I have noticed a few things about my writing. First, I don’t always title articles based on their content and second I’m verbose. The second of which is hilarious because my favorite writer is Hemming… see, I’m doing it again.
The article titles issue has come to my attention before. Someone mentioned that they basically have to read my articles every day and ignore the title in order to get to the gems. Since then I’ve tried, I really have but I will still write an article called Arsenal v. Birmingham match preview and in that article will be a brief, two paragraph gem where I coin the phrase “Centurions,” you know, just in case Arsenal score 100 goals in the season.
I’m going to toot my own horn here and say that I’m proud that I got in on Arsenal scoring 100 goals in a season all the way back on October 16th and have been writing about this free flowing team and their prolific goal scoring pretty much ever since.
Of course I think 100 League goals in a season is a crazy feat, a feat of Invincibles proportions, that’s why I thought they needed a name and “Centurions” fits. And, of course, they haven’t scored 100 goals yet so they aren’t the Centurions… yet. I am also not trying to heap any more pressure on them than the dot com already has. I’m just pointing out that at this pace, they have a pretty good chance of scoring 100 League goals. In fact, at 36 goals in 11 games, Arsenal are on pace to score 124 goals this season. Which isn’t realistic, but it sure is fun to think about.
So, that takes care of the first part of my title, the second part is about yesterday’s David N’Gog dive. Well, more generally about cheating, instant replay, and referee’s getting the decisions right.
When I was a kid we didn’t have instant replay. We watched the games live, as they happened, uphill, in the snow, BOTH WAYS. Slowly, television stations started devoting time to taping the games and replaying important events back for us. At first this was met with disdain, people didn’t want their football coverage broken up with replays! But now, we have multiple angles, they can stop motion and digitize the plays, there’s slow motion replay, telestrators, and basically every play is scrutinized from dozens of angles. So, when we see David N’Gog go down in the box, and it’s clear from the overhead third camera angle that he dived, blatantly cheated, the anti-diving fundamentalists start frothing at the mouth at the injustice that was just committed.
But, here’s the thing: refs get shit wrong. A few weeks ago a referee let Sunderland’s goal stand against Liverpool, when it was clear that the beach ball obstructed the goal. Did N’Gog dive? Yes. 100% There was no contact, which I can say, having seen the incident from multiple angles, cropped, zoomed in and in slow motion.
But that’s the problem isn’t it, or at least it’s one of the problems, that we fans get to see stuff during the match that the referee cannot. FIFA’s cowardly answer to this is to put more officials on the pitch, but more officials are not going to be as good as the cameras around them and they will just get more calls wrong, which we will get to see over and over again, dissected from every possible angle.
So the simple solution is to either instill instant replay officiating for important calls or to stop showing instant replays on television. I know that there are a lot of people who say that instant replay officiating would “slow the game down” or would “break the flow” of the game but that’s just bullshit and you all know it. It wouldn’t slow the game down any more than the game is already slowed down by how on every controversial call the official is mobbed by 22 players.
It would work like this: on every penalty call, the official would get on his headset to the fourth official, who would quickly look at a monitor and decide if the call needs a review. If not, most do not, the play would go on. If it does, or if the fourth official is undecided, the ref would take 30 seconds to get the call right. Additionally, I would allow each team 2 challenges per game, like we do in the NFL. These could be used at the manager’s discretion and again would take less than a minute to clear up. So, Ancelotti could challenge Johnny Evan’s kung-fu kick on Drogba, as Drogba was getting treatment, which would result in a straight red for Evans and a yellow for Drogba’s fake seizure. Seems to me that if getting all the calls perfectly right is so gods damned important we ought to at least let the refs use the technology available to them to do so while the game is still being contested.
There is one other option… for us all to accept that refs are human and make mistakes, that players take advantage of that, and that while it might seem like the world’s most tragic injustice it’s just a game.
Nah, let’s gets that video replay please!
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Early post today Tim. Me Likey. Centurions is a good name and I’m an optimist so it doesn’t seem that unrealistic to me, we still get to play Hull twice, Fat Sam once more and those bitches from Shite Hart Lane again, so… there will be goals.
Also, it’s too bad Benitez isn’t Scottish, otherwise N’gog might be getting a ban.
Use of technology to make things better is so easy. And reviews/appeals can be limited (initially) to a few types of calls so the game will not be delayed any more than it is now. For example, say, only goals (review for fouls, offsides, etc. Decide to let the goal stand or not), dissallowed goals (review for offsides, etc. Decide to let the goal stand or not), Penalties (Like yesterday’s Ngog incident, or every other time Rooney or Drogba fall), Red/Yellow cards. And maybe that’s it initially. Imagine how much the game will be better off with just these few easy changes. And what do we do when an official game does not have cameras? Same as how things are right now. At least important/big games will always have cameras.
More refs only mean more fodder for fergusson and the chelsea d-bags to surround and be rude to. Shit flows downstream as they say and right now sepp blatter is taking a huge dump on football by not letting the game evolve or modernize. i totally agree with you with the 2 appeal per game idea. it would make the game a lot fairer and not take anything away. as a matter of fact, it would not only NOT slow the game down but it would give divers like droga something to think about before putting on an oscar worthy performance on the ground. therefore, i think it would actually help maintain the flow of the game.
