With the news that the FA have charged Avram Grant with "improper conduct" over his comments regarding Sunday's ref, Gordon Thrower wonders what the hell is going on with those who run the game. He's far from impressed, as you can imagine. Thankfully the FA have no jurisdiction here....
Imagine going into hospital one day for a routine knee op only to find that the surgeon couldn't be bothered to read up on the procedure, slipped up and hacked away at the wrong leg so badly that it had to be amputated.If you were asked about the op you might make some comment regarding the competence of the guy who had left you (as Peter Cook once splendidly put it) 'deficient in the leg department to the tune of one'. You might be critical of his role in the incident – you certainly wouldn’t be sending him a thank you card for his part in saving you 50 per cent on the cost of footwear for the rest of your life.
Say you then got a phonecall from the General Medical Council threatening to sue you for having the nerve to criticise their member. You’d feel a bit cheesed-off wouldn’t you? So lord alone knows how Avram Grant feels about the news that he is to be charged by the FA with 'Improper Conduct' over his comments on the disgraceful performance by Mike Jones last Sunday.
The events at the Britannia Stadium are well-documented elsewhere hereabouts. To put it in a nutshell we were knocked out of the cup largely thanks to a refereeing performance that is the worst I’ve seen since the infamous Mike Dean threw the law book out of the window at Highbury all those years ago.
Let nobody be in any doubt whatsoever, the performance of Mike Jones at the Britannia Stadium last weekend was so poor that, had it occurred in Italy forensic accountants would be looking through his financial records just to make sure that they didn't have one of their periodic bribery scandals on the go. Yes it was that bad.
So what happened after the match? An understandably peeved Avram Grant was asked what he thought of the ref. In reply the boss suggested that Jones' actions might have been representative of someone who was trying to even things up – an understandable comment to make given the sheer perversity of the decisions Jones made during the course of the afternoon.
Now arguably Grant’s comments were actually complimentary to Jones, since they implied that the useless official actually knew what he was doing to some extent (despite all the evidence to the contrary). The alternative would be to suggest that the official’s knowledge of the laws of the game was such that he hadn’t the faintest idea what was right or wrong. It had to be one or the other.
The problem goes much deeper than the fact that an FA Cup quarter final was decided on the whim of a bad official. If it had been something of a one-off then all well and good and, granted, Jones’ performance did rather plumb depths of an abyssal nature. However, matches are being determined by the actions of officials rather than the players on a weekly basis – and the authorities’ refusal to actually do anything about it is simply making things worse.
The problem that neither PGMO nor the FA seem willing to address is that the standard of refereeing in this country is a sick joke. PGMO in particular have much to answer for. They have a nice little closed shop at the top where promotion to the elite seems more dependent on being one of the “in-crowd” than on any aptitude for refereeing. Let’s face it any organisation that first appoints Keith Hackett then Mike Riley to its top post can hardly have improvement of standards uppermost in its list of priorities.
One might have more faith in them if they actually did anything when one of their number fouled-up as spectacularly as Jones did last weekend. What will Jones be doing this weekend? Sitting at home with a suspension and a fine? Facing some sort of disciplinary process with a warning to his future conduct? Sacked? Of course not – he’s been awarded the big Yorkshire derby between Sheffield Hypocrisy and Leeds United - possibly the highest profile match in the second tier this weekend.
Hilarious as it might be if one of Jones' brainstorms were to contribute to the Blades' relegation (go on-sue him!) the message from the authorities to the ordinary supporter who shells out good money every week is one of pure contempt.
A bigger two-fingered salute from Riley and his chums it is hard to imagine. 'We’ve had your money now sling your hook' seems to be their message. Remember this all comes from people who demand that we 'respect' them and whine like four year-olds if anyone dares to suggest that all is not perfect with their membership.
There are some decent refs out there to be sure – and of course they will always trot out the argument that they make fewer mistakes than players do. However, if a player performed as consistently badly as Jones and Dean (to name but two) do on a regular basis do you think that they’d last long in the Premier League?
If that were the case we’d still be picking John Radford – despite the fact that he’s the worst player I've ever seen in the claret and blue (and well into his 60s to boot). No good but someone likes him so that’s alright then.
So here’s a tip for the FA and PGMO. Next time someone complains about a referee’s performance why not pause before issuing the knee-jerk improper conduct charge to consider whether or not the complainant might just have a point. If not – and we all know the mind games that the likes of Ferguson and Wenger get up to - then fair enough throw the book at them. However, if on reflection, there is something in the complaint why not treat the cause of the problem and impose some form of sanction on the person responsible.
After all, if you’re serious about improving standards surely getting rid of those who give referees a bad name would be one sure way of improving things.
Things can’t continue as they are that’s for sure.
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