Henry's shameful cheating reignites TV ref debate

The use of TV replays and goalline referees in football is usually a tiresome debate, dusted off to fill airtime and column inches whenever a contentious incident crops up on the field.

However, Thierry Henry's shameless and unrepented act of blatant cheating at the Stade de France, that denied the Republic of Ireland a deserved place in the World Cup finals, is sure to reignite the argument for usage of replays in football like never before.

Henry has admitted to Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne that he deliberately handled the ball before setting up France's extra-time winner for William Gallas. Ireland's sense of bitter injustice was all the more acute for having dominated the game against the hapless hosts, whose fans jeered their manager and several under-performing players.

Players and managers bewailing the incompetence of referees is never edifying. Officials are fallible and imperfect human beings, just like strikers who miss chances, goalkeepers who let in howlers and managers who make hopeless signings.

Sadly for Swedish referee Martin Hansson (who was otherwise excellent on the night and certainly didn't fall for a dive by Nicolas Anelka earlier in the game to try and win a penalty), he simply missed Henry's handball and so did his assistant. But such a travesty would not have been allowed to occur if officials were given the benefit of a brief TV replay.

Cricket, rugby union, tennis and rugby league now make use of technology to adjudge on debated decisions. Never has there been a more convincing argument to extend its use to football than in Paris on Wednesday night. One only hopes that mingled with Henry's elation and excitement at qualifying for the World Cup finals, there are troubling feelings of guilt and embarrassment.

The toughest job in football

Nothing has revealed the sorry state of Scottish football more tellingly than the ashen face of George Burley as his reign came to its inevitable end.

The SFA now face one of the toughest challenges in football: finding someone brave enough to take on the job of managing a team that slumped from 14th to 46th in the world rankings under Burley .

It's no surprise that the likes of Graeme Souness have ruled themselves out of the running. The truth is that Scotland have become the Newcastle of international football, plagued by hubris, mismanagement and a chronic lack of decent players, money or ambition.

The irony is that Scotland has produced some of the best managers in the game over the years: Sir Matt Busby, Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Sir Alex Ferguson to name but a few.

Now football north of the border is in turmoil at all levels. Yes, Burley made plenty of tactical mistakes which didn't go down well with his senior players. But some of those same players were hardly shining examples of international football, what with 'Boozegate' and those touchline gestures.

The chances are that the SFA will turn to someone like Walter Smith to steady the sinking ship, while Kilmarnock's Jim Jefferies and Craig Levein of Dundee United are among the bookies' favourites.

Or how about Fergie? Not Sir Alex, but Darren following his departure from Peterborough.

Have your say below on who should take over from Burley, and on the state of Scottish football.

Time up for Rafa? ...Your views

Another two points dropped for Liverpool. This time at home against Birmingham City, a team struggling at the wrong end of the table. But in truth, it would have been a defeat had David Ngog not conned the referee with a dive Tom Daley would have been proud of.

But Liverpool fans are keeping faith with Rafael Benitez, who still has the Champions League 2005 triumph acting as his shield. But surely that won't be enough to save him from getting the bullet?

In his sixth season in charge, Liverpool are no closer to winning their first Premier League title than when Gerard Houllier was in charge. It's not as if Benitez hasn't been backed by the board.

Since taking the Anfield reigns, the Spaniard has spent close to £250m - over a fifth more than Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson.

Yet one team are the Premier League champions and already in the knockout stages of the Champions League. The other are still chasing their first title since 1990 and are set to join the likes of Fulham in the Europa League.

Liverpool fans defend that they are not a two-man team. But without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, they look a very ordinary side, especially in the final third of the field.

It's not as if Benitez hasn't had other strikers at his disposal. Craig Bellamy, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane were signed and then sold and now with Torres injured, the choice to play up-front is between Ngog and Andriy Voronin. Now there is a dilemma. Would either of those players make the bench at at Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City, Spurs, Villa?

The decision to sell Xabi Alonso has left them seriously hampered. The only reason he joined Real Madrid was because of the way Benitez lusted after Gareth Barry, only to see the midfielder turn down his advances in favour of a move to Eastlands. That left Rafa with the most unBrazilian of Brazilians - Lucas Leiva - and a crocked Alberto Aquilani who cost the Reds close to £20m.

Liverpool's remaining three games in November are H Man City, A Debrecen, A Everton. What odds that Benitez is gone by 1 December?

