Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has confirmed that Barcelona have expressed their interest in Cesc Fabregas.Fabregas, 24, has long been linked with a move back to the club of his youth after a number of disappointing years with the Gunners.
Rumours of his discontentment at the Emirates were rife prior to the 2010-11 season and only grew louder as Arsenal again failed to capture a trophy under Arsene Wenger.
Barca had a 40-million-pound bid for Fabregas rejected prior to last season, and have since claimed they were out of the race for the Spaniard’s signature due to the need to reduce some of their considerable debt.
But that has not stopped the Catalan giants from enquiring about Fabregas, according to the Gunners’ chairman.
“Yes, they have spoken to us about Cesc,” Hill-Wood told English daily The Mirror.
“They have been in touch. But so far they have not made a bid and we do not want to let him go.”
“But he comes from Barcelona so it is understandable if he wanted to go back. However, they have not made an offer so far.”
A separate report has linked Barca with an audacious 91-million-pound triple swoop for Fabregas, Udinese talisman Alexis Sanchez and Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi.
Barca boss Pep Guardiola has been held to a 45m transfer kitty to add reinforcements, but is reportedly prepared to sell David Villa for as much as 40 million pounds to help fund the deals.
Chelsea and Manchester City are among those rumoured to be interested in Villa, who shone for Barca in his first season since moving from Valencia.
After just four games of the season, the title is already a two-horse race between Manchester United and Manchester City with the rest battling for the minor places. Manchester City are seemingly better than Barcelona, Chelsea are too slow to challenge for the title, Liverpool are still in crisis, as are Arsenal. Steve Bruce is heading for the sack. Sergio Aguero is the greatest import the world has ever seen. These are just a few of the over-exaggerations that have dominated the media coverage of the opening few weeks of the season.
In the world of rolling updates and 24-hour news, some degree of media hyperactivity is to be expected. However, it seems that the media frenzy around football is reaching new heights with each week that passes, and the media hyperbole is now starting to border on the ridiculous.
Media hyperbole has amped up coverage of every aspect of the game in recent weeks, from completely writing off Chelsea, despite their reasonable start to the season, and going into overdrive in stating that Manchester City and Manchester United are clear title favourites. In their quest to bring us something new and exciting every week, the media have created a particularly fierce culture of hype, where everything is now bordering on being an over-exaggeration.
Teams flit from being praised one week, to torn down the next. The new look Liverpool side were held up almost immediately as genuine title contenders, only to be heavily criticised and plunged back into crisis after their defeat to Stoke. Players are hailed as the next great thing, or the best player we have ever seen, only to be slammed when they fail to live up to these heights again. The media hyperbole runs right through the game, and it is not just clubs and players that are affected, as it infiltrates every aspect of the game from exaggerated transfer sagas to criticism of managers, as the media bays for blood in the Premier League managerial sack race, hyping up and adding fuel to the fire.
It seems that the media has lost all degree of balance, or even just sense in its coverage and analysis and simply can no longer resist analysing through hyperbolic terms. The use of ridiculous headlines, and powerful imagery, might be necessary to grab our attention in this media saturated world, but the exaggerated nature of the coverage now means that we are starting to lose all sight of context within the game.
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Take Chelsea, strong contenders at the top of the league for the last few years, and no doubt likely to challenge once again this year. However after only four games the media seems to have written them off, quick to criticise Andre Villas-Boas, and describe Chelsea’s team as aging and slow.
They have also been quick to jump on the Man City bandwagon and get completely carried away with their start to the season. Just this week stories have emerged suggesting that City will be the ones to topple Barcelona, before they have even kicked a ball in Champions League football. The worst part to all this media hype, though, is that it will be quick to reverse and state exactly the opposite by this time next week. If Chelsea are to win at United this weekend, then no doubt the media will be quick to reinstate them back into the title race. The nature of the hyperbole will change once again, but the coverage will still remain overexaggerated in its nature.
In the saturated media world we now live in, it appears that the media believes they need to be bigger and better to grab our attention. Sure, extreme exaggeration can be used to make a point, and add colour or humour, but when it is used so often and is bordering on the ridiculous almost every time, it starts to get frustrating. Everything is subsequently blown out of total proportions, every new story needs an exaggerated angle, some sort of controversy, however minor, must be picked apart to the minutest detail, even things like tackling or the quest for respect in football seem to get completely over-exaggerated, and coverage loses all sense of perspective.
