Not Much Sympathy For Suarez Now

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Luis Suarez
You can understand why Brendan Rodgers was annoyed.

Whether it's fair or not, Luis Suarez can't really complain about having a reputation for diving after admitting he intentionally dived. Of course, referees should judge every situation dispassionately and without any thought to what has come before, but it's easy to see why an official would subconsciously err on the side of cautioning a man who has form in the area. And even more so when the man in question has admitted the 'crime'.

We in England get too worked up about diving. It's cheating and should be punished, but the amount of attention people like Suarez receive is silly.

However, Suarez has little cause for complaint if a marginal now goes against him. He might be correct that television, newspapers and dare I say it football websites use his name because it sells, but he should probably think why that is the case before he whinges too much about it.


Chelsea
Matthew Stanger covered this issue last weekend, but Wednesday's result against Southampton only reinforced the curious split in Chelsea's season. Since Benitez arrived in November they have played seven times at Stamford Bridge, winning two, drawing three and losing two. Away from home, they've played seven, won six and lost one.

True enough, one of the away games was against Leeds, and one of the home draws against Manchester City, but the difference in results is enough to confirm a definite pattern. It's difficult to avoid the conclusion that the negativity from Chelsea fans is adversely affecting their home form. It isn't the only factor of course, but the boos aren't helping.

Benitez is rarely drawn on the subject of the fans, but this week he did make a few comments - comments which, by the way, were interpreted as a 'sly dig' at the dissenting fans by The Daily Mail, which they quite evidently were not.

Benitez said: "All the fans, everyone around, want to win. Some of them maybe will show more or less passion. But every proper fan will want their team to win.

"It's not the case that whatever I do I will be criticised, not if I carry on playing games and doing well. The main thing is to concentrate on doing things well. I am professional and doing my best, spending a lot of time here. If we continue winning games, we can do well."

It's difficult to describe a man who has won the Champions League as naive, but if Benitez still really believes that Chelsea fans will be won over, then he's naive. I thought success would change their view, but it seems those set in their opinion of the Spaniard really are set. The best Benitez can really hope for at this stage is a respectable showing in the league, since the title (they're 13 points behind Manchester United) is surely beyond them.

Beating Arsenal on Sunday will help, if only because it will postpone the worst for another week. It's almost pointless trying to persuade those that have made up their minds to change their behaviour, but it's worth a go. The negativity of some Chelsea fans is harmful, and they should stop. Simple, really.


Arsenal players other than Jack Wilshere
While Arsenal actually played reasonably well in the second half of their win over Swansea, it was pretty clear who the man driving their performance was.

As James Dall from ESPN, friend of F365 and Gooner noted, it's fairly absurd that Theo Walcott will soon be earning more than Wilshere - the latter's talent is far beyond the former's. Indeed, he's very clearly a step above everyone else in the team. He can't do it on his own, so step up chaps.


Manchester United's wingers
'No-one from either United or Liverpool ceded possession more times than Ashley Young on Sunday - even though the winger was subbed at half time - and Antonio Valencia continued his poor form in the second half. It would be a mistake to sell Nani.'

That's what Matthew Stanger wrote in the last edition of Winners and Losers. United have problems on the wings, in that they have a few options but none of them particularly appealing. Young is unpopular and inconsistent, Valencia is in the worst form of his United career and Nani is Nani. When your best current wide option is Ryan Giggs, you should worry.

And worry twice when your next opponents have arguably the most threatening pair of widemen in the league, along with some pretty handy full-backs too. Patrice Evra and Rafael are in for a very busy afternoon on Sunday.


Jermain Defoe
With Emmanuel Adebayor off to the Africa Cup of Nations (eventually), there's a good deal of pressure on Defoe. Not just to score goals, but Spurs are now one hamstring twang away from having to play Clint Dempsey as a centre-forward.

Not ideal.


