EPL Talk » Mike Riley

Chelsea In Trouble

Christopher Walker — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:56:14 +0000

Late Liverpool Halt Chelsea’s Faltering Challenge

It’s a cold Sunday afternoon and I’ve parked my backside on the sofa to watch Liverpool vs Chelsea, a clash of the title contenders. Man United’s ominous form coupled with their rivals inability to keep pace means we all know that the team that loses Sunday’s game is well and truly out of the title race…in January.

The game itself is perhaps no thriller, Chelsea apparently toothless in attack registering a meagre 2 attempts on target to Liverpool’s 9. The first half was far from an enthralling affair but from the first whistle a hungrier, more dyanimic Liverpool were the only side who could have saved the game from being labelled a bore-draw.

The London side’s supporters were clearly never going to leave Anfield happy. An indifferent performance by goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was twice nearly caught in possession and Didier Drogba again left on the bench as Chelsea lined up 4-3-3 with Anelka, Malouda and Kalour preferred, no doubt to the Ivorian’s frustration to lead the attack. The Blues created nothing all afternoon, Pepe Reina a spectator in the Reds goalmouth for much of the game.

Just after the hour mark Chelsea’s midfield finally featured in one of the games major talking points but not in the way that manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari would have wanted. Frank Lampard lunging for 50/50 with Xabi Alonso catching his opponent in the follow through was bizarrely adjudged by trigger-happy official Mike Riley to be worthy of a red card, Lampard and Chelsea justifiably furious.

Enter the 88th minute and it’s still Liverpool on top as it had been from the first whistle and Liverpool finally deliver a telling blow in the shape of a Fernando Torres’ late double. First a fantastic glancing header at the near post from Riera’s cross, minutes before Ashley Cole’s poor judgement not to clear first time let the ball fall to Yossi Benayoun to nip in behind and although Cole did well to get a foot in the way the ball fell into the path of the £20 million Spaniard to slot in his second.

Moments later and cue the final whistle, Anfield in raptures and Rafa Benitez delighted with the pressure momentarily eased on their own faltering title challenge. Scolari and Chelsea fans have to wonder why they have only taken one point in any of the games against the so-called ‘big four’ in five games so far this season.

Scolari though in his first season in charge (with glistening C.V in his defence) can be the only man to rationalise why Anelka and Drogba have never been paired together for any significant amount of time as a traditional front two and the lack of starting opportunities for the effervescent Joe Cole. The board at Stamford Bridge have certainly tightened the purse strings after previous years of free-flowing spending and this is no major surprise, no club could ever sustain this (I’m sure Man City fans may not agree for now!) but the budget transfer budget needs to be at least £30-£40 million in the current climate to stay with the pace. The Portuguese duo of Deco signed (free) and Bosingwa (16 Million) the only Major arrivals at the bridge this summer.

My personal opinion of why Chelsea don’t score enough goals, is the absence of Essien in the engine room coupled with a three -prong attack that often resembles a negative looking 4-5-1 leaving Anelka isolated. Kalou and Malouda simply do not look like players who belong in a title winning team.

Should Scolari still be at The Bridge this summer in what is current an uncomfortable climate to be a manager at a top club, then a major rebuilding job is needed to make the Blues currently feeble title ambitions realistic.

Mike Riley Should Never Referee a Big Match Again

Johnathan Starling — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:08:35 +0000

If anyone deserves Liverpool man of the match award, it’s not a Liverpool player. Instead of the honor going to Fernando Torres, that award should be awarded to the man in the middle Mike Riley.

Every time I see Mike Riley as referee to any game, my thoughts immediately change from how the game is going to turn out to how Riley going to ruin this one. It’s probably not the best thing to admit, but that’s how I feel. Mike Riley in my mind is the biggest reason the respect campaign died a quick and disastrous death and after the job he did in the Liverpool v Chelsea match I have a feeling we’ll never hear the words respect and referee again used together.

Riley’s decision on the hour mark was simply incorrect. Alonso and Lampard going after the same bouncing ball, Lampard sliding and Alonso just looking to punt the ball forward. It was Lampard who got the first touch to it and it was Alonso who was late in getting the ball. The key moment to me was Alonso’s follow through. The follow through is a kick right onto the shin of Lampard. Both player’s studs come together and Alonso decides to make a meal out of the challenge, staying on the ground longer than he had any right to do. Riley spends approximately zero seconds thinking about it and sends Lampard off.

Nothing dangerous, nothing malicious, just two players doing their job and one of them is wrongfully punished for it. The color commentator for TWI on this match (I didn’t catch his name) said it perfectly ‘Alonso is as least as guilty if not more guilty than Lampard there.’ It was a red card that was never a red and in fact, play should have simply continued on.

