VAR at the 2018 World Cup is the 21st century Russian Revolution. It is the football equivalent of “Seven Days That Shook The World” over 100 years ago. As happened in Europe and the world, for decades thereafter, nothing in football refereeing will remain the same after the VAR revolution at the 2018 World Cup.
Despite the bitter, vicious whingeing in the media by the luddite pundits who bang on endlessly that it is the end of football, i.e. the end of those “good times” when referees, wittingly or not, could erroneously award penalties and off-side goals without real-time review, despite the doubters, VAR has burst on the world stage proving that with technology the accuracy of refereeing decisions can decisively increase, especially on those game-changing decisions.
VAR is 99.3% correct
According to FIFA’s referee committee head, Pierluigi Collina, so far at the World Cup, 99.3 percent of “match-changing” decisions were called correctly at — “very, very close to perfection” — based on assessments by him and other senior ex-referees. Who in their right mind, after seeing world cup after world cup (my 12th tournament since 1970) where usually “smaller nations” get screwed over by a decisive penalty or off-side call, could be against VAR? Which England fan, with two working neurons and the ability to think independently, could be opposed to a video ref review after Maradonna’s infamous “hand of god” goal? Which Gooner, having experienced in the PL a 120% plus increase in Penalties-Against the club in the ten years up to 16-17 compared to the previous period, be satisfied with the current state of affairs?
Defining the revolution
So why is this a revolution? There is no bloody uprising, no raging factions of Girondists vs Jacobins, Mensheviks vs Bolsheviks, etc. engaged in terminal struggle. Yet it is my hypothesis that the impact of VAR is potentially as significant as any other revolution in the sport. First, the absolute power of the refereeing authorities to make game changing decisions without recourse has ended. It may take some months to become reality but the success of VAR on the world stage is the beginning of the end of those refereeing organizations who have delayed and procrastinated on the use of technology to ensure football officials get the big decisions absolutely right.
It is remarkable that up to 2018, football will be the last among the major sports to adopt technology. Is there anything more incongruous; in a world of 4k, ultra definition TV, where viewers can literally see every bead of sweat on a player’s brow, much less a blatant foul or hand-ball offense in real time, the Premier League with all its multi-billion tv revenue, will be the last among the major European leagues to adopt VAR. Truth, they say, is stranger than fiction.
How often have we seen referees dismiss with arrogance and impunity appeals made by players-managers-fans to reverse decisions that were blatant errors on their part. A mealy-mouth apology at end of season via a journalist or some other friendly audience regretting the error will not bring back 2 or 3 points dropped because of a bad decision. Multiply such “errors” two or three times over a season and three lost points multiply to as much nine. One doesn’t have to be a statistical genius to appreciate that in a league of fine margins, with a top-4 place more than a trophy (now the equivalent a gold or platinum plated Preferred Card to the riches of the champions league) that refereeing errors are simply unacceptable in deciding the results of games.
Even more revolutionary, to my mind, is how VAR will restrict the ability of the honchos who are the real power in the various leagues (Premier, UEFA, FIFA, etc.) from being able to appoint their favorite referee to manipulate a game to achieve a desired result. The biggest and most recent scandal, Calciopoli in Italy, centered on the fixers being able to have their favored corrupted referee appointed to do certain games. Fortunately for the Italian investigators, who busted the perpetrators, they had recorded telephone conversations between the plotters. No hard evidence has emerged of English referees being corrupted despite the increased legitimization of gaming companies being involved with English football, the massive rise in sports-related gambling rings in Asia and elsewhere and the reports of certain referees receiving favors from bookmakers. But some of us refuse to be intimidated by accusations of being conspiracy theorists, refuse to abandon commonsense, and refuse to ignore the laws of human nature. Throughout history wherever there is massive amounts of money to be had, without transparency and aggressive policing of the players, corrupting forces will flourish with gay abandon.
Disarray in the English media
The striking thing to date is how the VAR revolution has the English media in general disarray. Until recently, anything about the World Cup, particularly Russia, was negative. Football lovers were urged to avoid land of Putin as it was a cesspool of racist, violent football hooligans. Apparently the legions of fans who traveled from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and many European countries to support their teams simply ignored the advice of certain media and were/are only too happy to enjoy the hospitality of the Russians and to party from city-to-city, unmolested.
