Up until now I had been prepared to bite my tongue and begrudgingly give Luis Suarez the benefit of the doubt.
If it’s within their powers the FA should hand him a ban of epic proportions- James Calvert
It seemed, to a certain extent, like he was being picked on by the media and that he had become a scapegoat for all that is wrong with English football – racism, diving, handballs.
But everything changed last week when the Liverpool striker stupidly admitted he had dived to try and win a penalty in the game with Stoke earlier this season.
He said: “I was accused of falling inside the box in a match and it’s true I did it that time because we were drawing against Stoke at home and we needed anything to win it.”
So now we know the truth.
Suarez is not, after all, being unfairly picked on. He is, in fact, a cheat.
Not only has he shamed himself, which I couldn’t care less about, he has also shamed Liverpool Football Club, and I am hardly surprised that Brendan Rogers is livid, especially when you consider that he had previously stuck up for the player in public.
The Anfield boss has promised to deal with the matter internally, which is fair enough. But I think this needs to be dealt with at a much higher level, and much more severely – if it’s within their powers then the FA should hand him a ban of epic proportions.
In reality he has pretty much ruined his career in England anyway. There will be a cloud of doubt hanging over him every time he takes to the pitch. Referees will be watching his every move and his chances of ever winning a penalty again must be seriously compromised.
The fans will get at him, opponents will get at him, and even his teammates, the vast majority of whom are honest lads, will eye him with a degree of suspicion. Steven Gerrard, for example, won’t like the fact that Suarez is dragging the name of his beloved club through the mud.
All in all, I would be pretty happy if the Uruguayan left the English game altogether and took his questionable talents elsewhere.
I have absolutely no desire to see an obnoxious, egotistical, self-confessed cheat on the pitch, no matter how talented he may be.
Pep’s scenic route to England
I guess it isn’t going to take long before my Pep Guardiola theory is put to the test. It was announced on Wednesday that the Spaniard is to take over at Bayern Munich in the summer, signing a three-year deal with the German giants.
That news must have caused an awful lot of swearing in boardrooms around Europe, not least at Stamford Bridge where Roman Abramovich has spent years fluttering his eyelashes in the direction of the former Barcelona boss.
The question now is will Guardiola prove himself the managerial genius so many believe he is, or will it turn out that his Barcelona success was down to timing more than anything else.
To be honest, of all the teams he could have chosen for his return to the game – and let’s face it, it was him doing the choosing – Bayern is one of the places where he has the greatest chance of success.
When he walks through the door he will find a large number of first-class players on the books. And it’s not as if they play long ball, hit and hope football either. Not to mention the fact that he will undoubtedly be given money to spend.
It will be interesting to see whether he tries to get his new team playing the Barcelona way (retaining possession until your opponents lose their will to live) or whether he tweaks the style to fit a different club in a different league.
Of course, the very fact that Guardiola signed a three-year deal has sent the rumour mill into overdrive. Three years from this summer is, coincidentally of course, about the time that Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking to hang up his Manchester United hairdryer.
I have even heard some suggest this is a done deal and that the Spaniard has signed some sort of pre-agreement with United to take over in the summer of 2016.
Frankly I very much doubt that is the case. But I have to admit it does all seem to be slotting together nicely. The timing, which was previously out of synch, has now aligned itself perfectly, allowing the United and Guardiola paths to conveniently merge at the appropriate juncture.
The man himself said last week, just hours before committing himself to Bayern, how he desperately wants to manage a club in England (By ‘club’ I assume he means someone like Man United, and not, for example, Hartlepool).
And that will be music to the ears of the Old Trafford hierarchy who, as I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, are going to have one of the most tricky managerial transitions in the history of football to deal with sooner rather than later.
I’m not being disrespectful in the slightest to Bayern here. They are one of the giants of European football and Guardiola should be thankful he has slipped back into the game at the very top. There is every chance it could turn out to be a match made in heaven and Guardiola won’t even think about leaving when his contract runs out.
But, considering how passionate Guardiola sounded about his desire to work in England, I get the sneaky feeling he might just be killing time while waiting for his dream job…
Goal-neutral
Stoke City striker Jon Walters has had a week he isn’t likely to forget in a hurry.
The previous Saturday he had quite possibly the worst game of his career when his team played Chelsea. Not only did he score two own goals but he also managed to miss a penalty too. He did more for Chelsea in that game that Fernando Torres has done all season.
But then, just a few days later, he turned from villain to hero by scoring two goals at the right end in Stoke’s FA Cup win over Crystal Palace, leaving him, to partially borrow an environmental term, goal-neutral for the week.
When his name is read out over the PA system pre-match, Stoke fans are not going to know whether to laugh or cry…
Your say
“Regarding Pep Guardiola’s managerial abilities I totally agree with you. It could have been me, you or my mother managing Barcelona and we would have still won the 14 trophies they won.
“I have been saying this for years now and many completely agree. I also said the same thing about Jose Mourinho during his first years at Chelsea with an open cheque book from Abramovich.
“The same for the Brazil team of 1970. They never needed a coach there. You don’t tell certain quality players what they have to do on the pitch. Just tell them go and play and enjoy yourselves.
“Given the quality of players in the team the manager can make a wrong substitution and still get away with it.
“Yes, many might have read it first in your article, but rest assured that many more have known this, but of course, don’t have the facility to write in newspapers.
“Regarding Suarez’s handball against Mansfield Town, the ball struck his hand accidentally from the rebound. Some commentator from ESPN called him a cheat and he was reprimanded and ESPN apologised.
“No one said anything when Tottenham Hotspur scored against Manchester United and the goalkeeper retrieved the ball a full yard from behind the goal line.
“Or many others that dive to gain fouls or penalties, like Ashley Young of Man United or Gareth Bale of Spurs. Suarez too, sometimes, as many others do. But why only Suarez?”
Mario Schembri, e-mail.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade