I thought Alan Too Old To Ref Wiley had a brilliant game today. The guy carries a few extra pounds and is certainly no pup, but he was up and down the pitch all 90 minutes and really had his finger on the pulse. He has clearly watched Behrami and had his number well and truly. How many times did Behrami nose dive into the turf after losing control, only for Wiley to shake his head and wave play on? The home crowd didn't like it at first, but after two or three rejections by Wiley, the anger turned on Behrami instead. We know what the guy is up to and, if we are honest, that is not the West Ham way and not what we want to see. Instead of conning refs, Behrami might like to work on his first touch and try dribbling instead of kicking it ahead of him and scrambling after it.
And Wiley had Ilan's number too. Just as with Behrami, Ilan seems to think that an opposition player coming within a yard of him is unfair and merits a free kick. Just like Behrami, he throws himself to the floor at the merest hint of physical contact, and Wiley was having none of it from him either. Of course, this was not to our advantage but it was refreshing to see a ref standing for no nonsense.
And the handball goal? It wasn't handball, Rodallega put it in with his cock. Maybe a case for a drugs probe perhaps, has he been popping Viagra or was he just excited to be in the presence of all those Essex girls? Maybe, looking at that picture above, Wiley has researched Rodallega too!
15 comments:
Give it a rest HF. We won! We survived! Thanks to a few goals by Ilan, incidentally. Nobody is perfect. But without Ilan and Behrami we would probably still be at it. In Europe, referees, rightly in my mind, blow a push or a shove as a foul. In England, referees, have probably never played football themselves and don't know that pushing someone off-balance is enough to make him lose the ball or miss a shot. Behrami and Ilan are good footballers who can adapt to the English game. But it is also time that the English game should adapt to elegant football and the laws of gravity.
Cobblers sav. When I saw Inter v Roma, the game was so stop start because players kept throwing themselves to the floor and winning free kicks. Wiley allowed the game to flow today. Football is a contact sport you know!
Rugby is a contact sport. Football is a skill and flair sport. This is why England does not generate players like Messi, Zidane or Maradona. The referees kill the flair part of the game. Did you ever try to run and dribbble with the ball at some speed? It only takes a little push from someone to tilt you over and lose control of the ball. The only option to succeed therefore as a footballer in England is to become a physical player yourself. Take our own Joe Cole for example (one of the very rare exceptions of an English player with flair and skills in abundance). See how his game was transformed in order to fit into the requirements of the English game? Referees and general perception of what football should be help kill the beautiful game. I am almost relieved to have found something to disagree with you. Cheers mate.
Can I also point out that I find it in very bad taste for you to be praising the worst referee in the Premier League. One that has crucified West Ham many times in the past!
What a beautiful moment. Tissue someone, these two disagreed :)
...although on second thoughts, it does seem a bit staged haahahahaha
Sorry, I'll shut up.
Stani, I am catching a plane to England in the morning. You can respond to HF using my name if you want since you and I seem to agree so much lately! All the best.
P.S. I guess we are all so happy we are staying up, we now desperately seek to find another topic to fight on.
You should know by now that if you don`t 100% agree with the self opinionated, loud mouthed & arrogant writer of this blog then you are in the wrong.
0800, I'm glad you recognise that I am always right. You said it, not me. I'd hate to disagree with you mate so I must accept what you say. If the volume upsets you, adjust the control on your pc!
Maradona Sav? Looked a pretty good footballer against England to me. Zidane? Had a physical side to his game. George Best? On mudbath pitches, playing against the likes of Chopper Harris and Norman Hunter, he looked pretty special. Messi & Ronaldo - haven't seen them adjusting their game too much, and Ronaldo coped pretty well in our overly physical Prem didn't he? Fabregas copes perfectly well.
Trevor Brooking somehow managed to dribble the ball past Harris, Hunter, Bremner, Storey, Giles and co. Alan Devonshire looked tasty with the ball at his feet too. Di Canio looked a bit tasty in our overly physical Prem
Apart from the goals, what got the biggest cheers at Upton Park yesterday? Two thunderous tackles from Noble and Parker. Contrast those with the "dip your foot in" approach of Kovac and you see what is special about the typical "British" footballer. Bryan Robson was a fabulous player - he lacked the silky skills of Hoddle but he terrified the opposition! Football needs the Hoddles and the Bryan Robsons, the Brookings and the Bonds, the Ronaldos and the Scholes, the Joe Coles and the Essiens. If you had your way, the game would lose so much.
Alan Devonshire is perhaps the biggest reason I have become a West Ham supporter. He was a natural flair player. Perhaps the best English player ever. But what do you know, he never played for England! Why do you think is that? The reason is that according to general opinion he was not fit to the English way of playing the game. I am not saying the English are not skillful mate. I am saying that the value system of the people controlling the game in England, (referees, reporters, the FA and so on) is such that is not conducive to the development of these type of players. Ronaldinho very wisely decided to go to Barcelona rather than Manchester United because he could not show and develop his skills in the English game. This is also, in my opinion, why the England team under-achieves for half a century now.
Sav, get your facts right mate. Devonshire was capped 8 times by England.
England under achieved? By what criteria. We achieve to our potential when we make it through to the quarter final of a world cup. Yes we want to win it but we have no right to win it.
HF, Devonshire may have been capped in a few insignificant friendlies. This does not change what I am saying if we both agree that he was one of the most skillful English players ever. Also, by admitting that England has no right to deserve better you seem to agree with me that the team is indeed not good enough. All I am doing is to give you, what in my opinion, is the reason why England has not been good enough. And also, what can change things for the better. You start by stopping the cries for a more physical game and praising referees that encourage this style of play.
No I don't agree with you Sav. the team is good enough but you need luck to win a World Cup - and home advantage helps too. There are perhaps 10 teams in the World who can win it. We won it in 66. That means we are overdue a win by 4 years but if we win one of the next 7 competitions, we will maintain the right ratio over an 80 year stretch (2 wins over 20 competitions). You also need to have a world class player in the side who is fit and firing. We had Moore in 66, we have Rooney now.
Let's agree to disagree on this one HF. I am off to catch my plane now. I have sent you an email in case you want to post my views on this on your blog page. First thing I will do when I arrive at Heathrow today is ask the result of the Burnley vs Liverpool match. All the best.
Enjoy the flight.
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