Pre-world cup the English football media was generally united that they, with a few well chosen propaganda points, could deceive the public that VAR doesn’t or couldn’t work. One prominent example is Barney Ronay of The Guardian, in my opinion their best exponent of Orwellian double-speak, who as recent as last January after only the 3rd trial of VAR by the Football League concluded:
“The fact is, for all the expertise, the manpower, the money spent, VAR just doesn’t work in football. It diminishes the experience of watching in the stadium. It skews the game decisively one way. It is one of those ideas, like bendy buses, or communism, that would simply be better off abandoned.”
Notice by the way the allusion to communism. Apparently you have to be a communist to want fair-play in football. Is there anything more Orwellian?
Eight months later the Guardian is a little more “guarded” (pardon the pun), one may say even ebullient in their assessment of VAR. In a column headlined The video ref is the rising star of this World Cup, penned by a Jack Bernhardt and published on June 19th, long before the conclusion of the group stages of the World Cup, he wrote:
“Sure, there have been a few high-profile mistakes. VAR should have spotted Harry Kane being wrestled to the ground by Tunisia’s defenders last night, and if England hadn’t won the Sun would have run the headline “What a bunch of VARseholes”. But to me, VAR is much more than a silly extra gimmick, or something new and shiny that exists just to irritate Mark Lawrenson – it’s actually changing the dynamic of the sport.
“But if a referee knows they can review a decision, it becomes inherently less arbitrary. As such, everyone has more faith in the system, so there are fewer frustrated outbursts, and less of a need for a referee to stamp their authority on the game. That’s borne out by the stats: with no red cards in the first 14 matches, this is officially the cleanest start to a World Cup in 32 years.”
Beware the counter revolution
The success of VAR is not guaranteed. Like any revolution, there will be a counter revolution. Europe is replete with examples. The French are now into their 5th Republic. The Soviet Union has ceased to exist.
The Powers That Be (PTOB) may be off-balance by the current success of VAR but it won’t be for long. Without a vigilant footballing public I am absolutely sure it will be corrupted to the detriment of fair play. The referees are not perfect and they are swayed by their inherent, historical bias towards the traditionally big footballing nations (easily change that to big-spending football clubs). Carlos Quieroz is absolutely correct that Ronaldo should have been sent off for that deliberate foul vs Iran, not a yellow card after the VAR review. The Moroccans have filed a complaint to FIFA showing 10 instances where they were shafted during their game vs Spain. Similarly the Serbians are still incensed by decisions against them in the game vs Switzerland particularly that incident when Lichsteiner and cohort wrested Mitroivic to the ground with absolutely no call. Already The Telegraph via Keith Hackett are arguing that “VAR officials are hunting for decisions to make and interfering when not needed.” But, as the smaller footballing nations at the World Cup have experienced, there is need for more VAR when the referees have made errors, not less.
As for those of us who support Arsenal and follow the Premier League, it will be interesting to see how our lords and masters react to the success of VAR in Russia. As ArsenalAndrew, who is a long-time advocate of VAR tweeted:
All I shall add, there is a crying need to “ReformThePGMO.”
Positively Arsenal 
Splendid stuff Shotts, as entertaining and thought-provoking as ever.
And it’s true, I’ve been sticking my head over the parapet on this one since circa 2002, when rugby started using video in one form or another. I’ve always felt that, regardless of the inevitable initial teething problems, if them (rugby), why not us (football)?
Even cricket, which relies on a vastly more ‘technical’ array of technology has developed and improved on the governance side out of all recognition. Indeed, if you look closely at what technology has had to overcome with regard to ball tracking at 90mph, then the challenge to introduce video tech into football is a comparatively straightforward affair.
We ‘simply’ have to work out the protocols and the application, stupid!
When the PL kicks off, our favourite organisations – the PL, the FA, the PGMOL – will all likely be engulfed by a tsunami of protest from fans, clubs and media at every game-changing fiasco right the way through from Game 1 – Game 38.
I predict there will be calls for VAR’s immediate introduction into the PL – maybe an early Xmas present for us all? Who knows although I won’t hold my breath on that one. Maybe the PL might go for an early re-vote, just the same, if only to appear that they have a collective finger on the pulse.
