Gordon Smith - Hits back at Levein

[vegas-voss]

Well i think we all knew this ***** would.He says that Leveins comments are damaging to the game(too right they are but only because he speaks the truth)and that they do a dis service to the game.He goes onto say that he thinks it's sad that an honest and fair proffessional should be treated this way.

 

What i would like to know is if anyone has any quotes from Smith when he was just a pundit on the beeb to see if he critised them then.The guy is a ***** a total joke of an appointment i thought so at the time and he is even worse now.

[Charlie-Brown]

The words in Rangers / Old Firm back pocket spring to mind.........the excuses in defence of the decisions were lame & inconsistent - if McCurry didn't get a full view of the penalty why not consult his linesman? (not that that would help as he was a cheating b'stard too) He consulted / blamed his linesman for not awarding the goal so why consult for one but not the other? Also why did he say he'd have only booked David Weir? And since when did Cousin's aggression become a yellow card offence? Don't they know their own rule book? Naked & Unashamed corruption from 3 Hun B'stards (McCurry, Linesman & G.Smith)

[Gambo]

Well i think we all knew this ***** would.He says that Leveins comments are damaging to the game.

 

That is correct Mr Smith , i suppose the constant decisions (big and small) that are given in favour of the old firm in games against other teams are not damaging to the game.......................too right he thinks that imo as he like his other weegie lackies think that the old-firm are Scottish Football, so upsetting other teams does not matter a jot to him.

[Guest cannon]

Well i think we all knew this ***** would.He says that Leveins comments are damaging to the game(too right they are but only because he speaks the truth)and that they do a dis service to the game.He goes onto say that he thinks it's sad that an honest and fair proffessional should be treated this way.

What i would like to know is if anyone has any quotes from Smith when he was just a pundit on the beeb to see if he critised them then.The guy is a ***** a total joke of an appointment i thought so at the time and he is even worse now.

 

Honest and fair proffessional who is that then as it sure a hell aint McCurry..Smith is nothing but a plum

[The Old Tolbooth]

Why is anyone surprised, cheats always stick together so they have less chance of being found out!

[Craig R]

The guy used to play for Rangers, of course he's not going to back Levein on this. The pair also hate each other.

[IMA MAROON]

Why is anyone surprised, cheats always stick together so they have less chance of being found out!

 

I thought Levein was calling the ref a cheat as well but............

 

Levein said "People have wanted me to say that I was deliberately cheated at Ibrox. Well, I haven?t said that. But I can tell you this, I felt as if I?ve been cheated.?

 

Tune changing Arab me thinks.

[Chad Sexington]

Smith is an incompetent, arrogant buffoon.

 

The fact that this show pony is in such a high powered position makes our game even more of a laughing stock.

 

Of course he will lay into CL. He probably thinks McCurry's performance was acceptable.

 

Once a hun always a hun.

[Shaggy2]

I play football in the churches league and our ex-manager knows Mike McCurry so I KNOW he supported/supports Rangers. You don't just lose that when you become a Grade 1 ref, no matter what they claim. Ask Dougie McDonald, although he tends to favour Hearts opponents more than favour Hibs.

 

I mean, where will McCurry want to watch his football when he retires? He wouldn't have been very welcome at Ibronx if his decision(s) had led to Rangers dropping two points and subsequently losing the title.

 

I've hated McCurry since he let Celtic kick Hearts off the park for 75 mins and then sent Cameron off for finally reacting and swinging an arm at Mjallby. We were 1-0 up at the time and Ian Wright scored the winner late on and we lost 2-1. Bill Leckie said back then if Celtic win the league McCurry should get a medal. Mind you, it was John Barnes' Celtic team so they were no danger to Rangers!!!

 

Not sure but I think I've read he is retiring this year? If so, good riddance Mike, you will NOT be missed (except by Rangers of course).

[Shaggy2]

I thought Levein was calling the ref a cheat as well but............

 

Levein said "People have wanted me to say that I was deliberately cheated at Ibrox. Well, I haven?t said that. But I can tell you this, I felt as if I?ve been cheated.?

 

Tune changing Arab me thinks.

 

Levein never said he was cheated at Ibrox but he did say in his BBC interview they were cheated in the cup final. He used the word bottled when talking about Saturday's game.

