Great World Cup

Now that we are down to the last eight of this years World Cup Finals, let me try and reflect on what has gone on so far. It has been an amazing tournament and has had all the spills and thrills that were so lacking in South Africa 2010. I could type all night and not do the tournament justice, so I am just going to focus in on two areas of this brilliant tournament.

Firstly I will bring my opinions on the refereeing,then I must reflect on how England got on, as these two subjects are in my opinion huge.

The refereeing in this tournament has been a breath of fresh air for me. It is as if the referees have been instructed to let the games flow and keep yellow cards to a minimum, unless really necessary. Best refereeing performance for me was Howard Webb in the Brazil v Mexico game. I thought Howard was superb on the night. He let a few challenges go,early in the game and it seemed to work for him. It was a game were he could have been crucified. The host nation need to go far and if he was to have made an error which would have put them out, there would have been murder. The best decision of the game was the handball call on Hulk. To disallow the goal for hand ball was refereeing out of the top drawer and in my opinion has elevated Howard now to possibly the best referee in Europe. It was a performance that could possibly have got him the final,but as we know he was the man in the middle for the 2010 final.

There was one other stand out refereeing performance for me and it came from an unfamiliar referee to me. The referee in charge for the Chile v Holland game was a guy called Bakary Gassama from Gambia. Now I know very little about Gambian football and when I saw this appointment I worried for the guy. But he was superb,he controlled the game excellently and was not fooled by an awful lot of gamesmanship by both sides,so hats off to that man as well.

I will now try and make sense of what I can only call an abysmal performance at these finals by England. The build up to the finals was low key for a side who seemed to go into the finals expecting not to be going anywhere fast. Roy Hodgson decided to pick a young squad to bring with him to Rio,but it did not work. I thought his tactics were awful and can't believe the press have not hammered into him, since the team has returned home. Against Italy his tactics let Pirlo run the show and if he had put someone to sit on the Italian playmaker things could have been oh so different.

Against Uruguay he allowed his players to stay so far off Suarez,that I thought the Uruguay player had an exclusion zone placed around him. As we all know that Luis had a knee operation before the finals and if I had have been boss, I would have employed tactics to test out the knee instead of looking at the little man scoring the two goals to virtually knock the one time World Cup Winners out. The most bizarre decision he made throughout the whole tournament was when he took on Costa Rica. Gerrard and Lampard cannot play together we have been hearing for years, yet Hodgson had the two of them on the park in the final game. Most managers of the big nations who failed in this tournament,resigned after their sides exit but not Roy he is going on. He failed at Euro 12 and now has a double up, by failing at World Cup 2014.

So as I said earlier I am amazed that the press have not gone after him, but maybe they to are fed up with England under performing on the big stage and can't be arsed to write about it.

A Season in Review

Now as the dust settles on what was possibly the best ever Barclays Premier League campaign. Let us try and have a look back over the past nine months and see where trophies landed and who got them. The Premier league was brilliant, like a horse race going down to the line. In my opinion Manchester City were deserved winners and have so much to offer next season. When it came to the crunch of the run in they held there nerve and moved away from second place Liverpool. If we are to be totally honest the Liverpool train could just not get the job done. A superb run from Christmas to the last week of the league, has to be commended, but they just could not see it over the line. Chelsea put the spanner in the works by defeating the Reds at Anfield and the Liverpool balloon went down completely with that three all draw at Crystal Palace. I for the life of me can not understand why they did not just shut up shop when three up and get the job done. Those extra points would have kept the pressure on City for their last couple of games. It probably was the fact that it has been years since Liverpool had any chance of winning the top league and as they say inexperience can cause issues. I have to praise a Dublin lad who was tipping Liverpool since Christmas to go on and win it, but unfortunately Billy and Liverpool fell just short. Having won the league in 2012, when it came to the final hurdle, Manchester City had that winning mentality and managed to see it over the line. It has to be said that manager Manuel Pellegrini was superb throughout the whole season and did not get involved in any of the nonsense a certain manager in London was trying to draw him into. We must not forget that this was Pellegrini’s first campaign in English football and to take away the League and League Cup was a brilliant achievement. In my opinion City are building something quite extraordinary at the moment and more trophies will follow

over the next few seasons.