The media has seemingly lost all sense of proportion. No title race is won in August or even September, so their writing off of Chelsea and heralding of Manchester City is simply ridiculous. After five games last season, they heralded Chelsea as the champions and called the title race as good as over, and look how that turned out. No doubt, if the tables are turned later in the season they will be quick to change their tune. Yes City and United have looked good so far, but they don’t deserve the exaggerated praise that pundits, analysists, and journalists alike have gone too. It’s fine adding a bit of colour to your piece, but it appears as if the level of media hyperbole we are subject to week in week out is starting to cross the line.
What are your thoughts on the way the media covers football? Let me know by commenting below or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.
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Liverpool have been dealt some serious blows in the transfer market over the past few seasons. While the club may not have fallen foul to the cult of the badge-kisser over the years, they have certainly had their fair share of fallen idols and unsavoury characters in and around the first-team squad.
The latest villain to add to the list, a player that has seriously let the club and it’s fans down recently with his actions is Fernando Torres, after moving to rivals Chelsea for a fee in the region of £50m.
On January 9th Torres stated his allegiance to the Liverpool cause stating that: “More than ever, we need to stick together. My head is in Liverpool and on helping save our season. I am professional and I always fulfil my deals. I haven’t considered leaving, although in football that depends on the club.”
Now, to my mind, this would seem to allude to a pledge of loyalty on Torres’ behalf to see out his contract with the club until it ran out in 2013, yet just 20 days later the player handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force through a move to Chelsea before the close of the January transfer window. He got his wish.
Torres’ endured a terrible debut against his former club and already there are question marks about how he is going to fit into Chelsea’s formation. However, Torres is not the first player to let the club and it’s fans down. Whether it be due to an acrimonious departure, failure to live up to a price tag or simply because they’ve joined a rival club, Liverpool fans have seen there fair share of villains over the years.
So without further ado, here are my top ten Liverpool villains – click on Markus Babbel to reveal the gallery:
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Playing up front for Newcastle United is a tough, tough ask. Not only do you need the ability score goals against some of the toughest defences in Europe, the iconic names to have lead the line for previous Newcastle sides mean an almost intolerable pressure is placed on those charged with scoring goals for the Magpies.
Since Alan Pardew’s controversial appointment at the Tyneside club, he has stressed the importance of not only keeping star asset Andy Carroll, but also strengthening his forward line with a January signing to safeguard Newcastle’s position in the top-flight. Clearly unimpressed with the first team prospects of both Peter Lovenkrands and Shola Ameobi, Pardew is said to be on the lookout for more firepower.
With time already running out to make a marquee acquisition, Pardew would do worse than give the in-form Leon Best a chance to stake his claim to a starting berth alongside Carroll. Having only just recovered from a cruciate ligament injury sustained during his first pre-season at the club, Best announced his arrival in the first team last week with a stunning hat trick against basement club West Ham.
A signing under previous Newcastle manager, Chris Hughton, Best was snapped up after no more than steady performances for Championship outfit Coventry City, and is better known amongst football fans for his “Zorro” mask phase than he is for his accuracy in the penalty area.
Nevertheless, his recent goals have left Pardew with a conundrum heading into the New Year. Whilst he would certainly prefer to stamp his own authority on a squad with a handful of new signings in key positions, the former West Ham boss will be conscious that value for money in the compressed January window is particularly difficult to find, and with a number of the Newcastle faithful remaining sceptical about the former West Ham man’s credentials, any transfer market flops will be harshly judged.
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On the other hand, placing faith in a man unproven at the top level is something many Premier League managers would be loathe to consider, particularly as the player in question has never previously shown the consistency required to consistently trouble Championship defences, let alone those in the league above.
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However, owner Mike Ashley will not grant Pardew an unlimited budget with which to make his mark on the Magpies’ playing staff. After watching their tame defeat to League Two side Stevenage during this weekend’s FA Cup tie, it may be argued his resources are best used shoring up a leaky defence rather than dismissing the claims of a youngster hungry to make his impression as a supplementary force to undisputed number nine, Andy Carroll.
