Home
In the last two games Chelsea have picked up a dozen bookings and the reputation of a side that is losing control. Ashley Cole has come out to say that Chelsea are being picked on because they are successful - as Arsenal were when he was there, but is this reasonable? Most commentators would suggest the opposite - that the top clubs are favoured by the top referees. But for the clubs who need to win every game it is difficult to retain composure and a sense of proportion when there is so much pressure and attention paid to every game.
The two incidents at Spurs that were so difficult to justify must have riled the Chelsea players, and while it is difficult to accept that Graham Poll won't discuss the incidents - it is his right.
Firstly the disallowed Didier Drogba goal. The Chelsea players like to get physical for set-pieces even if they are not actually looking to score themselves. Drogba appeared to do nothing himself that deserved the goal not to stand, but there were other players obstructing and harrassing. Nine times out of ten this goal would have stood because Drogba did nothing wrong - but the referee was within his rights to look at the actions of other players.
Secondly the second John Terry booking. In the last two games a number of Chelsea players have been booked for dissent, often along with this ridiculous modern affectation of arm flapping. And I think that Poll eventually lost patience with Terry after an hour or so of Terry 'discussing' every aspect of the game and making a number of niggly challenges. Like for the Drogba goal, Terry was fouling an opposition defender before being sent off. And this time he also ran into another one. None of these offences on their own warranted a booking but perhaps Poll was adding up a series of incidents and had decided on a 'one more and you're off' strategy. Given the sang froid displayed by Terry when he was sent off, perhaps Poll had even told him as much.
Problems for Chelsea will mount if they fail to improve their discipline and the current Chelsea side is sliding towards confrontation whenever a game is tight. Such is the quality of the Chelsea side, tight games are not the norm. But still Chelsea have been fined three times under Mourinho for bad behaviour. That is not to say that other clubs have a spotless history.
Manchester United have also had a bad reputation for surrounding referees - a reputation that probably peaked seven seasons ago on 29 January 2000 when Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Jaap Stam and David Beckham ran towards a back-pedelling Andy D'Urso after the award of a penalty to Middlesbrough. After that incident United players were fined by the club and their behaviour noticably improved.
The allegations that Poll told Chelsea players that they "needed to be taught a lesson" and "your discipline is out of order" will soon be proven or otherwise as all referees comments during a match are recorded. If these comments prove to be bogus how will people trust what Chelsea players say is happening?
Referees make mistakes, but if players intimidate and question everything then the additional pressure will ensure that the mistakes will increase. Perhaps we need to regress to the position where only the team captains can question a decision - and the ridiculousness of that scenario might jolt a few people.
Perhaps Chelsea players should take a leaf out of Jose Mourinho's book. In the aftermath of defeat at Tottenham he embraced Martin Jol and wished him luck. This season Mourinho has made a sincere effort to relate to his fellow managers, hugging Martin O'Neill and even talking to Arsene Wenger. Also his obvious discomfort in criticising the referee over two decisions - which taken in isolation must have been very hard to take - showed his intelligence. Mourinho simply didn't want to be seen to criticise in defeat in case there was a whiff of sour grapes. And his reticence was applaudable.
Mourinho will be aware that players need to get what they can from any referee - and for the moment referees will be very hard on Chelsea. Expect Chelsea to improve their discipline almost immediately - it is the clever thing to do.
Antony Melvin
7 November 2006
The two incidents at Spurs that were so difficult to justify must have riled the Chelsea players, and while it is difficult to accept that Graham Poll won't discuss the incidents - it is his right.
Firstly the disallowed Didier Drogba goal. The Chelsea players like to get physical for set-pieces even if they are not actually looking to score themselves. Drogba appeared to do nothing himself that deserved the goal not to stand, but there were other players obstructing and harrassing. Nine times out of ten this goal would have stood because Drogba did nothing wrong - but the referee was within his rights to look at the actions of other players.
Secondly the second John Terry booking. In the last two games a number of Chelsea players have been booked for dissent, often along with this ridiculous modern affectation of arm flapping. And I think that Poll eventually lost patience with Terry after an hour or so of Terry 'discussing' every aspect of the game and making a number of niggly challenges. Like for the Drogba goal, Terry was fouling an opposition defender before being sent off. And this time he also ran into another one. None of these offences on their own warranted a booking but perhaps Poll was adding up a series of incidents and had decided on a 'one more and you're off' strategy. Given the sang froid displayed by Terry when he was sent off, perhaps Poll had even told him as much.
Problems for Chelsea will mount if they fail to improve their discipline and the current Chelsea side is sliding towards confrontation whenever a game is tight. Such is the quality of the Chelsea side, tight games are not the norm. But still Chelsea have been fined three times under Mourinho for bad behaviour. That is not to say that other clubs have a spotless history.
Manchester United have also had a bad reputation for surrounding referees - a reputation that probably peaked seven seasons ago on 29 January 2000 when Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Jaap Stam and David Beckham ran towards a back-pedelling Andy D'Urso after the award of a penalty to Middlesbrough. After that incident United players were fined by the club and their behaviour noticably improved.
The allegations that Poll told Chelsea players that they "needed to be taught a lesson" and "your discipline is out of order" will soon be proven or otherwise as all referees comments during a match are recorded. If these comments prove to be bogus how will people trust what Chelsea players say is happening?
Referees make mistakes, but if players intimidate and question everything then the additional pressure will ensure that the mistakes will increase. Perhaps we need to regress to the position where only the team captains can question a decision - and the ridiculousness of that scenario might jolt a few people.
Perhaps Chelsea players should take a leaf out of Jose Mourinho's book. In the aftermath of defeat at Tottenham he embraced Martin Jol and wished him luck. This season Mourinho has made a sincere effort to relate to his fellow managers, hugging Martin O'Neill and even talking to Arsene Wenger. Also his obvious discomfort in criticising the referee over two decisions - which taken in isolation must have been very hard to take - showed his intelligence. Mourinho simply didn't want to be seen to criticise in defeat in case there was a whiff of sour grapes. And his reticence was applaudable.
Mourinho will be aware that players need to get what they can from any referee - and for the moment referees will be very hard on Chelsea. Expect Chelsea to improve their discipline almost immediately - it is the clever thing to do.
Antony Melvin
7 November 2006
