Please share the refs

When flicking on Sky Sports to watch the Manchester United versus Chelsea game a couple of weeks ago, inevitability was in the air. And I'm not talking about the super-hyped VT that precedes every 'Super Sunday' game on the channel. ("Shall we go with super slo-mo highlights with classical music boss?" "No, go fast paced and put the new Kings of Leon single on it.")

I am, of course, talking about the referee. I knew it would be Howard Webb. I just knew. It was obvious. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the police sergeant from Sheffield. I think he is by far the best referee in the league and have been touting him for a long time. Whenever I see that he is reffing a Spurs game, I am pleased because I know he is fair.

But that is exactly my point. Whenever Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea play eachother, they always get the best referees. This annoys me. The standard of reffing can never be completely the same across a whole league, but the distribution of referees should be random. By always having the best referees for the best games, this randomness is lost.

When was the last time there was a bad decision that decided the result in one of these big games? And why are games at the top of the table deemed more important to have good refereeing in than games at the bottom? A relegation battle has equally emotional consequences to a title decider.

In cup competitions, I support rewarding the best referees the bigger games as badges of honour. But in the league, this should not be the case. Everything else in the league is fairly weighted. Random allocation of referees would even out bad decisions and make refereeing fair too. Most importantly, it would result in younger referees getting valuable experience earlier.

Incidentally, I thought Webb was quite poor in the game. Not only did he play a part in the disallowed goal that should have stood (see below), he helped ruin the first half. By booking Frank Lampard for his first foul in the third minute, he set a precedent. The players were fearing an early yellow card for the slightest mistimed tackle.

Cutting corners

So who was paying attention? Not the man that should have been, that's for sure. On Sunday afternoon, Manchester United won a corner against Chelsea. Wayne Rooney placed the ball and then sneakily passed it ever so slightly out of the 'D'. The ball was live, so Ryan Giggs collected the ball, ran towards goal, and set up a perfectly good goal for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cue wild celebrations at Old Trafford. Celebrations that lasted five seconds. This is because the assistant referee, Darren Cann, disallowed the goal. In doing so, he either bottled a big decision or admitted that he missed Rooney's 'pass' to Giggs.

Luckily enough, Nemanja Vidic lost his marker and headed home the retaken corner after Dimitar Berbatov's flick-on. Justice was served. But the original goal should have stood. Ronaldo was denied his first ever Premier League goal against Chelsea. Cann disallowed the goal because Rooney did not notify him of his intentions. I've checked the laws of the game and cannot see anything to support this explanation. He should have been paying more attention. Perhaps Cann may have had an argument for ungentlemanly conduct, but that wasn't his explanation.

It is not as if Rooney had come up with the most innovative idea to greet football in years. I've played in teams that have employed the tactic. Tony Cascarino revealed in today's Times that Gillingham used to try it frequently in the 1980s. Admittedly, I can't remember seeing it recently, but I am sure I have seen it in the Premiership before. So what is Cann's excuse?

Despite being angry at the disallowed goal and relieved at the subsequent justice, I don't like the sneakiness of the tactic. Taking free-kicks quickly elsewhere on the park keeps the game flowing. But in the final third, the game is inevitably stopped for the attacking team's defenders to come up and the defending team to set themselves. Breaching this convention is the equivalent of bowling at a batsmen who is adjusting his helmet, serving a tennis ball while the receiver is toweling down or forcing a quick scrum against an incomplete pack. It is just not fair.

It is akin to a similar issue that the Premier League saw a few years back. When taking a direct free-kick, the attacking team would slyly ask the referee if they could take it before passing the ball into the net. The goalkeeper would usually still be hugging his post to set his wall as the ball hit the back of the net. How players could celebrate such a goal was beyond me. I remember Thierry Henry smugly sauntering off after scoring against Chelsea in just this manner.

Perhaps Rooney's corner trick will get the same treatment as these free-kicks. Now, whenever a free-kick is awarded within shooting distance, defenders pretend to blow imaginery whistles. It is a sight that we take for granted in the modern game: grown men pretending to blow whistles. But it works. Because the referee then tells the free-kick taker that he can only take the kick upon his puff.

Don't be surprised if defenders start blowing imaginery whistles for corners in the future. I for one think this will be a good thing. Even if they do look a little silly.

KFF thanks Lewis for requesting an opinion on this topic. If you have a suggestion for a blog, please email me using the links on the sidebar. Alternatively, you can leave a comment.

