Untold Ref Review: Manchester City 2 – 1 Chelsea, another poor display from ref Dean

This article is part of a series stretching over several seasons in which a team of referees analyse the work of refs in Premier League matches.

Our figures show that when we analyse the errors made by refs there are consistent trends which do not “even out” through the season, as some commentators would have it.    All the earlier ref reviews plus analyses of the errors made by refs, and articles relating to our campaign to have the body which organises referees activities reformed, plus an analysis of the background to this campaign, can be found on:

• Untold Ref Reviews …
• Untold Corruption …

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Today’s referee is Mike Dean –

MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Mike Dean (2012-03-21)
Period 1
Min	Type	Foul from	On	C/NC	Comment	Weight
1	OTHER	Mata	Zabaleta	N/C	Backing in,nothing given	1
1	OTHER	yaya	Luiz	C		1
3	OTHER			C	Good advantage played after a foul on Nasri	1
4	OTHER	Luiz	Nasri	N/C	Holding missed	1
6	OTHER	Zabaletta	Mata	C		1
8	OTHER			C	Good advantage played after a foul on Mikel by De Jong	1
11	OTHER			C	Good advantage after a foul by Ivanovich on Nasri	1
11	YELLOW	Ivanovich		N/C	He should have gone back and cautioned Ivanovich once the game stopped, it was a poor challenge	2
17	OTHER			C	Good advantage after a foul by YaYa on Mata	1
17	OTHER	Luiz	Zabaletta	N/C	Luiz looses control of the ball and kicks Zabaletta, everyone sees it but Dean who is 3 yards away	1
18	PENALTY			C	YaYa and Frank Lampard come together in the box, YaYa stays on his feet until he gets in the box, then he falls over. Ref is not falling for it	3
18	YELLOW	YaYa		N/C	The laws state that unsporting behaviour is cautionable, simulation is unsporting behaviour, YaYa should have been cautioned	2
19	OTHER			N/C	Ref gives a foul throw against Chelsea, I went straight to the Laws of the game to check, it was a legitimate throw, nothing wrong with it at all, the Assistant gave nothing but Dean seemed to delay, then gave it from 30 yards away, very strange behaviour.	1
22	OTHER			C	Good advantage after a fould by Luiz on Balotelli	1
22	OTHER	Luiz	Balotelli	N/C	After no advantage gained he should have brought the game back to the offence, players always appreciate when this is done well, it shows understanding of the game.	1
22	YELLOW	Luiz		N/C	It was an elbow by Luiz on Balotelli and should have been cautioned, Dean saw it clearly	2
25	OTHER	Zabaletta	Torres	N/C	He comes through player from behind, I used to do that when I played, but nowadays it is outlawed	1
28	OTHER	Richards	Mata	C		1
30	OTHER	Balotelli		C	Handball	1
30	OTHER	Richards	Torres	C		1
32	OTHER	Torres	De Jong	N/C	Ref misses FT leave his foot in	1
33	OTHER	Aguero	Cahill	N/C	Aguero prevents him clearing with a clever trip	1
33	OTHER	Clichy	Mierelles	C		1
35	OTHER	Balotelli		C	Handball	1
37	OTHER	Boswinga	Aguero	C		1
37	YELLOW	Boswinga		N/C	He deliberately prevented a good break from City who would have turned Chelsea around, should have been booked	2
38	OTHER	Torres	Richards	C		1
39	OTHER	YaYa	Mikel	N/C	A heavy nudge knocks him over, nothing given	1
43	OTHER	Cole	Aguero	N/C	Cole pulls him out of the way to gain possession, Dean misses it	1
43	OTHER	Mata	Toure	C	The ball breaks to Toure, who is held back by Mata, Dean spots this one	1
43	YELLOW	Mata		C	The decision is right, but this Ref is so inconsistent with his decision making and logic it is driving me mad.	2
Period 2
Min	Type	Foul from	On	C/NC	Comment	Weight
54	OTHER			N/C	A corner is awarded to City that came of Silva last	1
56	OTHER	Chelsea	YaYa	C	Assumed correct	1
57	OTHER	Lampard	YaYa	C		1
57	YELLOW	Lampard		C	At least a yellow, he dived in from behind studs showing	2
60	OTHER	Luiz	Barry	N/C	Ref misses a nudge to knock player off balance as ball is in the air, Luiz was only intent on playing the player so it was a foul	1
60	GOAL	Cahill		N/C	The goal should have been disallowed for the foul by Luiz	3
61	OTHER	Clichy	Chelsea	C		1
63	OTHER	Zabaletta	Mata	N/C	A push in the back from Zab means that Mata handballs it, Dean wrongly gives handball, it should have been a foul to Chelsea	1
63	OTHER	Mata		N/C	Handball	1
70	OTHER	Toure	Cech	C		1
70	OTHER	Luiz	Aguero	C		1
73	OTHER	Drogba	Richards	C		1
77	PENALTY	Essien		C	He had his hands extended	3
77	GOAL	Aguero		C		3
82	OTHER	Barry	Lampard	C	After a poor touch he lunges in after the ball, “”His first touch is so bad his second is a tackle”” another clumsy English player with poor technique	1
82	YELLOW	Barry		N/C	If the studs into Lampards ankle were not a yellow the the dissent was, or even the “”Fuck off”” to the Ref, the things you get away with when you play for England eh!	2
85	GOAL	Nasri		C	Great goal from the best player on the pitch	3
88	OTHER			N/C	Gives a goal kick to City when it should have been a Chelsea corner	1
93	OTHER	Zabaletta	Drogba	N/C	A shove in the back	1

Mike Dean was his usual self in a game that meant a lot to both sides. He missed much, let the wrong things go, misread intent, was confusing in his decisions as to when,and when not to caution, and made the occasional decision that was simply baffling.