Newcastle’s recent history is littered with tales of strikers unable to match the expectations of the club’s supporters. Players of the calibre of Patrick Kluivert and Michael Owen have been found wanting when it appeared they had all the tools to be Toon icons. The unique pressures of playing football on Tyneside are something that very few players would come to the club prepared for and many would forgive Pardew for granting the youngster a chance to make himself indispensable to the new manager.
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Chelsea will be looking to continue their excellent form by taking all three points against Everton who are looking to bounce back from their Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool a fortnight ago.
Andre Villas-Boas’ side have started the season in superb fashion especially on home soil and go into the game protecting a 100% record at Stamford Bridge. Early reservations that the 34-year-old former Porto coach would struggle have been washed away with the Portuguese native revitalising the Blues. The likes of Juan Mata, Raul Meireles and Daniel Sturridge have been tremendous thus far and their youthful vitality has seen Villas-Boas find the right blend with the senior members of the squad. Frank Lampard has benefitted the most from his management and talk of the England midfielder being past his best were quickly dismissed with four goals in the week before the international break. The 33-year-old struck in the Champions League away at Valencia before butting Bolton to the sword scoring a hat trick as Chelsea hit the next six times at the Reebok Stadium. One concern though remains around the defence with the Blues yet to keep a clean sheet in the league since the opening day and their record against Everton isn’t the best. The last five meetings in West London have ended in draws whilst they haven’t beaten David Moyes’ side since winning 1-0 back in 2008. With Fernando Torres still suspended Sturridge, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka will be fighting it out to start up front with the young Englishman the most likely having scored twice against Trotters two weeks ago.
As for the Toffee’s they’ve lost their last two and will be looking to avoid losing three games on the trot for the first time since November 2009. They will be boosted by the news that Jack Rodwell’s red card has been rescinded and he will be free to play in his 100th Everton game at Stamford Bridge. The England under-21 midfielder was harshly sent off for a robust challenge on Luis Suarez in the Merseyside derby which they lost 2-0. Scoring goals continues to be their achilles heel with Louis Saha and Tim Cahill looking short of confidence up front. The latter has failed to hit the net in 2011 but has a decent record against Chelsea so will fancy his chances of ending his barren run. Saha on the other hand has had his differences with Moyes already this season and despite patching them up age seems to be catching up on the 33-year-old Frenchman. They’ll need to start scoring on Saturday if they want to continue their impressive run against the Blues which has seen them remain unbeaten in the last six meetings.
Key Players
Juan Mata – What a signing the Spaniard has been with his £22 million move from Valencia already looking like shrewd business. Mata has injected a touch of class to the Chelsea midfield with his intelligent passing and movement making him difficult to mark. His ability to glide into space has given the Blues an extra dimension to their attack and they’ll be expecting more of the same from him on Saturday.
Leighton Baines – One of the more consistent players for Everton over the last few seasons the England left back performs key duties in both defence and attack. Likely to be up against the pacey Jose Boswinga and Ramires he’ll have to have his defensive hat on to cope with the duo. Given the chance to get forward his trusty left foot will be tasked with providing quality balls for Saha and Cahill to get on the end of and give the Toffee’s a fighting chance of claiming some much needed points.
Verdict: 3-1
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Chelsea hit their stride in their last outing, hitting 5 past Blackburn in a 5-1 victory. Chelsea covered a total of 123.8km in that game, with evergreen midfielder Frank Lampard covering 12.3km, second only to Raul Meireles with 13.1km Lampard’s hat trick moved him up 87 places in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index to 10th overall, and the 2nd highest ranking English midfielder after Ashley Young. He now joins Gabriel Agbonlahor as the joint 4th top scorer in the Barclays Premier League and is the highest scoring midfielder. Lampard has also won 57% of tackles and contributed two assists Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka are Everton’s top ranked players in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index in 91st and 92nd place respectively. Baines has won 77% of tackles so far this season while Jagielka is still yet to lose a tackle all season Baines has also contributed to his side’s attack, putting in 15 crosses so far this season
It has become clear that the Champions League dictates what is deemed a successful season for any major club in Europe. The manner in which managers are moved on due to failure to meet minimum requirements of European qualification has caused a number of teams to lose stability and face the prospect of starting the rebuilding process all over again. Yes, it brings financial security, especially for English teams who receive more in income than their European counterparts, but a year or two away from the glamour and lights of club football’s elite competition could be a huge silver lining during a perceived period of darkness.
