Brendan Rodgers believes there were ‘only positives’ to take from Liverpool’s 5-3 win over Young Boys and admits he took great pride in the performance.
Liverpool opened their Europa League group phase with a thrilling victory in Switzerland after Rodgers left most of his big-name players back on Merseyside. His faith in his rookies was rewarded as Andre Wisdom scored on his debut before substitute Jonjo Shelvey netted twice as the Reds came from 3-2 down to claim the points. The Reds boss told Sky Sports:
“We’ve come away with a young team into a European game and I want to talk about the five goals, which were absolutely magnificent. Of course, we could have defended better and the three goals we gave away were disappointing, but there are only positives from tonight. It was a chance for the young players to seize that opportunity to play and I think they took it.”
Rodgers also praised the impact of Shelvey, who put the Reds 4-3 in front with a first-time finish before wrapping up the win with a run and fierce shot. The Liverpool boss added:
“I felt that it was the time of the game that we needed him and it worked well for us. Obviously once we got the equaliser they went to more 4-4-2 and that give us the extra man in midfield and we were able to dominate that wee bit more. It worked very, very well, he does what he can do very well and he’s going to be a big player for Liverpool.”
Liverpool next face a fierce fixture against Manchester United at Anfield. This will be the first game played at Anfield since the publication of the Hillsborough disaster report.
Chelsea further cemented their position atop the Premier League following a hard-fought 2-1 victory over a resurgent Arsenal. Fernando Torres smartly wrapped his foot around Juan Mata’s delivery to get Chelsea off the mark, before Mata added Chelsea’s second following Arsenal’s equaliser. The win will only have added confidence to a side that is still continuing to have a major overhaul of its attacking philosophy under Roberto Di Matteo.
– Young tyro Eden Hazard proved that he has more to offer Chelsea than just technical wizardy. He worked harder than any of his teammates as he ran for 6.3 miles against Arsenal.
– Hazard is still doing what he does best though, that being terrorising defences with his pace and skill. According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index he’s ranked sixth in the league for dribbles with 8.
– Another new signing Oscar showed he also has plenty of pace to go along with his guile and technique. He was the fastest player on the pitch against Arsenal according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, which recorded him running at 21.59mph.
– Juan Mata continues to be the focal point of his side’s play this season. The Spaniard has completed more successful passes in the opponent’s half than any other Chelsea player with 182.
– While Fernando Torres may be regaining some his form in front of goal, his work without the ball could use some polish. His 11 fouls is the highest in the Chelsea squad so far this season according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– Norwich came up against a Liverpool side that had travelled to Carrow Road intent on proving their doubters wrong, as they fell to a 2-5 defeat to the Reds. A second half effort from Glen Morrison and a late consolation from Grant Holt were nowhere near enough to prevent the Canaries being outclassed by a focused Liverpool side.
– Jonathan Howson’s work ethic whilst his team struggled against Liverpool will have been a pleasing sight for Chris Hughton. He ran harder than any of his teammates, clocking up 6.23 miles.
– Midfielder Bradley Johnson will be hoping to escape the attention of the officials against Chelsea this weekend. He ranks joint second on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for fouls with 16.
– Steve Morrison was the Canaries fastest player against Liverpool, being recorded at 20.57mph.
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– Robert Snodgrass is clearly the man Norwich players are looking to give them a spark going forward. Not only does he rank third on the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for crosses with 24, he’s also completed more passes in the opponent’s half than any other Norwich player with 105.
– While Grant Holt’s chances in front of goal have been limited this season, he will likely be disappointed in his defensive work so far this season. He’s committed 11 fouls and lost out on 92% of his 12 tackles.
The news last week that Newcastle manager Alan Pardew had been awarded a whopping new eight-year deal caused ripples around the Premier League. It was quite simply staggering display of faith in the 51-year-old on owner Mike Ashley’s part, but what has prompted them to tie him and his coaching staff down to such long-term deals? More importantly, is it even in the best interests of the club?
