Webb Did United More Harm Than Good...

This article was taken partially from football365 website, written by Rob McNichol and its a fascinating read. Thought I'd share...

Oh, what a tangled Webb games involving Manchester United and certain referees do weave.
It seems like such a shame that such an enthralling game (well, enthralling second half) should end with talk of the referee, but hopefully that will subside and the memory of a cracking see-saw encounter and comeback will be the enduring image.

I, though, have to do my job and assess the impact Howard Webb had on Chelsea 3 Manchester United 3. And it was a big one, with four key decisions in and around Chelsea's penalty area.

I'll admit that I did not see shirt-pulling by Jose Bosingwa on Ashley Young on first glance, but a replay showed that Mr Webb's position would have meant it was fairly obvious. He eventually gave a free-kick to Chelsea for Young handballing it on the way down.

The second of the first-half shouts was a definite foul by Gary Cahill on Danny Welbeck, although it was certainly outside of the penalty area. However, Mr Webb, again with a good view, still gave nothing - not even a free-kick, which would have been in a very dangerous area. I do not believe, had the foul been given, that it would have warranted a red card, as the chance wasn't totally clear-cut, but even a caution against a centre-back is a disadvantage that Chelsea escaped, particularly when you consider the standard of forward Cahill would have been playing against while on a yellow.

The first penalty given was a cert, for me. Patrice Evra was about to plant a foot behind the ball when Danny Sturridge basically kicked it away from under him. I can't see a dispute on that one.

The real issue is the second penalty that Mr Webb awarded. I think a combination of Branislav Ivanovic stopping and Welbeck actively trying to make contact with the Serbian defender led to Welbeck going over, and for me it shouldn't have been a spot-kick. It was extremely harsh.

Ultimately, if you are assessing the four big decisions, I think Mr Webb got one right and three wrong. And if you want to restart and perpetuate the ludicrous 'Webb favours United' myth, then I'd say of the three wrong decisions, two of them favoured Chelsea - and they were the first two. He had a poor game, but he probably harmed United more than he helped them.

Special thanks to @Franchizeboy87
Jade Christopher Bentley Adams (JCBA)