Should referees get punished too?

THE MEN in black have recently been the topic of much discussion, as Egypt launched an appeal after the referee awarded a controversial late penalty which Kaka converted to ensure a win for the Samba Boys.

The referee was alleged to have been influenced by the fifth official, who was watching television replays. This is not allowed under the rules.

And last night, Didier Drogba was handed a six-game ban while Chelsea teammate Jose Bosingwa received a four-game ban for their behaviour during the 4-4 draw with Barcelona in last season’s second-leg Champions League semi-final. The London club was also fined £85,000 for failing to control its players too.

While referees who foul up are generally “punished” by relegating them to lower league games, or suspended from duties for a period of time, is such punishment fair, considering what clubs and players get when they foul up?

Should referees get more than just a mere slap on the hand when they make wrong decisions which drastically changes the texture of the match?

If you were David Villa, where would you go?

AFTER securing Kaka’s signature on Monday, Real Madrid are turning their attention on Cristiano Ronaldo and David Villa, who scored a hat-trick against Azerbaijan earlier this week.

The Spanish hitman, who starred in last year’s Euro08, is also being pursued by Chelsea, who already have Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka on their books. The London club are also reportedly in the market for Franck Ribery and Alexandre Pato.

On the other hand, Real have Raul, Gonzalo Higuain, Arjen Robben and Javier Saviola, as well as new recruit Klass Jan Huntelaar, who moved in January.

With Valencia all but forced to sell their prized players due to their financial situation, Villa could be left with no choice but to leave the Spanish club, with Chelsea and Real being the frontrunners.

But if you were the 27-year-old, which club would you move to?

Drogba, Anelka or…

Will they continue to lead Chelsea’s forward line? (Picture: chickendinner.co.uk)

FIRST there was the debate on whether Nicolas Anelka can play upfront with Didier Drogba.

Since Guus Hiddink has taken over at Stamford Bridge, he seems to favour the Ivorian as the sole striker, bringing on Anelka in the second half when the chips are down or as a replacement for the burly Chelsea star.

Blues deserve expected UEFA backlash?

Understandable Rage? (Picture: Jon Super/AP)

AFTER all it is football and what a boring world it would be without passion.

But where do we draw the line? Didier Drogba looked to have crossed it and even Michael Ballack’s running and gesticulating after the referee during the game could be called into question. Surely though footballers are allowed to be human. With so much money and pride on the line, it would seem inhuman if the boys in blue walked off without so much as a whimper.

Now we await Tom Henning Ovrebo’s match report and the expected fines and suspensions that UEFA will mete out to Chelsea and their angry players on the night.

Given time you could expect Drogba, Ballack and Jose Bosingwa to regret their actions and put it down to everything seemingly going against them at home on a couple of crucial decisions. Also, it was not as though they kung-fu kicked anyone.

Do you think the Blues deserve the stick they are getting? Football is a game of passion and will the expected clamp down by UEFA possibly infringe on the human element in the game?

Is United’s unpredictability harming them instead?

IT SUDDENLY struck me as I was watching the Porto-United game early this morning, and trying to look at the game from a tactical point of view.

Is it me or is United’s front-line resembling more and more like a disorganised volleyball formation? Let me explain.

You know how volleyball player rotate positions clockwise after gaining a serve? Well, watching United these days is something like that, only that it is not as systematic as volleyball.

It used to be just Cristiano Ronaldo switching flanks with Ryan Giggs/Park Ji-Sung/Nani, but these days you would see CR7 as the targetman, while Dimitar Berbatov in a deeper playmaking midfield position, while Rooney literally has a free role on the field.

Sure, this free-flowing, fast-switching strategy is cool and could theoretically confuse opposing defenders into conceding more spaces and opportunities than more traditional rigid formations, but is this laissez faire form of attacking football confusing United players as well?

Has Hiddink really got the Chelsea dressing room under control?

Salomon Kalou and William Gallas – foes now, teammates next season?
(Picture: Reuters)

SALOMON Kalou has caused a stir among Chelsea and Arsenal fans by saying that he is a fan of Arsene Wenger and is very open to playing for the current Arsenal manager (see story here).