Since taking over the club in 2010 from Chris Hughton, it appeared to all that Ashley was once again meddling beyond his knowledge in what on the face of things appeared to be a finely run set-up under a thoroughly likeable manager. However, fast forward two years on and while we may still be able to agree that Hughton was harshly treated by the club hierarchy for perceiveably being too close to the senior players, Pardew’s tenure has been a resounding success and he’s certainly made the most of his resources going on to finish a magnificent fifth in the league last term, ahead of Liverpool, a team which had spent over £50m in the summer and Chelsea, the side that would go on to become the champions of Europe.
The club’s chief executive, the much-maligned Derek Lambias attempted to explain the length of Pardew’s deal by stating: “There is no coincidence that Manchester United with Sir Alex has been there over 25 years and has created stability and with that has come success, and along with Arsene Wenger stability has come success. What we have achieved over the last five years has been tremendous, we have put a lot into the model, financially we are stable and that will continue and now it’s all about stability on the pitch, and having the right managing and coaching staff and chief scout. It is a fantastic move for us and those individuals. You can’t keep changing your manager because you have a bad a run,” he said. “David Moyes for instance has done a fantastic job at Everton – they are going to be right up there, so we are looking for that sort of stability and so to give Alan the eight years is the right thing to do.
“Our model is not rocket science; other Premier League clubs do the same but over a four-year period we have taken them from a very bad financial position to a very good position which will only get better, and we will continue to strive to make football affordable for our fans and to fill that stadium and by having entertaining football is the way of doing it. I would like us to challenge for Europe year on year, and win a trophy. Last year we had a tremendous season – our goal this season is eighth and above but Alan wants to do better than fifth and our players want to do better than fifth.”
This is all very well and good but it still doesn’t quite explain the sheer length of his new contract and judging by Pardew’s reaction in the press the past few days, the issue was hardly pressed hard from his side. No, this has come from the club and Mike Ashley, but it’s still deeply puzzling. In the six-and-a-half years prior to Pardew’s appointment, Newcastle have gone through eight different managers in Sir Bobby Robson, Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder, Sam Allardyce, Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer and Chris Hughton.
Along with Pardew, his backroom staff of assistant John Carver, goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman and first-team coach Steve Stone have also all been awarded eight-year deals similar to the one that chief scout Graham Carr received last year for ‘unearthing’ the likes of Tiote, Cabaye and Cisse.
It seems even when the club are trying to be sensible and plan for the future, they leaves themselves open to mockery. Words like ‘stability’ and ‘continuity’ are great to hear from both the fans and managers perspective, but it still doesn’t exactly get to the root of why he was offered a new eight-year deal than say rather a new five-year one which he got when he first took over the club. It’s truly puzzling.
From an outside perspective, while Ashley may have fallen back in love with the club and be in it for the long haul once more, you suspect that if he received a good deal from a billionaire in Asia or the Middle East over the course of the next few years that he’d still likely sell up, thus saddling the new ownership with a management structure on huge long-term contracts – the compensation packages alone would be mind-boggling.
The main reason that has been floated about is that it offers both parties in this deal a degree of protection. Pardew has spoken of his disappointment at not being able to clinch several signings this summer such as Andy Carroll, Luuk De Jong and Mattieu Debuchy which would really have improved his side which still lacks the necessary strength in depth to challenge consistently for the top four. This show of faith brings with it a degree of loyalty from a manager who has greatly impressed on Tyneside so far and has stated that he is eying the England job when this deal ends.
From Ashley’s perspective, he has finally found a manager willing to work within the financial parameters that he’s set out, while continuously backing the club’s transfer policy to the press. Should Pardew be tempted away be a bigger job, the longer nature of the deal guarantees a larger pay-out in terms of compensation for the club.
As good as Pardew is, though, there is surely a glass ceiling in terms of where he can realistically go from here; Newcastle will likely be the biggest club job he will ever have. I can’t particularly see him going abroad like Steve McClaren and Roy Hodgson have done in the past, nor can I see any of the other clubs above him fancying him further down the line, so it must solely be the lure of the England job that has prompted this deal. Hodgson will be 69 by the time his four-year deal with the FA runs out, so an extension is unlikely.
The biggest problem, though, is if Pardew fails to meet the criteria set out by Lambias of challenging at the top end of the league every year while seeking to end their trophy-drought, which currently stands at 43 years having last won the 1969 Fairs Cup, what will the club do?
