A few thoughts from the last week in Football (April 6-11)

What is going on with the FA? I know I am not the only person that is left scratching his head on a regular basis with decisions that come out from the FA, be it to do with the scheduling of the FA Cup Semi Finals, or their fining managers for speaking their minds and fining them when they don't turn up, but the department that deals with sending off appeals need to have a real look at themselves.


I will be the first to admit that Manchester United got a soft penalty against QPR, but I could also understand why the referee gave it (I know Ashley Young was offside before he was 'fouled' but I will address both of those issues a bit later) and he was obligated to send off Shaun Derry in that situation.


However, the television cameras made it clear that Derry was more than harshly done by, yet the FA, in all their wisdom, decided not to overturn that, which led me to believe that they will back decisions on the field regardless of how obviously wrong they are.


To make the FA look even more foolish, they decided they couldn't lay out any more punishment to Mario Balotelli for a potential leg breaking challenge on Alex Song, because at least one of the four officials would have seen it- what are they thinking?


Basically as long as one of the officials sees an incident, no matter how WRONG they see it, the FA will back them to the hilt, but an obvious disgusting challenge is fine by them... The sooner someone who knows something about football gets in there and clears out the old boys club, the better.


What to do with 'divers'? I think there is a real problem in consistency as to what to do with players that have dived as some referees are happy to book them, while others don't even give them a telling off.


In the Liverpool-Aston Villa game, we saw Luis Suarez and Samir Carruthers booked for diving, yet there was little consistency in this game alone. The first thing to say is that the tackle on Carruthers was a penalty, yet he was booked... Earlier in the game, Suarez went down in the box theatrically and was not given a penalty nor booked, although he did get one later on.


It wasn't just in that game as we also saw Ashley Young going down easily at Old Trafford which resulted in QPR being reduced to ten men and losing the game 2-0.


It is hard for the referees when players are trying to 'cheat' or 'fool' them, but the FA must surely have the power to hand out retrospective punishments as a way of preventing this becoming too common. We have so many cameras at games that they could get a panel to go through the tapes on Monday morning and quickly hand out suspensions.


The first offence could lead to a one game suspension, the second a three game ban and so on and so on. I would use ex-professionals in the panel, not the men in suits I discussed in the first topic, and you see how quickly players will stop throwing themselves to the ground.


Once the suspensions build, the fines start coming from the club, and the managers will start demanding players stay on their feet... One way or another, there has to be some retrospective action to stop the pressure being on referees to make these decisions on one view, and also to stop this disease in the game.


Officials making some horrendous mistakes: We have seen some really crazy decisions over the last few days, notably in games involving Wigan against Chelsea and Manchester United.


You always hear the talk about bringing technology into the game when there are any incorrect decisions, but Roberto Martinez was spot on in saying that it has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with missing obvious decisions.


How Chelsea got away with not one, but two offside decisions in their win against Wigan was embarrassing on the linesman. It was no surprise to me when I heard tonight that that linesman has tendered his resignation and will not be officiating at this level again.


The first one was one of the worst decisions I have seen this season as Branislav Ivanovic was offside along with two other Chelsea players, with the linesman standing level with play and looking dead straight at them.


On Sunday we then saw another linesman miss Ashley Young being at least two yards offside that led to a Manchester United penalty and a sending off for QPR- that was a terrible decision as the linesman was again up with play and the angle of Young's run made it completely obvious that he was off.


And then we had the hat-trick of linesmen making mistakes in the Wigan-Manchester United game, although he was at least kind enough to make cock ups for both sides. Wigan should have had a one goal lead in the first half, but the linesman saw a barely minimal foul on David De Gea, but then he missed a clear as day penalty in the second half when one of the Wigan players clear handled the ball in the box.


Too many of those decisions should have been seen without the game needing to be stopped and checked on a television monitor, and it is time these people are held accountable for decisions that can make, or break, a team's season.