 

Truth is, they were cheated in both. Bottling it amounts to the same thing.

[Carl Fredrickson]

I play football in the churches league and our ex-manager knows Mike McCurry so I KNOW he supported/supports Rangers. You don't just lose that when you become a Grade 1 ref, no matter what they claim. Ask Dougie McDonald, although he tends to favour Hearts opponents more than favour Hibs.

 

I mean, where will McCurry want to watch his football when he retires? He wouldn't have been very welcome at Ibronx if his decision(s) had led to Rangers dropping two points and subsequently losing the title.

 

I've hated McCurry since he let Celtic kick Hearts off the park for 75 mins and then sent Cameron off for finally reacting and swinging an arm at Mjallby. We were 1-0 up at the time and Ian Wright scored the winner late on and we lost 2-1. Bill Leckie said back then if Celtic win the league McCurry should get a medal. Mind you, it was John Barnes' Celtic team so they were no danger to Rangers!!!

 

Not sure but I think I've read he is retiring this year? If so, good riddance Mike, you will NOT be missed (except by Rangers of course).

 

 

I mind that game well Shaggy - i was raging as Ian Wright and others were raising their hands to Hearts players all night and getting away with murder. Cameron brushed Mjalby away with his forearm and got sent off. I am sure you mind my reactions that night!

 

Re McCurry - he IS a Rangers fan - I have mutual friends with him. Away from the game he is a nice guy but like all of us, if given the chance, we would influence games.

 

I too heard that this is his last season and if you look at the games he has had this season there is a high percentace of them involving Rangers.

 

WHY?

[Erik]

Gordhun Smith damages the game every time he opens that mouth of his.

 

The man is a plank.

[Das Root]

Smith's a toerag, tongue firmly planted between the hairy cheeks of Sir Dave. Surely with McCurry coming out and confirming he made a total pig's erse of the game Smith should be the one apologising to Levein for ending their campaign this season and stopping them from getting 3rd? D.Utd have nowt more to play for thanks to McCurry........while of course the hun have everything.

[Ben Dover]

It pains me to say it but I almost want the Mhanks to snatch it off them now.

My Saturday experience has been all but ruined already ( with in-house issues of course ) but I am actually starting to disengage from the game itself with all this conniving

[JamboAl]

The words in Rangers / Old Firm back pocket spring to mind.........the excuses in defence of the decisions were lame & inconsistent - if McCurry didn't get a full view of the penalty why not consult his linesman? (not that that would help as he was a cheating b'stard too) He consulted / blamed his linesman for not awarding the goal so why consult for one but not the other? Also why did he say he'd have only booked David Weir? And since when did Cousin's aggression become a yellow card offence? Don't they know their own rule book? Naked & Unashamed corruption from 3 Hun B'stards (McCurry, Linesman & G.Smith)

 

You're right NMH.

They are CHEATS, maybe even corrupt unless they explain why Cousin was only booked and why Broadfoot has not been cited for his punch on Noel Hunt leading up to the goal that they chalked off. Question. If McCurry wasn't in a position to see the goal, was he able to see the punch?

[Drylaw Hearts]

Gordhun Smith damages the game every time he opens that mouth of his.

 

The man is a plank.

 

I agree.

[IMA MAROON]

Levein never said he was cheated at Ibrox but he did say in his BBC interview they were cheated in the cup final. He used the word bottled when talking about Saturday's game.

 

Truth is, they were cheated in both. Bottling it amounts to the same thing.

 

There are people on here signing petitions backing Levein and he is now giving it the 'what I really meant to say' routine.

[The Old Tolbooth]

There are people on here signing petitions backing Levein and he is now giving it the 'what I really meant to say' routine.

 

Which is a bit worrying, because if he wants backing, then he needs to stick to his original line!

 

You cant say what he did on Saturday after the match when he clearly stated that United were cheated in the cup final, and that McCurry bottled the penalty incident, and then asked "what is the point of turning up at these venues when we were never going to be allowed to win the game in the first place" and then change your mind just because your getting cold feet.

 

The GFA will already be laughing at him wondering how much to screw him for by way of a hefty fine, whereas they should have been worried about the repercussions of McCurrys actions on Saturday followed be legal proceedings.