As Shotta points out, the main resistance to VAR currently comes from certain elements in the media, and given the prominence of old dinosaurs like Alan Shearer and others, it’s no real surprise, is it? Even some large Twitter accounts continue to fight it but all protagonists against this desperately needed progress are now rapidly being shown up for their isolation on this matter, as much as their lack of imagination.
I found the last two world cups largely unwatchable. What a thoroughly pleasant surprise this Russian version has seen the World Cup transformed into the compelling spectacle it always once was.
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If Rugby Football,
Why not Association Football?
If Association Football,
Why not the pgMOB Rules (ok?) “game management” code variant?
(that’d be a quote ladies and gents, please don’t misfire and miss the messengers, as one or two have done with inaccuracy)
Asking for a friend.
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Arsenal strengthen approach to developing young goalkeepers by appointing Andy Woodman as head of academy goalkeeping
PUBLISHED: 16:18 18 June 2018 | UPDATED: 16:25 18 June 2018
Layth Yousif
Arsenal have appointed Andy Woodman head of academy goalkeeping. PA
Arsenal have appointed Andy Woodman head of academy goalkeeping. PA
The overhaul at Arsenal continues with the club appointing Andy Woodman as head of academy goalkeeping.
The club are taking steps to strengthen their approach to developing goalkeepers at academy level next season – and the highly-rated Woodman is part of that strategy.
Woodman will oversee the development and structure of the goalkeeping department from the U9s to the U23s.
He has been with Arsenal for the past 12 months, working at London Colney, and has a wealth of experience having worked with first team goalkeepers at West Ham United, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace.
He is joined by specialist goalkeeping coach Sebastian Barton, who joins the Gunners from Millwall, where he was the lead academy goalkeeping coach. Sebastian will be tasked with preparing youngsters from the U9s to U14s keepers.
Chris Terpcou joins from Newcastle United – where he won praise for a positive impact on England U21 prospect between the sticks Freddie Woodman.
Terpcou will be responsible for the club’s U14s to U18s keepers.
An Arsenal spokesman said: “The club would like to wish Andy, Sebastian and Chris every success in their new roles as they support each of young goalkeepers in their development.”
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Don’t know why but stupid yet soft fouls like* that one just called as a simple pen were not called for the Arsenal away at Stoke on multiple occasions. And that set a pattern for last season.
*Think the technical term is: little bit Argie Bargie.
Nice to see a football team not being cheated.
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Almost a second pen.
If the barging argentines have to make sure their Argie Bargie is within the Ass.Football code, why has it been so hard for the variable pgMOB code to do the same? Like at Stoke. Quite a remarkable difference. I hope that no one is offended by such a simple remark.
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Arsenal being linked with Ipswich Town’s 15 year old Mexian/Canadian forward Marcelo Flores.
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Be curious to hear people’s thoughts when comparing Banega with Wilshere.
Watching a highlights reel of Arsenal’s goals and assists last season, apart from that little spell in march where he was niggled he had a good season including that rebuild of fitness during the Europa league group stage. Some astounding assists, the lofted long pass for Sanchez against Palace, two or three trademark cutbacks from the left hand sided byline.
Wilshere had a good season bearing in mind his journey back to top flight level fitness, having to over play at Xmas with others out etc.
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Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
2h2 hours ago
Winger Jay Beckford has signed for Polish club Arka Gdyina after being released by Arsenal.
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Wow. Do Maria had been quiet since that CL final before his move to Utd.
What a time to wake up!
Banega assist heh.
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Yellow card for persistent fouling in the first half? Justly deserved too.
Do Argentina not have another midfielder who can run? Jog?
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Just a nice little thought for today
Only two weeks till Arsenal play first preseason game, Boreham Wood
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AFCPressWatch
@AFCPressWatch2
3h3 hours ago
Kelechi Nwakali’s agent: “We expect him to get his work permit after the end of the season and a call-up to the Nigeria national team … I believe he will do well at Porto, they wanted to include an option to buy but Arsenal refused to accept the offer.” http://bit.ly/2KnjGOk
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Fins: Mascherano is their best midfielder despite being old and slow. France’s midfield is no better. Pogba is supposed to be the passer but he is not good enough. The 3 forwards are not getting service despite the enormous speed advantage with Mbappe. I cannot predict how this game will go.
