Well, it appears that my wish at the end of my last post was granted - most players did get on with the game this weekend! This made it an excellent weekend football wise, with not a single Premier League red card and only four in the rest of the Football League. It also made for some entertaining games and a few surprises along the way. Lets discuss the key incidents.
Arsenal vs West Bromwich Albion - Howard Webb
A trouble-free start for Howard and team here, with not a yellow card in sight. However, I have to say that I felt Webb interfered a little too much in proceedings, giving free kicks for the most minor fouls (Miller on an Arsenal defender springs to mind), missing the odd advantage and fussing over blades of grass when it comes to positions from which free kicks are taken. In a tense and difficult game these would help him keep control, but in an easy game like this they were unnecessary. I think Webb has become a little over-fussy at times since his rise to the top in the past couple of years - I'd prefer to see the Webb of two years ago, who let things flow more. But no major errors, a good if not outstanding performance.
Middlesbrough vs Tottenham - Martin Atkinson
Only one incident of note here - David Wheater's disallowed first half goal. There was a fair bit of tugging going on by both parties, and in such a situation the defender nearly always gets the decision. Its unfortunate really, as I can see what Martin Atkinson saw, but it was six of one and half a dozen of the other if the truth be told. Atkinson has admitted his mistake and apologised, and thankfully it didn't affect the result.
Chelsea vs Portsmouth - Mike Dean
I thought Mike Dean missed a few things here and there - including not punishing Deco more severely for his early poor challenge, giving just a free kick. But the main issue of contention will be the penalty awarded to Chelsea, on the advice of assistant referee Mo Matadar. Distin's hand is away from his body and does stop the ball going across the area. But is it deliberate? I'm tempted to say not, and the look on Distin's face too suggests that he knew nothing about it. This is one of those decisions which falls in the grey area as to what is and isn't deliberate. In such cases, I'd err on the side of caution and not give the penalty, but can totally understand the argument in favour of giving it. A good spot from Mr Matadar, whether it was correct is open to debate.
Manchester United vs Newcastle United - Mike Riley
Two penalty claims here, one for each side. Manchester United's claim that Milner handled Giggs' free kick was turned down correctly in my opinion by Riley. The ball was struck at such a pace that Milner could do little about it hitting him anywhere, so I don't think you can class that as deliberate and give a penalty. Newcastle's claim involved Vidic bodychecking Jonas as he ran through. This was a clear foul missed by Mike Riley - Vidic had no intention of playing the ball. However, I think the offence was just outside the area, so it would have been a free kick and probably a yellow card had it been given.
Otherwise, I thought Riley was excellent, didn't miss anything and handled things very well. Mr Rooney obviously wasn't listening when it came to the campaigns against dissent, as he didn't seem to be behaving any differently, although I guess it was frustration, caused by an excellent showing from Newcastle.
Overall, a decent start then. I think a few of the referees might have been slightly off the pace - just like the players, referees can sometimes take a while to get into the swing of things at the start of the new season. I'm sure things will settle down, and it should certainly be an interesting season. If you want tips from me, I'd go for Chelsea for the title, the big four to be the top four and probably Aston Villa in fifth. As for relegation, I think West Brom have the best chance of surviving of the three promoted clubs, and I fear for Stoke after a dreadful start for them.
Monday 18 August 2008
Friday 15 August 2008
Get on with the game!
The kick-off of the Premier League season is now less than 24 hours away. As expected, four of the more experienced referees have been given the four TV games. Howard Webb will blow the opening whistle of the Premier League season at the Emirates tomorrow, with Alan Wiley taking the trip to the north-east for Sunderland's evening clash with Liverpool. On Sunday, Mike Dean heads to Stamford Bridge for Chelsea's opener, with Mike Riley at Old Trafford for Manchester United's clash with Newcastle. Four experienced performers there who should get the season off to a good start. I hope that the two newcomers, Mike Jones and Stuart Attwell, will get Premier League appointments soon.
Meanwhile, the Premier League have launched their Get on with the Game campaign, adding support to the FA's Respect agenda. It is along roughly the same lines - encouraging discipline among players towards referees and their fellow players. The key action points of the campaign are:
It is good to see action from the very top of the game, encouraging more respect and trying to improve the game's image. How this actually translates to what happens on the pitch remains to be seen. Lets hope that, when Howard Webb blows the first whistle tomorrow, the players get on with the game!
Meanwhile, the Premier League have launched their Get on with the Game campaign, adding support to the FA's Respect agenda. It is along roughly the same lines - encouraging discipline among players towards referees and their fellow players. The key action points of the campaign are:
- Charters signed by Chairmen, Managers and Players, agreeing that all have a shared responsibility to improve the image of the game.