Both Kevin Keegan and Sam Allardyce were awarded 10-year contracts at Newcastle and Bolton respectively in the past and both failed to see them through. History is not on Pardew’s side here; football isn’t a long-term game these days and the fact that only Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes have managed at their current clubs for a period of eight years or longer is well worth considering. They were appointed at a time when clubs gave managers longer to shape the team in their own image, but to pretend the game is like that still seems foolish even if it’s good-intentioned.
What happens if in three years time Pardew finishes 12th, adrift of the European spots and with the side in a downwards spiral? While it’s likely that Ashley has inserted all sorts of exclusion clauses in terms of performance into the contract, they’re still saddled with a manager not doing as while as they would like, but they’re financially bound to him due to the needless risk that the length of this contract comes with. Who is to say that if a bigger club came calling for Pardew, that he wouldn’t just resign, therefore forgoing any entitlement that the club might have to financial remuneration in the process – they’re protected to a degree, but not to the extent that an eight-year deal makes sense.
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We’ve already seen this summer that Newcastle’s transfer policy of scouring Europe for the best and most importantly, cheapest talent that their money can buy is not the most sustainable of policies. The selling clubs now have more of a grasp of what Newcastle are doing and the moment that they sell a Cabaye, Tiote or Ben Arfa for a fee past the £20m mark, their bargaining position becomes weakened because clubs know they’ve got the cash to spend, thus driving any future purchases up in price. This isn’t to mention that it’s going to prove extremely difficult to keep replacing players of the quality of Cisse, Coloccini etc with cheaper alternatives of equal quality.
The club haggled themselves into a standstill this summer on the Debuchy and Douglas deals and while this may be why the club are on such a sound financial footing at the moment, there’s no doubting that they could have done with a few extra bodies this term given that they now have a European campaign to contend with on top of their domestic commitments.
Pardew has done an excellent job so far at Newcastle and he’s proven himself to be a shrewd operator both on and off the pitch, capable of working within the strict budget constraints that Ashley requires above all else. There’s no doubting that he deserves a new deal for his efforts to date, but I’ve yet to hear a convincing explanation about the length of the deal, which seems to needlessly tie them both together in a game where a revolving door policy isn’t only the norm but is inevitable.
Sunderland manager Martin O’ Neill is set to make a difficult decision about England international Adam Johnson’s training schedule before the visit of Newcastle on Sunday.
The Premier League Tyne-Wear clash at the Stadium of Light is being viewed as a great opportunity for the Black Cats to put their rivals to the sword and the former Manchester City tricky winger is seen as crucial cog in the Sunderland machine.
The entire squad have met today for training at the Academy of Light but with the £10 million signing arriving back last night, there is a worry the player could be jaded.
Even though Johnson did not feature in the England fixture against Poland, the club will be looking to ensure the player is ready to fire on all cylinders come 1.30 Sunday.
England’s decision to fly home immediately after the 1-1 draw means that Johnson should be able to carry out his scheduled training routine and he is sure to be key to any plans Sunderland have of defeating their bitter rivals.
Despite formerly plying his trade at Middlesborough the player has warmed himself to the fans providing an exciting link up with Scotland International forward Steven Fletcher.
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O’ Neill appears to have given the player licence to thrill and it has given Johnson a fresh lease of life. The star was rewarded by Roy Hodgson with a recall to the squad and he will be looking to continue to impress at club level, in order to get his chance to dazzle on the international stage.
The best way to describe Arsenal’s last two performances is that they simply turned up, although that’s definitely up for debate. There was nothing of a side who are capable of tearing through a defence and looking well inside that circle of teams who play good football. It was typically un-Arsenal, yet it was something supporters have become more and more used to over the past six years.
A number of people, including me, talked up the decision to move Gervinho into the central role and offer the team a different option going into games. Arsenal’s problem was that they were too predictable, too easy to defend against and had little imagination when nothing seemed to be coming off. Why then wouldn’t the manager opt for something a little different to act as alternative to Olivier Giroud?
