The Refs In England Destroy Our Players

(Article submitted by Sav)

Why is it that referees in England, week in and week out, make so many wrong game-defining decisions? Why isn’t anyone doing or even saying something about it? Why is it so hard to even contemplate change in some sacred areas in English football? It seems it is against the English culture to criticize authority. “Don’t criticize the referee; if you do, you will kill the game”. But I say, you should not worry about killing the game because the referees in England are doing a good job of this on their own. Something needs to be done and sooner rather than later. What is even worse it affects the way football is played in England and as a result stifles the development of talent in English football.

What needs to go out of the window is the religious belief that football is a physical game. No it is not! Rugby is a physical game; football is a skilful team game. Referees should not allow disguised rugby players on a football pitch to spoil it. When a skilful attacker is dribbling through a number of players, balancing himself finely while running at 30 miles an hour, it doesn’t take too much of a push to put him off balance and surrender the advantage to the defender. A little shoulder-to-shoulder or a slight body check is enough to render, in an instant, all the skills possessed by the attacking player useless on an English football pitch. The defender is, almost always, given the benefit of the doubt by the referees in England.

Teams and coaches who need to be successful in these playing conditions in England can ignore the fact that referees favour defensive play at their own peril. It doesn’t pay dividends to play attractive attacking football in England. Look at the switch of fortunes for Allardyce’s Bolton when he finally realised that this is how he can get results in the Premiership. Alex Ferguson made this rule the foundation of his success; his defenders push the tolerance of the referees to the limits. It pays dividends because the benefits are far greater than the occasional costs. Building a team that plays skilful and elegant football just doesn’t cut it in England I am afraid.

Sav