[Phage]

Scotland is a funny place for football fans. You find a massive sections of Rangers/Celtic fans in places like Kirkcaldy, Falkirk, Dumbarton and all those other places with rather small football teams. So there is a good chance that most refs are brought up in places like these and nail their colours to the mast early because of religion or who your father supportered.

 

Its sad for Scottish football because all the refs have hugh chance of supporting either of these teams and the local teams Raith, Falkirk and Dumbarton are bleeding to death with pitful attendances.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if all teams had to play with players born in their own city/town. That way at least there would be a little local pride and a reason to support your local team.

[hearts_crazy]

The only thing that is damaging the game is the SFAs refusal to act upon the numerous dodgy refereeing decisions. Our league is a fecking joke and plums like Gordon Smith make it even more of a laughing stock. No-one can tell me this is not a conspiracy to ensure the OF dominate always. Roman Romanov, dick though he is, wasn't far off the mark with what he said BTW, the only bit he got wrong is that this is why we are pesh at the moment.

[hawaii]

I notice that Jimmy Calderwood has come out and backed Levein today.

 

I can only assume that JC has realised that his dream of managing Rangers has now gone so he can say what he wants.

[bean counter]

I notice that Jimmy Calderwood has come out and backed Levein today.

 

I hadn't seen this but I hope Frail and Hughes and all the others stand up and publicly support him

[hawaii]

Mind you, it is a way for JC to deflect away why Aberdeen were beat - anyone notice how it's NEVER his fault when they get beat and all his idea when they win?

 

http://sport.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/05/13/SPL-Calderwood-sympathises-with-Levein/

[DETTY29]

The only thing that is damaging the game is the SFAs refusal to act upon the numerous dodgy refereeing decisions. Our league is a fecking joke and plums like Gordon Smith make it even more of a laughing stock. No-one can tell me this is not a conspiracy to ensure the OF dominate always. Roman Romanov, dick though he is, wasn't far off the mark with what he said BTW, the only bit he got wrong is that this is why we are pesh at the moment.

 

Smith has very little option but to come out and say what he did. In the short term he has to back his officials, or you could end up not having a game at all. If however, he has any real sense of fair play, we should expect some significant changes being proposed by him, some immediate some longer term.

 

Short term

 

- Donald MacVicar should be sacked immediately. The general standard of our referees is generally poor, coupled with the frequent inexcusable 'mistakes' a number of them are making in favour of the old firm.

- The setting up of a completely independent panel (I mentioned this on another thread last night) to review referee decisions and recommend immediate suspensions / demotions. I don't believe for a second these guys start out in the game to favour either of the old firm, but once they get close to Grade 1 status, they become institutionalised very quickly. Guys will still become referees, but will remain 'honest' ones.

- An apology to Queen of the South and SFA member clubs for even suggesting the Scottish Cup Final be moved to a midweek.

 

 

Medium / Longer term

- Lobby Uefa/Fifa to introduce and susdise 4th official video technology for international & european ties and the top league of every Uefa memeber state. Remember Scottish football is fairly small fry and 6/7 times out of ten decisions will go against us, so it is in our nations best interests.

 

Can't see any of this happening though

[Jambomo]

I'm glad he's come out to back Levein, we need as many mangers to do that as possible. It doesn't matter what state Aberdeen are in, they scored perfectly good goals and they should have stood.

[rudi must stay]

The guy used to play for Rangers, of course he's not going to back Levein on this. The pair also hate each other.

 

i think that's a key point here. When he was on Sportscene he couldn't make it any more obvious who he supported as well.

[mac]

Maybe we could show Gordon SkotskoSparta's thread about blatant decisions in favour of Rangers by that ref.

[the voice from above]

I've not read anything from levein suggesting the official was corrupt, just staing that he is ****e, and standards need to improve.

 

Smith comes out to defend McCurry but hasn't got a leg to stand on. HE, AND THE REST OF THEM, IS ****ING MURDER!!!!

 

Foreign refs are our only hope. As someone stated above, the vast majority of refs are old firm *******s regardless of where the hell in Scotland they come from.

[Gizmo]

If Smith, the GFA and the old firm are so assured that their is no BIAS, CORRUPTION or CHEATING by referees then they would surely welcome an independent, season-long review of every game and every decision taken therein?

