Source: Telegraph
Stuart Attwell faces red card over Carlton Cole controversy
Except it has not quite worked out that way. As grizzled veterans in any profession never tire of pointing out, you cannot expect a boy to do a man's job. Steve Bruce has become the latest manager to venture this analysis of Attwell, declaring in the wake of a particularly hapless turn by the man in black in Wigan's defeat by West Ham on Wednesday night: "I don't think Mr Attwell is quite ready to step up to the plate."[LNB]Bruce commented after the referee sent off West Ham striker Carlton Cole in Wednesday night's match at Wigan – a decision so harsh that even Bruce, the opposing manager, objected. [LNB] Related ArticlesWenger's fear over horror tackles[LNB]Cole sees red after scoring winner at Wigan[LNB]Manchester City cruise to victory over 10-man West Ham[LNB]Premier League referee: The impossible job[LNB]Frank Lampard sets Chelsea up before red card[LNB]Premier League Round-up: Cristiano Ronaldo extends Manchester United's lead[LNB]The words were delivered in Bruce's usual avuncular tone, but they were dripping with condescension. Attwell would surely have preferred any degree of 'hairdryer treatment' to being so cuttingly patronised in public. But few would dispute that Bruce is right, with Attwell's dubious display at the JJB Stadium serving as just one example in a litany of errors that have chequered his brief career. [LNB]Attwell, lest we forget, is the referee who awarded Reading their 'phantom goal' at Watford last September when the ball crossed the line three yards outside the post. He is also the referee who, six weeks later, disallowed two perfectly reasonable goals for Derby, whose then manager Paul Jewell accused him of "ruining" the game. [LNB]On that occasion Attwell was summoned before his senior assessors and briefly demoted, so a more serious sanction is likely to await him after Cole's dismissal. In the eyes of the Football Association and of Keith Hackett, their referees' chief, one mistake represents excusable carelessness. Two demand closer scrutiny. But three, in the space of six months, hint at inherent weakness. [LNB]They also trigger the debate of whether anyone aged 26, only a couple of years out of Sunday league football in Nuneaton, should be allowed anywhere near a whistle in the Premier League. Arguably the most respected referee on the roster, Howard Webb, is 37. Harrow schoolmaster David Elleray, who officiated in 78 internationals across 35 countries, did not stop until he was 49. The inescapable implication is that the career path of a referee is similar to that of a master craftsman, where the best practitioners are those who have completed long apprenticeships and developed their skills under the most testing conditions. [LNB]Bruce encapsulated this notion best when he admitted, in his fit of pique, that he felt "a bit sorry" for Attwell. He seemed to be suggesting that Attwell's gaffes were borne solely of his greenness, that the fault lay not with the young man himself but with the FA for instituting a system of such fast-track promotion. [LNB]Even the other matches assigned to Attwell have tended towards high-octane, high-intensity affairs. The setting for the Derby incident was the East Midlands derby against Nottingham Forest. The FA effectively acknowledged that Attwell still had much to learn when they consigned him subsequently to the lower leagues, albeit fleetingly. [LNB]Keith Cooper, the former top flight referee, approached him following the Watford debacle and said he believed a much tougher education was in order: a prolonged spell in Leagues One and Two, to enable Attwell to regain faith in his own abilities, as well as the confidence of others. [LNB]Attwell is no idiot, having a degree in sports science to sit alongside his remarkably rapid rise from small-town Warwickshire kickabouts. But his unfortunate actions at the top level could finally have pushed the FA towards Cooper's conclusion. [LNB]Attwell's blunders[LNB]26 Dec 2007: Championship debut and Attwell controversially sends off Blackpool's Ian Evatt for professional foul against Sheffield United after eight mins. [LNB]20 Sept 2008: Reading 'ghost goal' which will haunt him forever as the ball missed Watford's goal by three yards. [LNB]2 Nov: Disallows Derby's 'winner' against Nottingham Forest by Miles Addison for a phantom push. Paul Jewell apoplectic. [LNB]Feb 28 2009: Exeter's Troy Archibald-Henville fells Darlington's Danny Carlton when on a yellow card but stays on pitch. [LNB]Mar 4: Sends off West Ham's Carlton Cole for two mild offences, but shows only yellow cards to Scott Parker and Lucas Neill for X-rated, studs up challenges. [LNB]
