Calling time on the cheats

I like children. They are normally much more fun than their parents, although admittedly I also know plenty of parents who are good fun too.

But if a child is running riot in a restaurant it is the parents’ responsibility to correct their behaviour. If the parents are arrogant enough to neglect that responsibility, if they refuse to see that their child is behaving in a manner which is inappropriate to the circumstances, then the owner of the restaurant should step in and ask the parents to act for the benefit of all the other diners.

I have nothing against Arsenal, I think Arsène Wenger is a fantastic coach who has brought many good things to the English game, and I shared the good feeling of fans everywhere when Eduardo came back from his horrific injury.

Opinions vary on Arsenal, as they do on every other club, player and coach in the game. Some people think Gerrard is the best English player of his generation while others would describe him as one-footed and predictable. Some fans believe Drogba is a magician on the pitch while others would say he is nothing more than a thug who relies on brute strength to mask his lack of skill. For some in the game, Ferguson is the greatest ever manager and a football genius the like of whom has never been seen, whereas for some he will always be the master only of mind games and intimidation.

Horses for courses. And some observers of the game would claim that all of the above have bent the rules at one point or another.

However, diving is cheating and everybody hates a cheat. If any player dives, regardless of who they are, they should be banned from playing (for whatever amount of games is considered appropriate). And they should be banned by their own coaches, especially as any player who has to resort to diving is obviously not good enough to hold down a place. And if the coach refuses to do right by the game, then the relevant governing body should step in and ban both player and coach.

More than grass roots development and sharing the cash around, eradicating cheating from the game is the most important challenge facing football right now. If we allow managers to protect cheats, we might as well give up on the game before all the trophies are viewed with suspicion and all the kids spend their careers throwing themselves to the ground in an effort to imitate their heroes.