As you all know, there is a third team on every pitch and that team is my one, the officials. It has been quite a good season for the referees no matter what the TV panels have been saying. Ok there have been a few incidents but over all the games in all the leagues, officials have done well. The one outstanding incident we all will remember is the handball by Oxlade Chamberlain in the Arsenal game against Chelsea at the Bridge. How Andre Marriner thought that it was Kieran Gibbs who handled the ball is still a mystery. I said at the time that I felt the fourth official might have given him a shout on the headset as he was in direct line with the incident.I actually don't think Andre saw the handball and that is where it started to go wrong.Sure we will never know but as I said earlier it has been a good season for the referees. If I may just pick out my referee of the year it has to be Mark Clattenburg. This season Mark has been brilliant and I don't think he has put a foot wrong. He has been refereeing with a smile and it has worked for him.All the hard work Mark put in, culminated in a superb performance in the Europa League semi final second leg between Juventus and Benfica. For that ninety minutes he got everything right, no question. It is disappointing for Mark that he won't be going to the World Cup Finals after such a season but Howard Webb is the chosen one. But I am sure his time will come and the European Championships in 2016 will be his stage.

Before I finish, let us not forget that the greatest show on earth starts next month and I for one can't wait. It will be round the clock football for everyone who loves the beautiful game and excitement will be massive. I have been getting questions from all over the networks as to who I think can win it ,but I am waiting to see we're my old Dublin pal Billy is laying his ten euro before I decide, because as I said earlier his Liverpool shout was an excellent one, so stand by your beds as we wait for Billy’s choice. Oh yes and in case you’re missing it already the English Premier League season for 2014/15 season kicks off again on the 16th of August, not to long to wait now.

Throw the Book at Them

I sat down last weekend to watch the Chelsea v Sunderland game on live TV over here in Dublin. Before the game all the odds were on a home win and another three points in the race for the title for the Chelsea. Unbeaten at home in the premier league under Mourinho, surely they had enough to beat Sunderland. How wrong can you be and I wonder how many people had taken a bet on the Mackems getting anything at the Bridge. What was to unfold has had so much fall out this week I just had to get my fingers tapping and try and put a calm perspective on the whole thing. Let me take you through the main talking points below.

As I see it there was four real talking points in the game. Firstly I do feel that Adam Johnson was a lucky boy not to be sent off by referee Mike Dean for a challenge on a Chelsea player in the first half. It was high and reckless and verging on dangerous,Dean yellow carded him but with all the criteria laid out for a red card I felt he should have received one. Then we have the incident of Ramires lashing out with an elbow into Larsson's face. I do not see how Mike Dean did not see it,but he didn't and these things happen. More to the point is the fact that Ramires has only returned from a ban after been sent off for an horrific challenge on an Aston Villa player quite recently. This guy is becoming a liability to his team with such rash behaviour. Then we have the penalty incident,now I can buy into people saying some penalties are harsh but the one Mike Dean awarded to Sunderland last weekend was 100% correct and in my opinion was a penalty every day of the week,I really can't see what the Chelsea complaints were all about. Maybe it's the fact that they had known they had blown the title and in a game they would have expected to win. So that,s all the on field issues sorted. Let me take you to the technical area and the meltdown of Mourinho's assistant manager Faria. He was so out of order it's incredible. He had to be forcefully removed from the area, and in my opinion if he had not been things could have got a hell of a lot worse. How can players behave on the pitch when you see that sort of carry on from the management team, he ought to be ashamed of himself.

So Sunderland had pulled off a wonderful result to give them a real chance of premiership survival and just as I was settling down after all the madness,I get word from a contact at Chelsea that Mourinho has had an amazing after match interview with the BBC. In it he applauded Mike Dean for his performance and he applauded referee chief Mike Reilly for his performance this season, sarcastic to the core again Jose. Well he has gone to far this time and in my opinion he is fast becoming a pain in the backside,in fact sometimes he talks out of it. I was delighted to see the FA hit Ramires, Faria and Mourinho with charges this week and I for one hope they throw the book at them. I also think the club should have been hit with a charge as well,because these guys need to be reigned in and told to control themselves. It is bad for football to see this thuggery and this is not a once off,there at it all the time. So let us see what punishment is handed out and then we will see if the FA have the balls to take on the big boys.

The Glazers Bottled It

This time last year Manchester United were crowned Premier League champions once again. The difference with this winning campaign to all the rest was that it was to be Sir Alex Ferguson,s last, as in a shock announcement,one of the greatest managers ever in the English game had decided to call time on a glittering career and decided to step down. Family reasons were given by Fergie as his reason to step down as he wanted to spend more time with his beloved wife Cathy after the death of her sister. Also

leaving the Manchester United boardroom was chief executive David Gill. David was off to take up a big job in Europe. How could such a big club manage with two retirements at such a level in the club and where would the future of the this club end up. Step forward David Moyes to the managers job and Ed Woodward into the boardroom. The appointment of Moyes was the perfect step forward for United and at the time most fans and media did agree. In fact I don't seem to remember many dissenting voices to his appointment. Moyes was heralded into Old Trafford by a rousing speech by Fergie on his last home game,he left the fans in no doubt that they were to back the new manager and give him all the support he needed to succeed. What was to follow over the coming months was a story of no board support for Moyes and eventually ending up with him losing his job at Old Trafford last Tuesday.