The problem is, the game against Southampton, where Gervinho scored two and looked to be moving forward, was a one off, a fluke, a mask for what he really is. The player is not suited to leading the line for a team like Arsenal, nor is he good enough to play in the starting XI each week. But it’s not something that really falls in line with Arsene Wenger failing to land on his ideal XI. With Arsenal, you can never bank on a set of players becoming regulars over the course of the season; the probability for injury is simply too high.
Jack Wilshere, Lukas Podolski, Bacary Sagna and Mikel Arteta are among those who should be in the XI when all available. Abou Diaby might be an option too, and Kieran Gibbs is certainly the better choice over Andre Santos. But Wenger has become so over reliant on players with terrible injury records that it’s impossible to compliment Podolski or Santi Cazorla with quality each week.
When there is one weak link in the side, even while the surrounding players are capable of producing good performances, that one player comes to the fore and it’s obvious to see that they are bringing the rest of the side down. It was an issue when Wenger had Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie in his side and his decision not to supplement their qualities with players who matched up to what they were capable of. Instead, the manager persisted and continues to persist with those who are not up to the task. Instead of players like Santos or Gervinho—and there are a number of others to add to the list—becoming passengers, they act as an anchor which weighs down and slows the rest of the team.
It’s a combination of factors which sees Wenger stand in an unwavering position of confidence towards certain individuals and also not having his best options available. I’m sure the manager is aware that he can’t bank on his best players to stay fit all season, but he doesn’t want to move on those who have clearly not impressed. There are opportunities to strengthen and create a stronger team, but his best XI is a high concentration of good players with hints of those who contribute very little. It’s the classic “I don’t want to kill Denilson by buying a player who is better.”
It’s also worth pointing to the manager’s lack of desire to make the best of the players he does have available. As mentioned, it’s always good to have different options when facing different styles of opposition, and plenty of Arsenal fans have bemoaned the lack of a plan B. But are all these players suited to the current formation the manager wants to play?
Yes, there are a good number of players in the squad who work best to a 4-3-3 formation or some variation of it. However, as mentioned, there is always likely to be one or two who weigh the whole team down by not really fitting into the system. Sometimes you’ve got to wonder if Wenger buys his players with his desired tactics in mind or if it’s just a case of “he’ll do because the price is right.”
There’s no doubt that Arsenal should see an increase in fortunes on the pitch when Jack Wilshere returns and is able to partner Arteta and Cazorla. There’s purpose with those three in the middle; they all know what their roles are, and are all undoubtedly players of excellent quality. But when one drops out, the midfield becomes incredibly weak and lacking in direction. Although, Diaby can be a very good option when available—which is rarely.
Many are still firmly on side with Aaron Ramsey, and the majority are still incredibly sympathetic following his injury at Stoke. But he’s yet to totally convince when playing in the centre in a midfield three. He has plenty of work rate and has a lot of fight about him. But the question should be whether he compliments the other attackers well enough?
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Gervinho, for example, is one of the prime reasons for Arsenal’s slow and sluggish attack. When Arsenal advocate this particular style of play, they need to use a quick and decisive attack to make it effective. But Gervinho doesn’t seem to know what to do at the best of times. He lacks vision to play in others, has awful ball control and doesn’t have any faith in his own ability to shoot. It’s still a shock that he’s currently the team’s top scorer.
Arsene Wenger does know his best XI, of that I’m very much convinced. The problem is his desire to mix quality with not very good. The injuries will always play a part, but he shows far too much faith in players who do little other than drag the rest of the team down. It shouldn’t be a great secret that once you dig past the good players in Arsenal’s best starting XI—Podolski, Arteta, Cazorla, Sagna, Szczesny etc—the rest of the squad doesn’t really raise much confidence.
England striker Danny Welbeck was lucky enough to nab himself Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s shirt after the final whistle on Wednesday night, and now it is worth a small fortune.
The Swedish striker turned in a perfect performance scoring one of the greatest goals of all time along the way, to make Welbeck a cool £30,000 if he wanted to sell it right now.
The occasion of the first game in a new national stadium and the fact that it was against England has also increased the value of the shirt with memorabilia collectors everywhere wanting to get in on the action.
