Refs Miss Commonsense, Nutty Catalans & Don’t Expect Any New Signings

It’s Too Late To Say You’re Sorry

So Arsene is to receive an apology from Keith Hackett for his sending off. Perchance that may carry some weight within the smoke-filled corridors of the Football Association where the butcher, baker and candlestick maker decide the fates of players and managers alike. And according to reports. it will carry such weight which is more than I expect from UEFA tomorrow.

The incident was symptomatic of the poor decision making by the referee at Old Trafford. On the TV replays, the fourth official, Lee Probert, quite clearly says to Wenger, “Kicking that bottle was totally unacceptable”. The only way in which I can describe his body language was that of a six year old child, stomping off after an argument to tell a parent that someone will not do as they want and is ruining the game.

Did Wenger merit a dismissal? No, not under any circumstances. If the official was so incensed, he needs to question whether or not he has the mental acumen to be officiate since he was too emotional. It is apparent he feels no empathy with managers and more to the point, it brings into severe question his man-management abilities. If genuinely concerned about the atmosphere, Probert should have quietly walked over to Wenger to suggest that the Frenchman reassesses his behaviour.

My question to Probert is, why? Wenger accepted the offside decision but was utterly frustrated to be denied a thoroughly deserved point. More to the point, it begs the question as to what we want from our managers. Even the most implaccable is under tremendous scrutiny from the media, with nowhere to hide. Emotions are bound to run high, especially in a big game such as Saturday’s. To keep them bottled up would, I feel, inevitably exacerbate health issues. The stress that all of them feel is incredible and it is not hard to see why they snap in the heat of the moment.

Instead, remonstrating and calling over the referee merely served to intensify the pressure of the situation. Ordering Wenger to the stands subjected the manager to abuse and gloating from the Manchester United supporters. Standing atop the dugout was not perhaps the best place to be especially in light of events at Upton Park in the week. One push and whoops, there goes a season for the manager.

Prior to the match, Keith Hackett had spoken of the need to monitor the behaviour of managers. Perhaps a better idea for his organisation would be to monitor more closely the actions of the fourth officials. Even so, nothing will come of this situation. Probert will still be officiating in the next round of Premier League matches. Dean and co will still be officiating with the whole incident swept under the refereeing carpet.

The Curdled Journey

Making an issue of tapping up is for the most part, entirely pointless and totally futile. All clubs do it, in the spirit of football law, since the media constantly ask managers about specific players. As soon as the question is answered with anything other than, “We do not talk about other players since they are contracted to another club“, tapping up essentially occurs. There is little that can be done about a one-off scenario.

The Spanish clubs have this off to a fine art. Using their pet media outlets as the driving forces, they merely respond to the questions posed, even if they were planted in the first place. Take Cesc for example. Barcelona continually talk about him, Laporta did so once more, with the temerity to speak of his respect for Arsene Wenger in the same breath.

Let’s be clear. Barcelona has no respect for Arsenal or Wenger. I am not even convinced that they really want Fabregas other than to salvage their affronted pride at the way in which he left them. Not so long ago, Berguistain told the world that the player was not wanted by the Catalans as he had left and would need to almost beg to return. Laporta contradicts that constantly but always refers to the manner of his departure. This is a face-saving exercise on his part to play politics, one that the English media is only too willing to participate in.

Last Days Of Summer

Closing the transfer window is perhaps a cause of celebration. It ought to put a stop to the continual flood of ill-informed guesswork that permeates the back pages, airwaves and electronic media. Over the next two or three months that will be case, ready for the winter window warm-up in December.

Of course the flipside is that continual moaning about how we have not signed a world-class goalkeeper, another centre back, a defensive midfielder or a new striker. Add into that the tiresome whinging about how the board has not given Wenger any funds and it all becomes incredibly wearing and tiresome. Do I think Wenger will sign anyone this time? No to the extent that if he does, I will be entirely amazed. He has a good squad of players and it takes an exceptional talent to improve it. There are plenty of those players out there but few who their current employers want to sell at a good price for Arsenal. We shall see.

’til Tomorrow.