- Team Captains and Senior Coaching Staff to meet with the referee before each game to set out the agenda for how the match will be controlled and build a rapport.
- Referee to use the team captain during the game to help control other players, giving warnings and so on.
- New "Get on with the Game" flag to lead the teams onto the pitch before each game.
- Official fair play handshake to continue before each game.
- TV monitors to be removed from the technical area so fourth officials and managers cannot see replays of incidents
- Three TV channels to each employ a refereeing expert to provide a referees' perspective on key incidents. The three experts are Dermot Gallagher for Sky, Paul Durkin for the BBC, and PGMO General Manager Keith Hackett for Setanta.
It is good to see action from the very top of the game, encouraging more respect and trying to improve the game's image. How this actually translates to what happens on the pitch remains to be seen. Lets hope that, when Howard Webb blows the first whistle tomorrow, the players get on with the game!
Tuesday 12 August 2008
The Curtain-Raiser
So the beginning of the Premier League season is fast approaching, and pre-season is almost at an end. What can we say about Sunday's Community Shield encounter?
Peter Walton took charge, and while his general control of matters seemed fine, he got it wrong on two key decisions. Firstly, Carlos Tevez was definitely fouled in the penalty area by Hermann Hreidarsson, who grabbed hold of his leg. That said, it wouldn't have been an easy offence to spot, and from Walton's angle it probably looked like Tevez was just going down easily. Tevez then reacted to this by grabbing Hreidarsson by the throat, for which he should have been sent off. I'm sure that if any of the officials had seen it, he would have been. So, while these two key decisions were both wrong, it was understandable, as they were both difficult to see.
Walton was also out on clear instructions to get the FA's "Respect" campaign going. He did this, cautioning two players for dissent in the first half. If this kind of line carries on, then hopefully players will get the message and start to show more respect for officials. However, the cynics would suggest that this sort of thing will last barely a month and then we'll be back to the bad old ways, where officials get complained at and abused at will. The promise of FA backing should hopefully see an improvement, at least for a while.
I was delighted to see Dagenham register an excellent 6-0 win over a woeful Chester side on Saturday, an excellent start for us. There are Carling Cup ties and European qualifiers this week, but everyone is looking to Saturday, and the kick-off of the Premier League season. The referee appointments have not yet been released, but I'd expected to see four of the more experienced officials on the four TV games, each of which involves one of the 'big four' clubs. Lets hope its another exciting season!
Peter Walton took charge, and while his general control of matters seemed fine, he got it wrong on two key decisions. Firstly, Carlos Tevez was definitely fouled in the penalty area by Hermann Hreidarsson, who grabbed hold of his leg. That said, it wouldn't have been an easy offence to spot, and from Walton's angle it probably looked like Tevez was just going down easily. Tevez then reacted to this by grabbing Hreidarsson by the throat, for which he should have been sent off. I'm sure that if any of the officials had seen it, he would have been. So, while these two key decisions were both wrong, it was understandable, as they were both difficult to see.
Walton was also out on clear instructions to get the FA's "Respect" campaign going. He did this, cautioning two players for dissent in the first half. If this kind of line carries on, then hopefully players will get the message and start to show more respect for officials. However, the cynics would suggest that this sort of thing will last barely a month and then we'll be back to the bad old ways, where officials get complained at and abused at will. The promise of FA backing should hopefully see an improvement, at least for a while.
I was delighted to see Dagenham register an excellent 6-0 win over a woeful Chester side on Saturday, an excellent start for us. There are Carling Cup ties and European qualifiers this week, but everyone is looking to Saturday, and the kick-off of the Premier League season. The referee appointments have not yet been released, but I'd expected to see four of the more experienced officials on the four TV games, each of which involves one of the 'big four' clubs. Lets hope its another exciting season!
Friday 8 August 2008
Welcome - Season 2008/9
Welcome to Tales from the Ref Online! Many of you may be aware that I've been posting notes on facebook for sometime, so its time to take it online, ready for the start of the new football season.
As always, the curtain raiser will be the Community Shield on Sunday, although the Football League season kicks off tomorrow. Mark Clattenburg was originally appointed to the Community Shield back at the beginning of July, but has now been replaced. Clattenburg has been suspended, as he has run up significant personal debts. This will be investigated, and hopefully he'll be back refereeing before too long. It is difficult to comment on what has actually happened, as it would be mere speculation. Meanwhile, Peter Walton has been chosen as his replacement, and he will have Ian Gosling and Dave Richardson assisting him, with Andre Marriner as fourth official.