QPR
The first few games under Harry Redknapp looked promising for QPR. Three draws followed by a win over Fulham, and it looked as though his particular brand of magic was working.

Of course, they then flushed that momentum down the lav with three defeats (including that comical first-half performance against Liverpool), and it all looked a bit bleak again.

Now they have a bit of that momentum back, with the win at Chelsea and the draw against Spurs. Both of those games suggested that Redknapp has at least brought a little solidity back to the Rangers side, and he should get plenty of credit for clean sheets against two teams that have scored 74 goals between them this season.

Redknapp might employ similar tactics this weekend, which suggests the encounter at Upton Park won't exactly be one for the neutrals. However, QPR might want to consider being a little more gung-ho against a West Ham side with only three fit senior defenders. And even when more of those defenders were available to play, the West Ham defence hasn't exactly been watertight - they've kept just one clean sheet in the last ten league games, having achieved five in the previous 11. Jussi Jaaskelainen is having a better season than most might have expected (he's second in the saves/shots ratio charts with 76.1%), but he can't do it all on his own.

Once Loic Remy has finished playing FIFA with Tony Fernandes, he might have some fun with real-life football on Saturday.


West Brom
It's perhaps not that West Brom have lost the last two games that should be concerning. After all, they have a solid but not spectacular squad that is suffering from injuries. It's more that they have lost both games while dominating for long spells against both Fulham and Reading.

They face Aston Villa, who are firstly in woeful form, but secondly will presumably have half a nervous eye on Tuesday night's second leg against Bradford, in the same way that you might anxiously anticipate a job interview that you really should get, but could just as easily choke.


Fabricio Coloccini
Exactly what his personal reasons are I'm not sure, but the impression one gets is that it isn't simply a spurious excuse to get out of Newcastle, even if South American football expert Tim Vickery suggested this week that was the case, and that Alan Pardew et al would be 'insane' to cave to his 'emotional pressure'.

Whatever the situation, Newcastle need Coloccini at the moment. He'll play against Reading, but his mind might not be totally on the job. Newcastle just need to hope that he is concentrating enough.


Wigan
Just two wins at home all season for Roberto Martinez's men. If a team is to survive, it's frequently on the back of their home form, and only QPR have picked up fewer points on their own turf than Wigan.

The visit of Sunderland isn't exactly something to set pulses racing, so if they don't win on Saturday, they might have a problem.


Lukas Podolski
It might not mean a thing, it might be an indication that his inability/unwillingness to track back is a problem, it might be that his attacking play is just not good enough. Whatever the truth, Lukas Podolski is the most-subbed player in Europe. He has completed 90 minutes in only one of his 19 league starts so far this season (the 5-2 win over Reading).

So fingers crossed for a full game this weekend then, Lukas.


Referees
If reports of widespread discontent among referees after Vincent Kompany's red card from last weekend are correct, it's easy to see why they were upset. Whether Kompany actually deserved his red is one of those issues where people on both sides seem not only utterly convinced that they're right, but also baffled as to how anyone can think the opposite.

However, I find it difficult to imagine why anyone can't see why Mike Dean made the decision, even if you disagreed with it. From Dean's position, it looked like Kompany left the ground and used both feet, even if alternative angles suggested he didn't at the point of impact on Wilshere. I wrote here that Kompany didn't deserve much sympathy for jumping into the challenge (which he did), even if he didn't necessarily deserve the red card. That point still stands, even after the reversal of Dean's decision.

The point is that we must stop judging officials on anything other than what they can reasonably be expected to see at the time. Based on where he was and the evidence he had at the time, Dean did not make a blindingly obvious mistake, which is what the appeal system is supposed to prevent and why so many people were surprised when the FA announced their decision.

Now, referees will be under even more pressure than they were already, with the knowledge that every decision could be overturned, even if it wasn't an obvious error. Will a referee pause before issuing a red card when they should this weekend? It would be understandable.

Nick Miller - follow him on Twitter