‘I had to make a horrible walk at Stoke City and I wish I had a microphone on’

‘I had to make a horrible walk at Stoke City and I wish I had a microphone on.

In the latest part of Gary Rowett’s column he looks at VAR in the Championship and whether it is time to introduce it and the time he

was sent off as manager of Stoke.

Perhaps as a result of the rulings that went against Derby in their match against Norwich the previous weekend, the argument over

whether or not VAR should be implemented in the Championship resurfaced this week.

You have probably read and considered the aftermath of the first goal in especially, since Josh Sargent’s cross was obviously out of

play according to TV replays.

I can see why there would be new demands for VAR given the significant financial stakes, especially in regards to promotion to the

Premier League. In the Huddersfield vs. Nottingham Forest play-off final, for example, Huddersfield was awarded two penalties that

were overturned, and VAR was used in that match.

There are instances when the costs of such choices are evident, as well as the effects they have on a team. I recall a discussion about

VAR-lite, a potential trial version of Premier League-style video assistant refereeing that would be less expensive and more

comprehensive. This was while I was working at Millwall.

I sat in so many meetings with other managers and other key figures like Howard Webb and other stakeholders from around the game

when they would discuss the rule changes etc. And so when you enter these meetings, VAR just seemed to take so long, it would take

the joy away from scoring goals and celebrating for the fans and it was probably something I hadn’t thought about.

It just seems to be a bit of an atmosphere and tempo wrecker. Statistically, I think they are shaving off about a minute for VAR reviews

which I think is excellent so there is progress being made. And so when you have that moment like Derby against Norwich, of course,

you’re always after that game going to say we need VAR in the Championship. It’s a really difficult debate.

Technology is not going to go away and it’s going to be more prevalent in the game. If it didn’t kill the tempo or the atmosphere, I

think everyone would like it. I remember a game for Birmingham against Nottingham Forest when there was a moment where the ball

looked like it had gone over the line and I’m on the halfway so bear in mind, I’m 60 metres away and there are seven or eight players in

the way.

I’m jumping up and down, screaming to the fourth official saying it’s over the line and that was what used to happen. As soon as goal

line technology came in we literally don’t even ask anymore. What the decision is, it is given so it takes a lot of that emotion and that

hysteria on the touchline out of it.

I know the officials get criticism, but I do know that as a body, the PGMOL is trying very, very hard to solve these problems. I know

they take that criticism that comes at them very personally because they’re working very hard for the officials.

And that being said, I am still torn as to VAR. Maybe there is another debate for instances like Derby. Could there be technology that

can judge the entire byline? Obviously you have to do that for every stadium and how costly would that be to the clubs? But when you

have situations like Derby had, it’s a horrible situation for a manager because you’re in the moment. I actually felt Paul Warne dealt

with it really well and calmly afterwards.

There are times when you’re angry, annoyed, or frustrated and whatever emotion you’re feeling, you’ve obviously got to go in after the

game and chat to your players who are disappointed as well.

You’d wait half an hour and perhaps say to the ref ‘can I have a chat?’. Sometimes he might turn around and say, ‘do you know what?

We got it wrong’. And you do get those moments where maybe the officials are behind play because players are so fit and no official is

ever going to be as quick as a winger for example.

When I first watched the Derby one, I thought that it looked out. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure but as soon as they show it again you look

at it and go ‘wow, they’ve got that really wrong’. But with human decisions, you are going to make mistakes. It’s like trying to create a

football team that never makes mistakes. It’s impossible. And let’s face it, even VAR has made mistakes too.

But I just think this is a debate that is going to continue and I feel that as time goes on in the next few years, it wouldn’t surprise me to

see other things being mooted. As far as bad decisions in my own career, I remember I was sent off while playing for Derby against

Leeds and as the ball was played over the top, I got in the wrong position and the striker pulled me on to him. It didn’t look good, but it

was around the halfway line or just over and I was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

The manager at the time, Jim Smith, used his sense of humour when he said, “He (the striker) can’t score from two yards let alone 60.”

Only twice in my career have I been sent off, and that was against Birmingham City while I was manager at Stoke.

When you were dismissed, you had to pass the departing fans there. The walk was really lengthy! I never swore, as I told the referee

when I saw him after the game, despite what he claimed I had done. Upon reviewing the video, I noticed that two employees had

hurried up behind me..

Then he waved the red card, and as if nothing had happened, they both padded back to the touchline! They swore, I’m quite sure, and I

didn’t. I really wish I had a microphone for that one. Even if you are irritated at the moment, you eventually accept it as a normal part

of the game and expect that the situation will work itself out over the course of the season.

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