Officiating in modern day football has already received its fair share of flak. Of course, whenever a certain team is at the receiving end of harsh refereeing decisions, its passionate fans jump at the opportunity to hit back at the match officials with great force. In this article, however, I will not go ahead with the oft-repeated idea of accusing the referees of lacking the ability to call big games without the heavily proposed use of technology.

Instead, I will join the minor revolution that calls for an increased support towards the officials. While technology is certainly a refreshing change that should take its time before fully integrating into this fast-paced sport, a humane nature of officiating is completely acceptable as long as one element never goes missing. Unfortunately, this essential element - consistency - has often been neglected by the officials in recent times.

On Saturday evening, more than 76,000 fans at the historic Old Trafford witnessed Manchester United overcome the visiting Arsenal under bizarre circumstances. The spirited Gunners dominated the first half but a controversial penalty decision sparked a revival that eventually saw the reigning Premier League champions come from behind to record a crucial 2-1 win. While Mike Dean’s decision to award Wayne Rooney this decisive penalty was certainly justified considering the view of the entire play in hindsight, plays like that have often been declared as goal kicks.

Manuel Almunia was certainly at fault to commit himself to the challenge, but Rooney had struggled to round the ball effectively and the bottom line is, his touch had deceived him a bit too much. Therefore, judging by the textbook, the score should have effectively stayed at least 1-0 to Arsenal, if not 2-0 considering that Andrei Arshavin was denied a blatant penalty in the first half. Now before my readers jump to any conclusions, I urge everyone to fully understand what I just discussed.

In a nutshell, I understand how a referee can grant Wayne Rooney a penalty after watching such a close call within seconds of the play’s unfolding. However, for the sake of consistency, I am still struggling to find out how Darren Fletcher got away with conceding a penalty that was far more obvious! After all, taking this all into account, the game might have ended in a 2-2 draw, which would have split the points evenly rather than handing it all to the hosts.

Speaking of inconsistency, I want to utilize this forum to set the record straight on Robin van Persie’s offside goal for once and for all. Was the goal offside? Yes, of course! Judging by the textbook, William Gallas was definitely offside and the flag was justified to go up right away. However, it cannot be denied that several such goals have stood in the past and surprisingly, even received the continued backing of the official in question.

The rationale on most of these occasions: a lack of significant involvement from the offside player. Hence, as a fan of the sport, I was glad to see this flawed rationale  receive the boot on Saturday night. I must add, though, that the awful lot of inconsistency regarding such decisions is certainly beginning to ruin the beautiful sport. On a side note, Arsene Wenger also clarified that his infamous ‘bottle-kicking’ incident was due to frustration over such late drama rather than objections over the call.

Even that incident was handled with inconsistency as there have been far worse demeanors on part of managers who have been spared such unreasonable humiliation in the past.  Don’t worry Arsene, there is an apology coming from the FA Referees Committee. Returning to the detriments of inconsistency in on-field officiating, ask Chelsea, who were denied the clearest of penalties at Stamford Bridge in this past year’s Champions League semifinals against Barcelona.

The Catalans, who are now considered nearly invincible, were fairly beaten by the Blues that night when Michael Essien’s wonder strike should have been joined by at least one other goal when Gerard Pique’s obvious handball was shamefully overlooked. Perhaps the denial of all other legitimate penalty shouts from Chelsea was comprehensible, to put it nicely. But how could the referee call Pique’s error a “ball to hand” when he clearly appeared to knock the ball with his hand? If that’s how we define a “ball to hand”, then how about reversing all those other penalties that had resulted in blatant handball situations. If we are giving the referees a room for interpretation, then is it too much to ask for some consistency?

As a fan of the U.S. National soccer team, I often end up with a bad taste in my mouth as the crunch rivalry game with Mexico is usually decided by extremely inconsistent officiating. Most recently, a young American line-up was penalized (and subsequently demoralized) for a foul that never was. In the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, Giovanni Dos Santos pushed through the U.S. defense and on one such instance, his imbalance led to an embarassing fall inside the box. The result? An inexplicable penalty awarded to Mexico.

The worst part of it all is that the Mexicans could play with all the physicality in the world and yet the Americans were always the ones receiving the bookings for merely responding with their own brand of physical soccer. The poor refereeing picked up exactly from where it had left off when the Americans once again suffered in the World Cup qualifier against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.

Despite taking a 1-0 lead, the visitors were undone not only by the high altitude, but also an officiating performance that clearly favored the hosts. While the U.S. players were booked for some challenges where they even won the ball, Mexico’s Nery Castillo was not even handed a single yellow card despite punching two U.S. players - an offense that commands a straight red card - on two separate occasions. Any explanations? I doubt it!

At the end of the day, I hope that I still make clear what side I am actually on. By now, it should be apparent that I certainly support the referees in modern day football as they cope with so much over an intense 90-minute period. As a reasonably lenient individual, I refuse to criticise someone over humane mistakes, particuarly when that person is amidst an unenviable position of officiating a game that carries immeasurable significance. Hence, I accept the decisions of the referees in their innocently imperfect form. The only thing that I hope will improve significantly in the immediate future is the level of consistency present in the most of important of calls that are made by the referees.

Last season Manchester United may have won the Premier League title, but their form against the rest of the “Big Four” was dire. On Saturday the Red Devils got a massive three points against Arsenal that suggests their form against their biggest rivals might just be better this year, but Fergie’s tactics and team selection left a lot to be desired.

