Disallowing Geoff Hurst’s controversial goal and the ramifications of that are massive for English football. For one thing, Baddiel and Skinners Three Lions would have required a lyrical change.
Like most Liverpool fans, it’s a rarity that an England moment will generate an equal level of enthusiasm as anything Liverpool related. Yet, when Frank Lampard’s attempt at goal against Germany was ruled unsuccessful I was apoplectic. In real time it seemed crystal clear to all but the officials that a goal had been scored.
Matches against Lampards Chelsea have provided Liverpool fans with plenty of contentious moments, with few greater than Luis Garcia’s Champions League goal of 2005. If Chelsea felt aggrieved that night then it evened itself out when Andy Carroll’s attempt at Wembley was adjudged to have failed to cross the line.
The surname Carroll leads us neatly onto the most incredible goal line incident of top flight football. When Manchester Utds Roy Carroll dropped Pedro Mendes’s shot three feet behind his goal line the expression on his face alone told the world he’s committed a footballing atrocity. Unlike a mother who can look at her son and know immediately that he’s been a naughty boy, Mark Clattenburg couldn’t use Carrolls guilty expression as proof that a sin had been committed.
In this particular case the officials were, through no fault of their own, too far away from play. Perhaps then the alternative is more officials but not since Carlton Palmer achieved 18 England caps have I been more puzzled by something in football than the extra lines people added by FIFA to stand next to each goal. Although these individuals seem to be performing some sort of Modern dance or Street theatre they are in fact, I’m assured, there to support the four other match day officials. They seemingly do nothing, decide nothing and have no authority. The idea, I’m sure, was that an extra presence of officialdom would automatically rectify the bad behaviour of all footballers, shirt pulling on corners, etc. This, as no surprise to anyone, has failed. A more entertaining concept would surely be to allow each club a representative who can stand behind the goal, in a designated area, to encourage their own and berate opponents and officials alike! Instead of Messer’s Carragher and Neville restricted to the Sky Sports studio wouldn’t we prefer to see them still involved on a match day?
Only last week Tony Cascarino suggested that during premier league matches Managers should be allowed two challenges, one per half, much the same way that Tennis does. Surely this would slow the game down and with every technological introduction our beloved sport would move gradually away from what it once was. The major concern is that the introduction of Goal line Technology will lead to other decisions being decided such as penalties, red cards etc. thus potentially giving technology the overwhelming power.
John McEnroe’s status as a Tennis great is legendary but surely his questioning of decisions and famous catchphrase only amplified his fame. Imagine the first time McEnroe had shouted ‘You cannot be serious’ the umpire had simply pressed the Hawkeye button and proved conclusively that he was serious and the ball was indeed out. Do we really want to take the elements of character and debate out of football, surely debating decisions is part of the drama?
So how would the Challenge system work? One suggestion is a panel of three experts possibly made up of ex-players, referees and pundits each sat behind a desk and armed with a buzzer in front of them. For me it congers up an image befitting Britain’s Got Talent more than a high profile premiership match.
Not that I don’t understand Cascarinos point, Callum McManaman committed a brutal foul last season and escaped what should have been an immediate red card. Much like the Wigan player, our own Jamie Carraghers foul on Nani in the not so distant past was poor and out of character. So bad was the foul that the Portuguese started crying, however, exactly how much weight we can put into that is questionable. With the benefit of an instant replay Carra would surely have been sent off and the course of the match taken a very different direction.
I remember my Grandfather explaining how lucky I was being able to watch football in colour. It seemed unthinkable to me then and even now to watch a Merseyside derby where the colour of kit was almost impossible to decipher. It’s frightening to think that a few years from now my son may turn to me and question ‘how on earth did football exist without Goal Line Technology’.
Squad numbers originally felt strange as did names on the shirts but now the sight of ‘FRED’ or number 86 on a players back is simply part of the modern game. On a personal level the jury is out and only time will tell but should this new innovation prove conclusively that a Daniel Sturridge strike crossed the line this coming Sunday then I may be converted quicker than I first thought.
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