It has become a much bigger trend in recent seasons for big clubs on the continent to miss out on the Champions League: AC Milan travelled to Fratton Park in 2008 in the Uefa Cup—a tie from a parallel universe only a few years earlier—while the giants of German football Bayern Munich also experienced a year in unfamiliar territory in Uefa’s second competition . It seemed unlikely that anything of that nature would spill over into the Premier League because the strength of the top four seemed too much for others over the course of 38 games, and that the ‘traditional’ top four would remain intact for many years to come. We’ve seen Manchester City and their millions completely blow apart that theory, as well as Tottenham who have experienced a similar step up but with far less financial resources. Of course, some of this is also due to the trouble Liverpool were in under previous owners Hicks and Gillett.
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Interestingly, Juventus remain the only unbeaten side in all the major leagues in Europe. The Turin side currently sit in second place in Serie A and have been aided in their good form this season without the burden of European competition. Juventus have also dispelled the myth that teams not competing in Europe will be unable to attract big names or hold onto their own stars. The club signed midfielder Arturo Vidal from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, as well as adding veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo to their ranks. The latter, despite a relatively poor season last year for Milan, has been a central figure in his new club’s good form this season. Similarly, PSG and their new-found riches had no problem attracting top talent last summer, bringing in players such as Kevin Gameiro from FC Lorient and £40million Javier Pastore from Palermo. A signal of intent? Absolutely. The Paris side, despite a number of blips this season, are sitting at the top of the French league.
Chelsea’s Andre Villas-Boas continues to see the vultures circling above as any wrong move could certainly spell the end for his time at Chelsea. And for what exactly? Apparent failure to qualify for the Champions League next season? What if the club do finish fourth but get knocked out in qualifying due to the nature of the set-up for the final round of qualifiers? If Chelsea have spent big up until that point—and I’m sure they have a number of high-priced targets in mind—then will they sack AVB in that instance despite the signings made for his philosophy? The point is, Chelsea, like many big teams in Europe, could do with a period of readjustment and time away from the limelight of the Champions League. Juventus are making good use of their time out of Europe, Spurs are flying high like no one thought they would, and AC Milan have acquired new talents—a number of which are big names in European football—and won their first Serie A title since 2004 last season and continue to remain at the top of the league table.
Of course, the financial aspect of failing to qualify for the Champions League is significant, especially with the Financial Fair Play coming into effect soon. But this is not a view based on the financial side of the game, it’s one solely looking at the football side. A good run domestically without the pressures of competing on a Tuesday or Wednesday night abroad can set up the foundations for a number of successful years to follow. Bayern’s failure to qualify in 2007/08 proved to be the tonic needed to allow the club to reshape the squad and complete a successful double winning season that year. Without the allure of the Champions League, the Bavarian side were still able to acquire Franck Ribery from Marseille as well as adding significant firepower to their attack in the form of Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose.
What we’ve seen from Liverpool this season, however, is conflicting to the notion that a year away from European commitments will bring a successful domestic campaign. The Anfield club are currently sitting in seventh place in a distinctly poor Premier League year for most of the top clubs. Despite money being spent over the past 12 months, they have been unable to translate their ambitions for the season into results on the pitch, and face the prospect of another year away from Europe’s top competition unless they improve. The bright side to this, again, is that they would be allowed another year in which to continue the rebuilding process and free of potentially damaging trips away in Europe.
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In spite of the view that the Champions League is a competition based on good fortune as well as good performances, there are less than a handful of teams now who are genuinely able to win the competition. Barcelona and Real Madrid hold such a high and consistent standing in La Liga that they can afford to put much more into European competition, where teams from other leagues are constantly worrying about those around them domestically. Maybe a successful period of transition doesn’t simply come to the fore, as teams like Arsenal hope it would. The team have been in the same standing for almost 10 years and it’s becoming stale more than anything. They have little hope of winning the Champions League and, due to European commitments, have little hope of sustaining a strong enough challenge on the league title. Again, without concern for the financial side of it, perhaps a year away from the Champions League would be best suited to teams who are similarly in a never-ending cycle of transition.
It hasn’t been a great 24hrs for Arsene Wenger as not only was he forced to sell Samir Nasri, but has seen Jack Wilshere suffer an injury setback that will see the playmaker ruled out for weeks. The French manager is under no illusion about the significance of tonight’s game against Udinese and the importance for the club to be competing in the Champions League.