What do you make of Liverpool's faltering season? Is is time for Benitez to go or should he be given more time? And what were your thoughts on Ngog's dive against Birmingham? Start the debate in the boxes below.

When will managers admit their mistakes?

Another Premier League weekend goes by with only two managers - well done Harry Redknapp and Roberto Martinez - prepared to criticise their own players instead of the referee, the weather or the position of the moon.

The myopic delusion of football managers has never been greater. Referees, it is patronisingly said, are only human and therefore make mistakes (rather too many this weekend). Last time I checked, managers and players were also human (although it could be argued otherwise), but do they make mistakes? Of course not. Well, not according to their utterances in public.

This weekend...

- Rafael Benitez hits out at both red cards despite his team losing abysmally to understrength Fulham
- Sam Allardyce overlooks his side's inability to have a shot on goal until the 88th minute, but slams off-side goal
- Gary Megson criticises the ref for awarding a penalty against JLloyd Samuel even though he clearly trips Didier Drogba
- Martin O'Neill applauds an obvious red card for Everton, but criticises Villa's - both were 50-50
- Tony Pulis explains how the ref was wrong to award a free-kick, but not why his defenders failed to mark Jody Craddock twice?
- Phil Brown has a right to be upset after Geovanni's disallowed goal, but it's three wins in 31 - look in the mirror chum
- And it was also nice to see Steve Bruce slating the play-acting of Herita Ilunga. Would he have done the same, though, if the roles were reversed? You know the answer.

Football's blame culture is utterly depressing. Rugby managers rarely slate referees and cricketers are fined and banned for merely shaking their heads. Passion is equally high in both sports. The difference is that footballers and managers are clinically and morally incapable of taking responsibility.

Welcome to Sid James Park

What's in a stadium name? Quite a lot if you're Arsenal (£100m over 15 years) or the New York Mets ($400m over 20 years).

But what about Newcastle United, whose owner Mike Ashley has sparked outrage on Tyneside, and much mirth on Wearside, by revealing that he would welcome offers for naming rights to St James' Park to generate sponsorship money for the club.

Ashley was already a hate figure in the eyes of many Newcastle fans. Now he's the devil incarnate, having threatened the heritage of what Geordies regard as the most sacred ground in football.

St James' has been the Magpies' roost since 1892, since when the club's fortunes have fluctuated with alarming regularity.

Ashley no doubt hopes that he can pull off what the Gunners achieved when they left their hallowed home of Highbury for the Emirates Stadium having played the name game with lucrative aplomb.

But his chances of success are remote, for all sorts of reasons. The truth is that Newcastle have become a joke club, with suggested names ranging from Sid James Park to the Ashley Coal Arena.

Toon fans have had much to moan about in recent years, but this really is the pits. And look what happened to them in the north east.

So what should St James' Park be called? Or is Mike Ashley barking up the wrong tree? Have your say below

Who will win the Premier League?

Does anyone really want to win the Premier League?

Ten games in and there is little doubt the title race remains more open than ever as all the self-proclaimed 'Big Four' exude weaknesses.

Chelsea have already lost at Wigan and Aston Villa and look vulnerable from set-pieces, but they still justify favouritism. Manchester United, meanwhile, have blundered their way through most of the season, were abject in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool and lack a game-breaker without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Arsenal keep chucking away points as a by-product of arrogance and inexperience, while Liverpool, Sunday's performance aside, rely far too heavily on Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

The pretenders to the throne - Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa - are equally flawed. Given the chance to make up ground, Spurs lost at home to Stoke, City threw away a two-goal lead to Fulham and Villa limped to a draw at Wolves. But if any of them are to break into the top four, this year is the one.

Who will win the Premier League? Can the monopoly on the top four spots be broken? Send in your views below...

Liverpool crisis: Benitez to blame

Rafael Benitez can bemoan injuries, lack of transfer funds and his warring board of directors all he wants - but for the real reasons behind the crisis engulfing Anfield, the Spaniard needs to check out the man in the mirror.

Four successive defeats, ninth position in the table and the real possibility of group-stage elimination in Europe was certainly not in the script having pushed Manchester United so hard in the league last season.

Even the most pro-Benitez among Reds fans - still blinded by rose-tinted memories of Istanbul - must concede that Benitez's dreadful record in the transfer market lies at the heart of the club's ailments.

