Cod Almighty | Diary

Invariable

7 January 2019

It's far too late for happy new year, so let's go with welcome to the Jolley era 2019.

It was great to see Jimmy Mac tweet: "I know we lost but honestly am so so proud of this set of players..." Coming from the one regular player still here from the 2016 play-off final, that's saying something. There is something happening at Blundell Park and it’s great to see. Trentside Diary's hopes before the match were "don’t do a Tranmere" and in the end it wasn’t heartbreak in the FA Cup, but a performance of dogged defending to be proud of.

What I hadn't realised before the sending-off was that only some of the matches over the weekend were using VAR. What kind of half-arsed decision is that? Nine matches out of a possible 32 where a top-division team was at home used the technology. Apparently, it's far too expensive for lower-league clubs to install enough cameras to use it. Is this another financial nail in the coffin of lower league clubs, aided and abetted by the Football League and the FA, or just something to prevent smaller clubs getting to the top flight?

With modern technology you can already watch an incident numerous times to decide for yourself if it was a booking, sending-off or penalty. During the World Cup there were ridiculous breaks in games when officials watched something over and over. A quick lesson in how to kill the atmosphere in one easy go.

We've all been at matches when we've come away feeling lucky, or more often hard done to, at a decision that's gone or not gone our way. All but the most blinkered know that it's swings and roundabouts. Surely the referee on the pitch should be making the decision? If they are going to be overruled by a remote official, as happened on Saturday, then do they even have a role? Some refs we get in the fourth division struggle to get basic decisions correct. Will having someone looking over their shoulder improve their performance – or just make them more indecisive for fear of getting it wrong?

The current trial of VAR was meant to sort out how decisions could be communicated to fans in the stadium. Given that we are now in the second year of these trials, that's going well isn’t it? Many fans at the match on Saturday had no idea what was happening and had to refer to Twitter to find out. Another example of how those who own the top flight want to ensure that their money is protected with television rights, and no thought or care for the fan who goes to the match?

Spurs fans had banners confiscated by stewards and the police because they objected to their match being moved to Friday evening to suit BT sport. Any anti-BT or -Sky chants are covered up by fake crowd noise. I've no idea why Palace stewards confiscated Harry Haddocks, while allowing home fans to take in large flags. Clearly they didn't get the memo that for the FA Cup they are meant to allow the little club fans to enjoy themselves, pat us on the head, then send us home.

On to Macclesfield. UTM!