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CHEAT OF THE WEEK 1-11-07
Peter Owen
It's Cheat of the Week time again and we're starting this week's feature with some reader letters we have received recently.
From Jay Chatfield
Cheat of the Week - What about Phil Neville's handball on the line? More like cheating
in my book than a dirty tackle.
Hiya Jay
If Kuyt's disgraceful lunge at Neville had connected then I can guarantee he would not
have handled the ball. When one puts on a parachute of violence to gain illegal ground
they make a cheat look like Little Red Riding Hood.
Neville will see out a ban, but Kuyt
walks free and whom may I ask took the late penalty? Kuyt cheated on his own talent,
which is an undisputed fact and next time he takes off Jay keep your head down... OK?
From Chris
Am I missing something here? Kuyt and Gerrard are cheats but Phil Neville and Tony
Hibbert who were justifiably sent off for their offences are not?
At worst you could say
Kuyt was reckless but hardly a cheat and if Clattenburg had not sent Hibbert off it would
have been the WRONG decision in which case Gerrard was upholding the letter of the
law. Saving the ball on the line with your hand is just a bit of innocent fun now is it?
Maybe you need to extend the award to 'Cheat/High Profile Player I Don't Like Of The
Week' otherwise you're getting away from the spirit of things really.
Hiya Chris
You most certainly have missed nothing Chris, but you have hit the nail on the head
by using the word justifiably. Kuyt was not reckless, he was actually a ball - brazen
maniac whose own balls should have seen soap. A lifeboat could not have rescued
the ball off Gerrard never mind Hibbert, because he'd made his mind up to drown in
the box, rather than try to stay float.
Your reference to Mark Clattenburg the referee,
is a one sided affair called blind passion, which runs through every fan's blood.
From Greg Taylor
Dave Easson states "Gerrard's actions? Well he's the captain and allowed to talk to the
ref." but what do the laws of the game state? "The captain of a team has no special
status or privileges under the Laws of the Game but he has a degree of responsibility for
the behaviour of his team."
What is going on? With all due respect I love this piece and get a
warm fuzzy feeling whenever you attack someone I do not like, i.e. Ronaldo, Diouf etc.
But how can you judge Cheat of the Week if you do not know the laws?
Hiya Greg
Dave's comment was simply a tongue in cheek expression which the beautiful face of
football thrives to smile at. If any ground fell silent you would soon see that the ref's
whistle is like a bell in a budgie cage and the captain of any team is no-more than an
ambassador in an arm-band.
I am sure everyone has seen a game start to boil over
and watched a Referee steam these words into both captains. "Either cool yer team
mates down or I will". Finally, we fly the law, but sadly our wings are minus bird flu.
Thanks guys, your posts were fan'tastic and good luck to every club - except???????
This week's nominations for Cheat of the Week are as follows:
Lee Cattermole - Boro
His may have been one of the mildest of two-footed tackles, but in
my book they all need clamping.
Javier Mascherano - Liverpool
His two-footed lunge however was a corker. Thankfully, it did not
cause serious injury which is the main thing.
Craig Bellamy - West Ham
He is football's Mr Consistency. He persists to cheat any decision
given against him, because he has a one - tracked backside. His
coach saw that and took it off, to save it blowing Red - Bubbles.
Jamie Carragher - Liverpool
If his elbow had caught the eyes of the flag, he would have been
shown a card. All in all, he was a very lucky guy on the day and
he must stop these tugs, or he will be back in our dock.
Ricardo Gardner - Bolton
Diving is now on the decline as our expert panellist Jeff Winter
has stated on his official website, which everyone should EYE.
That is why you are a disgrace Gardner, and it is my privilege
to not only nominate you, but for thousands of fans to read!!!
And so to this week's slimline two-man panel...
Graham Frankland
There can be only one winner this week because all the other nominations do not constitute cheating in my eyes but simply "dirty play" and therefore this week's nomination has to be Bolton's Ricardo Gardner for his outrageous attempt to con the referee in to awarding his team an undeserved penalty.
Fortunately for the fair minded football public the referee did not fall for it leaving Gardner to deal with the consequences of his actions (if he cares that is) in the knowledge that he has been added to the growing list of cheating professional footballers in the British game.
Will it make a difference to his future antics? Somehow I doubt it but at least columns like this are championing the cause of fair play and long may it continue.
James Bassett
My nomination is a fait accompli this week, because the only game I saw was United v Boro. I've got to add that I didn't think Cattermole's tackle was all that bad, but since that incident was the only one I've seen, it has to have my vote. Sorry, Catts.
So the casting vote goes with the former Championship referee Graham Frankland
and Bolton's Ricardo Gardner is this week's Cheat of the Week.
Cheating comes in many forms and is a fraudulent act, which explains why I always
come down hard on any player who goes against the grain of the beautiful game.
Incidents often occur in football matches that soccer's pundits cannot answer, because
they are in the main ex-footballers and not referee's.
That is why the media and many other sources always give our very own Jeff Winter a
knock on the door to clear up their left over incidents, which is not their badge to word.
See, Jeff's clinical experience as a former top notch Premiership ref is held in such
high esteem, that Radio Ga-Ga - and many other sources demand a quick fix.
Perhaps my point is now kicking in because the officials don't set out to make errors
or try to cheat. However, if they make one expected mistake then Hangman Hackett
gets their rope out instead of using that simple rule called common sense.
When he was refereeing you could have used a tractor to get up and down the pitch,
whereas nowadays one needs a Formula One car and four spare tyres.
So c'mon, panel of expert visitors, please tell us if you think a ref should sit
alongside the likes of Hanson & Lawrenson on Match of the Day for starters?
We will print a cross selection of your feedback & our golden rule is that you must
not pull any punches whatsoever.
This is your feature and your shout and the game belongs to the fans, so email us your own personal opinions and have the balls to say it like we
do, whether you agree or disagree?
Send in your nominations for next week's Cheat of the Week, by clicking here.
Cheat Of The Week is published weekly. No bullshit. No more cheating. Enough is enough. Contact us here with your nominations for Cheat of the Week.
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