The 23-year-old made the comments right after Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League, and hot on the heels of recent revelations of a fractured Chelsea dressing room under the reign of former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

While Didier Drogba has whined – one too many times – about wanting to leave in the past, and shocking rumours of a player mutiny (with Drogba, Petr Cech and Michael Ballack being fingered as the main culprits), Kalou is the first player outburst to come out of the Chelsea dressing room since the arrival of Guus Hiddink.

Will Hiddink’s magic touch bring Chelsea the European Cup this seaon?

CHELSEA continue their rehabilitation under Guus Hiddink early this morning with a dominant display against Juventus, winning their first-leg Champions League game by a solitary goal.

Didier Drogba was in particular form, scoring the winning goal and putting in a performance that seemed to suggest that he is back to the same level that he was playing under Jose Mourinho.

Can Hiddink’s magic touch last long enough for Chelsea to finally allow owner Roman Abramovich lift the European Cup this season?

After all, Vicente del Bosque did it on short notice with Real Madrid in 2000; Chelsea still have largely the same players as they had last year and Europe calls for more experience and is less demanding on ageing legs.

If you were Guus Hiddink, what would you do?

GUUS Hiddink faces an uphill task reunifying a fractured dressing room, while managing the demands of a ruthless and ambitious club owner, and not having the luxury of signing players he think would be helpful in reviving Chelsea’s fortunes.

If you were thrown in the hotseat, how would you reverse Chelsea’s slide?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: I say the first thing would be to show the same ruthlessness that Roman Abramovich has shown to his managers.

Sir Alex Ferguson has not survived the managerial axe for more than two decades by turning the other cheek when undermined by his own players, no matter how good they were.

Will Hiddink survive the Chelsea cauldron?

(Video by RT)
NEWS has emerged late last night that Russia national coach Guus Hiddink – who is incidentally a close friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich – will take over managerial duties at Stamford Bridge for the rest of the season while still managing the Russian national team.

The Dutchman is to international football what Harry Redknapp is to English football – Hiddink has managed to bring out an extra edge to the national teams he managed, bringing Holland to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals, South Korea to 4th place in the 2002 World Cup, and guiding Australia to the 2006 finals for the first time in 32 years.

But as a club manager, his results have been mixed. The 62-year-old seems to perform his best in his native Holland, winning a total of one European Cup, six Eridivisie titles and four Dutch cup titles in his two stints with PSV Eindhoven, but also unremarkably stints with Real Madrid, Real Betis, Valencia and Fenerbahce.

The question is: Can Hiddink bring his international Midas touch to Chelsea?

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: While Chelsea fans may rejoice at the short-term coup (which could very well turn into a long-term deal, given the close friendship Hiddink and Abramovich share), I have my doubts as to whether Tsar Hiddink can survive the demands of the Premiership, as well as that of his close friend.

Drogba dribbles…this time with words

DIDIER Drogba has expressed his emotional attachment to Marseille fans while insisting that he is not trying to engineer a move.

”It (the Marseille adventure) is unfinished. The difficulty is knowing if one or another we can finish (this story), and finally write the last few chapters, which will maybe be the most beautiful,” said the out-of-favour Chelsea striker.

But he also said: ”But be careful, I am not opening the door to an eventual transfer, I am simply explaining the situation.”

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Can there be a more desperate SOS sign, disguised so poorly, from the Drog?

The Ivorian striker already has one foot out of Stamford Bridge, after admitting to losing his desire for football recently, as well as being frozen out of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad in the past two games.

With former manager Jose Mourinho’s interest in Drogba waning, and news of him possibly used in a sensational player swop with Manchester City’s Robinho, it is no wonder his “Get me out of here” are getting louder by the minute.

After all, which top-drawer player would want to join a club whose pedigree has never been proved, and who are currently heavily engaged in a relegation dog-fight?

(Picture: AP)

READERS, RESPOND (below):