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It’s an enjoyable game Shotts, and an enjoyable WC. Only a select few like certain broadcasters who don’t like the VARs are not enjoying it I guess.
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Ruins the “debate” for them? Who cares!
Meanwhile everyone else is enjoying the Football.
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Wow.
What a goal.
Defeat will be harsh on either team.
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Does more than ruin the debate for them Fins.
Pundits will now have to raise their own game and start talking proper football – you know, tactics and stuff, player strengths etc – rather than just how bad this week’s referees are.
Challenging times.
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Shotts
Diaby came to AFC a full decade into AW’s term, Koscielny and Giroud were poached towards the end, the “Panic Signing” (that’s a quotation BTW) / world’s leading target man as he’s yet again proven today, are all indications that AFC had their method of recruiting top French players right up to this last rebuild for the Handover. Some appear to be in denial of this record and sequence right up until the end, but there it is.
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Shotts
We’ve debunked the opinions of one arseblagger who rated Abraham over Nketiah. Didn’t like Chambers fortunately UE was paying attention to the football towards the end of last season and not the podcasts. Not forgetting amusing and conflicting loyalties *coughs*.
Etc.
His colleague, a fellow blagger with extremely loud Opinions rated Higuain whilst spending years digging the knife into Giroud.
The entire planet has been able observe and make a simple comparison of these two targetmen in this tournament. One has spent years proving himself in the best league as the best targetman in the world, the other…
With friends like these.
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If they spent years slagging off Giroud etc. it is indeed reasonable to conclude that these podcasters belong in the bin alongside AFTV. For the same reasons.
Thanks to George for discovering two people who aren’t full of their own Opinion, just having a normal chat and for sharing that with us.
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I have the best @ on twitter.
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Made some minor edits people. In the bin are some who care to argue about my grammar rather than the facts of the matter. Too bad.
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Agree, the Prem League needs a proper functioning VAR.
To hell with the media and dinosaur pundits, who in effect are contracted not to rock the boat.
Bring in VAR, modernise our refereeing, and replace Mike Riley, a man bought in at the behest of Fergie and his mates in the LMA , a man who oversees a secretive, unaccountable body, a man we never hear from, and a man who helps keep our game in the dark ages.
A properly run VAR, and we will no longer see Mike Dean sprinting with delight to award the softest of pens against us. With proper VAR , Kane, sterling, Lamella, dele, sterling, and so many others will be bought to account.
The Premier League, FA , PGMOL should feel embarrassed, though I doubt of those running them have a high capacity for feeling shame
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Mandy at 6:01 pm:
Not surprisingly, I agree with your proposals 100%. You may have noted I did not make this an anti-PGMO blog, rarely calling them and their leader by name. Instead I wanted to highlight the revolutionary improvement in officiating in this World Cup due to VAR, contrary to the doom-mongering by the English media. The thing that struck me in my research was how Infantino and FIFA signaled to the world they were serious about its implementation by appointing a refereeing legend, Pierluigi Collina, who has a global reputation for honest, fearless, no nonsense refereeing to be head of its Committee in charge of VAR implementation. How does this compare to the PGMOL?
I leave that discussion to you my readers.
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The clubs who voted not to introduce it no doubt did so on account of their own self-interest. A cynic would say because they believe, pure and simple, they are better off with the way things are, and not because they believe the way things are gets more decisions right than VAR does/will.
If that’s right, and if they are actually correct, why exactly will they have a dramatic change of heart as soon as next year begins? Fan pressure?
There’ll be plenty, sure, and there might well be the normal hypocrisy where you’ll have a manager mentioning it when it would have helped his team, playing it down when they have gained from its absence. Fans of respective clubs will presumably do something similar, if they actually understand how their clubs do from pgmol (so expect Spurs,Utd, chelsea fans to not be in a hurry for VAR).
We’ll see. Nothing seems certain to me at this stage and, if it depends on teams voting again, and it would be a surprise if it didn’t, we could even have the ridiculous situation of some leagues being a few years in while we reject it again.