Defo' not a game for kids

So, Jermain is back at the Lane. Portsmouth have lost a good player, but have gained good money. Spurs have seen another prodigal son return. But unlike, say Teddy Sheringham, this isn't a return of a lynchpin. At best, Defoe is a two goals in five games striker. If only he could learn to place a few shots instead of blasting every attempt as hard as he can...

Regardless, this piece of business is indicative of something that has worried me for a long time. Club loyalty is seemingly a thing of the past. The Paul Scholes, Alan Shearers and Tony Adams' of the football world are worryingly absent. The impact of this on the most important fans is immeasurable. I am, of course, talking about kids.

Children are the true fans of football. They obsess, idolise and truly fanatically support. It is something we try to take into adulthood, but the magic seems to rub off with age. We become more critical, we think we know best; in short, we become more tactically aware. And let's be honest, it ruins the simplicity of the game a little.

When I was a kid, I worshipped Gary Mabbutt, Gazza, Teddy Sheringham and Sol Campbell. These four players epitomise a shift in attiutude over time. Mabbutt was a diehard loyalist. Gazza sought to improve his game in Italy (which in the early 1990s was the league to be in). Sheringham sought medals, but vowed to return. And return he did. Campbell, well, he was selfishly after cold hard cash.

Unfortunately, the attitude of the latter is now the norm. I'm not one to bleat about club loyalty. After all, football is a business. And who of us would refuse a new job with a better salary at a more succesful company?

What annoys me is the kind of player like Robbie Keane. In May, he was crowing about staying at Spurs for life and that no-one could prise him from White Hart Lane. Then his boyhood club Liverpool came in for him and he was off in a shot. He turned his back on potential legend status to follow a boyhood dream. Who can blame him? Well, think about the kids who idolised him at Spurs. The ones who had his name on their shirts.

Defoe is not as bad. But he left Spurs to get first team football and get back into the England set up. At Portsmouth, he achieved that. But at the first signs of trouble, he jumped ship. After one year. How many kids on the south coast have just lost an idol?

But perhaps there is some justice in football. Keane can hardly hit a barn door at Liverpool and is regularly seen looking depressed on the bench. Defoe left a squad that went on to win the Carling Cup and, due to being cup tied, joined a club that won the FA cup without him.

Benefits of the credit crunch

What a nightmare. Cristiano Ronaldo could be earning nearly a quarter of a million pounds a week. But he isn't. You've got to feel sorry for the long-necked Portuguese.

The reason behind these ridiculous figures is the near parity of the pound and the Euro. In the summer, Real Madrid reportedly offered Ronaldo £200,000 a week. Were they to offer the same in euros now, the demise of the pound means that he would actually get 20% more (£240,000.) Naturally, this is bad news in terms of the Premiership attracting the top names in world football, but there is an upside.

For years journalists have churned out comparison after comparison. Last season, only 34.1% of the starting line-ups in the Premiership were English. Domestic starters in Spain and Italy average well over 50%. And they are the current holders of the World Cup and the European Championships.

So how will the credit crunch help? Well, over the last few years, the exchange rate has meant that it has been cheaper for managers to pick up established players in Europe than risk buying a young English player. As a result, few home-grown footballers rise through the ranks.

I am not suggesting that the next Beckham, Gerrard or Owen has been stifled. World class players will always rise to the top. Inevitably, this happens at youth level. The competition to snap up youngsters before rivals is intense. But not every player matures so quickly.

A perfect example of this is Jimmy Bullard. Many narrow minded England fans laughed when Fabio Capello picked him for the England squad. But he is a fantastic footballer. And he started his career playing non-league football at Gravesend & Northfleet. In 1999, he received his chance when Harry Redknapp signed him for West Ham. However, he struggled to break into a strong midfield that housed two future England regulars: Frank Lampard and Joe Cole.

So Bullard slipped back to the lower leagues where he would stay until being a crucial element in steering Wigan Athletic into the Premiership. But what if another club had signed him instead of West Ham? He was unlucky to be surrounded by such great young talent. Imagine the player he could have been now if he had broken through at Charlton or Fulham ten years ago?

Buying abroad has become more expensive. (For example, Robinho cost Manchester City £34.2 million in the summer. He would now cost £42.2 million, even at the same price in Euros.) So even with the inflated price that domestic transfers create factored in, Premiership teams will look to the lower leagues for talent. Hopefully this will drive the amount of English players starting on Saturday afternoons up and widen the talent pool Capello has to choose from.

Having world class players doesn't create a winning team. Having sufficient competition for places to keep them driven does. Capello is the perfect manager to implement this. He isn't afraid to take a chance. It is up to the lower league players to take their chances with both hands.