As the season kicked off United claimed another prize by bagging the Charity Shield and David's first trophy. But all was not well behind the scenes. Moyes had targeted a few players to bolster his squad and as the transfer window slowly closed he was let down on a few targets eventually only bringing in Fellani from his old club Everton. New chief executive Ed Woodward had failed at his first big test. In my opinion the team Fergie left behind needed a few players to replace the old guard. Two centre halves, a ball winner in midfield, a left back, and another striker were the simple requirements. On his first step into this huge job, Moyes was now heading for trouble. Home defeats became more frequent and we all know the basis off any title challenge has to be good home form. It was obvious from October onwards that United would not be challenging for the title this season and in fact top four could be looking dodgy as well. In my opinion the signing of Mata in the January window was a last throw of the dice and a risky one at that. Having a player of Mata's quality and not been able to play him in every game did not help Moyes' cause. On top of all that, Fellani had not settled well after his huge move to such a big club and his performances had been awful.

Earlier this season I wrote an article saying the Glazers should give the new manager time and let him build his own team from top to bottom. On reflection if David did anything wrong the one thing I will say is, he possibly should have kept Mike Phelan and work with him to keep the winning continuity in the dressing room. Alas it is always great to see things in hindsight,but one thing I did not see was professional players throwing in the towel and just giving up. Last weekends performance by the players at Goodison Park was despicable and they finally shoved the knife into the managers back and twisted it. It has become a way in the game over the past few years, that players just down tools and give up. It happened at Chelsea twice with AVB and big Phil Scolari and if that is the way football is going well I think the fans should think twice before adoring these overpaid ego maniacs.

I for one was saddened to hear all the rumors going around last Monday that Moyes was to be sacked. For such a great club to be leaking such information to the media is below contempt and as it stands this morning, there reputation is in the gutter. There is no doubt in my mind David will come back from this a much stronger manager and for those of you who are old enough to remember, the Leeds United team of the seventies once shafted Brian Clough and he went on to win championships and two European Cups. So as the dust starts to settle at Old Trafford I wish the club all the best for the future but my main thoughts are for David Moyes and his family. I have no doubt he will be back in management in the not to distant future and I for one hope he is successful, after all David Moyes is one of the nice guys of football and on top of all that a gentleman.

Tighten it up Ref

Last week I blogged about my views on who I thought could win this seasons Barclays Premier League. I also stated, that I hoped a bad refereeing decision would not decide this years champions. So I must admit I was left fuming last weekend with the performance of Anthony Taylor; followed up by the performance by Mark Clattenburg who just  put the cherry on the cake. It is quite ironic that the decisions have fallen in favour for Liverpool and that now makes the men from Anfield championship favourites. It is just not acceptable that when it has come down to the last few games,referees decisions have been called wrong. Let me below talk about the decisions that I have seen, that have changed the destiny of the Barclays Premier League this season.

Firstly let me take you back to last Sunday week and the game between West Ham and Liverpool at Upton Park. It was a pretty normal game for a referee of the top standard to handle until Anthony shot himself in the foot by allowing a Demel goal to stand, when you could clearly see that Andy Carroll had fouled the keeper on the cross. Not just a push,but a clear slap at the keepers head. Now the referee missed it,but to then make a complete and utter mess of the whole thing he failed to listen to advice given to him by his assistant, who was trying to help the referee sort out the mess. In fact what it showed to me was that the referee did not trust his assistant,and this is why he failed to accept the advice given. Then to really make matters worse, he gives a dodgy penalty to Liverpool, in my opinion it was never a penalty and the goalkeeper clearly played the ball. So Mr.Taylor had an awful day and he got all the big decisions wrong. A referee should always get the big decisions right and this defines his game.So no gold medal for Anthony on his game, in fact I thought he was very poor.

Fast forward to one week later and the big one at Anfield between Liverpool and Manchester City. For the best games you need the best referees, and it was given to Mark Clattenburg. Personally I think it was to soon after his performance in the Manchester United and Liverpool game to have him take charge of this one. My feelings were proved correct as not only did Mark make one big game changing mistake,he in fact made three blunders which in fact had a direct bearing on the result of the game. The first mistake he made was not sending off Suarez for a clear dive in the second half. The Liverpool player had been booked early in the game and his dive should have warranted a second yellow. It would have been so easy but I feel Mark bottled it. The second mistake was he did not award Man.City a penalty when Dzeko was taken down by Sakho if this had happened outside of the penalty area I have no doubt a free kick would have been awarded.Then right at the very end both Mark and his assistant missed a clear hand ball by Liverpool defender Skirtel. There is no question it was a hand ball and it should have been a penalty. But I suppose if you were to give a penalty in front of the Kop so late in the game with the home team leading, you would need balls of steel,unfortunately Mark obviously had not. Overall I am very disappointed with the two referees, as I would prefer not to be discussing poor decisions but ones that are of the excellent variety. Until next week enjoy your football and hopefully your team wins,without a bad decision by the man in the middle.

