Time to get more "professional"?

[Brian A]

One of my pet hates is the way a growing number of players go down like a sack of spuds, squealing in agony as they fall. In recent games we've seen excellent examples from Accrington Stanley, Scarborough and Messrs Baldry and Caskey of Notts County.

I've always thought the Fleet were above such behaviour but is it my imagination or are we falling for it (along with the ref) week in week out?

Is now the time to follow the lead of others? If Paul Gibbs had fallen forward when Baldry clattered into the back of him we would have had a free kick and events may have unfolded differently.

I'm sure some of these sides practice falling over. I can't say I want to see anything but honest endeavours and the game played in a sporting spirit but.....

[smithyman]

Quite agree. Whilst I think it's not right to advocate cheating, we do seem to be a much more 'honest' side than many we see and it does cost us. In addition to the theatrics as demonstrated last Saturday, there's the 'jump into our centre half when we've no chance of winning the header and then fall over' which always seems to result in a free kick for pushing against us, 'find the outstreched leg and fall over', 'clatter into the back of us and claim obstruction' to name but a few.

 

I think the other factor that doesn't help is how the referees handle these sorts of things. All too often the refs we see use the yellow card as their first line of authority and not their last. I can't believe there is any less foul play in the Premiership and yet I bet their cards per game ratio is much less than it is the Conference. When you see the number of times players are booked for 'nothing' offences, it must encourage the sort of cheating we see regularly from opposing sides.

 

It's a tough call but maybe we follow the old saying...'if you can't beat 'em, join'em'

[Hempstead Gaz]

After sampling so many crass refereeing descisions last year, which cost us so dearly, I thought this year we would have "wised up", and just been that bit more intelligent and professional.

So far, the refs are still as crap (except Mr Singh), but we are still being found out by too much back chat, and naive tackles which we have no hope of winning, and niggly retaliations.

Seriously, if we don't wise up, and quickly, I can see a repeat of the 1980 season in which bought a lot of 'quality' players in order to stay up, but paid the price for indiscipline, and got relegated with a heavy debt.