Well, Clive, It's All About the Two M's—Movement and Positioning

For as much as I love football, I think we can all agree its far from a perfect game. Beautiful, yet far from perfect. And no I don't mean in as much as the club you support doesn't win every game or couldn't sign a star player for next to nothing, or how for some reason God hasn't rendered Villas Boas speechless with a serious case of bronchitis, or some other ailment that effects his vocal chords; so we no longer have to hear from the miserable bastard. I mean actual issues. Inconsistent refereeing and missed calls on obvious penalties is a major one. Recently racism has moved to the forefront of issues as well. Both real problems along with others but right now I wanna share my personal frustration on something completely different. Diving.

That's right diving. It seems like every match is full of players flopping all over the pitch in an attempt to get a call and even worse, faking injury to draw a card. Not only does this taint the credibility of the game, but the individual players as well. How hard is it to respect a player like Luis Suarez who spends more time trying to draw penalties than trying to create chances? I realize that a lot of goals come off set pieces but for me this type of behaviour is without a doubt cheap and classless. It seems like every team has a few players with this mentality and I can't help but feel it lessens the quality of the match.

I played the game from 6 years old til I was 16 and I can't remember playing with anybody who would give up on a play simply to try to get a call which is far from guaranteed. I know the quality of play was far from top notch, there was no real pressure to perform, and none of us were exactly on our way to being professional footballers but taking a dive was the last thing on our minds. I know for myself that even when actually fouled I made every effort to keep on and keep the play going, not hit the turf to have a free kick. As someone who played with this mentality I find it aggravating to see actual professionals, men who are living the dream, act in this manner, nor will I ever understand this mentality.

The thing that really gets me about the repeat offenders here is the attitude that is then created towards them. It seems like they don't realize that we have footage of every game in multiple angles. We know when you go down soft or aren't even touched. We all have access to this info. We all lose respect for them once they have been outed. Haven't they figured out that once they develop the reputation as a diver the calls become harder to come by? The refs know who the guilty parties are and act accordingly. I'll even make an example out of one of my beloved gooners. Our boy Gervinho has a tendency to drop as soon as he feels his chances of creating a shot have disappeared. Now I know I'm making an example out of a player I like due to him playing for Arsenal but like I said, every team has one or two and its even more frustrating to see on my club. I haven't seen this as much recently but upon his arrival at the start of the year it was an obvious flaw. Once this is realized by officials the offenders like Gervinho, Suarez, Rooney, Drogba, Cole, Larsson, Ronaldo, Robben, Nani,as well as many others will find it hard to get a call when actually fouled. No ref wants to be made to look stupid by falling for the trick and awarding the penalty. This not only angers teammates and fans at non calls but hurts the team in general as they often times lose possesion when the actual foul occurs.
A lot of the problem as well as maybe even solution has to come from the refs and the FA. Players obviously feel like they won't get a call if they stay on their feet. The refs need to recognize that it is possible to be fouled and not go down. Making a few calls or at least recognizing them with a play on would make players feel more inclined to keep on I believe. The feeling that you have to go down to get a call or that you're going to get it if you go down hard needs to be changed before play will change. A few calls going to players who stay up could go a long way towards the positive change. The FA needs to start suspending offenders when video evidence is clear. Even if its a bit questionable but its the same player multiple times. Players and teams need to understand this behaviour is unacceptable and teams need to be punished for this to happen. But as with most issues nothing will probably change any time soon and we will all remain frustrated by it. Just my thoughts and opinions though.