Elsewhere in the papers Adebayor’s move to Spurs looks to be sealed; Newcastle accused of two illegal approaches, while Pallister believes the current United youth must match the golden generation.
Deputy PM backs call to release Hillsborough files -Mirror
Arsenal suffer fresh blow with Wilshere injury relapse –Guardian
Adebayor deal on as Spurs give way – Independent
Newcastle accused of illegal approach for two players – Guardian
Liverpool make £8m offer for Coates – Guardian
‘United youth must match golden generation’ –Daily Telegraph
Lukaku admits he always planned to walk in idol Drogba’s big boots – Daily Mail
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Arsenal were FORCED to sell Nasri claims Wenger – Mirror
Rangers Toon into Barton and prepare to bring Hammer down on Parker – Daily Mail
Litex Lovech signed off on their victorious Bulgarian A-League campaign against Kaliakra on Friday, while Garra Dembele added to his haul.Having already clinched their fourth domestic title, Lovech were content to ride out a goal-less draw at home to Kaliakra, taking their tally for the season to 75 points from 30 points.
They finish three points clear of Levski Sofia, who ended their season on a high with a 3-0 thrashing of FK Montana.
Veselin Minev (31) and Hristo Yovov (66) scored either side of Dembele, whose goal in the 64th minute took the Malian striker’s haul for the season to an impressive 27 goals.
CSKA Sofia, who had already wrapped up third place on the table and the second Europa League spot, defeated relegation-bound Akademik Sofia 3-1.
Akademik’s hopes of securing a relegation play-off were dashed when Vidima-Rakovski defeated Pirin Blagoevgrad 2-1 to finish 14th on the table.
In other results, Lokomotiv Plovdiv held on to fourth place with a come-from -behind 2-1 win at Chernomorets Burgas.
Lokomotiv Sofia pipped Slavia Sofia 1-0, Cherno More Varna defeated Beroe Stara Zagora 1-0 and Minyor Pernik thumped bottom-place Sliven 2000 3-0.
You will have to look far and wide to find a Newcastle fan who has something good to say about the club’s owner Mike Ashley. The Toon Army have encountered a variety of lows since Ashley acquired the club from Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd back in 2007. Be it the fans’ displeasure surrounding the hiring of Dennis Wise as a club executive or their relegation to the Championship. Ashley is not alone in his current plight though. The Glazers at Manchester United and the now departed consortium of Tom Hicks and George Gillett at Liverpool suffered much the same as Ashley in their attempts to win over the fans. I want to determine if the torrent of criticism Ashley has come in for is justified?
When Ashley first arrived in the North East he would often sit among the fans in his shirt and watch Newcastle games, these days this is just a distant memory. Ashley’s relationship with the Geordie public deteriorated after the resignation of Newcastle idol Kevin Keegan. Seemingly Ashley adhered to the fans’ calls for Keegan’s predecessor Sam Allardyce to be sacked, and when Keegan was instated as manager there was euphoria on Tyneside. King Kev’s second coming as manager was a brief one though and the circumstances resulted in Ashley’s name being loathed by the majority ever since. Keegan declared his role had become untenable due to Dennis Wise negotiating transfer dealings above his head and interfering with team affairs.
Regardless of the mistakes Ashley has made with his running of the club, hasn’t he tried his best to listen and comply with the supporters needs? I’m sure most Newcastle fans will disagree with the above, but taking what I am about to say into consideration I wonder if some fans’ opinions will waver slightly?
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Ashley sacked Allardyce when the fans called for his head and replaced him with Keegan. Understandably, Keegan’s resignation caused disenchantment among the fans. Ten days after Keegan left the club Ashley again bowed to the fans demands and put the club on the market – he is quoted as saying “I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do.”
Furthermore, after failing to sell the club Ashley has now ploughed into it a total of 139.8 million pounds of his own money. He again tried to appease the fans by installing Toon legend Alan Shearer as manager in April 2009. Shearer failed to keep the club in the league and they were relegated in May 2009, after which Shearer left his temporary role.
