A response to Nick Webster and his article about solving the problems of less than perfect officiating. Nick, this is how it goes; you have your say and I'll have my say. Please respond when you get the chance. NICK: We're only nine days into the new Premier League campaign and the men in black have already taken center stage. CRAIGY_F: Headlines make water cooler conversations or popular blog hooks. How about an article congratulating Mark Clattenburg on the skilled and even handed refereeing of two hotly contested Premier League matches in the first week. In the first game he didn't even hand out any cautions. NICK: According to conventional wisdom, a good referee should be seen but rarely heard - obviously Rob Styles, Alan Wiley and Andy D'Urso didn't get that memo. At Anfield, Ewood Park and Craven Cottage they had their megaphones turned up to number eleven (one louder than ten) along with their best 'don't you look at me' frowns this weekend as controversy raged. CRAIGY_F: Where does your conventional wisdom spring from? A referee is expected and usually paid to officiate a match in accordance with a set of rules and regulations and to be consistent in his or her decisions. Emphasis is also placed on letting the game flow where possible and the duty of care a referee accepts when he or she officiates. NICK: Let's take a quick look at this bumbling trio, review their respective matches and perhaps come up with a solution before anarchy reigns. Styles, who increasingly reminds me of a combination of a public school master and ex-referee David Ellary, had an absolute rascal on the Merseyside. Firstly, he let the players impose their will over him. Secondly, he gave the worst penalty decision I've seen in years against Steve Finnan. Thirdly, he appeared to book Michael Essien twice (actually booking John Terry the second time) but didn't show him the red card. Lastly, he also managed to caution a further eight players in ninety minutes of rather tame play, considering the history of the two teams. Over at Blackburn, Wiley also had his date book out with eight players cautioned along with Ryan Nelsen seeing red. Admittedly, the Kiwi deserved to go but once again you couldn't help but feel that the man in the middle was not in control of proceedings. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claimed that Rovers waged 'violence' on his charges, which in typical Wenger fashion, was way over the top. However, Wiley needed to take control of this contest from the first whistle. Like the Liverpool-Chelsea encounter, this match-up had plenty of 'history' and needed a firm early hand. The biggest mistake of the weekend though goes to D'Urso as Fulham lost to Middlesbrough. Subbing in for Lee Mason, who limped of after seven minutes, D'Urso failed to spot Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer cuddling the ball whilst in the back of the net, denying Fulham and David Healy a last-gasp equalizer. I suppose we can't pin all the blame on D'Urso, who did consult with his assistant but even from a terrible TV angle it was obvious that the ball had crossed the line. It was Pedro Mendes versus Roy Carroll all over again (Man Utd vs. Spurs). When they tab up the points at the end of the season and Boro has plus two while Fulham has minus one, this basic error could be worth millions of dollars. CRAIGY_F: I only saw the goals from the Arsenal game so can't comment and the game at Anfield was poorly officiated. The dodgy penalty decision will come to the fore but what about the diving of Torres or his playing dead when clearly not injured. Kuyt liked to get his boots in as well. NICK: If we look at major sports from around the world, nearly every one of them employs some form of video/graphic replay, not to change the game, but to help the officials make the right decision. In the States, the NFL, NBA and NHL all use technology while cricket, rugby union/league and tennis have also joined the 21st century. That leaves two major sports with their heads stuck in the ground - football and baseball. Two sports steeped in tradition and yet unable to grasp the simple fact that people make mistakes. If you can identify why they refuse to acknowledge this ... I'm all ears. Let's end 99% of the arguments once and for all and employ video replays in the following circumstances when there is (and this is the important phrase) and 'element of doubt': * Penalty * Red/yellow card * Ball crossing the goal-line So what if it stops the game for a minute or two? At least the decision will be correct and just think of the drama as you await the outcome from the video referee. CRAIGY_F: Football isn't actually similar in any way to Basketball, football, ice-hockey, cricket, rugby (union or league) or tennis so the comparison is moot. Video replay is not always conclusive, if you have DVR and do a frame by frame of an incident, maybe from the two or three angles TV provides you can not always get a clear picture of the incident. Another example of TV replays being less than a panacea is the call that went against Seattle in the Super Bowl. Team A doesn't get a penalty call, team B comes away with the ball and scores on a quick break. How do you resolve that conundrum? Yes, people make mistakes, even experienced people such as referees; maybe baseball and football are on to something here; maybe the human element is what keeps football as on of the most popular spectator sports in the world. In Rugby Union you will also not see players feigning injury or crowding around the referee to hassle him about a call, players have to accept some responsibility for their actions; diving makes calling a foul more difficult. NICK: Another possible solution is to employ two referees who each patrol one half of the pitch. High schools in the U.S. use this system as a money-saving device for soccer (not paying two linesmen). With the riches of the Premier League, another official is hardly going to dent the finances. This will allow referees to view different angles of the same incident and if they need to collaborate to get it right, so be it. CRAIGY_F: Seems from the comments on your article that the three man system is more effective than the two man system. NICK: Look, at the end of the day the sport has become too difficult to officiate. The rules were established over 100 years ago when the players moved at a snail's pace and the referees could keep up with the play. Now these days, footballers fly around the field and, obviously in a professional game, attempt to gain an advantage wherever and whenever possible. CRAIGY_F: Until you go back and show; in a scientific manner; that people in England one hundred years ago were akin to Gastropods then your comment is silly. Go on Nick, do some research, get some film of the modern game and the earliest film of football you can get hold off and take them to a University with expertize in Bio Mechanics and allow them to extrapolate the speed of the players and the referees; then when you've made a scientific analysis you can give us figures and facts. Oh, Nick, did you actually speak to any representative of the Referees Association about the difficulty of refereeing today's game, or have you been a referee yourself. Rather than make knee-jerk changes to the way football is officiated why doesn't the FA, Premier League and other interested bodies get together and discuss ways to improve officiating or eradicating common mistakes, oopps sorry, they actually do this. The LMA, PFA and RA have been discussing a new rule whereby the fouler spends as much time off the pitch as the foulee, thus the team with the extra man doesn't get a numerical advantage. NICK: Let's do the likes of Styles, Wiley and D'Urso a favor. Give them another set of eyes so that when they go home after a hard day at the office, they can turn on their TV sets, smile contently and view a job well done. CRAIGY_F: we can do the referees a favour by helping them become better, not removing their responsibility. NICK:-Until then, get the beers in and my thoughts are with Brian McBride for a speedy recovery... CRAIGY_F: Ditto for McBride, a really nasty injury by all accounts, I'll have a bottle of Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA, what shores? Fox Soccer Channel's Nick Webster writes about English soccer for FOXSoccer.com, and contributes his blog to interact with his fans.