1:42 pm
Now, i might get a lot of stick for this, Especially from all my mates in West London who are avid Chelsea fans. But there is something that really winds me up about Mr.Drogba. Undoubtedly he is a player who has great talent and an eye for goal, but its his shenannigans on the pitch(and off) that really do my head in. Last night it really hit home what he is all about and by this i am not only discussing his final whistle tantrum. As a big strong powerful boy that he is, i’ve never witnessed such theatrical acting as i did last night. This happens week in week out in the premiership and now surely the referee’s are starting to catch wind. Could you imagine the likes of Alan Shearer , Les Ferdinand or the now Sky Soccer commentator Andy Gray trying this sort of behaviour! At times(especially last night) it was similar to when you see a kid in a toy shop and their parents have told them they cant buy that special toy and the kid throws themselves on the floor in disgust ala Drogba himself after the referee turning down a decision. I also understand that last nights game was of huge significance and importance , but did you see Anelka, Lampard even Eto or Messi who were chasing the game diving around like babies. Another question i would like to ask is ” Was he really injured? “. Why i ask this is because just before he went off he missed a great opportunity to score the 2nd and most probably decisive goal for chelsea. He also had another couple of runs in and around the box, but the defender(Toure) was starting to out muscle him and get great tackles in. He then got supposedly injured on a play, stayed down for a bit and moments later was charging down the keeper at full speed. What really got me wondering though was his after the final whistle antics. Now if he was really injured and could not muscle on for his team in undoubtedly their biggest game of the season, why on earth was he bounding around like a wild stallion shouting and waving his arms? Then after his team-mates(some of whom were rather embarrassed) ushered him off the pitch, he started to declare ” it is over “. For you Didier ,it might just be that as i think people are starting to see the real truth that you are not a team player but just a big Primadonna.
Danny,
A couple season’s ago, the Scottish FA tried to bring a post game review of matches. The purpose was for the referree to be able to see who was diving and who was legitimately hurt/brought down. They could issue bookings post game to players that were shown as “cheating” in the review.
UEFA wouldn’t let the SFA put the rule into practice.
I’d like to know what you, as a professional player think about the rule and UEFA not allowing them to try it.
I think this would be a great idea because players would then think about their actions on the pitch as they are being punished for wrongful behaviour if needed.
I have to agree completely with this. I think there needs to be more accountability for players blatantly ’simulating’. The relative lack of these theatrics in the EPL is one of the reasons why its the top league in the world. The more it’s brought under control, the more it will raise the level of play worldwide with increased pace, intensity, competitiveness, as well as the general perception of the sport.
Danny, I agree. The thing with Drogba is that it happens all the time, as well.
I was surprised with Ballack’s behaviour but sadly not at all by Drogba’s. Every player gets mad and on occasion has a go at someone, but Drogba again completely crossed the line.
He’s an extremely talented player but until he learns how to conduct himself in the manner of a professional on and off the pitch he’ll never be regarded as one of the game’s greats.
I’m glad you posted this discussion Danny. Although Chelsea was hard done by the Ref (2 blatant penalties totally ignored) and deserved to win the game (can’t believe as a Man U fan I just said that!), Drogba single handedly missed 2 glorious chances to put the gamribe to bed. Regardless of his talent, his poor finishing on the day cost Chelsea the game and his behaviour disgraced footballers thw world over. Even Ballack’s attack on the Ref after his penalty claim was in poor taste.
What is even more worrying is Hiddink’s support of his players’ outburst blaming it on adrenaline. No matter how heated you become and regardless of any contact with the Ref, we simply cannot allow that type of behaviour.
TFC gets the mammoth share of terrible calls game after game and while frustrated, the players have never resort to that kind of behaviour.
After Drogba’s and Ballack’s display, someone like Ronaldo who is constantly dissed for his antics proves himself 100 times the player both in skill and in his ability to keep his frustrations in check.
Good point Kevin, especially regarding Ronaldo.
well … probably you are both re-thinking that after his royal ronaldo’s petulent display after being subbed in the derby the other day.
Well said Danny!
As North End once again enter the end of season lottery for a place in the Promised land of untold riches, is this what we would have to put up with week after week?
After the referee had yellow carded Drogba following the final whistle and seeing that he was still acting in a threatening manner why didn’t the ref give him another yellow?
Full marks to John Terry, who showed his character by going into Barca’s dressing room and shaking hands with all their players.
Just watched the ‘Lillywhites’ Briman, hope they can take their good end of season away form with them to Bramall lane. Up the PNE
Thanks Danny,
I don’t think my nerves could take another finish like last night. At least I’m not driving on Monday so I can have a few sherbets to help out.
