I can empathise with Aston Villa following their defeat against Chelsea yesterday. These big games can be swung by the big decisions and yesterday Howard Webb, England's World Cup referee, choked for the umpteenth time this season. Firstly a clear penalty was denied as Mikel took Agbonlahor down in the box, secondly John Terry got away with a horrendous reckless lunge on James Milner in the second half.
Webb is a joke, he gets the big decisions wrong, he doesn't have the courage to make the big calls, he also doesn't seem able to enforce any kind of discipline on the football field. Webb is not alone in this, in the Premiership these days a good refereeing performance is very much the exception to the rule. Remember it was Webb who failed to punish Craig Gardner for his truly agricultural challenge on Cesc recently, his run of bad form this season has affected so many teams up and down the country.
If Webb cannot give a red card for such a shocking straight legged lunge at mid calf height which is done right in front of him, then what hope is there for Webb and refereeing in general in this country? As Martin O'Neill says, it is just luck that has saved James Milner from a long spell on the sidelines, this tackle from Terry was an utter disgrace and how he stayed on the pitch is simply beyond belief. Terry seems to get away with tackles like this week in week out, this is a very sad indictment on the way in which violence and intimidation can prosper in the English game. Webb also missed countless cynical fouls during the game from the likes of Deco and Mikel, if a referee does not get his cards out for the cynical filth then it just gives cheats a license to prosper.
Anyway today sees another FA Cup Semi and Manu travel to Blackburn, a couple of big important fixtures. JET scored another cracker for Doncaster as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat to the Baggies, a few other Arsenal loanees were in action, unfortunately Kyle Bartley has not been starting recently for Sheffield United. Big Sol has had some interesting things to say post Barca and it seems that he may be trying to motivate the troops. Sol has a good point, we do need to look at ourselves and realise that we will win nothing unless we put in the work every single week of the season, there is no room for complacency or anything less than one hundred percent as the end to the season draws near. Talent can only get you so far, complete dedication and commitment are often the most vital ingredients of all.