Hopefully Uefa get on board and introduce it to European competition. That should help crank up the pressure.
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shotta I’m disgusted that you made “some minor edits”, do you not know that substance is trumped by grammar, just as facts are trumped by soundbites. Whatever next, game management over enforcing the actual rules.
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Fear not, Eddy. They were mainly grammar errors. TBH the criticism was fair for those who seek form over substance. But the guy challenged the facts without an ounce of detail. Yet I am expected to take it seriously. SMH.
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narrative is king for too many of them
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So many of our fans, myself included unfortunately, have set themselves up for serious disappointment if this Torreira transfer doesn’t happen.
Wish I could do the sensible thing and innoculate myself from it but those tiny buzzes are apparently irresistible to me. And so I eat it up from the sceptical early stages until enough claims are made that it’s happening to make me…well, get excited even as I know it’s foolish to.
Doesn’t stop me from finding it stupid to see so many insisting it’s done, even after the very credible Ornstein has stated otherwise.
As for his performance today- impressive. Total dedication to the role, no signs of temptation to showcase more of his skills than required for his job on the day. Smart, tough, diligent, excellent concentration throughout.
Worth noting that a knockout world cup game for this (maybe any) Uruguay team is a different proposition to your average club game, and perhaps more importantly the role of a defensive midfielder in an extremely organised largely defensive team is vastly different to a team who spend a lot of time with numbers pushed high up pitch.
But still…it was impressive stuff. Slight concern about size- he really is a small guy, like the anti-Yaya Toure- but mostly I think he has attributes, including shrewdness, to compensate, and to avoid too many moments when it is a pure battle of strength.
Anyway, I’ve just realised how stupid it is to have written the previous three paragraphs after what I said in first three. Drat again. Hope he signs.
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Some rumors that Ramsey and his father and Ramsey’s agent were at London Colney today to sign his new contract.
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A Ramsey new contract would be perfect him or Monreal as captain for the start of the season?
Torriera, some say the deal is done, I hope they are correct, his performance today will alert those who could gazump if he is not already ours
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well if we are signing Torreira and Sokartis, how might we line up next season
Leno
Bellerin Mustafi Sokartis Monreal
Torreira Xhaka Ramsey
Ozil Aubameyang Mkhitaryan
second 11
Cech
Lichtsteiner Chambers Mavrapanos Kolasinac
Elneny AMN Iwobi
Lucas Lacazette Welbeck
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Another superb article, thanks Shotta &AA.
Ta also to Mandy, Rich & Edu for their responses, late last article.
Indeed, Rich, you so often save me fretting with your comments. Much appreciated.
I’m enjoying the comments on various aspects of the WC, and the updates re AFC – many thanks Edu.
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Video killed the referee tsar.
The mind boggles
Top work Shots.
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He looks impressive…
I always think Clive Allen
Untill the first league game of the season
Is that just me?
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I’m loath to get into a ‘debate’ on VAR again. I’ll just say well done Shotta.
What I will mention is that the bashing of all things Russia related to their hosting of the World Cup is nothing new for the Western nations.
I go as far back as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, through the 2010 Delhi CWG, the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the 2016 Rio Olympics and now the 2018 Russia World Cup. All of these were decried as being corrupt, waste of money, dangerous places to visit and so on.
Notice the ones missing from that list are the 2012 Olympics, and the 2014 and 2018 commonwealth games. By coincidence they were held in the UK or Australia. Everyone else is corrupt, dangerous, incapable or unworthy of hosting a major sporting event. They even brought down Fifa’s chiefs for not arranging the right vote. Soon remedied by the new guy in charge for the 2026 edition.
It’s almost as if they want to pull down and discredit other nations even among their own people, and prevent interaction among peoples so as to keep monsters alive. Almost.
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By the way, those accusations of corruption led to coordinated media attacks which brought down governments in 3 of those 5 countries. China and Russia being the exceptions. You know, the ‘non-democracies’ where ‘freedom of the press’ is stifled.
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Allright, anyone dedicated enough should prob give this a go. 2 hrs of Collina talking about refereeing and VAR in group stages. Should contain a trove of insight.
