Another claret-and-blue team break Sheffield United’s hearts

Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe laughably claimed before the Championship play-off final that they would be a top-half Premier League side now were it not for only picking up 38 points in 2006-07 Carlos Tevez.

However, Burnley were the team who showed top-flight quality at Wembley and deservedly won with a brilliant 13th minute goal by Wade Elliott. Having beaten Fulham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and West Brom this season and seen Sunderland and Hull stay up despite being dreadful, Owen Coyle should be confident that the Clarets can survive their first Premier League campaign.

Kevin Blackwell, as you would expect of a former assistant of Neil Warnock, struggled to be gracious in defeat and insinuated that Mike Dean’s performance

Abilities of top flight officials called into question once again

Over the weekend, there were no less than three controversial performances from Premier League referees: firstly, Mark Hughes lambasted Mike Dean for dismissing three players at Eastlands and for “failing to show common sense”. Howard Webb had a disappointing game at the Emirates, dishing out completely unnecessary cards and failing to pick up on incidents that should have ended up in the book. And finally, Joe Kinnear took the subtle route of calling Martin Atkinson “Mickey Mouse” for failing to spot an Andy Johnson foul in the build up to Fulham’s match-winning penalty.

Of course, Kinnear and his ilk are happy to point out the professional mistakes of officials, but fail to offer any solutions to the problems (ie should we introduce video replays, better training, more pay etc).

So, is there a problem that needs to be addressed with the standard of refereeing in the top flight? Or are these contestable decisions an acceptable part of the game (and possibly even one that makes it more exciting)? Let us know with a vote and comment below…

It’s better in the Czech Republic, claims Roman Bednar

The FA and Premier League’s Respect campaign took another blow today when Czech forward Roman Bednar admitted that the standard of officiating in the top-flight was poorer than in his homeland.

The Baggies striker voiced his concerns after being left disappointed by referee Mike Dean’s performance in Sunday’s Midlands derby defeat to Aston Villa at The Hawthorns. He said: