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Review
Praise for Seeing Red:
‘Poll's fascinating response to years of criticism as one of England's top officials is far more interesting than the standard fare trotted out by most players these days – it also evokes the rarest of things in a football fan: sympathy for the referee.' FourFourTwo
Praise for Graham Poll:
‘He’s made a real contribution to football with his ability and personality’ Sir Alex Ferguson
Product Description
Ex-referee and now fearless writer and football pundit, Graham Poll is no stranger to controversy. His latest book is an entertaining and provocative reappraisal of the major incidents in World and English football down the years – from Geoff Hurst’s goal in ‘66, through Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ to the infamous Battle of the Bridge in 2009.
Graham Poll, England’s highest profile referee of the last two decades, refereed over 400 Premiership games, involving more than 1.5 million spectators, and at two World Cups, placing him at the centre of some of the most controversial incidents in football.
So what does Poll make of some of the biggest rows in English and World football down the years? Would modern referees have reached different key decisions? What can the game learn from the mistakes of history?
In this follow-up book to Seeing Red, Poll’s bestselling memoirs, we get an informative, frequently provocative but always entertaining romp through the pages of football history and the major incidents that sent shockwaves through the game. The book revisits in startling clarity all those much talked about football moments that continue to be the topic of pub debate among football fans the world over – and turns everything on its head.
What was the real reason for the linesman giving Geoff Hurst’s goal in 1966 at Wembley? In the infamous Maradona ‘Hand of God’ game, why should the behaviour of Argentine players have helped the ref disallow the goal? How does Kim Milton Nielson, the official who red-carded David Beckham against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, view the decision now? And was video technology used to 'convict' Zinedine Zidane of his World Cup Final head-butt?
Framed with other fascinating football facts, personality profiles and colourful anecdotes, these stories and more – including football's most recent controversies – provide a rich seam of material for Graham Poll, in his usual no-nonsense style, to set the topical football agenda and to enrich our knowledge and understanding of the beautiful game.
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Customer Reviews
In the media Poll can come across as a bit of a know-all but he does a good job here in recounting some of the most controversial World Cup decisions over the years, from Hurst's second goal in the 1966 World Cup Final (nice one, lino!) to Zidane's dismissal in the 2006 Final (which most people believe was down to the fourth official looking at a TV monitor).
Try taking it to the next match you attend and hand it to the bloke behind you when he leaps out of his seat to berate one of the officials.
The book not only provides such thoughts and opinions but gives food for thought for any referee who thinks deeply about his own performance and could be very useful to newer referees. In my opinion, a different kind of refereeing book and definitely one of the best ever books by referees.
Geoff Hurst, the Hand of God and the Biggest Rows in World Football
I find he is more of a prophet(and profit) by alluding to the Hurst incident, circa '66, and, saying that it could happen again, this time against England. So, a good insight there. He states that today, where "linos" are now assistant referees, that a common language should exist to avoid misunderstandings between officials. However, this failed as he feared, quite remarkably in a near identical game? So he covered his bases there.
The Hand of God chapter relates to Maradonna and Lineker discussing the issues surrounding the controversy. They both agreed it was the officials fault for allowing the goal to stand. However, Mr. Poll claims that is akin to blaming the police for the crime? This where his logic fails(not for the first time), as players do cheat but it is up to the ref(police) to apply the laws invested in them. Hence, disallow the goal and save face!
I read his praise of Howard Webb's performance in the Final of the last WC. Let me say that Webb, was roundly booed for his inadequate handling and justifiably so. Stating that he had not seen fully the De Jong incident is worse than poor, as he'd seen the raised foot to the chest, no doubt(he produced the yellow presumably for that?) and Alonso's agony confirmed any doubts that he might've had. Surely the speed and height were enough for even a blind man to notice and send the thug off? Not only that, in one chapter he suggests that in the Germany v Czech match, in the nineties, where another ref(I think it was Ellary) that the game would have been better controlled had he shown a red card instead of about ten yellows. Cue Mr. Webb who allowed so many fouls by Van Bommel( and others) that it spiralled into mayhem and a spate of yellow cards ensued. So, how did Mr. Webb have a good game? No, it killed the game!
In another chapter, the late Don Revie, stated that, "refereeing was the hardest job in the world",(as Mr. Poll agrees and is always saying?). Hardly, just ask any soldier, miner, trawlerman, policeman,scaffolder,deep sea diver, nurse, etc, etc........In his defence he does admit to getting decisions wrong(even referees are human, aren't they?), so at times he rated himself as 8 out 10 but sometimes he was a 10 out of 10? Quite modest, really.
I'd love to debate his ideas/reasons on a one to one basis but I don't think I can reach his Ivory Tower?
Still a fascinating if not irritating read!
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