 

The rest of the SPL should threaten to do this next season.

[ToadKiller Dog]

Craig Levien says Smith talks Drivel.

from todays dundee evening tele.

 

Ref row rumbles on The controversy over referee Mike McCurry’s error-strewn performance in Saturday’s Rangers-Dundee United clash was showing no signs of abating today as Craig Levein prepared to blast back at SFA supremo Gordon Smith (writes Tom Duthie). In the wake of the manager’s criticism of McCurry’s weekend blunders, yesterday Smith attacked United for calling the official’s integrity into question. Today, Craig was taking time to digest both the chief executive’s words and McCurry’s admission, on the official SFA website, United should, indeed, have had a penalty and a goal that was instead chalked off.

Once he’s done that, the Tangerines gaffer is planning to issue a statement of his own tonight or tomorrow and, what is already clear, is that it will not be conciliatory.

And even the knowledge his weekend words and anything further he has to say could still land him in hot water, will not deter him in what he sees is now a fight for justice.

“I’ve only sat down this morning and read the full statements from Gordon Smith and Mike McCurry,” said Craig.

“There is a lot I could say right away, particularly about Gordon Smith’s drivel, but I want to take time to gather my thoughts and consider my response.

“What I can say now is that I am not bothered at all if they decide to fine me, because this whole thing is not about me, it is about getting a fair crack of the whip for my club.”

One Rangers supporters group has suggested their fans should boycott Tannadice next season in protest at what they see as an attack on them.

While such a prospect was not a concern to Craig, he did make a call for everyone to stick to the issue.

“I’m not even going to comment on that kind of thing, but what I will say is that this is not an attack on Rangers, or even one referee, however bad his performance was.

“What I am attacking is a draconian system whereby there is no accountability for referees who make mistakes that, in our case, cost us hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“Unless there is, nothing is going to change. You have a situation where 45,000 fans are shouting at the referee and half the media will be shouting at him if, when he makes a mistake, it goes against the Old Firm.

“Human nature means that, if it is a close call, the chances are they are going to make it in favour of them, because there just isn’t the same stick if you get it wrong and it goes against a team like Dundee United.

“The way you change that situation is make the referees accountable for those errors. They’ve started doing that in England and it is something I would like to see up here.”

 

? All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2008

[bean counter]

?There is a lot I could say right away, particularly about Gordon Smith?s drivel,

 

? All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2008

 

Excellent description

[mac]

Go Craig, use Skotskosparta's thread as documented evidence - it's really quite obvious.

[Spellczech]

Well i think we all knew this ***** would.He says that Leveins comments are damaging to the game(too right they are but only because he speaks the truth)and that they do a dis service to the game.He goes onto say that he thinks it's sad that an honest and fair proffessional should be treated this way.

 

What i would like to know is if anyone has any quotes from Smith when he was just a pundit on the beeb to see if he critised them then.The guy is a ***** a total joke of an appointment i thought so at the time and he is even worse now.

 

What is damaging to the game is the continual sweeping of such incidents under the SFA carpet...

[John Findlay]

When it comes to matters concerning Rangers. Gordon Smith cannot be impartial and fair and as a result should resign from his postion at the SFA forwith.

 

 

John

[ToadKiller Dog]

I think CL is just as stubborn as the drivalmiesters at the sfa ,i dont think he will back down,he is not asking for much in the real world just refs to be held responable for mistakes they make ,but the sfa dont live in the real world.

I would good if other managers signed in agreement with what ever statement of intent that CL plans to release next.

[Hagar the Horrible]

I am still astounded that McVicar has not yet lept to McCurry's defense he was very quick to have a go at Miko right after Davisgate and a few other since, this smell of he is trying to distance himself from the backlash of being caught with his hands in the till?

 

I hope other clubs become vocal in support of United on this for the good of the game.

 

Smith and McVicars jobs are now untenable and should resign!

[primrose]

Smith is a joke, and has double standards as well.

How many times have we heard him in the papers mumping about something, but when his beloved Rangers are the focal point he steps in.

[IMA MAROON]

I notice that Jimmy Calderwood has come out and backed Levein today.