Best of luck to Toronto this weekend.
Bang on Danny. Diving and play acting are a cancer on the sport. Having grown up watching Scottish and English football, it pains me to see people flopping around the pitch these days. Gone are the days in the 70’s when you rarely saw a player stay down unless he was seriously hurt.
It has always been a mans game and just like in hockey, players would do everything to hide being injured. They went down when they were brought down, not to “draw a foul”.
Sad to see the spectacle that some players have turned it into.
Glad to read this Danny - comments like this are the reason why people in Toronto love watching you play!
Thanks
Drogba is one of the gameS characters. For all his histrionics and theatre, the game would definitely be poorer without the likes of him about. I think it’s very easy to throw stones at him. But let’s be honest, who hasn’t reacted badly to extreme provocation?
Its not so much about the reaction after the game Ben. I felt he let his team-mates down on the pitch by shuffling off when they needed him most. Great talent, but as i said before i question his team spirit.
I want to start by saying that I agree with your general assessment of Drogba as a package. He’s incredibly talented and is always a threat for any defender, he has the skill, pace, and power to play as a lone striker and still be very dangerous (Chelsea/Barca game 1)… however, I find his attitude to be a great detriment to his game and the team. I thought he was done last year when he got red carded in the CL final, arguably costing Chelsea the final. Now again he gets taken out with an “injury” when he could have stayed on and possibly netted another.
However, I think the real crime was the officiating. Barcelona should not have tied (won) that game, no matter how you look at it. They were largely ineffective in attack, hardly ever getting the ball in the box or near the net, and Chelsea played them perfectly, as they did in the first leg, holding the highest scoring team in Europe to no goals through 180 minutes. Conversely, Chelsea had numerous chances generated on the counter-attack, looking dangerous almost all the time on attack, and putting balls to the net.
Back to the officiating, you’ve obviously experienced it, especially of late in the MLS, bad officiating loses games. It’s always been chalked up to human error here, to lack of experience of MLS referees, etc etc. But the Premiership, and especially the Champions League is NOT the MLS, so there is no excuse for inexperience. Furthermore what kills me is the sequence of events in which these ‘blown calls’ took place. The big blown calls were two handballs in the box, and two fouls in the box. Two of these were very clear cut, and two were questionable (still within the boundaries of being called though). The clear cut ones always came before the questionable ones, so the referee, being a human being and susceptible to errors could very well have said, “Ok, I made a mistake, but here is my chance to redeem myself.” He had two opportunities to redeem himself, and chose not to, that to me shows a bit of intent. Not necessarily intent to judge unfairly against Chelsea, but *some* intent (not being a referee responsible for deciding the game by awarding a penalty, or whatever it may be) that should not be there in the impartial refereeing of the sporting event. At the end of the day, say what you will about how Drogba did or did not perform, but Chelsea as a team played Barcelona perfectly, and based on merit should be in the Champion’s League Final. They are not there because a referee with an agenda.
Agree with you totally on the referee situation Tudor. UEFA should have a list of ‘Top 5′ referee’s that they can use in highly charged situations like the game the other night. These are experienced guys that can handle hostile situations and make critical decisions without interfering with the games flow. Now these ref’s are very hard to come by, but they are out there. The best ref’s are always the one’s that are not seen or heard too much during the game!
You wont get any stick from me. I agree with what you said. It is amazing (like you pointed out) that hes injured but magically recovers to freak on the ref. Perhaps he should’ve put that effort into the game.
Matt
Well put, Danny, but yet I think you’re underestimating his post-match theatrics. I’m guessing maybe you saw the ESPN feed of the match, where they didn’t have sound when he was doing his “It’s over” Rafa Benitez gesture? ‘Cause that’s definitely not what he was saying when he was doing it.
You can check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lt8uyn1MIA to hear uncensored what went out live to Sky Sports viewers: “It’s a disgrace, it’s a f***ing disgrace.” I tried but failed to think of any other instance of an athlete, particularly in North America, looking dead at the camera and screaming something so vile.
And don’t forget him slapping Vidic in the CL final last year and getting tossed. For someone with such impressive physical gifts, it’s disgraceful that he still can’t get his act together. As a Liverpool fan, I’ve long been sick of his diving and flopping around — I understand that JT and Lamps have even sat him down to tell him to knock it off.
Good luck in DC!
Your right Stu, i totally forgot about last years CL final as well
well said danny, cant stand drogba myself. he was an embarrasement to his team and himself last night and I hope uefa and everybody else concerned throw the book at him. although I doubt chelski will have the nerve to punish him in case he stomps off in a huff.