RESPECT – Clocks, Dives and Videotape

Did you hear Alan Wiley’s post-match interview in which he slated the United players for not being good enough or fit enough to beat Sunderland at home?  No, me neither.  That is because he’s not allowed to.  I seem to remember Alex Ferguson backing the Respect campaign at the start of the season.  He showed none of it at the weekend and can probably expect an FA charge.

Wiley, you see, had the nerve to blow the whistle before Manchester United had managed to score a winner.  I am not a believer in the ‘Fergie time’ myth.  Teams like Manchester United and Chelsea score so many late goals because they keep going right to the end – and they deserve great credit for this.  Sometimes though, they do run out of time, as Ferguson found out on Saturday.  His outburst after the game though was out of order.

Meanwhile, over at the Emirates, Sam Allardyce was calling for the use of video-technology after David Dunn was denied what looked a clear penalty for Blackburn against Arsenal.  Complete with walkie-talkie headset, Big Sam is obviously keen on seeing video replays brought into the professional game.  I however, am not.  For years the game has relied on the eyes of referees and referees’ assistants to make quick judgements on fouls.  Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong, but it would be a shame to see the game slowed down by incidents being played over and over from different angles.

It would not work anyway.  Opinions are still divided about Robbie Keane’s penalty claim at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago.  If video replays can’t settle an argument after that amount of time, then how can they possibly do it in just 30 seconds?  Having extra assistants behind the goal, as being tried out in the Europa League, is also not the answer.  For large parts of the game they are virtually redundant, and surely when there is a shortage of referees at grassroots level, they can be put to better use than that.

So are there any measures that could be brought in to help referees that are more sensible?  Well, yes.  If major tennis championships can use Hawk-Eye to determine whether a ball is in or out, then I am sure FIFA can have a whip round in the office and get some similar technology to try out at the next World Cup.

Also, remove the fourth official from the touchline and put him up in the stand with a clock.  On the touchline, managers, who unfairly blame them for a decision the referee has made, routinely abuse them.  They have little influence over the game and are merely a target for the two benches to vent their frustration at.  And when we move them, give them a stopwatch that connects to the stadium scoreboard.  Make him the official timekeeper of the game and the whole crowd can know exactly how long there is to go.  He can stop the watch for injuries, substitutions and ridiculously over-rehearsed goal celebrations.  Then we’ll have no more complaints of ‘Fergie time’.

At the heart of the Respect campaign though, are the players themselves.  The bad publicity emanating from the Eduardo dive scandal case seems to have done little to discourage players from falling over.  At Stamford Bridge there was Drogba, spending yet more time on the floor and infuriating even his own teammates and supporters, despite a fine performance.  On the other side, there was Mascherano, exaggerating the impact of a Michael Essien tackle in a disgraceful attempt to get a fellow professional booked.

Two months into the season, and the Respect report card reads: “Big improvement required – from everybody.”