“Welbeck’s sitting on a small fortune,” Tom Rollett of Exclusive Memorabilia told The Sun.
“The shirt is of great interest to collectors because of the spectacular goal, the person wearing it and the fact the goal was against England and in a brand new stadium.
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“If it went to auction now while people are still talking about it, the top could get up to £30,000.”
Chelsea need to pick up three points in Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off against West Ham to keep in touch with the league’s pacesetters.
Rafa Benitez’s side travel to Upton Park on the back of two consecutive draws and now find themselves seven points behind league leaders Manchester United and six behind second-placed Manchester City.
Chelsea’s poor form of late – they haven’t won in the league since beating Tottenham 4 – 2 on October 20 – has coincided with a distinct lack of goals, with the Blues firing blanks in their two most recent fixtures against Manchester City and Fulham. It is somewhat disturbing that Fernando Torres remains Chelsea’s joint top-scorer in the league this season, given it seems the Spaniard has been lacking touch in front of goal ever since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in January 2011.
Benitez’s return to the Premier League as a manager was seen as a ploy to reinvigorate Torres, but we are yet to see any of the flair that made him such an explosive player under his current boss at Liverpool. Torres’ last league goal came way back on October 6 at home against Norwich, but don’t expect the underrated West Ham defence to hand the 28-year-old any gifts in this fierce London derby.
West Ham have been one of the surprise packets this season and enter this clash in 10th place on the table with five victories – Chelsea have only two more – and a total of 19 points. The Hammers went down 1-0 to Manchester United during the week, but can take some confidence from that effort on the road. Robin van Persie gave United the lead after just 33 seconds and West Ham were more than just resilient for the remainder of the encounter and could have easily come away with a point.
Only four teams – Chelsea being one of them – have conceded less goals than West Ham in the league this season, but scoring them has also been a problem for Sam Allardyce’s side. West Ham have found the back of the net just 16 times this campaign, with five of those coming from the evergreen Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble the next best with two.
While all the stats point to a tight and low-scoring encounter, it is worth noting Chelsea’s recent good record at the ground. Chelsea were 3-1 winners in their most recent visit to Upton Park in September 2011, while West Ham can’t boast a home league victory over their London rivals since the 2002-2003 season.
West Ham’s form under Allardyce has seen them lose just once at home this season and that was way back on October 6 when they were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal.
Chelsea will be determined to put in a good performance in East London, but a draw seems the most likely result.
Prediction: West Ham 1 – 1 Chelsea
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Sir Alex Ferguson has cooled Manchester United’s interest in want-away Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder, giving bitter rivals Manchester City the initiative to sign him.
The 28-year-old Dutch international has been unable to resolve a dispute over wages with the Italian club and both parties look to have reached a stage where the only option may be to part ways.
“There is little reason for me to sign (a revised deal).” The Daily Star quoted Sneijder.
This has alerted Europe’s leading clubs of his availability and it was believed that the two Manchester giants were set to battle it out for the Dutchman’s signature.
However United chief Ferguson has played down the rumours after a previous failed attempt to sign the World Cup finalist in the summer of 2011, when he was put off by Inters valuation of the player and his wage demands.
This has seemingly paved the way for Mancini, a public admirer of Sneijder to bring him to the Etihad.
The City boss is keen to add quality to his squad after summer arrivals Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia, and Scott Sinclair have failed to shine since signing.
Inter president Massimo Moratti however still believes he could have a future with the Italians saying:
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“A lot of this has come from the media. We’re trying to agree on certain things, otherwise he’ll stay at the club.”
Sneijder has not played for Inter since September because of the dispute and through injury and it’s looking increasingly likely that we will see him in England sooner rather than later.
Yesterday at the Football Transfer Tavern we reported that Newcastle United forward Demba Ba could be set for a move to Paris Saint Germain, yet today The Sun report that Newcastle could well hang on to the player if the release clause is removed from his contract.
Much has been made of the striker’s £7.5 million release clause in his contract and most smart bets were on the player leaving the Magpies in January with Newcastle looking at a number of replacements for the player who has done so well for them.
