That's an "A" in my book!

Referees winning the percentage game whatever managers and media say

A few years ago Jeff Winter, a familiar name for any students of refereeing demonology, released an autobiography, Who's the B*****d in the Black?, which contains a particularly enlightening passage about his last match at Anfield before retiring.

Winter reveals he deliberately played a bit of extra time, waiting until the ball was at the Kop end. Then, with everything in position, he blew his whistle. "The fans behind the goal burst into spontaneous applause. It was longer and louder than normal, even for a home win. Did they know it was my final visit? Was it applause for me? They are such knowledgeable football people it would not surprise me."

At the risk of bursting a few dreams, it is a fairly exceptional level of delusion judging by what we know of football's relationship with the referee and, specifically, the way fans tend to distrust them as their default setting. Managers are not much better and we journalists can be culpable, too, given the frequency we bring them up in press conferences, looking for a bite. Very little reasoning is applied sometimes when the blame can be redirected and the buck passed. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Brilliant!! Absolutely brilliant!!