Something to talk about

We should have spent the last week talking about the game that reminded us just why we love football.
No, not Arsenal’s youth team’s demolition of Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, as breathtaking as that was. But the Gunners’ first team losing 2-1, at The Emirates, to Hull City, the Premiership newcomers just about everyone predicted to go straight back down again.
Even Hull manager Phil Brown must have ticked it off as a no-hoper when the fixtures came out. It was a ‘you-couldn’t-write-this-stuff’ game, a showcase of sport’s unparalleled ability to write a fairytale story without hint of scepticism.
Arsenal had a goal controversially disallowed and were guilty of trying to walk the ball in before they took the lead through Cesc Fabregas. But two goals in the space of five minutes wrestled the game away from them. The first was absolutely exquisite, Brazilian Giovanni picking the ball up on the left wing with only one thing on his mind. He shifted it onto his right foot and belted it into the top corner from fully thirty yards. Rangers flop Daniel Cousin headed the second from a corner just minutes later and Hull were ahead. Van Persie inundated the away side’s goal in the closing stages, Gallas headed against the bar and Fabregas tested the excellent Myhill from long range. Hull, who dared not just to try and stop Arsenal playing, but to attack themselves – were sixth in the Premiership. (They are now third!)

But instead we’ve spent the last week, well, bitching, about the referees and their decisions that are ‘ruining’ our game.
In the same weekend, J Lloyd Samuel’s perfect tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo earnt the Man Utd player a penalty, luckless Spurs were robbed of one when Lassana Diarra clearly handballed at Pompey and the Wigan – Man City game was decided in the home side’s favour by a dodgy penalty given to Wilson Palacios and another denied Richard Dunne. To name just a few.
It’s not confined to the Premiership either. A week earlier, Reading were awarded a farcical opener at Watford when the ball bounced fully four yards wide of the post, unsighted linesman Nigel Bannister flagging for a goal. Renewed calls for goal-line and other video-refereeing have followed.
Rugby and cricket have benefited from the introduction of technology, not least in terms of entertainment value. But football is not ready.
For a start, both of those sports have, for a long time, embraced the subjectivity of the official’s decision-making. Football needs to do the same, for very few decisions are cut-and-dry, free from all doubt. The level of respect given to football refs is so low that if their prerogative, one according to human error as well as judgement, was taken away, there’d be nothing left.
The new “get on with the game” respect for referees campaign has come from the top, with the officials charged with clamping down on dissent and unsporting behaviour on the pitch. But all too often in recent memory a card-happy display has been followed by a demotion or ‘week off’.
It’s refreshing to say that this wasn’t the case this time round. Rob Styles was the man who awarded that penalty for Man Utd against Bolton, and he was back in charge of Spurs – Hull this weekend. It's a start.
Of course, Giovanni scored another beauty in North London, and that’s what I'm talking about.

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Joe Kinnear might just have struck upon something for the multi-billionaires buying up English football clubs. Why did Mourinho get forced out of Chelsea? Because he was too charismatic for his own good. Why is Keegan no longer at Newcastle? Because he was the most popular man on Tyneside. When the richest of the rich buy their new play-toy they think they can buy the love of the football faithful too, but it’s so often not the case - unless you get Mr Kinnear in as manager that is. He’s so unpopular that there is absolutely nothing to be jealous of. He’s so unpopular that the Newcastle fans might even start to love Mike Ashley. No?