Let me start with some Ref speak, running a diagonal. A referee should always position himself so that he has in his view one assistant (generally on his right hand side) and the direction of the game in front of him. He should always be able to see what is happening in front of the ball. A Referee does this by running a diagonal line that goes from right back on the attacking team, to left back on the defending team.  Always with the ball in front of him, if he gets ahead of the ball, he stops and moves to the side, allowing play to move past him. By doing this he always has as much of the game in view as possible. What he can’t see should be covered by his Assistant on the other side, who is ahead of him. What is behind him is covered by the Assistant on his left hand side. I watched Mike Dean on numerous occasions running ahead of the game, he was on the diagonal but he was ahead of the game. This means that, He has his back to the goal, and to the defence of the goal being attacked, he also is not covering the pitch with his assistant on the other side, and crucially, if the attack breaks down, and play is turned around quickly, he has far too much ground to make up to get close to the ball. It was not happening throughout the whole game, but on numerous occasions I found myself thinking, where the hell is Dean going. I have done many reviews this season and this was the only time I ever found myself making this observation. “He was out of position” Does this explain his poor decision making in this game, well certainly he was poor.

According to the God that is Dogface, and his wonderful statistical analysis, one of the clubs favoured by Dean is Chelsea. Was that the case in this game.  Not of you look at the numbers but, He could easily have booked at least 3 Chelsea players in the first half in addition to Mata.  And the Chelsea goal should have been disallowed for a foul by Luiz, it was a clever nudge that moved Barry out of the way, Luiz had no intention of challenging for the header, simply in making sure that Barry could not clear the ball. For that reason it was a foul and the goal should have been scratched. Had he blown for the nudge as soon as it happened, everyone, including the Sky commentators would have said “good spot Ref” , but Dean being Dean, he misreads the intent in the Luiz challenge and lets it go. So statistically he may not have favoured Chelsea,  but City are entitled to feel aggrieved over a number of incidents.

As we know playing for England has hidden bonuses other than receiving a floppy cap and walking out at Wembley wearing those Three Lions, Gareth Barry after a heavy touch jumped in after the ball and caught Frank Lampard. Dean rightly gave the foul and was then subjected to a mouthful of abuse by the England international that according to the Laws of the game (A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off if he commits any of the

following seven offences:

• serious foul play

• violent conduct

• spitting at an opponent or any other person

• denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity

by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within

his own penalty area)

• denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving

towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a

penalty kick

• using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures

• receiving a second caution in the same match)

 

should have resulted in a red card, however convention is to issue a yellow and a warning, because what is a fact ,is that Gareth Barry told Mike Dean to Fuck Off whilst also offering him other advice. By not sanctioning Barry, Dean did not apply the Laws of the Game, he did not serve sport, and he made every Refs job that runs out on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning just a little bit harder.

 

COMPETENCY SUMMARY – Mike Dean (2012-03-21)
Period 1	Called	Total	Correct %
OTHER	15	25	60.00
PENALTY	1	1	100.00
YELLOW	1	5	20.00
TOTAL	17	31	54.84
WEIGHTED	20	38	52.63
Period 2	Called	Total	Correct %
GOAL	2	3	66.67
OTHER	7	13	53.85
PENALTY	1	1	100.00
YELLOW	1	2	50.00
TOTAL	11	19	57.89
WEIGHTED	18	29	62.07
Totals	Called	Total	Correct %
GOAL	2	3	66.67
OTHER	22	38	57.89
PENALTY	2	2	100.00
YELLOW	2	7	28.57
TOTAL	28	50	56.00
WEIGHTED	38	67	56.72

Dean does not cut an impressive figure on the football pitch, he has an arrogant demeanour about him, has no interaction with the players, and is inconsistent in his decision making. These are all thing that drive players mad, they end up not knowing where they stand. This was not quite the worst Refereeing performance I have seen this season, but it was close to it.

 

BIAS SUMMARY – Mike Dean (2012-03-21)
Period 1	Manchester City	%	Chelsea	%	Total
Correct For	7	38.89	11	61.11	18
Correct For Weighted	8	38.10	13	61.90	21
Incorrect Against	8	61.54	5	38.46	13
Incorrect Against Weighted	11	64.71	6	35.29	17
Fouls Commited	10	47.62	11	52.38	21
Fouls Penalised	7	70.00	6	54.55	13
Period 2	Manchester City	%	Chelsea	%	Total
Correct For	8	72.73	3	27.27	11
Correct For Weighted	15	83.33	3	16.67	18
Incorrect Against	2	25.00	6	75.00	8
Incorrect Against Weighted	4	36.36	7	63.64	11
Fouls Commited	5	50.00	5	50.00	10
Fouls Penalised	3	60.00	4	80.00	7
Totals	Manchester City	%	Chelsea	%	Total
Correct For	15	51.72	14	48.28	29
Correct For Weighted	23	58.97	16	41.03	39
Incorrect Against	10	47.62	11	52.38	21
Incorrect Against Weighted	15	53.57	13	46.43	28
Fouls Commited	15	48.39	16	51.61	31
Fouls Penalised	10	66.67	10	62.50	20

As for the game, Sami Nasri ran Chelsea ragged, He looked like the player who left Arsenal some 6 months before he left Arsenal, City are ponderous in midfield and at the back, Chelsea look like a team waiting for someone to come and sort it all out, again!  And the Etihad was very quiet. (Did Nasri not say he went there because their support is so passionate)

The only good one thing one could say is that the mistakes he made were fairly even shared amongst both teams.

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