difference to the game, the season, the tournament, but they are a part of the game. The game would be purer and slicker if these got stamped out. The only way to do so is through the addition of technology, and so the vicious circle continues. If nothing else, I wish referees would get some more credit, and managers would be honest when their Ron Santo Jersey team losewell pigs might fly!
Over the past week, more than ever, has seen controversial i sues, refereeing decisions, and pre s conferences that have made football fans query the sanity of the game. From sending offs to goals, fouls to ignorant managers, the last few days have thrown together such a wide variety of talking points, its no wonder that football forums such as these are continually growing in numbers. A few incidents particularly over the recent weeks have intrigued me, and I want to explore a few of them.The first thing that struck me, was Neil Warnocks post match pre s conference after the Arsenal game. Anyone who has any interest in football this year, has not only been impre sed, but revelled in watching Van Persie during 2011, as hes displayed all the qualities that lead many to suggest he is the most in form striker in the Welington Castillo Jersey world. As many goals as games, and a real rose amongst a plethora of thorns in the Arsenal side, Van Persie has matured into a world cla s striker, carrying the Gunners back into the top four in the Premier League. One of the most notable qualities Van Persie displays on a regular basis, is his exquisite touch. Any ball, played at any pace, is brought down with such precision, giving him that split second extra to move past a defender before he has realised what has happened. So when Neil Warnock mentioned Van Persie being a clever player I was all ready to agree with him. What a clever player indeed, his touch, his pace, his awarene s, far better than any of those in the QPR side that day. Carlos Rodon Jersey But Warnock decided that Van Persie was not only clever with his football skills, but also clever as a dirty player!Now I am aware that Arsenal have had their fair share of aggre sive, firm players (Adams and Keown spring to mind) but Robin Van Persie hasnt even registered with me on a list of some of the Premier Leagues more physical players. Skillful yes, great vision yes, but never cynical, rarely diving. In fact, hes probably up there as one of the closest things well get to an honest player. Now Neil Warnock is hardly known for his reserved personality, but his bitter attitude in deciding Van Persie was clever because he elbows players and batters them out of the way has only served to add to the difficulty I have in finding anything to like in the man. His pre s conferences are entertaining, but frankly he needs to acknowledge that Van Persie ran rings around his side, and thats nothing to be ashamed of right now.The next points both concern Referees, one good and one bad. The first is Arsene Wengers statement after Arsenals lo s to Fulham that the ref was naive, because the Fulham players were constantly trying to get Djourou into tackles after picking up his booking. I think its fair to say that Arsene Wenger has been in football long enough to know how the game works. Firstly, no player is going to risk a horrific injury for the sake of sending the opposition team down to ten men. Secondly, any manager in the world, himself included, would use a tactic of trying to draw a player on a booking into slightly more 50-50 balls. It is common knowledge that you focus more pre sure on a player like that, because if nothing else, it forces more cover over to help him tackle, and leaves space in the Lucas Giolito Jersey rest of the pitch. Finally, he has criticised the referee for not giving Gervinho a penalty in the first half. Now in an age of such critical coverage of the way sports are controlled, particularly during a digital era where goal-line technology and video replays are discu sed on a weekly basis, being a referee is a thankle s task. They are a se sed by everyone with such scrutiny, and I think Lee Probert actually did a very solid job. There are some times, as youll see in a second, where referees come in for justified criticism, but like Mr. Warnock above, Wenger (who I am incidentally a big fan of) has been bitter because his side have simply not got a result. The second refereeing decision is unsurprisingly the Joey Barton sending off. If reports based on Bartons personal Twitter account are to be believed, then the officials actually told him at half time that they had made a wrong decision. It seems that despite a large portion of the public sharing a dislike of Joey Barton, the majority are in agreement that the referee made a mistake. He didnt see it, judging in a Utilitarian way (by basing the action on the consequence). There may be people who say his reputation proceeded him; that he has got away with things like that Alex Colome Jersey enough times that he deserves to then be picked up for it at others. I disagree, if we start judging matches like that, the game will fall apart. Referees have a hard job, but if they dont know then they shouldnt make a decision. The fourth official could have told the referee in seconds that there was nothing to do, and this is where the arrogance of FIFA to keep the purity of the game is in fact ruining it. Yes video replays may slow the match down a bit, but by doing so, they will conversely rule out the incidents that are now ruining matches.There were further incidents, Lampard and Cole both lucky to be on the pitch against Wolves, Sunderlands Ji Dong-Won sneaking a goal in the last minute against City when he was clearly offside. The truth is, that dramas such as these keep everyone talking about football. They can sometimes make such a big difference to the game, the season, the tournament, but they are a part of the game. The game would be purer and slicker if these got stamped out. The only way to do so is through the addition of technology, and so the vicious circle continues. If nothing else, I wish referees would get some more credit, and managers would be honest when their Ron Santo Jersey team losewell pigs might fly!