Since joining in 2004, Benitez's nett spend on transfers is £113,650,000. Only Chelsea and Manchester City have shelled out more over the same period (and City's figure is skewed by their huge spending over the last year). Sir Alex Ferguson, by comparison, has a transfer deficit of just £27,600,000.

On average, Rafa has spent nearly £19million on players per season. Yet still his squad is awash with mediocrity. Liverpool have the most bloated squad in the Premier League, yet few would argue that there are more than five players of genuine class amongst their massed ranks.

Here is a list of the players brought to Anfield last season - Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena, Diego Cavalieri, Robbie Keane, Vitor Flora, Alberto Riera and David Ngog. Total cost: £39million. I'll leave it to Anfield regulars to decide whether that's value for money.

Injuries to such class acts as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres would take their toll on any club, but if Benitez continues to surround his few quality players with over-priced dross he can expect little more than continued failure and disappointment.

Do you think Benitez should be replaced as Liverpool manager? What do you think of his record in the transfer market and is this responsible for the Reds' poor start? Tell us below.

Thumbs up for beach ball ref

Spare a thought for the referee at the centre of Beach Ball Gate, which has sparked more debate than Wayne Rooney's metatarsal.

Mike Jones's punishment for allowing the goal that sent Liverpool packing at Sunderland is a trip to London Road for Peterborough's Championship clash with Scunthorpe.

That's a disgrace. Far from condemning the guy to temporary exile from the Premier League, Mr Jones should be applauded for adding some much-needed spice to the top-flight season.

The Premier League has become little more than a predictable four-horse race in which the gloriously random nature of sport has been all but eliminated.

Gone are the days when an errant dog or a bog of a pitch could spring a surprise result, or when a 'smaller' club could cultivate a healthy crop of youngsters and take the league by storm in true Brian Clough or Bobby Robson fashion.

To be fair to Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, he didn't blame the beach ball for the defeat against the Black Cats, but his team's failure to score a goal or two.

That's a refreshing change from the post-match whinging that goes on so often these days.

So it's thumbs up to Mr Jones for providing the best and most talked about incident of the season so far. Football needs more of such unpredictable moments, not fewer.

What do you think of Beach Ball Gate? Should the goal have stood, or should Mike Jones be struck off the Premier League list? Have your say below

David Beckham is 'just like Barack Obama'

Maybe it was the new beard. Fabio Capello could think of no other explanation as to why David Beckham had been picked out for the man of the match award after his half-hour cameo during England's World Cup qualifier against Belarus.

Beckham hit the post and touched the ball in the build-up to England's second and third goals in their 3-0 win, but that didn't convince Capello. The Italian augmented his reputation as an erudite and likeable chap by comparing Becks' award to Barack Obama's recent Nobel Peace Prize.

It is a comparison that gets more astute the more you analyse it. Here's a sample of criticism of President Obama's Peace Prize award last week: "It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements..." Sound familiar?

The 'style over substance' criticism is just as appropriate for Beckham. The odd nice touch, bending cross and publicity-conscious facial hair is not enough of an argument for giving the 34-year-old a place at the World Cup.

With Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon all other options on the right side of midfield, persisting with the one-paced, one-footed Beckham (no international goal since June 2006) is beginning to look like blind faith.

Beckham's name may fill Wembley seats and please the FA's commercial department, but Capello needs to build a team capable of beating the world's elite next summer. Bit-part attention-seekers are not the way forward.

Do you think Capello should pick Beckham for the World Cup finals? Did he deserve to be named man of the match against Belarus? Give us your views using the boxes below.

Heskey faces England axe

A startling fact was revealed during England's 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Ukraine on Saturday. John Terry has scored only one goal less than Emile Heskey having played exactly the same number of games.

Such a sorry stat places a question mark over the Aston Villa striker's participation at the World Cup, particularly as he can't even get a game in the Premier League. Fabio Capello consistently excludes others on the basis of poor domestic form and shouldn't contradict his values for Heskey.

England's forward options look thin and far too much reliance is, and will be in South Africa, placed on Wayne Rooney. Peter Crouch and Carlton Cole are the other target-man options, but one prefers the ball at his feet and won't out-muscle defenders while the other is a poor man's Heskey, which is saying something.

Jermaine Defoe is a certainty for the squad, but is unlikely to start alongside Rooney. Neither, it seems, will Michael Owen, though he remains England's best finisher. Can Capello really afford to leave a 40-goal international striker at home?

Capello is likely to take four strikers to South Africa - who should they be? Send in your views below.