Rigging, Regionalism and Rubbish

The Sousveillance of Ghost Goals

Okay so...

The Liverpool 'goal', by the rules of the game, was a Real Goal.

According to the International Football Association, "a goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the cross bar." The outside of the goal is determined by the outermost edge of the goal posts and cross bar. If the ball does not fully cross the plane created by these three bars, a goal is not awarded.

But.

Given that the decision was tight, why didn't Phil Dowd, with his historical biases, even stop play and consult with his assistant?

And why didn't Martin Atkinson (18 Chelsea games - 15 wins, no defeats) do the same in the Semi Final?

Power corrupts...
... absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Player of the Year

After the idiocy of Scott Parker winning the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 2010/11, this year Robin van Persie was the recipient.

Why?

Neither team won a trophy via the influence of such a player.

The Football Writers need to occasionally head north out of their bars and casino and then they might witness Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany.

Managerial Selection based on Who-You-Know and not Meritocracy

When the FA sacked Steve McClaren for being useless and, unwittingly or not, linked to the betting markets via his agent John Colquhoun, they considered replacing the English Wally with Jose Mourinho.

This would, meritocratically, have been the correct choice (if he had been willing to accept) but Fabio Capello was an excellent second choice.

Sensible strategy would then suggest undermining this manager in order to manufacture a return to mediocrity - the choice being between somebody who is fortunate not to be in jail and somebody who last won a tournament nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Ah! That winning mentality!
 
The fact that Roy Hodgson, unwittingly or not, is linked to the same John Colquhoun and the same betting markets is a deja vu of some clarity.

We predict Theo Walcott, Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson all to be in the England team or on the bench while Stuart Pearce will be pressured into ensuring Chris Brunt and James Morrison are in the Olympic squad.
There might even be a surprise recall for David James as an over age player.

And ###### ######## bookmakers will control the England betting markets.

Meanwhile, Steve McClaren yesterday celebrated his latest failure - he took over FC Twente when they were challenging for the Eredivisie title...
... they finished 6th, 16 points off Ajax.

Now that is meritocratic talent in motion.

The FA, like the Premier League, are compromised and not fit for purpose.