The heat is on!

Last weekend there was not an awful lot of controversy around the game for me to report on, so if I may as be so bold this week, as to try and predict where the Barclays Premier League title is going. It is as if the runners are coming around the bend and entering the home straight. In my opinion their are only three runners left now that can win it. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, all the rest have slipped away and are going out the back door as the other three stretch away. So let me try and unfold the run in, below.

Both Liverpool and Chelsea have to play six games and City have eight left.City and Chelsea have to go to Anfield and this is where I think the Liverpool machine may falter. They are going along at such a rate of knots at the moment it will be a shock to them if they don't take all the points from those two games. A good friend of mine from Galway city Gerry McDermott has been saying Liverpool will win the league since January, but I feel in the end, the pressure will just be too much.When it comes down to the business end of a season it tends to be the teams that have been through it all before that end up champions. In my opinion it will be City,s title.They have two games left on Merseyside at Anfield and Goodison and if they bag the points in those two games well then Vincent Kompany will lift the trophy.When Chelsea visit Anfield, my old mate Jose Mourinho will have his team set up in such a way that Chelsea won't lose.One other fixture on the horizon that my friend Gerry should also be worried about is Liverpool's trip to Selhurst Park.Tony Pulis in my opinion should be manager of the year for the job he has done at Palace. So all in all that is three tough games for Liverpool on the run in.It is quite amazing that City also have to play Palace and the Eagles will have a big say in the race for the championship.

No matter what way the cookies fall it has been a great season with plenty of excitement and debate.That to me is what the beautiful game should be all about. It has been a great season for debate on social networks every weekend,some discussions even got heated between friends.With us now into the final run in, I am sure the debates will go on and on.But when all is said and done and the final whistle blows at the end of the season, in my opinion Manchester City will get the gold medal. The Premier League is looking good and let us just hope next season gets even better and we could be looking at a six horse race for the title. I really really do hope so,So over the next few weeks enjoy the games and hopefully whoever wins they will do it without and refereeing controversy.Can I just finish off by praising Gerry for his prediction and if the Pool do win the league, can you send me next weeks winning lotto numbers Ger. Until next week enjoy your football and stay safe.

A Refereeing Nightmare

I like most football fans sat down to watch the English Premier league match of the weekend, Saturday lunch time saw Chelsea play host’s to London rivals Arsenal and this game had all the ingredients for a superb afternoon of football. It was Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game as Arsenal Manager and his side needed to win to keep the pressure on their rivals who are at the top of the table. The man in charge of the teams was referee Andre Mariner. Little we're we all to know at kick off what was to unfold over the next ninety minutes. A refereeing decision that I have never seen and hope never to see again, threw the whole game into turmoil after fifteen minutes. Let me below try and shed some light on the whole situation and maybe suggest a way forward so as to never have to witness a refereeing blunder of this magnitude again.

When Alex Oxlade Chamberlain handled the ball, in my opinion the referee did not actually see it. I feel someone whispered in his ear to let him know. I am thinking it was the fourth official or the assistant referee on the dug outs side, as both of them would have been looking in from an angle that would have had the best view. A lot of people said that the Arsenal player did not stop an obvious goal scoring opportunity and therefore should not have received a red card. Well that argument is total nonsense as Chamberlain did not know where he was standing, and with his dive, he was obviously trying to stop a goal been scored. In my opinion the officials got the penalty 100% correct and yes also the red card. What happened next was just mental. How Andre could single out Gibbs and send him off, beggars belief. When Andre sent off Gibbs, it enforced in my mind that the referee was been prompted by a second party as to what to do, and the second party got it totally wrong.

So where do we go from here to make sure it never happens again. Well in my opinion it is time for the premier league to introduce officials behind the goal. This would have been a perfect solution on Saturday as the guy behind the goal would have been nearest to the incident and I am sure he would have given the referee the correct information to send off the right player. I do not want to see TV technology introduced as this could be a disaster further down the road. I actually heard Henry Winter on radio today at lunchtime saying it was time to embrace technology, but this road is not one I would like to go down. I also heard this evening that Andre Mariner will be refereeing this week in the premier league, which strengthens my case that it was not him that made the error in sending off Gibbs but the official who was in his ear. All in all it was a disaster and no referee should ever have to go through that again. I really do feel from the start of next season the extra officials should be used. It would save an awful lot of heartache for players, managers and especially referees. Until next week enjoy your football.