The 4-5-1

The most glaring problem in Sir Alex Ferguson’s big game tactics is his formation choice. By all means, when United is playing the “smaller” clubs, Fergie is spot on with his philosophy and formation. The world renowned Manchester United 4-4-2 is the pinnacle of counter-attacking football that uses both fullbacks as threats down the wing and a dynamic front duo that is constantly on the move.

Against the big clubs, though, the ugly and cautious 4-5-1 comes out. Against Arsenal the midfield consisted of three central players - Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, and Darren Fletcher - and two wingers - Nani and Antonio Valencia - behind a sole striker - Wayne Rooney. What is normally a fluid and interchanging front line between the strikers and the wingers turned into a flat five in midfield with a large gap isolating Wayne Rooney up top.

All too often the midfielders fed long balls up top in search of their lonely striker, but  Wayne Rooney’s lack of size meant William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen enjoyed long spells of success at the back. In fact, since it was just the former Evertonian up top, both Gallas and Vermaelen could concentrate on the same man. The constant double-teaming that Wayne faced rendered him useless (with the exception of his strong run into the box that earned the penalty from a Ryan Giggs through-ball).

Not playing Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov

If you read any match report following United’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal, you’ll surely read about how dominant and sure Arsenal was on the ball. The Gunners may have had the ball only 49% of the time, but their possession looked a lot more assured and meaningful.

The 51% possession that United enjoyed is rarely being talked about by the media and managers because it was chalk full of passes gone astray and poor dribbles that resulted in giving the ball away.

Two men that have been in stellar form so far this season have been Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov. Not only are these two men in form, but these are the two specialists at Old Trafford when it comes to maintaining possession. Scholes played zero part in the match, and Berbatov was limited to an appearance off the bench.

When Berbatov came on United looked a lot more comfortable. The Bulgarian held possession well and gave Wayne Rooney more freedom to get involved. With a strike partner, Wayne was allowed to drop a little deeper to get the ball and get more involved. Not only that, but Berbatov actually found himself through on goal from a perfect Nani pass. He may have missed, but creating chances over 90 minutes leads to goals.

The Barca mistake

It was these very same mistakes that led to United’s downfall at the hands of Barcelona in May. If Sir Alex Ferguson wants to do as well against the big teams as he’s used to doing against the smaller clubs, he needs to start playing in a similar fashion.

United is known to attack and hit teams on the counter, and by completely forgetting all of those traits and ignoring the club’s proud history against the big clubs has only led to disappointing results.

United may have won on the day, but were it not for Abou Diaby’s calamitous moment that saw the midfielder put the ball into the back of his own net, United would be in an awful position.

Please, Sir Alex, keep attacking.

Burnley may have enjoyed one of the best weeks in club history last week, but Chelsea’s 3-0 slaughtering at Stamford Bridge this afternoon reminded the Premier League minnows of how tough life is in the world’s greatest league.

Carlo Ancelotti named his strongest eleven against the Premier League newboys as Didier Drogba once again partnered Nicolas Anelka up top. The two combined well in first half injury time as Didier Drogba’s cross was turned in by Anelka at the end of his bolting run.

Less than two minutes after the second half kicked off, Michael Ballack made it 2-0. Frank Lampard beat the Burnley defense to the endline and put in a delightful chip that was headed home by Chelsea’s German midfielder.

Five minutes after that it was Ashley Cole who grabbed his first home goal in seven years. The defender played well all afternoon but will surely be delighted most of all by his goal. After finding himself in the attacking third once again, Cole worked a pleasant one-two before volleying home from inside the 18 yard box.

Burnley never really looked like they were in this match as Chelsea’s midfield was too strong and too hardworking. Michael Essien and Frank Lampard may not have got on the scoresheet, but the two combined well with Deco to retain possession throughout the 90 minutes.

Are Chelsea Premier League favorites after their great start to the season? Have your say below!

This summer may have seemed a bit boring as far as transfers go, but things are finally heating up. Manchester City and Real Madrid were the overwhelming big spenders during the blistering hot summer months, but with only a few days remaining the “smaller” clubs are working hard to fill out their squads for the fall and winter.

Yesterday saw a flurry of defenders move clubs, and they were some pretty big names.

City captain signs for Villa

It was only a matter of time before City’s squad got too big, and surprisingly enough it’s their [former] captain that finds himself surplus to requirements. Central defender Richard Dunne has completed a deal that sends him to Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa, and this is only a good thing for the Villans.

Dunne is a class defender that is tough as nails and has pace and experience to boot. He has seen his position at City disintegrate, though, after Joleon Lescott’s arrival signalled a new partnership between Lescott and fellow summer signing Kolo Toure.

The 29 year old spent nine years at City and hopes to enjoy a good few years with Villa.

Everton replace the departed Lescott

While Dunne’s move was prompted by Lescott’s arrival, the former Everton man’s departure sparked more movement around the Premiership. Portsmouth’s pacy and talented Sylvain Distin has agreed a deal at Goodison Park that sees Everton pick up a Premier League quality defender at an affordable price.

Distin may be 31 years old, but with Lescott’s distraction causing havoc in the Everton camp it’s surely better to move on. David Moyes is tying the defender up to a three year deal pending the results of a medical.

Warnock leaves Ewood Park, replaced by Chimbonda

Aston Villa further strengthened their back line on Thursday by clinching a deal for Blackburn defender Stephen Warnock. The self proclaimed Quasimodo lookalike signs a four year contract with Villa.

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce wasted no time in replacing the defender/midfielder as he brought Pascal Chimbonda in from Tottenham.

Will these players succeed at their new clubs? Have your say below!