After considering these points I wonder if any Newcastle fans will have a change of heart? I doubt it. However, for all Ashley’s shortcomings as the clubs owner I think he has genuinely attempted to listen to and follow through on the fans’ consensus. His decision to change the name of St James’ Park to SportsDirect.com@St James’ Park was another attempt to raise money for the club and, while understandably it received a great deal of criticism, it was only a temporary name change until the end of the season. Ashley has felt the wrath of the fans more recently on two occasions – the sacking of popular manager Chris Hughton and the sale of star striker Andy Carroll. It seems the man can do no right, but wasn’t £35 million for Carroll a great piece of business? That’s dependent on whether Newcastle survive relegation and spend big in the summer.
My overwhelming view is that Ashley bought Newcastle with the best of intentions for the club and while he has made mistakes along the way, he has always attempted to do what’s best for the fans. Derek Llambias has revealed this week Ashley has never taken a penny out of the club and that without Ashley’s financial backing the club wouldn’t be here now. If Ashley continues to invest and keep the club afloat it begs the question what more can he do to please the fans?
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Referees are coming under increasing levels of scrutiny lately, with their every decision second guessed by fans of the game. One way in which match officials receive high levels abuse is through a, perceived, favouring of the top sides, becoming almost afraid to give decisions against the ‘big boys’ due the media backlash they may receive.
It’s a frustrating state of affairs, with fans knowing that their side will be in for a tough day when venturing to the fortresses of Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Etihad, not just through the quality of opposition, but the way in which referees act during the occasion.
Just ask Mick McCarthy, who during his spell at Wolves saw Frank Lampard’s lunge on Adam Hammill deemed to be a yellow card offense. Just a matter of weeks before Nenad Milijas had received his marching orders for a tackle, which on later viewing appeared to be fair, leading to an even greater sense of injustice. The Chelsea man received a caution for the challenge, which shows the referee had noted the event, but deemed it to have been a minor offense. Although this is hypothetical, if the challenge had of been committed by a player such as Karl Henry, the likelihood of escaping without seeing red would have been far reduced. Even Andre Villas-Boas admitted after the game that his midfielder had been lucky:
“What I would say is that Peter Walton decided on a criteria and established that criteria for the rest of the game. Five minutes into the game there was a situation for a yellow card and he decided not to give it.” Villas-Boas said in his post match press conference.
“I know the challenge might have been over the top but I think Peter conceded that Frank is not that type of player to be sent off, to lose his head over a challenge. I would congratulate his decision and his criteria-making during the game. What I normally don’t accept, particularly in the Queens Park Rangers game is establishing a criteria and then not sticking to it.”
Although the decision may have been based on Lampard’s reputation, a flimsy excuse, it does hint at a fear factor for referees when it comes to making big calls against the top-sides. The media circus surrounding the ‘better’ clubs in England is huge, with each game they partake in gaining mass media coverage and analysis on television networks across the globe. The comments of these managers as a result gain increased importance, with their arguments being transmitted to a wide audience. Peter Walton may have been aware of the comments made by AVB after the QPR clash, in which he criticised the officials, and in a bid to stay out of the spotlight could have backed out of the decision.
There are more and more examples of this throughout the Premier League, with the cliché of never getting a decision at Old Trafford. Although they are not the only home team to benefit from such a helping hand, the claim is to some degree valid. If an incorrect decision however meets United at a ground such as Carrow Road, the media frenzy would usurp that of say Grant Holt being denied a penalty kick in front of the Stretford End.
Managers increasingly influence referees, with half time ‘chats’ becoming a frequent occurrence. This trend is one that can only have a negative effect on the game, with officials expected to perform in an unbiased fashion. Any influence during the interval compromises this, with a niggling ‘should I give this decision?’ in the back of their mind after a conversation with a manger with a large reputation.
Although decisions do sometimes go against the established powerhouses and in favour of the minnow’s it’s hard to argue that it occurs enough to be considered fair. A decision such as a red or yellow card, or penalty kick can be the difference between European qualification and mid-table obscurity, and even worse relegation and safety. To have this come down to the influence of reputation and status is a wrong which needs to be addressed through giving match officials greater space to do their job.
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The power of the media and coaches opinions within that realm are not fair on officials, who have one of the toughest jobs of all in the world of football. Correct decisions seem to slip under the radar, while the slightest error is lambasted, with hurtful comments and criticism rife. The only way to improve refereeing is be to lay off the officials slightly; who are operating under the media magnifying glass, where on mistake can ruin a reputation.
What are your thoughts? Comment @Alex_Hams on Twitter and have your say