What was even more embarrassing was the cameras picking up the laughter of Riley not too long after the incident in question. Hopefully the FA makes him explain why that was. With the game threatening to boil over after the red card, laughing was not the wisest thing to do.

How many more games have to be played with the laughable decisions Mike Riley make? His refereeing of big matches this season has done more harm to the Premier League than the quality of the league has on a whole. The sooner we see fresh blood refereeing big matches so they can get that kind of experience, the better off the Premier League will be.

But that said, let’s make one thing perfectly clear. Chelsea were not going to win this game. Their football was nothing to be proud of and in fact before that red card, only had one shot in the game. Liverpool can be thankful that Alex decided to take the last two minutes of the ninety off so that Fernando Torres could give them the winning goal. Petr Cech while not playing a stellar game, came through on a few crucial saves, but it was never going to be enough.

All in all Liverpool were worthy winners on the day, it’s a pity one Mike Riley red card will end up over shadowing it.

Guide To 2008/2009 Premier League Referees

The Gaffer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:30:18 +0000

They’re the men in black that you love to hate, but someone has to do the job. Here’s EPL Talk’s guide to the Premier League referees for the 2008/2009 season (click on the referee’s name to view his photograph):

Martin Atkinson. Premier League ref since 2005. Age 37. On August 13, 2006 he took charge of the FA Community Shield match at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Liverpool and Chelsea.

Stuart Attwell. Premier League ref since 2008/2009 season. Youngest ever Premier League referee at 25 years of age.

Steve Bennett. Premier League referee since 1999. Age 47. Bennett was involved in some controversy when he refereed the Manchester United versus Liverpool Premier League encounter on March 23, 2008. He sent off Liverpool’s Argentine Midfielder Javier Mascherano for a second bookable offence.

Mark Clattenburg. Premier League ref since 2004. Age 33. He became a FIFA referee in 2006, at the age of only thirty, reaching this distinction earlier than any English referee in living memory.

Michael Dean. Premier League ref since 2000. Age 40. He was originally appointed to referee the 2006 FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium on May 13, 2006, but the Football Association took the unusual step of replacing him with Alan Wiley after concerns were raised about his ability to be impartial towards Liverpool, who are based near Dean’s home town in the Wirral.

Phil Dowd. Premier League ref since 2001. Age 45. He was heavily criticised by Wigan’s then manager, Paul Jewell, and their owner, Dave Whelan, following his performance in the club’s Premiership match with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on February 11, 2007.

Chris Foy. Premier League ref since 2001. Age 45. On February 3, 2008, Foy removed the Fulham mascot, Billy the Badger, from the playing area for breakdancing on it during their 2-1 home win over Aston Villa.

Mark Halsey. Premier League referee since 1999. Age 47. His first match in the EPL was the 1-1 draw between Wimbledon and Coventry City on August 14, 1999.

Michael Jones. Premier League ref since 2008/2009 season. Age 40.

Andre Marriner. Premier League ref since 2005. Age 37. He was given his first Premiership match on 13 November 2004 – the 4-0 home win by Charlton Athletic over Norwich City.

Lee Mason. Premier League ref since 2006. Age 36. His first ever match in that league as man-in-the-middle came on 4 February 2006, when Middlesbrough lost 4-0 at home to Aston Villa,

Mike Riley. Premier League ref since 1996. Age 43. During the first half of the home match against Newcastle on 30 April 2007 Kingsley Royal, the Reading club mascot, was sent from the field by the referee for standing too close to the pitch.

Keith Stroud. Premier League ref since 2007. Age 38. He was ‘trialed’ for the Premier League, being given the match on March 17, 2007 between Middlesbrough and Manchester City at the Riverside Stadium.

Rob Styles. Premier League ref since 2000. Age 44. On August 19, 2007, Styles refereed the Premier League game between Liverpool and Chelsea, where a controversial penalty was awarded by him to Chelsea Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez was quoted as saying that the decision was ‘unbelievable’. “That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty” said Benítez after the 1–1 draw.

Steve Tanner. Premier League referee since 2007. Age 37. On January 1 2008 he was added to the FIFA list of referees, replacing Graham Poll, allowing him to referee in international and continental competitions.

Peter Walton. Premier League ref since 2003. Age 48. His first ever Premiership match in charge was the 4-3 home win by Wolverhampton Wanderers over Leicester City at Molineux on 25 October 2003.

Howard Webb. Premier League referee since 2003. Age 37. Refereed at Euro 2008 but was not selected to referee the knock-out stages.

Alan Wiley. Premier League since 1999. Age 48. He took charge of the FA Cup Final on May 13, 2006 when Liverpool played West Ham United at Wembley.