Mike Dean is not the villain.. it’s the cynical play-actors who con him

‘Incredible’ Ruben eclipses Irons star Declan & gives Parker glimmer of hope

IN desperate times, you look for whatever flimsy ray of hope you can find.

And these are desperate times for Fulham.

But the

Cottagers, in theshape of Ruben Loftus-cheek, may have discovered a glimmer of light that is growing in brightness at just the right time.

Thousands of words have been written about the Chelsea academy graduate over the course of his young career.

About how he is still yet to fulfil his potential, about the 13 months out he suffered after rupturing his Achilles tendon in 2019, about his perennial back problems, and how the pandemic disrupted his comeback.

This match was Loftuscheek’s 19th appearance for Fulham since joining them on loan from Chelsea.

It has been a spell of fits and starts, but gradually we have begun to see the surging runs, the quick feet, the strength and the intelligence that made him an

England World Cup star in 2018.

But let’s not get carried away. Fulham still lie eight points from safety after only drawing a game they desperately needed to win.

And they have won only two matches out of 22 this season. There are 16 games left – it is not a bright outlook.

But Loftus-cheek, now 25, dominated this match.

Up against another former Chelsea academy graduate in West Ham’s Declan Rice, he ran the show. His passes set up chances, his runs carried Fulham upfield, his skill shone.

He is an international-class player and, if he stays fit, could be the key to survival.

Cottagers boss Scott Parker said: “That was a performance from a boy which was nothing short of incredible. He was fantastic. Do I see a progression? One hundred per cent I do.

“When Ruben came in, he was a bit slow – understandably, he’d been out for some time. But I see a boy with huge quality and developing in the right way. He’s a good kid who wants to learn.”

Parker still feels there is room for improvement – and Loftuscheek did miss Fulham’s best chance, when Ademola Lookman played him in and he hit the side-netting. But his allround play offered real hope.

West Ham looked tired after their midweek win at Aston Villa, although Tomas Soucek thumped the bar with a header.

The same player’s incredibly harsh dismissal in injury time overshadowed everything. But Loftus-cheek still glittered in the gloom.

FUL FORCE Loftus-cheek imposes himself on the midfield, and even got the better of Rice FIGHTING ON Loftus-cheek (left) & Parker won’t give up THE one unfortunate thing about the Mike Dean pile-on is that the scheming, chiselling, diving, play-acting antics of the footballers involved have been relegated to afterthoughts. Instead, Dean is the villain for being fooled by Anthony Martial’s dive, for being hoodwinked by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s histrionics. Dean is football’s enemy for being conned by a player simulating a foul in the penalty area when his team were 6-0 up with five minutes left, for being duped by a grown man (inset) going down as though Anthony Joshua had landed one on him rather than having taken a gentle elbow-tap. Mitrovic’s father once said his son would have been a “criminal or a kick boxer” had he not been a footballer. He would have been lousy at both, judging by his collapse on Saturday. The problem is that when Dean looks at the monitor (top, left), he should be able to realise both Martial and Mitrovic are both trying it on. But understandably, he becomes obsessed by the letter of the law. Having seen the video, he still believes Jan Bednarek made contact with Martial (it is a decent dive) so, by the letter of the law, has to send him off. Having seen the video, he reckons Tomas Soucek deliberately raised an elbow and made contact with Mitrovic’s face (top, right) so, by the latter of the law, has to send him off. After all, it is not Dean’s job to assess Mitrovic’s machismo. The theatricals also came late and it is not as though Mitrovic was trying to win a penalty or thought getting Soucek sent off might win Fulham the match. It was just the very disagreeable, modern instinct. The default reaction of so many of today’s players is to try to fool the officials, full stop. If that is a sweeping generalisation unfair to those who like to play the game honestly, then tough, because every team has plenty of con-artists and no manager, no team-mate, has the backbone to get a grip of them. Bednarek’s red card was rescinded and there is every chance Soucek’s will be too. But while having a go at the easy target that is a demonstrative referee, remember one thing. He may have got it wrong a couple of times but Mike Dean is not the villain here. The villains are the men who have conned him.