Manboth

Is it just me or do Chelsea seem to have more than their fair share of 11 v 12 matches? Sure, other teams get decisions going against them from time to time, but it seems that Chelsea suffer from a significant number of games where such unfavourable decisions unduly influence results, regularly costing them 1, 2 or all 3 points. Why is this? Well, it seems to me that there are quite a few referees who appear to not like Chelsea very much. Given the choice, would Blues fans ever pick Mike Dean, Phil Dowd, Howard Webb or Mark Halsey, etc, to act as their matchday official? And indeed, why should referees like Chelsea very much anyway? There is absolutely nothing in their make up which affords them the slightest interest in Chelsea's well-being. The reason is glaringly obvious. If there is such a thing as a north-south rivalry in this country, then it is surely nowhere seen more blatantly than in the list of appointed Premiership referees. The bulk of EPL refs come from the land of Chelsea's rivals. Out of 16 EPL refs, 10 are Northerners and 5 are Midlanders. Absolutely none are South Easterners, and obviously none at all come from London. For those who are interested, here is a current list: Mike Dean Cheshire; Mark Halsey Lancashire; Mike Jones Cheshire; Martin Atkinson W Yorkshire; Mark Clattenburg Tyne & Wear; Chris Foy Merseyside; Lee Mason Lancashire; Michael Oliver Northumbria; Howard Webb S Yorkshire; Anthony Taylor Manchester; Phil Dowd Staffordshire; Stuart Attwell Warwicks; Kevin Friend Leics; Andre Marriner W Midlands; Peter Walton Northants; Lee probert Wiltshire. Of course none of the above are dishonest men. But they are humans first and referees second. Wouldn't we southerners prefer not to see a nothern team winning the Premiership? So, isn't it fair to assume that deep down in the gut where the conscious mind doesn't operate, the reverse may also apply? Or is it all just a terribly unfortunate coincidence?