I’m not quite dedicated enough to do it myself, even though I’ve prob spent a good few hundred hours thinking and talking about refs, pgmol, VAR, etc.
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Got the link from someone I recently started following on twitter, ex ref who was at last two world cups and seems very fair-minded
@jerome_k_damon
Caught my attention when he was trying to reason with ex-pgmol linesman (and huge Liverpool fan!!) I’ve been following for ages who is phenomenally anti-VAR.
He also provided a link for this. Head honcho at IFAB (crucial in VAR introduction) discussing the system with a sceptical journalist.
https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/058227-059-A/video-referees-a-fairer-system/
Again, just a tad too lazy I am to delve into it (25 mins this time), but I’m pretty sure it will again provide great insight
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Best blog article yet on VAR.
Don’t see the urgency to get it into the PL; I mean we’ve been without it since the beginnings, so one more season to iron out any wrinkles won’t make much difference.
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Thanks Rantetta.
Appreciate that.
Believe you may have a similar attitude to Ferguson as I do so that book I was on about doesn’t half contain some interesting stuff in regards to him.
The writer is pro-Ferguson, a friend perhaps, wrote a book with him in the late 90’s, enjoyed perhaps unprecedented access to him and his players (inc first ever Giggs interview), and yet at times speaks about him in a way unfamiliar to me.
Maybe it’s because the journalist has been covering football from way back, and some of the articles are before Ferguson went to Utd.
Anyway, it’s all intriguing, but there’s an article from 86 world cup I want to share a bit of.
Scotland, managed by Fergie, played Uruguay and apparently it was an exceedingly dirty game. Scots went out after a draw and were very unhappy.
Ferg accused Uruguayans of ‘having no respect for other people’s dignity’.
Bobby Charlton, there in I don’t know what capacity said ‘ We just shouldn’t play these people again’, ‘it’s simply not worth it’, ‘the way they go on has nothing to do with football, nothing to do with sport’
The writer meanwhile produces many memorable lines, including: ‘where the footballers of Uruguay have provided yet another reminder that no amount of technical brilliance can either excuse or obscure a set of attitudes so squalid that they go far beyond any question of sportsmanship and suggest a basic lack of decency in playing the game’
‘Barrios, the tall midfielder who is their captain, exemplified the baffling compound of the admirable and deplorable that makes his countryman worse than aggravating on a football field’
So anyway, Uruguay have it seems been ruffling feathers from way back; whether the journalist here was being fair on them or not, I don’t know, but the things he says certainly evoke a lot of my feeling watching games featuring the most cynical teams who also have great players. Or just players like Suarez in any game.
As for Ferguson…what’s the story? Was he always a big old hypocrite, or did he change and abandon principles later on? How did Bobby Charlton feel watching game 50, or Mourinho Utd now?
An earlier article, where Mcilvaney strongly condemns Cantona after the kung fu kick(could a journalist friend of Ferguson do something like that in the latter years?), contains this, from ferguson :
“Cathy [his wife] said to me : you’d better make sure you don’t give anybody room to say that you are the kind of manager who is only interested in winning at all costs. You’d better let everybody know you have values that rise above results, that you have the same concerns with the standards of Manchester United that Sir Matt Busby had’
All that success but he failed on that, whatever the history books say.
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Before we are consumed by today’s world cup games, its impt to note:
NewSeason formally starts today, July 1st. #AFC has new manager, new coaches and some new players. But some things remain the same:
Primary: 4th in spending power.
Secondary: Proven bias vs AFC by the PGMO.
Can #AFC improve league position despite the odds? What needs to happen?
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Rich @ 11:51 am – Very interesting about Ferguson and his narrative that the Uruguayans are foreign devils and the Scots the noble warriors. Can you imagine the Uruguayans point of view? Note they are a small Latin American nation without access to to the massive complex of informational and educational media in the Anglo-world that Ferguson is/was plugged into. It is in their football DNA to kick and scratch for every small advantage during a football game. If not they would have long been crushed by the Brazilians and Argentines.
Clearly Ferguson learned much from his experiences: It doesn’t matter how well you play technically, it matters how the referees call the game. No wonder Riley was in charge of Game 50. No wonder he is now in charge of the PGMO.
