phantomdj
06-02-2006, 05:24 PM
Arjen Robben has been heavily condemned for his over-reaction to the push which saw Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina sent off in their defeat at Chelsea - and rightly so.
I am a great believer in the rule that says if you raise your hands in a game you are in serious trouble, so I am not mounting any defence for Reina.
But this wouldn't be the first time Robben has done something like this, so we can hardly say it is out of character.
This is a continental trait. The foreign imports have brought many great things to our game, with their skill and technical ability, but they have also brought bad things.
One of those is going down as if you have been shot when no-one has actually touched you.
In a time when a debate is raging about bung culture in football, this is another seedy side of the game and now is the time for referees and football authorities to act.
I would be in favour of retrospective punishment for players who are guilty of clearly feigning, or deliberately attempting to get another player into trouble.
We can all watch incidents we regard as 50-50, but in an open and shut case then I would be comfortable with disciplinary action being taken.
In front of a big crowd and the television cameras, Robben's reaction was disgraceful.
If he stays on his feet or has a laugh and a joke with Reina about the incident, who knows what would have happened?
This was the worst possible reaction.
Sadly, I am afraid it is the result of the growing continental influence on our game.
If you played in European competition 20 or 30 years ago, you always had to be wary. I'm not talking about raising hands, I'm talking about tackling. The slightest push or contact and they would go tumbling to the ground.
In the last 10 years it has escalated in this country. It has certainly caught on and the penalties and rewards for success and failure are so great that more people are doing it.
Liverpool have signed Robbie Fowler because the goal return from their strikers is just not good enough, as we saw again at Chelsea
It is time the authorities got a grip on it, and if you have players going down clutching their throat when they have hardly been touched, then I would advocate bringing in some sort of system to combat it.
This behaviour is bad for everybody, players and supporters - and anything that reduces it, or eradicates it has got to be good.
As for the game itself, Liverpool dominated large portions as they did in their defeat at Manchester United, but still lost.
The goals return from Liverpool's three strikers, Djibril Cisse, Fernando Morientes and Peter Crouch, has just not been good enough.
Liverpool have scored 30 goals in 23 Premiership games, and if you are team with designs on the Premiership you can forget it with that strike rate.
The moment that summed up Liverpool came early in the second half when Steven Gerrard delivered the most invititing of crosses into the six-yard area and no striker was in close attendance.
It wasn't as if Gerrard had broken clear and the strikers could not reach it - they just didn't react.
Rest assured if Hernan Crespo had been playing for Liverpool that would have been a goal.
This is why Liverpool have signed Robbie Fowler. When all debates about his fitness are over one thing is certain - he will always find the net.
Last season I often suggested the one thing Chelsea lacked was a natural goalscorer, with Crespo out on loan at AC Milan, now he is back and providing that cutting edge.
Sadly, on a day when Chelsea showed they will be champions again, it is the actions of Arjen Robben that have claimed the headlines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4685364.stm
I am a great believer in the rule that says if you raise your hands in a game you are in serious trouble, so I am not mounting any defence for Reina.
But this wouldn't be the first time Robben has done something like this, so we can hardly say it is out of character.
This is a continental trait. The foreign imports have brought many great things to our game, with their skill and technical ability, but they have also brought bad things.
One of those is going down as if you have been shot when no-one has actually touched you.
In a time when a debate is raging about bung culture in football, this is another seedy side of the game and now is the time for referees and football authorities to act.
I would be in favour of retrospective punishment for players who are guilty of clearly feigning, or deliberately attempting to get another player into trouble.
We can all watch incidents we regard as 50-50, but in an open and shut case then I would be comfortable with disciplinary action being taken.
In front of a big crowd and the television cameras, Robben's reaction was disgraceful.
If he stays on his feet or has a laugh and a joke with Reina about the incident, who knows what would have happened?
This was the worst possible reaction.
Sadly, I am afraid it is the result of the growing continental influence on our game.
If you played in European competition 20 or 30 years ago, you always had to be wary. I'm not talking about raising hands, I'm talking about tackling. The slightest push or contact and they would go tumbling to the ground.
In the last 10 years it has escalated in this country. It has certainly caught on and the penalties and rewards for success and failure are so great that more people are doing it.
Liverpool have signed Robbie Fowler because the goal return from their strikers is just not good enough, as we saw again at Chelsea
It is time the authorities got a grip on it, and if you have players going down clutching their throat when they have hardly been touched, then I would advocate bringing in some sort of system to combat it.
This behaviour is bad for everybody, players and supporters - and anything that reduces it, or eradicates it has got to be good.
As for the game itself, Liverpool dominated large portions as they did in their defeat at Manchester United, but still lost.
The goals return from Liverpool's three strikers, Djibril Cisse, Fernando Morientes and Peter Crouch, has just not been good enough.
Liverpool have scored 30 goals in 23 Premiership games, and if you are team with designs on the Premiership you can forget it with that strike rate.
The moment that summed up Liverpool came early in the second half when Steven Gerrard delivered the most invititing of crosses into the six-yard area and no striker was in close attendance.
It wasn't as if Gerrard had broken clear and the strikers could not reach it - they just didn't react.
Rest assured if Hernan Crespo had been playing for Liverpool that would have been a goal.
This is why Liverpool have signed Robbie Fowler. When all debates about his fitness are over one thing is certain - he will always find the net.
Last season I often suggested the one thing Chelsea lacked was a natural goalscorer, with Crespo out on loan at AC Milan, now he is back and providing that cutting edge.
Sadly, on a day when Chelsea showed they will be champions again, it is the actions of Arjen Robben that have claimed the headlines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4685364.stm