The relegation battle is becoming more and more fascinating: Even though Wigan were given the benefit of the doubt with some decisions in the second half of the game with United, they did deserve the three points that has taken them out of the relegation zone.


With QPR also winning on Wednesday evening, Wolves are definitely getting relegated and they could be gone by April 22nd when they entertain Manchester City at Molineux.


The wins for Wigan and QPR also means Blackburn Rovers 3 points from the safety positions and now have a worse goal difference than both the Latics and Rangers. That goal they conceded in the last minute to ten man Liverpool on Tuesday night could be a mortal wound from which they cannot recover, especially if they lose at Swansea on Saturday.


Bolton also were moved back into the relegation zone, although they do have one extra game to play and are only 2 points from safety. The Trotters play Aston Villa in that game in hand and Villa are only 6 points from safety so that game could be really important to them.


All of this means we could be in for a fascinating last month of the season.


Not the time to panic for Manchester United fans: Why do so many United fans predict so much doom and gloom so quickly? Yes, the team is not of vintage class, but they are still 5 points clear of Manchester City with 5 games left to play this season, and I would have happily have taken this position at this stage.


It was a disappointing result at Wigan, no doubt about that, but they were always going to suffer a bit of a let down in one of their games, and I made it clear in my preview of that game that Wigan were being under-estimated.


The title is still in United's hands as three wins at home from their final 5 games will really put the pressure on City to keep winning, and United would just need to avoid defeat at City or win at Sunderland to confirm the title. Let me put it this way, I would not want to swap positions with City right now!


The key for United is to win their next two games at Old Trafford and then head to the Etihad Stadium with at least a 5 point advantage and keeping the pressure on City.


And if you want some history to keep the faith, how about looking at the end of the 1995/96 season? United overtook a club that seemingly had the title within their grasp, but lost on April 13th at a club struggling to avoid relegation to leave themselves just 6 points clear of their rivals. They then won their final 3 League games to secure the title, while Newcastle faltered down the stretch.


Hopefully Newcastle United can keep the Champions League chase alive: I am purely talking from a selfish point of view, but it would be nice if Newcastle United can maintain their form and a push for a Champions League spot as a security blanket for United's title charge.


That is because Newcastle are entertaining City on the penultimate weekend of the season and I want that game to mean a lot for the home side.


This is a scenario that is not out of the reckoning with Newcastle now level with Tottenham Hotspur in terms of points.


I think Arsenal are going to be the third team into the Champions League behind the Manchester clubs, while both Spurs and Newcastle have a tough couple of games ahead of them and I think this race is going down to the wire.

Chelsea's draw at Fulham makes me think it is going to be tough for them to get above both Newcastle and Spurs, particularly considering they have games at Arsenal and Liverpool left this season as well as the Champions League Semi Finals.


The next couple of weeks before the end of the month is going to clear up the Champions League spots a little bit more, but it won't surprise me if it is decided on the final day of the season.

Lady Luck, I'm sorry, I REALLY want you back...

This is the latest picture of me this Saturday afternoon:




I cannot believe the kind of luck I am getting from the picks, but I am more pissed off that this week it is not down to a great goal, or a bad defensive mistake, but dumb referees and linesmen who cannot do their simple jobs right.

I knew I should have listened to Lady Luck more often, but she has deserted me and left me with this mess:

Everton v Liverpool (Pick Over 2.5 Goals): Chances at both ends early and it looks set to be an exciting game with a few goals to boot UNTIL the referee inexplicably kills all of Everton's momentum by sending off Jack Rodwell for a tackle where he cleanly won the ball and barely touched Luis Suarez.


An absolutely scandalous decision that put the pick immediately in jeopardy, but then 'Lady Luck' decided to tease me: Liverpool missed a penalty and hit the underside of the bar before half time... They then proceed to score two goals before hitting the inside of the post in the last 2 minutes and there was even time for a possible penalty for Everton.


