Managers’ lack of respect no laughing matter

MICKEY MOUSE took centre-stage this week after Joe Kinnear’s animated description of referee Martin Atkinson’s performance in Newcastle’s defeat at Fulham.

The ongoing saga in the Premier League at the moment is the unending story of managers slagging off match officials on a rather dreary, almost daily basis.

That’s despite the well- known but mostly- ignored Respect agenda which was launched with a fanfare in the summer. The players, on the whole, have moderated their behaviour but their managers haven’t.

The chief feature of this unattractive phenomenon is that it only seems to happen when their teams lose.

You do not have to be an expert in human behavioural science to find the motive for this type of behaviour.

Could it be that some club managers believe that by blaming their defeats on referees that they can escape any accusations of blame directed at themselves?

It is a useful tool especially when, in Joe Kinnear’s case, he would have been better with Goofy and Pluto at the heart of his defence instead of Capaca and Coloccini.

Ultimately the problem is a result of the Sky Sports-led creation of the cult of the manager. It is unnecessary and the sooner we all pay less attention the better.

There is no such match as Ferguson v Benitez or Scolari v Wenger. It is the teams on the field who count and the sooner we acknowledge the triusm that managers get too much praise when their teams win and too much blame when their teams lose, the more sensible our national football conversation will become.

But if it doesn't, dont worry, it’s all the referee's fault!