 

I can only assume that JC has realised that his dream of managing Rangers has now gone so he can say what he wants.

 

JC has not backed Levein. He is not calling ref's cheats but is saying they are not good enough.

[269miles]

Dera Gordhun

 

You shouldn't be embarrased that Scottish refs exhibit bias or are open to influence from the crowd (well , actually , you're obviously not at all embarrassed , though you should be).

 

To save the SFA some money I have attached a link that I think you might find of interest (just joking there , we know you don't give an Eartha Kitt about non OF fans).

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403112044.htm

 

But if you can find someone in the SFA office who is (computer) literate - maybe brother McCurry on his day off - then you might want to take a wee look.

 

Otherwise I repeat the test in full below : my emphasis in bold (maybe you'll need someone to explain that to you too).

 

Ryan Boyko, a research assistant in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, led the study, which will be published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Sports Sciences.

"Individual referees and the size of the crowd present are variables that affect the home field advantage. In order to ensure that all games are equally fair, ideally, all referees should be equally unaffected by the spectators," says Boyko.

Boyko studied the number of goals scored by a team at home versus those scored while away, and found that teams scored 1.5 home goals on average, and 1.1 while away. Crowd size also had an impact on the number of goals scored by the home team, and for every additional 10,000 people in the crowd, the advantage for the home team increased by about 0.1 goals.

In addition to affecting the number of goals scored, the away team received more penalties, implying that referees are making calls in favor of the home team, possibly as a result of the influence of the crowd. Some individual referees are more susceptible to these influences than others. In fact, more experienced referees are less biased by the impact of a large audience, which suggests that they may develop a resistance to effects of the crowd.

Match results within the English Premier League were chosen for study because the games are heavily attended and the teams are located within the same time zone, eliminating long-distance travel as a factor involved with home field advantage. Information about the results of English Premier League games is also widely available online.

While previous research has studied the home advantage with regard to the influence of the crowd, player performance, and referees' decision-making processes, little work has been done on the variation of partiality from referee to referee. While understood to be present in sports that are both judged and scored, earlier studies had also shown that the home field advantage is more pronounced in sports that are subjectively judged, such as figure skating, as opposed to those that are objectively decided, such as speed skating, indicating a relationship between the judging process and the home field advantage.

The findings could suggest ways to increase the fairness of matches by identifying referee susceptibility to the external factors that are present at most sporting events.

"Referee training could include conditioning towards certain external factors, including crowd response," Boyko says. "Leagues should be proactive about eliminating referee bias. The potential is there for a game to be altered because of factors that subconsciously affect the referee."

The paper was co-authored by Boyko's brothers, Adam and Mark Boyko. Adam Boyko is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology at Cornell University, and Mark Boyko was a student at the New York University School of Law at the time of the study.

 

 

Gordhun , you could also go and get a statistican to look at McCurry's matches involving Rangers and the number of disputed decisions which Rangers have benefitted from. The statistician man could then do some analysis and look for any statistically 'significant' findings. ie any indicators that McCurry isn't always as impartial or as unsighted as he/you want us to believe.

 

On the other hand just carry on regardless and get a bigger carpet to sweep everything under.

[Gambo]

Craig Levien says Smith talks Drivel.

from todays dundee evening tele.

 

(writes Tom Duthie).

 

 

, it is about getting a fair crack of the whip for my club.”

.”

 

? All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2008

 

That comment might be a wee mistake on Leveins part imo. He has the opportunity to bring in support from others in Scottish Football, but makes it clear here that he has only thoughts for Dundee Utd over this issue (fair play, that is who he is employed by) and only wants to get a fair crack of the whip for Utd and not all clubs as a whole.

 

I would rather he had said something along the lines of "on this issue i am not just fighting for Utd (at least he would be showing the Utd fans he is fighting for them) but for Scottish Football as a whole". I would expect him to gain support from outwith Utd if he went along those lines instead of "my club" only.

 

 

Sorry Craig, if you are fighting for Utd only to get a fair crack of the whip, then i couldn't give a hoot as i have no hoots for Utd as an individual club.