I’m kind of torn on this N’Gog thing. To me, Carsley does deserve the penalty against him for sliding in and missing the ball. It’s a shit tackle and he’s stupid for even trying it in the box. Fortunately for him, N’Gog is too dumb/slow to leave his leg down so that he can actually trip over Carsley, and instead does an obvious dive.
So while N’Gog certainly is a dirty rotten cheat and will be hounded as such by the media, and Carsley may feel upset that he was cheated on, it’s still a hole that he dug himself.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Agree. Poor N’Gog hasn’t yet got the hang of cheating subtly, and Birmingham’s incompetent, lunging defenders deserve all they get. When they learn to tackle properly they’ll deserve to stay up.
Sorry mate, but I already predicted us to score 100 goals this season in Le-grove blog soon after we thumped Pompey 4-1 back in August. To show my belief in Arsenal, I placed a bet of £100 with WilliamHill who offered odds of 33/1 back then. They have now narrowed down the odds to 7/1 after Wolves game. I am on course to make myself a handsome £3,300 as soon as we hit the 100 goals mark.
With regards to coining the ‘Centurians’, I have nothing to say…
November 10th, 2009 at 7:55 am
With all that cash coming in you can afford to at least buy one of my tee-shirts…
I think Cesc is right to be wary and to expect us to go through a bad patch sometime soon. ‘What if the goals dry up?’ he asked recently. It is both a reasonable anxiety – all players suffer from bleak periods when nothing goes right – and a comment our inability to keep a clean sheet. Maybe he’s just being humble and not wanting to tempt fate, but maybe he’s telling Wenger that we really need to buy some defensive cover to help us through the hard times when Song is away, or Gallas or Vermaelen pick up an injury, or simply when none of our top scorers seem able to score. Eduardo is having a bad patch, by his standards, at the moment, which is perhaps a good thing as hopefully he’ll be back to his best if/when Van Persie and Cesc hit their poor run of form. Hopefully, too, Vela and Walcott can chip in twenty or so. I’m not saying we won’t score 100, but I am feeling more cautious than some of you.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:51 am
@Mia, I think you’re going to be surprised.
It is one thing to say something and another different to support what you say with solid ideas. Lets go for the 100. I can imagine the t shirts already!
Manhandling mediocre talent does not elevate Arsenal to the level of
Inter, Barca, and Real.
Its silverware that builds reputation and credibility – not 100+ goals.
Tim, I know you see the same big picture.
re: review of game tape & 2 challenges
IMO, this will not work and only undermine officials; every disputed play will have this delaying effect and the game’s flow will come to a screeching halt. I stopped watching basketball, football, and baseball because of the stoppages.
There does need to be some review option ( camera) regarding the ball crossing the goal plane.
For dives and / or disputed fouls. The on field ref’s decision stands. For any major fouls resulting in a yellow or red card OR penalty kick, the call can be disputed after the match; the player involved would have to report to an inquiry board who has reviewed the match tape; there job is to police and level justice where the player cheated the game OR committed violent foul that went undetected by match officials. Or when the punishment handed out was not justified.
diving – like Ngog, 1 month ban for all league matches; financial penalty: fine equal to club wages over this period.
dangerous foul undetected: 10 match ban; financial penalty: fine equal to club wages over this period.
receiving a red card: punishment can be extended by the committee
By having a review board, the match official would not be intimidated by the crowd and either team’s coach’s stature.
All of this is hypothetical so the examples can be modified.
Don’t you believe that b4 a player thinks about diving, he’ll know he won’t escape the game tapes taking the risk of his availability for upcoming matches & his income.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:53 am
A month’s ban for diving? Seems a bit drastic when there’s no agreed definition as to what constitutes a dive.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:55 am
That won’t work for two reasons:
1. Post match video evidence requires that the panel judge intent. Was the player trying to deceive the official, or save his legs? That’s tricky at best and your assumption is that anyone who goes down is trying to deceive when that’s not always the case.
2. It’s the Champions League final and I have a chance to win my team a penalty and win the trophy, I’m going down and letting the chips fall where they may, 1 month ban or not. You can ban the player for a month but you can never get the trophy back.
Besides, how much more disruptive would it have been for the ref to go over (while TV is showing constant replays) and the teams are settling and review a goal? It’s not going to break the flow any more than Drogba’s “eplilepsy” at every slight contact does.
And while we’re at it, I think that Drogba’s feigning injury is worse than N’Gog’s dive. N’Gog could say “well that guy was trying to murder me and I got out of the way” where Drogba’s antics were purely designed to highlight Evan’s contact. It reminded me of Rivaldo, but in a way kinda worse.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:44 am
@Tim,
If you want to stop the cheating then you set harsh standards, and assessment outside the atmosphere of the crowd and teams.
the speed of the game and the ref’s positioning are major elements that effect officials judgment; where game tape of the action can clarify the circumstances and ruling.
If there is no contact – that is blatant and certainly intent to deceive. Saving the legs, are you kidding me, this is soccer – not swimming.
