The Unfit Referee

Carlitos Way No More

My first guess would be Carlos Tevez. If their was ever a player who refused to play when called upon by his manager, Tevez would be my answer without a second thought. He is the perfect example of how out of touch some footballers are with reality. Roberto Mancini has his critics, but after hearing the press conference following the loss to Bayern Munich, declaring the Argentine would never play for the club again during his tenure. Question your managers decisions during a match and refusing to play is utterly disgraceful. His sense of entitlement overshadows all the talent and makes him a cancer in any locker room. Never being fully settled and committed, Tevez has always caused friction at all his clubs and failed to last more than three years at either one. Mancini's banishment of Tevez from the team was the best decision he could have made, and the suspension that followed was a step in the right direction. Managers run the team not the players, make him the highest paid reserve in English football. They can afford to take the financial hit, their Etihad bank account will not go dry because of it. Send him back to Argentina to be with his family and write him off completely. Tevez continues to persist it was all just a misunderstanding in translation, and that he only refused to warm-up for a second time. Regardless, those actions are inexcusable and City are in the process of sending him into football exile until January.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Things seem to only get worse for Fernando Torres. The pattern developing must be alarming to Chelsea; Andre Villas-Boas has been extremely patient and continued to play Torres through all his struggles. Slowly showing signs of improvement on the pitch, Torres has recently started to find his stride. The inclusion of Juan Mata to the starting line-up has been a key component for his revival, but just when you think the Spaniard has turned the corner, in a flash something goes wrong. Strikers are not known for their tackling abilities, and I was left scratching my head watching Torres even attempt to go to ground. Despite minimal contact on the challenge, it was blatantly reckless and deserved the red card. The automatic three match ban will certainly derail any re-discovered form or confidence. The ban will see him only be eligible to play one Champions League match in October against Genk. His next league fixture will be at Stamford Bridge on October 29th versus Arsenal.

A Crack In The Armour

History was almost made at Old Trafford mid-week, Basel were minutes away from securing a miraculous comeback victory of epic proportions. In Sir Alex Ferguson's entire career at Manchester United, he has never lost a match after being ahead by two goals or more. The crowd was in disbelief at the notion of losing at home, and for it to happen at the hands of a small club like Basel was unthinkable. The only positive was Danny Welbeck's performance, scoring two goals in quick succession. On the negative two things stuck out. Rio Ferdinand looks to be past it at this point, and has looked awful since returning from injury. Clearly lacking pace and positioning, it is only a matter of time before he loses his place. The second negative was David De Gea, who has yet to convince me worthy of being United's number one. The blame for the collapse does not rest on his shoulders alone but it looks like the perfect time to give Anders Lindegaard a chance to earn the starters shirt. The only reason De Gea has yet to be exposed is thanks in large part to United's dominance on the other end of the pitch. He has proved incapable of handling the pressure and lacks the ability to keep his composure and focus needed to win games down the stretch.

Cole + Lille = Three Lions?

I always have been a fan of Joe Cole. Injuries have played a major role in why he has never reached the potential bestowed upon him. Liverpool looked like the perfect destination for Cole to truly take-off and become the player you only see flashes of in-between numerous physical set-backs. The Merseyside experiment turned out to be a disaster. Taking a chance, Cole's decision to go on loan to Lille for the season has turned out to be brilliant. Playing behind the striker, he has looked at the top of his game so far for the defending French champions. Their even have been small rumblings of maybe winning back a place with the national team. That kind of talk is a little premature but without a doubt Cole’s form has improved. The Londoner has made a strong partnership with Eden Hazard and looks to be enjoying himself in Ligue 1. Cole's French revolution could make way for a Three Lions reunion.

The Messi-ah of Football

Count yourself lucky to live in the generation that is able to watch football's greatest player. Every week Lionel Messi makes the impossible look effortless on the pitch. Never have I seen a footballer with such talent as the little Argentine. He embodies what the game is all about, and that's passion. You can argue a case for Pele and Maradona, but both allowed outside influences to get in the way of their talent. Never will you find a more humble footballer than Messi, despite making millions and having a trophy cabinet full of individual and more importantly team honors, only the World Cup has eluded him. At twenty-four time is on his side, look at has staggering accomplishments already. Five La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies, two Super Cups, one Club World Cup, one U-20 World Cup and Olympic gold. Individual honors include two Ballon D'or awards and one FIFA World Player of the Year. Impressive to say the least and this season Messi already has fourteen goals and eight assists in all competitions this season for Barcelona. Staggering numbers when you consider they come after only ten games played.

The Return of FC Hollywood :

This could be one of the most dominant Bayern Munich sides we've seen in quite some time. You would not have guessed it at the start of the season, losing their opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach. Since then, the Bavarian giants have gone on a tear in the Bundesliga. Winning six straight, scoing twenty-one goals in the process and conceding none. In the Champions League the trend continued, winning all four matches and out-scoring their opponents seven nil. Jupp Heynckes has the squad playing unbelievably well. The win versus Manchester City on Tuesday proved their strength. Bayern controlled the entire match and completely out-played City off the pitch. They will be a real threat on all fronts this year and worth keeping an eye out for as the season progresses.


Check back next week for a new edition of The Unfit Referee.