Stan A. Einstein wrote: February 17th, 2023, 12:17 pm
Having read Ferguson's autobiography, which it has to be said is so boring that how I ever got through it remains a mystery, I confess there was one intetesting snippet.
We all remember 'Fergie time'. This is in essence what he said about it in his book.
No manager is ever going to influence a referee. The idea that a referee would add on time or blow his whistle early because I was standing on the touch line pointing to my watch is ridiculous. No the reason I did that was that it wound up the opposition.
I very much suspect Steve Evans is up to the same type of thing. Think about it, you've all watched the interview with Evans. You're all angry. You believe it's outrageous because you fear Evans has intimidated referees and will therefore 'get the ref decisions that four garages Evans wants.
And if you've watched the interview don't you think that the opposition players facing Stevenage on Saturday might have reached the same conclusions as yourself? And if those players take the pitch thinking that the referee is biased against them, that that will have an adverse effect on their performance?
Steve Evans doesn't give two hoots what you or I think. But I guess he's chuffed to bits that you are confirming that his methods work.
Not quite sure myself about that one Brendan. There have been numerous comments over the years on this mb about the impact of managers on refs (Evans and Wellens et al) and lots of comments about biased refs by fans - Morecambe anyone?
However, apart from the obvious about a player being careful when on a yellow, I can’t remember a player saying before a game (or even after for that matter) that he had to be careful because a particular ref could make a biased decision against him.
I also couldn’t give two hoots about what four garages thinks about my views and I would hazard a guess that the County players are laughing at him in private as well. Hope so anyway. It is one of those situations in life that is both funny and serious at the same time.