Although a virtually meaningless game for the two clubs, the Community Shield does have some importance from the point of view of the officials. It sets the standard for the season - giving an impression of how things might go when the Premier League kicks off next weekend. Walton has the responsibility to get things off to a sound start, and following a good season last time out I'm sure he will.
Walton actually reached the retirement age of 48 at the end of last season, along with Uriah Rennie. However, both appealed and have subsequently been retained in the Select Group of Premier League referees. Walton did have a very good season last year, his best on the Premier League yet, but Rennie has been troubled by injury of late. Hopefully he can settle down and get back into the groove.
There are also two new arrivals onto the Select Group. The two individuals could not have more contrasting levels of experience. Mike Jones has been on the National list of Football League referees for some 15 years, and has been one of the most consistent performers, with regular appointments to the Championship and to the Play-offs, including the League Two final in 2007. He is still under 40, so while he probably won't be able to referee internationally he can hopefully have a long and successful time at the top. In contrast, Stuart Attwell secured promotion to the Select Group after only one year refereeing in the Football League. It was, by all accounts, a successful year, culminating in the League Two play-off final at Wembley, which he handled very well. His promotion to the Football League came on the back of further successive promotions, so he can clearly adapt to rises up the ladder, but whether he can adapt as quickly to life in the biggest league of all remains to be seen. My personal opinion is that he should have perhaps had one more year on the Football League; it will be very interesting to see how he does. At only 25 years old, he is the youngest ever Premier League referee, and the international list will surely beckon for him within a couple of years.
So, thats whats changed in terms of personnel. "Respect" is clearly the buzz word of the moment, and the FA's Respect Campaign hopes to combat unacceptable behaviour at all levels of the game. The example needs to be set from the top level downwards; we'll see how that works too.
Meanwhile, I'll be off to watch Dagenham & Redbridge's League Two opener with Chester City tomorrow, before catching the Community Shield highlights on Sunday. I'll return then with some comments on the weekend's action.
As always, the curtain raiser will be the Community Shield on Sunday, although the Football League season kicks off tomorrow. Mark Clattenburg was originally appointed to the Community Shield back at the beginning of July, but has now been replaced. Clattenburg has been suspended, as he has run up significant personal debts. This will be investigated, and hopefully he'll be back refereeing before too long. It is difficult to comment on what has actually happened, as it would be mere speculation. Meanwhile, Peter Walton has been chosen as his replacement, and he will have Ian Gosling and Dave Richardson assisting him, with Andre Marriner as fourth official.
Although a virtually meaningless game for the two clubs, the Community Shield does have some importance from the point of view of the officials. It sets the standard for the season - giving an impression of how things might go when the Premier League kicks off next weekend. Walton has the responsibility to get things off to a sound start, and following a good season last time out I'm sure he will.
Walton actually reached the retirement age of 48 at the end of last season, along with Uriah Rennie. However, both appealed and have subsequently been retained in the Select Group of Premier League referees. Walton did have a very good season last year, his best on the Premier League yet, but Rennie has been troubled by injury of late. Hopefully he can settle down and get back into the groove.
There are also two new arrivals onto the Select Group. The two individuals could not have more contrasting levels of experience. Mike Jones has been on the National list of Football League referees for some 15 years, and has been one of the most consistent performers, with regular appointments to the Championship and to the Play-offs, including the League Two final in 2007. He is still under 40, so while he probably won't be able to referee internationally he can hopefully have a long and successful time at the top. In contrast, Stuart Attwell secured promotion to the Select Group after only one year refereeing in the Football League. It was, by all accounts, a successful year, culminating in the League Two play-off final at Wembley, which he handled very well. His promotion to the Football League came on the back of further successive promotions, so he can clearly adapt to rises up the ladder, but whether he can adapt as quickly to life in the biggest league of all remains to be seen. My personal opinion is that he should have perhaps had one more year on the Football League; it will be very interesting to see how he does. At only 25 years old, he is the youngest ever Premier League referee, and the international list will surely beckon for him within a couple of years.
So, thats whats changed in terms of personnel. "Respect" is clearly the buzz word of the moment, and the FA's Respect Campaign hopes to combat unacceptable behaviour at all levels of the game. The example needs to be set from the top level downwards; we'll see how that works too.
Meanwhile, I'll be off to watch Dagenham & Redbridge's League Two opener with Chester City tomorrow, before catching the Community Shield highlights on Sunday. I'll return then with some comments on the weekend's action.
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