Now what?

Cheap Hammers 1
(Harewood 88th)

The Arse 0

Once in a while, a game comes along that riles you up. A game that offends your sensibilities (and I have some real fine ones, really). A game that makes you so frustrated that it distils in you a deep hatred for injustice. A game that makes you somewhat ... rabid.

This was one such game. It reminds one that football is not about justice (to paraphrase a FIFA twat), it is about drama.

And passion.

What unmitigated crap.

Football will NEVER be about justice - as long as the FIFA twats insist technology has no place in the modern game. American football and rugby has been using replays for years. But not football. Never football.

Twats.

As long as decent people like Rob Styles ( I know I called him a twat last night but he was being a twat courtesy of FIFA. So it's FIFA's fault) are expected to be super-referees without the aid of readily available (and cheap) technology, then I'm afraid the game will hover dangerously close to the levels of cheap, fake passionate drama ... along the likes of TV wrestling and their ilk.

I want to write and talk about the game and the players and the managers and the different footballing philosophies. I want to discuss the pragmatism of defence against the ideals of open attacking play. I want intelligent, passionate discourse.

I don't want to rant against referees, especially decent referees being asked to do an impossible job in today's modern fast-paced game.

It demeans the athletes playing the game, all the professionals involved in the trade. It demeans me.

I hated it when Hleb was clearly chopped down in the box but Mr Styles missed it but couldn't do anything about it because he doesn't have the TV replay to guide him.

I hated it more when Etherington, after being fairly tackled by Flamini, fouled Flamini as the latter tried to get to the loose ball. And having got away with it, proceeded to make the cross that Harewood put past Lehmann.

Shielding the ball with one's body is legal. Shielding the ball with your leg is called tripping and is a foul. What more if you move your leg into the opponent's ankles. Basic refereeing.

The Absolute Fab went for the ref at the end. Harewood sportingly tried to dissuade him.

I know Wenger went ballistic not because of Pardew's celebration but as the culmination of an afternoon's worth of disgust welling up inside him. PArdew was just a convenient target.

But like I said, I don't want to rant against refs. No more.

They are as much victims as the others.