Today however, Alan Pardew has weighed in on the situation and claimed that this is a key window, and should the player fail to move, the club will secure him on a new deal making leaving not an option. Pardew claimed: “I think he will stay, but there’s a possibility he could go because of the clause that’s still in force. I won’t let it run until the summer. I’ll do something about it. We will either move Demba on or we will secure him in the summer.”
Of course as our landlord pipes up, had the club been as vigilant with Ba’s contract as they seemed to be when they handed their manager an eight year deal there would not be an issue now.
The 27-year-old is believed to want a move in order to increase both his wages and chances of competing in Champions League football, yet rumoured interest from Paris Saint Germain and Arsenal to name but two has not materialised into anything concrete thus far.
Should Newcastle ship the striker out? Vote in our polls below.
How do we solve a problem like diving? How do we even define a problem like diving? It’s rarely a black and white, yes or no issue that can be correctly evaluated and dealt with in the blink of an eye.
Of course there are the painfully obvious examples where individuals hit the turf as though someone has stolen their knees but what about when players genuinely come together? Unfortunately, in these common scenarios, ‘going to ground’ is usually the decisive factor in convincing a referee that a foul has taken place.
A perfect case in point is the penalty Steven Gerrard tucked away in the opening stages of Liverpool’s recent visit to the Britannia Stadium. Luis Suarez surged past Ryan Shawcross into the penalty area only for the Stoke defender to start physically undressing him.
The shirt tugging on its own will never be enough to bring Suarez to his knees, so he decides to throw his arms back and plummet to the earth, in an attempt to communicate to the officials that he has been clearly impeded. Is that unsporting behaviour? Perhaps, but if he doesn’t go to ground then he is unlikely to be awarded the penalty he undoubtedly deserves.
Another point for debate surrounds the antics that occur during set-pieces. Attackers and their designated markers repeatedly clash as they jostle for position, like two Mexican wrestlers putting on a show. However, because this is regular occurrence and happens between every couple in box, it’s very easy to miss or deem unimportant.
It is remarkably straightforward however, to spot during post-match analysis and has therefore put unnecessary pressure on referees to clamp down on it. Mark Clattenburg’s decision to penalise Norwich in their defeat to West Ham – for a typical and rather low-key incident – incensed the usually composed Chris Hughton. It’s simply impossible to develop a level of consistency in such instances, as players will always feel aggrieved when they concede such fouls and infuriated when they are not awarded at the other end of the pitch.
The reason this ‘contact = foul’ argument crumbles in our hands concerns the philosophy of Gareth Bale, who believes he is entitled to go down if he feels even the slightest whiff of physical connection.
“There is nothing I can do about it – the referees have to look a bit closer. If I get contact there it is a penalty or free kick.
“What do you expect me to do if I there is contact and I go over – hit my head on the floor? I am not going to stop going because it is a foul.” (Sky Sports)
The Tottenham talisman’s opinion is understandable but deeply flawed considering football is an unofficial yet recognised ‘contact sport’. If a foul were awarded every time players touched one another, the game would never end. The referee’s job is made impossible however, when he has to determine the impact of such a connection. Was he really knocked off balance? Could he have stayed on his feet? Are those screams of agony authentic?
The unfortunate truth is that the human race cannot be trusted. We are all instilled with a will to win, a trait that is magnified in the personality of professional athletes. Players will always seek to find a competitive advantage, consciously or not and when the margins between success and failure are so fine, their dishonourable actions may make all the difference.
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If an individual’s unlawful theatrics have decided the outcome of a game then they can expect a torrent of abuse from the stands, negative exposure in the press and irritated fans clogging up radio phone-ins. All is forgotten however, once the next batch of fixtures arrives and a whole new set of talking points has arisen.
At the end of the day, once the dust has settled, the only thing that remains is the result and the smile that has been concealed from the culprit’s mouth. Their actions may make them heroes in the dressing room but they have no right to complain when their reputation comes back to haunt them.
The only apparent solution appears to involve an increase in retrospective action, where players can have cautions rescinded and awarded by an independent panel. Fines are somewhat futile, only the threat of suspension is likely to instigate change. Such punishments may not stop diving or even deter a player’s natural instincts but at least it will provide suitable reprimand to those who deserve it.