We will get hammered for this:

 

http://www.afc.premiumtv.co.uk/article/dons-appeal-for-common-sense-20091102_2212158_1844992

 

Dons appeal for common sense

02.11.2009

 

IS COMMON SENSE TOO MUCH TO HOPE FOR?

 

At a time when it is very fashionable to lambast the game in this country, whether it be the absence of a lucrative television deal, our clubs inability to succeed on the European stage or indeed, simply bemoaning the general standard of the fare on offer, surely those of us who are actually in the firing line should be doing everything in our power to prevent short-changing the group that matters most, namely the paying customers who follow their teams the length and breadth of Scotland?

 

Sadly, that was not the case at Easter Road on Saturday when the referee seemed blindly determined to stamp his authority right from the off - even though both teams were attempting to encourage a passing game - with the inevitable scenario of five yellow cards brandished by the interval and hardly a strong tackle made throughout the forty-five minutes!

 

If managers are trying their best to increase skill levels via a passing game, and many in the SPL are, surely clubs deserve match officials who can empathise with what they are attempting? When cards are being dished out like confetti, players become afraid to make tackles for fear of reprisal, and that's exactly what occurred in Edinburgh. Nine against eleven (perhaps make that twelve!) for the best part of half an hour means an unequal situation and one that is cheating the fans who pay good money to watch a competitive and balanced encounter.

 

The sending off of a player should be a last resort not, what it appeared to be against Hibs, something the referee seemed hell bent on achieving almost straight from the kick-off. And if match officials are being given little or no leeway to adopt a common sense approach, then that needs to be seriously looked at by the powers that be and sooner rather than later.

 

Aberdeen took a fantastic support to Edinburgh on Saturday and their vociferous and non-stop encouragement undoubtedly played no small part in the team holding out against the odds for as long as they did. However, thanks to the antics of the man in the middle what began as a fair contest, almost descended into farce!

 

A common sense approach could have made things so different - a quiet word instead of an instant card, appreciating that a striker's tackle may not be the best timed in the world and not backing himself into a situation where he was almost forced into dismissing players.

 

A common sense approach from match officials - that's all the football fraternity wants - is that really too much to ask for?

I think the overall handling of the game by the referee was poor but he made decisions which by the letter of the law could be justified.

 

Dallas is totally missing the point though and that is common sense needs to be used at times, especially on Saturday, there was no malice in the tackles whatsoever.

 

That said i'm not sure what the heck Miller is talking about, we'd all like to go 45 minutes without a booking but if someone makes a nasty challenge you can't not book them because its in the first 45?