Interesting article from The Times:
No apologies. When Howard Webb next sits down with Michael Owen to record his PGMOL blooper reel, the last thing the game needs is another round of self-excoriation.
Unlike Elton, sorry always seems to be the easiest word for Webb. But it's too late. The damage is done, the result confirmed. It is nice that Webb is prepared to admit mistakes, it's the polite thing to do, but ultimately nothing changes. And things need to change. The next time Webb goes in front of a camera he should ensure that gameweek 30 is the last time Anthony Gordon, or any other player, can win a penalty like that. Win a penalty without making a serious attempt to play the ball.
What happened in the game between Newcastle United and West Ham United on Saturday was a travesty. Everyone who has played knows it and most observers, too. Gordon is making it his party trick, but he's not the only one. And Webb has the power to stop it. He just needs to start using his platform for good, rather than for public relations.
Late in the second half of the match at St James' Park, with West Ham leading 3-1, after pressure in the visiting side's box, Kalvin Phillips was preparing to clear the ball. Gordon, from behind, put a leg in the space where Phillips would swing his boot to make that clearance. He didn't play the ball, or really attempt to play it. He just put a leg there. And because he was on Phillips's blind side, as he made to clear he kicked Gordon's leg. Rob Jones, the referee, who is not good enough, did not give a penalty but David Coote, the VAR, who is also not good enough, summoned him to the pitchside monitor for review. The inept Jones was then influenced by an equally inept colleague, the penalty was awarded and Newcastle scored. It does not follow that West Ham go on to lose 4-3 — that is on them — but it was certainly a significant moment.
Yet what if it had happened at the other end? Take the play into the Newcastle penalty area. Phillips is in a good position, preparing to shoot at goal, Gordon attempts to defend the shot by putting a leg in front of him, but doesn't play the ball. Phillips swings his boot and trips over the outstretched limb. Verdict: penalty, 100 per cent. But it's the same action. So how can it be a foul on the Newcastle player at one end, but a foul on the West Ham player at the other? It's a con, that's why. It's not a real tackle, not a real challenge. It is a ruse to fool the referee. And it will continue succeeding unless Webb intervenes.
Jamie Vardy used to get away with similar antics. Harry Kane, too. Vardy at his peak had devastating pace and a way of initiating contact with the defender in pursuit. He fell and made his opponent look devious, clumsy or careless. The record confirms his success as a penalty winner — 23, the second highest in Premier League history. Yet Raheem Sterling, who tops the table with 26, has played for big clubs that make a lot of chances — Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Vardy's 23 have all come for Leicester across nine Premier League seasons, three of which have involved bottom-half finishes — including one relegation — and only one of which has seen the club in the top four. Vardy's ability to earn penalties was very big for Leicester. Yet, over time, it was increasingly highlighted that it was Vardy who made sure he was tripped. He would leave a leg trailing, he would slightly change course or slow. And sometimes he would be genuinely fouled, because he's a very quick, very dangerous, striker. Yet scepticism grew. Then he wasn't winning as many penalties, then he started picking up yellow cards, then it stopped being such an issue.
The same with Kane, who used to back into defenders and fall forward to win the foul — it was a well-worn tactic and Mark Hughes was brilliant at it. Again, that stopped once it was publicly noted. Yet those raising questions didn't have anything like the influence over referees that Webb has now. He could put a stop to this latest trick in one broadcast.
Other changes require outside help. In the same match, Fabian Schär fouled Mohammed Kudus, but appeared to be caught by his arm as he did. Schär went down holding his head, although replays showed the contact was minimal. West Ham asked to take a quick free kick, which Jones permitted, even though Schär was still on the ground. As play is supposed to stop for a head injury, this rather suggests he felt the player was exaggerating the consequences. Then West Ham scored and Newcastle were outraged; even Schär, who seemed to make a robust recovery.
Again: shouldn't happen. A decent intention regarding player welfare, inspired by increased awareness of issues around head trauma, is increasingly used as a means of stopping or slowing the play. Jamie Carragher highlighted it earlier in the season when Nicolò Zaniolo, of Aston Villa, went down in a match with West Ham. "People are milking head injuries," he said. "It's ruining the game. Players go down when they lose the ball in a dangerous position and the referee feels he has to blow the whistle. This has to stop, it's happening too much. It was brought in to help players and they're now taking advantage."
He was right, of course. The problem is, without concussion substitutes, football leaves itself open to accusations of negligence unless it takes head injuries seriously. Yet there is a way of maintaining player welfare, while also preventing a sound initiative being abused. Make concussion checks mandatory for any player claiming to have suffered a head blow, certainly one that puts them on the floor. The counter-argument will be that this would make players hide head injuries rather than send the team down to ten men, but that is where concussion substitutes come in, if used as they are in rugby.
Nobody who had suffered a serious head injury would stay on the field, knowing a replacement could come on, and maybe some of the eyelash-clutchers would treat a brush with the hand as the irrelevance it is. Not something that Webb could enforce, unilaterally, but surely worth a discussion the next time Ifab meet up to ruin the game?
In the meantime, though, Webb surely does have the power to make the referees under his command listen. Football doesn't need another mea culpa. It just needs to be reacquainted with what a foul really is.