Blackburn v Man City (Pick Sergio Aguero to score anytime): He starts but is injured after 26 minutes and has to come off... City then proceed to score 4 times and Samir Nasri, who replaced Aguero, is on the scoresheet.


Wolves v Newcastle (Pick Draw): Wolves start of terribly, go 0-2 down at half time and I think the pick is dead... Lady Luck, but mainly the officials, decide to make sure it stays dead.


First Wolves are given a free kick when the incident supposedly occured 2 yards INSIDE the box- so the referee thought it was a foul but couldn't see the player was inside the box.


Wolves pull a goal back late and then score the equaliser... Until 'Lady Luck' decides to screw me again as the linesman thinks the ball has gone off first, a decision being criticised on the BBC and on Sky immediately after it happens... Gee thanks, just wish I had a job where I could completely cock something up and still get paid and possibly promoted a week later.




Now I am not one for whining when things are going wrong, but this kind of crap has been going on for far too long so I want to issue an apology:

Lady Luck, I am truly sorry for thinking I don't need you, but I am lost without and you and will never mess with you again. Tonight I will take you out for a slap up meal, drive you into town for the movie YOU want to watch, and organise a full spa day for you and your best friend.

It's been 6 weeks, I miss you.


(Apology to you guys who have taken these picks, it's been a rough time for all of us and just looking for the Sunday games and American Football picks to recover this week).

Things Learned from the Weekend Football (August 20-22)

So another weekend of football has passed us by and this is a few things I have taken from the weekend:

1) Are only Manchester United players behaviour brought up for the FA to discuss?; Now I am not one to think the FA are biased against all things United, but surely someone has to explain how Raul Meireles of Liverpool has got away with clearly flipping the bird after Liverpool scored their 2nd goal at Arsenal.


It was clearly caught by the Sky TV cameras and even Luis Suarez decided to slap down the offending Meireles hand- however, there was no mention in the media of the act and no witch hunt that this player is setting a bad example to any youngsters watching.


When Wayne Rooney was swearing at the camera last season at West Ham, the FA came down hard while 'Match of the Day' and 'Sky' analysed the incident to death and earned Rooney a 3 match ban.


Now where are these same moral guardians after the Meireles incident? Why isn't the minimum question of WHO was Meireles swearing at being asked?


I wonder if there would be a difference if the next time Wayne Rooney scores he randomly throws out the 'wanker' gesture at any direction, although something tells me a 10 month ban would soon follow.




2) The good old topic of referee inconsistencies shows itself again: So is the one week policy of booking players for diving (ie Gervinho last week at Newcastle) over, or is it English players will not be given cards for the same act as Johnny Foreigner?


The first Chelsea goal against West Brom showed the inconsistency as Frank Lampard's attempted dive in the box was not punished and Nicolas Anelka scored from the move- have a look at the West Brom defenders all demanding something be done for the blatent Lampard dive and forget about defending for a split second that allowed Anelka to get his shot off and equalise.


The issue of diving is so subjective, but the bottom line should be a policy across the board- either decide to book any player the referee thinks is attempting to con them, or don't do it at all... But don't decide one week you will book players, yet the next you will just allow it to happen.




3) Juan Mata is the perfect signing for this Chelsea team: While watching the Chelsea-West Brom game last week, I could not help wondering that they did not have a spark in the midfield which will provide enough goals for a very good forward line. The inability of the likes of Lampard and Mikel to beat players and the inconsistency of Salomon Kalou meant they looked devoid of ideas.


However, when it was announced that Juan Mata will be coming in, I could not be anything but impressed- he has pace, can beat a man, can score goals from midfield and can create for others. His position in the wide areas will also give him more time to adjust to the Premier League as he is not in the hustle and bustle of centre midfielder, the hardest place for a creative talent to make an immediate impact when not playing in the League before in my opinion.


If Chelsea can also persuade Tottenham to part with Luka Modric, they will be a real threat in the Premier League and Champions League.




