TIME-OUT SESSIONS WOULD STOP THE ‘CHEATS’

need to be ready for that.

Maidstone did not knock us out because they had more of the ball.We had 60-70 per cent of possession in the 180 minutes we played. They did, though, fight incredibly hard to defend their goal and to attack ours.

When they went forward, they seemed to have worked out that they needed to have a really direct purpose. We definitely didn’t underestimate them.We paid them real attention. Possibly, we gave them too much of our attention. Perhaps that was our error.

But the biggest factor was the spirit generated by a forward- thinking club in perfect harmony. Players, fans, club were all pulling hard together. Maidstone brought 1,400 fans to our ground, while Blyth took a similar number to Hartlepool. This unity was a great strength.

Whenever a ‘surprise’ happens in the Cup, it happens for a reason. There will be many more this year. And I’ll bet my five points are in clear evidence. I WROTE in this column some time before the World Cup that I had read about white foam being used to mark out distances at free kicks.

A simple concept. And, as we all know, it is now in fairly wide use.

It makes me laugh that we have white foam but we still don’t have video replays on key incidents.

But on the basis that white foam has been introduced, I got to thinking about other simple ways of improving game management by refs.

I recently watched an FA Cup tie and was sat close to the dugouts. At one stage, with their team losing, I clearly saw one of the dugouts signal to their striker to go to ground injured. The prolonged injury enabled the team to move to the technical area and get briefed by the manager. They went on to win the game after this ‘time out’.

There are occasions in a game when a manager does need to make changes to his tactical set-up. Doing this in game is a difficult process, especially away from home and especially if the problem that you are suffering is not a planned/foreseen issue.

Allowing each manager one official twominute time out per half would not create undue delay in a game.

But it would probably put pay to a lot of frustration that is felt when you get the sense that all is not as it seems with ‘injuries’ to opposition players at certain times. A FELLOW manager was told me recently that

grossly unfair that it no right a player should

of appeal over an have in the event incorrect yellow

that he receives card accumu-lating5,10a ban for

or 15 cards. His view yellow cards was that any

that had been‘wrongly’ should be reviewed issued

at appeal. A number of us discussed agreed that the matter and

a system whereby were marked disputed

for review cards inci-dentwastherightat the time of any

way to go about it. This method would on not place a huge burden

the authorities but benefit it would almost certainly

the fair number of mis-carriageofjusticelads who suffer a

under the current system whereby yellow cards, deal. once issued,are a

done Refs do get reds wrong yel-lowswrong.Let’sacceptand they do get problem that and solve a that creates unfairness.