Graeme hands out the season’s first rant at officials.
Yesterday at Nottingham, Leeds United suggested they should be able to cope in the Championship. After a Shakin’ Stevens of a start, they settled into the game and, by the end, were perhaps a little unlucky not to take all three points. But two games is really too early to judge anything or anybody, unless you’re Sheffield United judging Kevin Blackwell. Next Saturday’s match against Millwall has become very important. A win will give a huge confidence boost, especially if Leeds compete against them in a way they failed to do last season.
According to the BBC, Leeds committed14 fouls to Forest’s 5 but that tells nothing like the whole story. You can’t blame the BBC’s stats for the useless officials failing to give more fouls against Forest – and four times Leeds suffered a major injustice. Becchio was wrestled to the ground just outside the box in the second half – no free kick was awarded and a goal scoring opportunity denied. Leeds should also have had three penalties. One in the first half – when, to add insult to injury, a free kick was given to Forest, two in the second half, one for Naylor being cuddled to the ground in an unseemly manner that was completely missed by the ref. The referee’s failure to spot the stamp on Sanchez Watt by Gunter was either incompetent or cowardly. He was close to the action, much closer than his two officials, and ought to have seen it clearly. The stamp was almost pantomime obvious. Then, continuing the theme of farce, both officials sidled up to the ref, standing close on either side and whispered sweet nothings to him, behind cupped hands. Instead of a straight red card, penalty and Forest down to ten men, the ref booked both the stamper and the stampee. Thank goodness the officials don’t get paid for such incompetence. What’s that? They do? You’re kidding.
The problem is that the ‘He should have gone to Specsavers’ line might be funny in an advert but isn’t if poor observation means your team don’t get that crucial first win. You hear ex-referees saying that you often need eyes in the back of your head in a game. I’d settle for having officials who used the eyes in the front.
The final act of the pantomime/farce/comedy came on Sky Sports News where, in a typical act of lazy, sit in your London office and make things up journalism, it said, “In a bad-tempered match at the City Ground…” whilst showing the Leeds and Forest players jostling after the outrageous stamp. Excuse me. That’s a bad tempered match is it? Have you seen rugby or ice hockey slugfests? Lumps fly off them and then they all shake hands at the end.
It would have been just as lazy and stupid to show the previously mentioned ‘cuddle to the ground’ by the Forest player on Naylor and say, “In a love-in at the City Ground…” In fact, with the sweet nothings being whispered and Forest’s goalie called Camp that would have been marginally less ridiculous than the one Sky went with. And to bring down the curtain Sky showed interviews with the managers and made no attempt to warn viewers they were in for a load of cobblers from William McIntosh “Billy” Davies who said Forest should have been 3-0 up at half time. No, William You’re Talking Tosh Davies, Forest shouldn’t. How about a group booking for you and the officials at Specsavers? Simon Grayson is a decent bloke and, thankfully, described a game we all could recognise – if we’re honest.
Graeme Garvey.
