Graham Poll: My assessment of Stuart Attwell in West Bromwich v Blackpool

17 January 2011 11:28
Stuart Attwell has faced almost unprecedented criticism during his short Barclays Premier League career since arriving in August 2008. [LNB]Just a month after his debut top-flight match, the Warwickshire referee awarded Reading their controversial 'phantom' goal at Watford. [LNB]As a result, he was only handed five Premier League matches for the rest of that season. The last of those was a highly-contentious display with seven yellow and two red cards in the Wigan v West Ham clash. [LNB]Attwell's second season went a little better. Although his form did not justify the 15 Premier League appointments, at least it seemed the authorities were supporting him. [LNB]VIDEO: The 'phantom' goal that haunts Attwell...[LNB] This season he has been confronted by Owen Coyle after dismissing Gary Cahill at Arsenal before struggling to keep control of a fiery game between Wolves and Newcastle, cautioning 12 players in total. [LNB]Yet, the biggest controversy was yet to come. He allowed Liverpool's goal to stand against Sunderland after Michael Turner's back-heeled 'free-kick' gifted an opportunity to Fernando Torres.[LNB]After four months on the sidelines, Attwell finally landed another Premier League game on Saturday, which was rumoured to be his last chance. If something went badly wrong, then he was likely to be taken off of the select list of referees. [LNB]So, I paid a visit to the Hawthorns to assess his performance in West Bromwich's 3-2 victory over Blackpool. [LNB] Back in favour: Stuart Attwell[LNB]Application of law and disciplinary control Attwell's strength was his detection of fouls - only 21 of them - with just three yellow cards handed out. His overall control was never in doubt and there were no errors in law. 9/10 [LNB]Management of the game and players Despite this being an easy game, Attwell did himself no favours with fussy insistence on ball positioning. His experienced colleagues set the tone and if he can 'let go', the game will flow better, especially in more testing circumstances. 7/10 [LNB]Personality Attwell's main area for development. He can appear to be dismissive when pressurised by players and that makes him appear arrogant, which must be addressed. Relationships with players are important and he needs work to ensure improvement, although I accept they don't make it easy. 6/10 [LNB]Teamwork The assistants did brilliantly to help Attwell out, with tight offside calls proved correct on second viewing every time. They also gave him every help with free-kicks and often from distance. He picked up their signals quickly and well. 9/10 [LNB]Fitness, positioning and movement Attwell's fitness is a major strength, as it should be at the age of 28. He used that fitness to good effect, moving into ideal viewing positions. Well done. 9/10[LNB]Verdict This was an encouraging return to the Premier League for Attwell after a 16-week break. While it was a low-key match, from a ref's perspective, the fact that the game flowed so well and was such an entertaining spectacle must reflect on his involvement. [LNB]Strength of character was required because any small incident is blown up because because of who was refereeing. I could not help thinking that if Attwell had shaved his hair off and changed his name to Webb, then he would have received a fraction of the player dissent and crowd reaction. While that does not seem fair, he must remember that every experienced red earned their reputation.[LNB] It might be because of this air of negativity which follows Attwell around that he felt the need to micro-manage every aspect of it, such as insisting on the blade of grass and exact position of every free-kick and throw-in. [LNB]This does not help with the players' impressions of him, or indeed that of the crowd. If Attwell truly believes in himself, as he would have observers believe, then he needs to display that in his performances. Relax and enjoy the Premier League games as if each was your last. 8/10[LNB] GOOD WEEK FOR...Sepp Blatter BAD WEEK FOR...Clint Dempsey   [LNB]The FIFA president's dislike of goal-line technology came to mind as twoPremier League assistants did really well to award goals when the ball just went over the line. Andy Halliday was spot on to indicate that Ronald Zubar's header had crossed the line, while Michael Oliver's assistant was equally accurate for Danny Higginbotham's opener for Stokeagainst Bolton. Who needs cameras? [LNB]Fulham's Dempsey was rightly denied a 'goal' when handling the ball before putting it in the net at Wigan. Referee Anthony Taylor missed the infringement but was bailed out by an excellent flag from his assistant. Fans often complain that assistants don't get involved enough but when they do it is invaluable. Note for Taylor: Dempsey should have been cautioned for unsporting way he handled the ball.[LNB]   More from Graham Poll... Graham Poll: Liverpool star Maxi Rodriguez 'clever' to win vital penalty17/01/11 GRAHAM POLL: Theo Walcott's dive exposes our flaws with the laws10/01/11 Graham Poll: Webb was right to send off Gerrard but wrong to award penalty09/01/11 Graham Poll: Bowyer and Barton show that a leopard can't change its spots...03/01/11 Graham Poll: Neville and Johnson were lucky not to have seen red02/01/11 Graham Poll: Even I was shocked by Ponting's show of dissent27/12/10 Graham Poll: Defoe's sending off was harsh but it wasn't wrong 26/12/10 Graham Poll: What's on my Christmas wishlist... plenty of videos and a watch20/12/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE[LNB] Explore more:People: Michael Turner, Danny Higginbotham, Sepp Blatter, Gary Cahill, Fernando Torres, Owen Coyle, Stuart Attwell Places: Newcastle, Liverpool

Source: Daily_Mail