Is this the best we can do?
I was reminded today while chatting with MUR about how gob-smacked I was watching the highlights of the Champions League the other day when at the start of the match, I saw two of the men who try to ruin every fall, winter, and spring weekend, and quite a few midweek days as well, line up for the evening's match. In this match, the ref was Howard Webb, and the guy watching the goal-line was Mark Clattenburg. I thought, hold on, these two? That's the best England can send to a second leg Champions League knock-out match? Has UEFA not seen them in action? Or inexplicably, do the board of UEFA want their premier spectacle ruined by these cretins.
I started wondering, was it always this way? And more usefully, what's the other option. It can't be more of these guys. I don't think I can take it. What do you think?
posted by gooner71 @ 9:40 PM
4 Comments:
I'll start it off. Here's a wiki link to the Select Group of Premiership refs.
HERE
Is there one of those guys you would hire to keep the kids safe on a moon bounce? Much less referee a high stakes big money operation like a second round Champions League knock-out?
Look at yesterday. Demba Ba comes across Sagna at nipple height and clouts him. Ba at least had the class to immediately insist that Tiote put the ball out so Sagna could get treatment. But that's because Howard Webb didn't bother to even whistle for a foul.
Later on, Webb allowed Krul to waste time every time the ball came to him until RVP began to give him Krul some lip about it. Still nothing. It was only after the winning goal when RVP incensed Krul by allegedly saying "now, take your time picking that out of the net" and after Krul went head-hunting RVP after the final whistle that Webb ever got involved.
Now think about this: Webb and Clattenburg, and Dowd, and Dean are all FIFA listed. England will likely be eliminated before the finals of the Euros so that makes them part of a very select group who will be considered to take the helm of the Premier spectacle again. What can be done about it?
That is a good point Gooner. I remembered discussing this with you today. I think Webb is a decent ref, but did let the players get away with too much at the EM. I will not dispute that. He did somehow manged to be the ref in the World Cup Final and had similar problems allowing the thuggish Dutch to ruin the World Cup Final. He gave De Jong, Van Bommel,Heitinga, and co to ruin the World Cup Final.I somehow have the feeling that a clown from a different country will officiate the Euro 2012 Final, but he could get one of the semis.When I was in high school it was rare for a ref to have a bad match and these were amateurs , who worked a different job during the week, not the supposed pros we have now. They were the best in the world.Thomas, Taylor, Partridge, and co were models of consistency. I think the trend toward poor officiating started with the beginning of the EPL era epitomized by none other than David"The headmaster" Elleray. This clown rarely had a good match, but was considered England's best and was always officiating important matches.Yes, He did officiate the '94 Cup Final, but can you ever forget the '97 Cup Semi at OT between Middlesbrough and Chesterfield when he denied the minnows a place in the final. Kevin Davies took a shot that bounced off the underside of the bar and went two yards behind the goal , then bounced back into play. Instead of awarding Chesterfield a goal he waved play on. Everyone except the Headmaster thought it was a goal. The match finished 3-3 and Middlesbrough went through in a replay. Otherwise, Chesterfield would have played Chelsea in the final.I saw Clattenburg officiate that 7-0 debacle between Bayern and Basle and even though he had one of his better matches, he made a few mistakes that his peers from our high school days would not have.There were two balls on the filed at the same time and Basle were denied a goal because the player was accused of controlling a pass with his hands when the replay showed it was with his chest nowhere near his hands.I should not be complaining as he helped to a 0-0 draw vs Spurs at OT when Roy Carroll carried the ball over the line , then flung it out thinking he had scored and O.G. he sure was relieved.Gooner will probably not complain as he likes anything that goes against Spurs.I prefer the officials from the good old days , who were not out for glory, were not flashy, but went out to do their job and were rarely noticed.
How about drafting in a few refs from the African Nation's Cup who dislike negative football? That would certainly liven things up in the CL.
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