Its the Champion League final, if there is “contact” and you go down, its not deception – this the subject of Ngog’s acting. I did not say this procedure was perfect. Anyway, most ‘experienced’ refs will not call a penalty if there is any doubt (in their mind) about a foul in the PA.
Ngog – he was trying to murder me & I got out of his way. Getting out of the way would require a totally different technique to avoid the tackle; its called jumping up over the tackle – not pretending to trip and falling forward on your chest.
totally agree with you about Drogba;
November 10th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
@arsesession, Just because there’s no contact does not mean that there’s intent to deceive, you’re making an absolutist statement that you cannot prove.
The other thing you sound like you’re suggesting is that players should take the hit, I would say absolutely not. If I’m running full speed and Lee Carsley lunges anywhere near me I’m getting the fuck out of the way. If I go down in the process, I should get a one month ban? Really?
Also, and others have brought this up, what about Carsley’s intent? For me, it was clearly a rash tackle that got none of the ball, just as Boruc’ tackle got none of the ball. Their intent could be interpreted as trying to take the man. And as you know, you don’t have to make contact to draw a foul.
I think you’re taking an absolutist position on only one side of this issue. There’s a lot of gray area and that’s why it’s more important for the match official, and not some panel, to judge what’s a foul.
As far as we know, the ref saw that there was no contact but decided to award the penalty because Carsley put in what he decided was a dangerous tackle. At that point, N’Gog’s theatrics are academic.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
@Tim, “Just because there’s no contact does not mean that there’s intent to deceive”. Yes, you are right, UNLESS, the player in possession of the ball gives the impression there was contact and exaggerates with A DIVE to mislead the official.
I’m not at all suggesting players should take a hit. The topic is diving and reviewing controversial calls, as the penalty awarded Liverpool. Jumping over OR dodging a tackle is the customary method used to avoid a tackle. Diving is the preferred technic to draw foul.
Intent:
If I take a swing at you, hit or miss, that’s grounds for a straight red. But the Laws are not that straight forward for clean tackles (of any variety) – you make no contact, there is no foul. If you go in studs up, then the referee can interpret to fit the situation.
If Carsley’s makes a rash tackle, but makes no contact, and you go down to influence the official – it should be punishable.
“As far as we know, the ref saw that there was no contact but decided to award the penalty because Carsley put in what he decided was a dangerous tackle. At that point, N’Gog’s theatrics are academic.”
I have read many posts and British media following the match. Not once has anyone taken this view.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:07 am
@arsesession
I agree with you. I am not too keen on having video replay reviews in actual matches. Stiffer penalties is what I am for. With the number of mercenaries running around in the pitch, I don’t think they would even think about diving if it would affect their cash flow.
The entire kung fu kick and the antics after will rival any martial arts action scene here in Asia. I guess Drogba has a career here when he hangs up his boots. I suggest Shaolin Soccer part 2 the rise and fall of the Drogba
November 10th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
@Jet Pinoy Gooner, I was out of town on Sunday, so it was yesterday when I watched the replay; I have to say his antics, the stiff leg wiggling was over the top; I was laughing so hard.
The ref came over to him, bent down and said (I could read his lips)
WTF?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/02/westminster-cctv-system-privacy
There are ‘crimes’ being committed on Premiership pitches every week and we see that referees are some of the most unreliable ‘witnesses’ to those events that exist in England. If I’m going to commit a murder in England, I want to make sure the witness is an EPL referee. There is no excuse for not extending video capability to the world of football since that is a just reflection of society.
You can’t have discretionary challenges by managers because they will soon use them like a time out to disrupt the oppponents momentum or consolidate their stategy.
You cannot have 2 challenges per match unless their is some penalty for frivolous challenges (eg. trying to break an opponent’s momentum build up).
Shit, the Germany keeper Robert Enke is dead, killed by a train, seemingly suicide. They say keepers are loners and depressive, but what a way to kill yourself.
Spuds fans have lost the plot…that is all
I don’t even read your headlines, Tim. As you say, you cover a wide range of topics in your posts, and I feel it’ll be a shame if you tried to limit your thoughts strictly to what’s outlined in your heading. I’d rather a rambling, amusing discourse than a colourless, two paragraph report about a game.
About N’gog, I’m not sure it’s not a foul. Whatshisface slid into him, and Ngog was within his rights to jump up in the air like a long-jumper and milk it for all its worth. Same thing happened with Australia in the world cup game against Italy. Lucas Neill went down in the penalty box, that Italian full back (not Zambrotta, the other guy) dived over Neill’s outstretched leg and claimed a penalty. The Ref HAD to give it because Neill was blocking the flithy cheating lying Italian fullback. If Ngog didn’t jump out of the way, he could’ve been out for 9 months a la Eduardo and that Brum defender.
And, I’d rather call them “premier league champions”, but that’s a bit off in the distance, hey?
November 11th, 2009 at 6:01 am
@connolysagent, HA!
Yes, “_______ champions” will do for me as well.
HAAAA! Florentino just said that if Real Mad doesnt get any silverware this season it wont be a failure. Eat that doom and gloomers!