I DIDN’T manage to watch the United - Chelsea match last night but after reading the coverage in the paper’s it looks as if ref Graham Poll has been up to his old tricks.
Far be it from me to criticise but it certainly looked dodgy to me to see him forming the guard of honour with the Chelsea players and applauding United on to the pitch. Come on Graham it wasn’t even at Old Trafford.
Sometimes he really is his own worst enemy. It’s hard enough for refs often accused of bias towards United and here we have officials applauding a team on to the pitch – surely that’s wrong.
Poll and his assistants should have just stood out of the way – although I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had walked out with United to receive the guard of honour.
Next time you see a dodgy penalty at Old Trafford, or wherever it maybe, just watch out for that mischievous piece of red shirt revealing itself from underneath his referee’s kit.
I’ve probably been a bit over the top but I just think what Poll did last night was wrong and it sends out the wrong impression. By all means he could have said well done to the United players after the match but actions like this only put the officials under needless pressure.


It was also interesting to read today that Steve McClaren is thinking about calling Lescott up to the England squad – about time too. He’s been outstanding this season. And then I read it would be for an England B friendly – I thought they went out of the window with Glenn Hoddle. Anyway, let’s hope he gets his chance and proves too hard to leave out of the full England squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. The national side needs more players like Lescott who are in a rich vein of form and less of the old guard who take it for granted that they will be wearing the England shirt come the international breaks.