PS: Despite various attempts on Wikipedia to suppress and falsify the historical record, it is well known that Ferguson was unhappy with Keith Hackett as head of the PGMO. According to The Guardian, which rarely challenges the official narrative:
“Keith Hackett will reluctantly leave his powerful role as head of the Professional Game Match Officials in 2010 after the PGMO executive decided not to ask him to continue beyond his 65th birthday.
“Instead the three-man board, which comprises Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the Premier League, and a representative each from the Football Association and Football League, is advertising for Hackett’s replacement on the PGMO website.”
The rest, they say, is history.
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well shotta its not like Scudamore said that the BPL needed Man Utd to be successful for it to make more money.
by the way shotta did you see my post the other day about Mark Halsey saying that he booked a BPL player so that the player would earn an automatic ban for 5 bookings, and so be available to return from suspension for his clubs local derby. The player had asked him for the booking so Halsey told him what to do to earn the booking, namely kick the ball away. So we have another ex BPL ref admitting that he “game managed” instead of actually enforcing the rules, no wonder the PGMOL are not ready for VAR this coming season. It will take them time to figure out how best to combat its effects.
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Sokratis Papastathopoulos arrived in London last night, seems his transfer to Arsenal will soon be announced. AFC begin preseason training tomorrow.
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reports in Germany say that Dortmund will confirm the sale of Sokratis Papastathopoulos to Arsenal tomorrow morning
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looking at our squad, if have signed or are signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira, I would say that the most likely experienced signings still needed are a wide forward and another midfielder. That is if we are not to rely big time on youngsters like Sheaf, Bielik, DaSilva, Willock, Nelson, Smith-Rowe and Nketiah. For me the u21 players should be bonus players for the squad, and we should be aiming to have a full squad of 25 players over the age of 21, with the youths an extra layer of available players. AFC are going into the FLT this season which is for our U21 players a chance to play championship and league clubs. The early rounds of the EL might be more opportunity for them too, of course the CC too.
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shotta
Pretty sure I’ve read an account or accounts of Ferguson being a big force in Hackett’s removal.
What’s more, think I may have read he was influential in the removal of Hackett’s predecessor, Phillip Don.
I should check- was in one of the ex-ref books i read and think it’s one I bought/still have- but I believe it was a case of Don being strict, or too strict for some’s liking, and basically wanting the opposite of game management. He wanted to see the rules followed closely, allowing for more consistency and for everyone concerned to better know how things stand.
That led to moans he was trying to take tackling out of the game, we’ll see red cards every game, blah, blah. He had to go. Apparently took it very badly and believed he had been betrayed. Moved to other side of the world.
I think it was in Halsey’s book, and that the complaints were led by ferguson, his pal Allardyce and ‘prominent managers from the north West’.
I like being accurate so it annoys me if I’m confusing accounts of the two-Don and Hackett- at any point. Think not, but can’t be sure without checking and ,at present, I’m nowhere near as driven to explore it all as I once was.
What’s sure is that it’s a small, incestuous even, world at the top, with Scudamore prominent in formation of pgmol and an original and longtime board member. Riley is now installed there. Riley was once pushed forward to go to the Euros (2004 maybe) despite being nowhere near qualifying on the merit system they use. Our ref bosses here had to beg Uefa to make a special case for him and Uefa reluctantly agreed.
The little known fact that as well as supplying 90% of pgmol funding the premier league are very much pgmol’s bosses and in charge of hiring and firing. The two share offices. The Utd chairman held the senior position among the clubs in recommending and approving Scudamore’s bonus each year (that one was just an aside in ex-Palace chairman Simon Jordan’s book). Managers and referees would contact each other by text or phone.
None of that proves any wrongdoing, but as someone who believes only wrongdoing or something which achieves the same results can explain what I have witnessed over the years…I guess it all builds to a picture where wrongdoing is eminently plausible.
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Silva is a great player but like the Marquis Cazorla was my favourite from the Spanish golden gen after Iniesta and Xavi for me.
That result may be a surprise for many, perhaps not with the mess with the Spanish coach. It was back in January I speculated that England would do very well in the upcoming WC.
You heard it here first.
Heh
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Monreal is coming home
he should be available to play some part in our preseason fixtures and could be ready for selection for opening BPL game
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