[Paris 84]

Can anyone remember if it was Gordon Smith or Murdo MacLeod? The game was against Celtic at Parkhead and we were going for second spot and they wrapped up the title that night by beating us 1-0. As you will no doubt recall Roman Bednar was halved in two by Balde with only a couple of minutes to go....a stonewall penalty and a sending off (but not in Glasgow obviously). Anyway, after the game one of the two to55ers above said something along the lines of;

 

"well the referee was never going to give that and stop Celtic from winning the title with only a couple of minutes to go and spoil the party!!"

 

The thing that struck me when listening to this drivel was whichever of the two said it, actually thought there was nothing wrong, and really we should just accept this as fact. In other words, just as Levein said on Saturday "it doesn't matter about the other team, this is a big important game for one of the OF, and we should accept it"

 

How good would it be if it was Gordon Smith and he was played his own comments back to him after his defence of McCurry!!!

[ToadKiller Dog]

Sorry Craig, if you are fighting for Utd only to get a fair crack of the whip, then i couldn't give a hoot as i have no hoots for Utd as an individual club.

 

Think you are reading too much into that comment ,reading the whole article he is not arguing for dundee united to get preferential treatment ,he is arguing for a change in they way refereeing is supervised and mistakes are delt with,which would benifit us all.

 

CL responsibility is to dundee united its a bit unfair to ask him to go into bat for the rest of the spl on his own, The i am all right jack attitude is what lets the SFA away with it ,i know where you want to lead this thread down the same way as the two other ones ,nobody helped Vlad so why should we care ,that is a wrong headed argument and not worth debating,petty localism wont change a thing.

All real football fans and people involved in scottish football should back CL on this as he is arguing for a change long over due.

[Gambo]

Think you are reading too much into that comment ,reading the whole article he is not arguing for dundee united to get preferential treatment ,he is arguing for a change in they way refereeing is supervised and mistakes are delt with,which would benifit us all.

 

CL responsibility is to dundee united its a bit unfair to ask him to go into bat for the rest of the spl on his own, The i am all right jack attitude is what lets the SFA away with it ,i know where you want to lead this thread down the same way as the two other ones ,nobody helped Vlad so why should we care ,that is a wrong headed argument and not worth debating,petty localism wont change a thing.

All real football fans and people involved in scottish football should back CL on this as he is arguing for a change long over due.

 

Yeah i probably am reading too much into it and know he says other things later on, but to get support from outside Utd on this he could have chosen better words IMO.

[Rivlin]

I'm glad he's come out to back Levein, we need as many mangers to do that as possible. It doesn't matter what state Aberdeen are in, they scored perfectly good goals and they should have stood.

 

Aye well said Calderwood. Even more admirable coming from a Hun.

[Bob Loblaw]

Levein and Smith can't stand each other. However i'm sure it has nothing to do with Levein releasing Smith's son from two different clubs

[Smoked-Glass]

I play football in the churches league and our ex-manager knows Mike McCurry so I KNOW he supported/supports Rangers. You don't just lose that when you become a Grade 1 ref, no matter what they claim. Ask Dougie McDonald, although he tends to favour Hearts opponents more than favour Hibs.

 

I mean, where will McCurry want to watch his football when he retires? He wouldn't have been very welcome at Ibronx if his decision(s) had led to Rangers dropping two points and subsequently losing the title.

 

I've hated McCurry since he let Celtic kick Hearts off the park for 75 mins and then sent Cameron off for finally reacting and swinging an arm at Mjallby. We were 1-0 up at the time and Ian Wright scored the winner late on and we lost 2-1. Bill Leckie said back then if Celtic win the league McCurry should get a medal. Mind you, it was John Barnes' Celtic team so they were no danger to Rangers!!!

 

Not sure but I think I've read he is retiring this year? If so, good riddance Mike, you will NOT be missed (except by Rangers of course).

 

Strange that McCurry didn't help us out in that game if he's a hun. You would have thought he would want to send off smeltic players or leave cameron on.

[The Jambo Janny]

The SFA are so far up their own erses (and old firms too) that they dont know or care about what football supporters think of them. What right have they to deny freedom of speech to anyone from a football club who questions the them or their officials? They should be taken to the court of human rights! Or at least get a good kick up the erse!!!

Come the revolution we will see fair play.

[rdewar42]

I thought that free speech was an inalienable right in this country.

 

Why is football different?.