4) Swansea may struggle for the goals to keep them in the top flight: Swansea have not scored in their first 2 Premier League games and were fortunate to pick up a point against Wigan on Saturday at home, and I have this feeling a lack of goals will cost them their place in the top flight.


They have signed Danny Graham from Watford, but his inexperience at this level may be too much to overcome, and there is a distinct lack of goals in the side.


Defensively they will give the opposition chances, and that is not a good combination for survival.




5) The pressure of playing at home for the Championship favourites could be a problem early in the season: The two Championship favourites at the start of the season were West Ham and Leicester City, yet they are combined 0-1-3 in their home games so far.


It seems the expectation levels are making it harder for the players to perform, particularly as the squads were revamped over the Summer and it may take a little bit of time for them to make an impact in front of their own fans.


It is telling that both of those sides are 3-1-0 away from home, with Leicester conceding a goal in injury time on Saturday to prevent a clean sweep.


With teams travelling to Leicester and West Ham with nothing to lose, they are able to take advantage of any nervousness in the home teams. That could be something to keep an eye on as we move into September and October.

Things Learned from the Weekend Football (August 13-15)

It was so good to have something fun to watch on Saturday afternoons as the Premier League returned to action- it has been a long couple of months without football and I am just glad it is all back up and running.

So what have I learned from this weekend's football:

1) Manchester United still need to improve away from home: This might sound funny considering United won at the weekend, but they looked like they were a little short of ideas in the 2nd half after dominating the opening 35 minutes of the game.


After only winning 5 of 19 away from home last season, it was good to see United start with a win, but I still think we will learn a lot more about them in their next two trips to Bolton and Stoke.




2) Sergio Aguero could be a real difference maker for Manchester City: The Argentinian could not have asked for a better debut for his new club after scoring 2 goals and setting up yet another in the 4-0 win over Swansea.


For a long period it looked like City were really missing Carlos Tevez as they struggled to create real openings, but the arrival of Sergio Aguero midway through the second half changed the whole attacking philosophy of the side and he looks like a player that can make a real difference.


If City sign Samir Nasri too, they could be a real danger this season.


3) Liverpool are going to find things tougher with the new expectations of them: A lot of Liverpool fans came into the new season with huge expectations of their side, but I think the team may still struggle when they are expected to win games without the freedom of being so far behind in terms of points as they were since Kenny Dalglish came back to the club.


They did play well in the first half against Sunderland but couldn't put their opponents away yet this was a game they would most likely have won in the second half of last season when the pressure was off the side.


There are still some big issues in defensive positions for the team and I still think a top 4 finish would represent a good season for this side.




4) Wigan are in for another relegation scrap: I can't help but think this side is going to struggle again this season as they have lost some creative talents like Tom Cleverley and Charles N'Zogbia and they don't strike me as a team that will score enough goals to make survival a straightforward task.


Roberto Martinez has kept doing a very good job in tough circumstances at the DW Stadium, but the next two weeks already look big for the Latics as they visit Swansea and then entertain Norwich.




5) Referee's inconsistencies need to be rectified: I am sympathetic as to how tough the job referees have, but the inconsistencies that blight their performances need to be resolved quickly as it infuriates managers and fans alike.


We have had the early bookings for 'diving', a policy that disappears as the weeks go by and more and more players get away with it, while it seemed unbelievable that Kieron Richardson was not sent off for tripping Luis Suarez when he was through on goal.


Mike Jones was the ref during the West Brom-United game and he had a poor performance in terms of consistency. He booked Ashley Young for an accidental trip that had Sir Alex Ferguson confused, but then allowed James Morrison to get away with an identical challenge just minutes later that had Fergie shaking his head- that kind of inconsistency is so frustrating.


Jones also allowed West Brom to resort to tactics I haven't seen since the early 90's when Leeds and Wimbledon decided to pummel Peter Schemeichel, but surely David De Gea should have got more protection from some of the second half challenges he received. Would Stoke have been allowed to get away with the robust challenges? I think not- inconsistency!!