Dave Woodhall has a bit of a go about a topic of the day.
I’ll admit it; I could never hope to write this as well as the man who should be writing it. But with Stuart Griffin now fuming in that great Barton’s in the sky, it falls to me to say what he would doubtless be thinking, very loudly.
Because while Villa have largely been shite since Christmas, we’ve hardly had a fair run of the ball. I’ve tried to be neutral, tried to look at things objectively, but it gets harder with every decision that goes against us and favours the Chosen Ones. Last Sunday for example, Manchester United, losing at the time, get a very debatable penalty against Crystal Palace, with a Palace player sent off for good measure. The referee, Chris Kavanagh, is from Ashton-under-Lyne. To put that into context, it’s like us playing at home and the ref coming from Solihull. Has that ever happened?
Sunday’s incident got ninety seconds on Match of the Day and was scarcely mentioned in match reports. If it had gone the other way, the debate would still be raging now and Kavanagh’s next match would be refereeing on a parks pitch in Middlesbrough. There’s no point in wondering what would have gone on if Palace had been awarded a penalty – it wouldn’t happen. The same goes for Liverpool’s late winner at Liverpool, or in a different way, does anyone really think that our goal that was ruled out against Brentford wouldn’t have counted at Old Trafford?
If a wrong decision goes in favour of a Big Club there’s a shrug of the shoulders, a bit of “Anyone can make a mistake” and it’s forgotten. I don’t believe that money changes hands, but neither does it have to. Because if the clubs who benefit played to the same rules as the rest of us, and they had decisions go against them, it would be open season on the officials.
And so, even if only subconsciously, the refs and their assistants go along the path of least resistance, anything for a quiet life. Manchester United and Liverpool get the winners; Palace, Forest and Villa get shafted. And to make matters even worse, we had our midfield trio powerhouse all picking up serious injuries within a few weeks, with not a single card given in response. Three unavoidable accidents?
Then if that’s not bad enough, the problems don’t just end at the final whistle. In both of the last two summers Manchester United have been able to spend over £200 million. Villa have been forced to sell first team players to prevent us breaking the ever-changing rules. These were designed to stop clubs from spending money they haven’t got; Manchester United are currently £1.3 million in debt, made 450 redundancies last year and can’t afford to fix leaks in their stands. Not only are we playing every match with one arm tied behind our back, but if we’re winning at half-time we have our legs tied together.
Then there’s the ongoing Villa Park pricing and atmosphere debate. But that’s for another day.
