Tom Hennings Ovrebo has nothing on Dave Bryan or Mike Jones.
Bryan is the linesman who declared Branislav Ivanovic onside when the defender was off by a mile when he scored his goal and Jones, the referee who after consulting him assented to that decision. It's all a bit ironic given the backdrop of the forthcoming Chelsea vs Barca semi-final encounter resurrecting all that angst at Stamford Bridge unleashed three years ago in reaction to Ovrebo's decisions.
Chelsea felt they were robbed at that time and after all those years still harbour a persecution complex. Wigan will feel the same but the rationalization is they are a small side and its just relegation they face, not in the same league as an over leveraged club buying a Champions League final. So suck up that dismay, Premier League minion, and go kindly into the night.
The Blues were toiling till Ivanovic's goal with Ali Habsi and a Wigan side proving to be more than equal. The Latics had decided not to park the bus but through Victor Moses and Mohammed Diame played some sparkling football with Diame burning the ozone with his equalizer, both brilliant and genuine, a claim that Chelsea cannot have on both their goals. Mata was also proved offside when he bundled in that added time goal after Torres's volley clanged off the upright.
Roberto De Matteo might through passivity, i.e., not ruffling his senior players feathers have earned his team a number of victories but he had no clue to this match. He was truly saved by an incompetent group of referees. Or more sinisterly, are we seeing Calciopoli enter the shores of England? Will Dave Bryan's children be put through Eton and should we check on the cars he keeps in his garage a few years from now.
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