My season's heroes and horrors - Graham Poll
Also Below Poll on Champions League Final & Talking with Mike Dean

End of season 'awards' from the Graham Poll's point of view including...worst player to referee.... worst manager to deal with... best referee...

THE STAY ON YOUR FEET AWARD

To Steven Gerrard, Liverpool v Blackburn. It's not good enough that a referee can successfully spot a player didn't deserve the penalty. When the simulation is so blatant, there has to be a yellow card. Why does Gerrard feel the need to do this?

2nd place:
Nani (Manchester United v West Ham). He head-pushes Lucas Neill and then falls over to try to con the referee. Thankfully, the officials saw through his acting.

THE PAUL SCHOLES 'BAD TACKLE' AWARD:

Ricardo Carvalho on Gabriel Agbonlahor, almost cutting him in two. Mark Noble on Alexander Hleb also needs a mention. Sportsmail led the campaign to stamp out horror tackles and it made an impact.

 

THE BRUCE LEE 'SHOCKING TACKLE' AWARD:

Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) versus Everton. High kicking at its worst. Two others ran it close � Joey Barton in the Newcastle versus Sunderland game and Craig Gardener (Aston Vila) on Dwight Yorke.

WORST BODY LANGUAGE:

Ronaldo. Also the best player and best free-kick punisher, but when you go down, don't twist and snarl towards the referee.

WORST FASHION ON A FOOTBALL PITCH:

Steve Bennett's long-sleeve roll-neck under his short-sleeve ref's kit in the League Cup tie between Man City and Tottenham. No!

ROWING LIKE A MARRIED COUPLE:

Not Gillett and Hicks, but Drogba and Michael Ballack (Chelsea v Manchester United) over who should take a freekick. They didn't argue when that late penalty was awarded and Drogba was happy to leave it to his German mate.

WORST PLAYER TO REFEREE:

Michael Brown (Wigan). A pain in the backside, never stops moaning. Robbie Savage has to get a mention too, if only to say goodbye. What has he done for Derby? He bought a car in the club colours. Well done, Rob.

...AND THE BEST:

Jimmy Bullard (Fulham). When he was seriously injured last season the referees sent him a signed shirt. He is a gentleman and obviously has a real love for playing.

WORST MANAGER TO DEAL WITH:

Neil Warnock. I see he's at it again in the play-offs. It's always somebody else's fault � and usually the ref. The Premier League is better without him.

BEST REFEREE(S):

Howard Webb, the new No 1, proved it both in big matches and run-of-the- mill games. Mike Dean, who deserves the FA Cup Final and is the most popular official. And official. And Andre Marriner, a young referee struggling to come to terms with the job when he first arrived on the scene, but who is now showing what he can do.

BEST/BRAVEST DECISION:

Darren Cann, assistant referee, who awarded the late goal for William Gallas (Arsenal v Manchester United). He got it right, but it was only just over the line in a crowded six-yard box right at the end of the game. It was a very good call.

WHY WASN'T HE BOOKED FOR DOING THAT?

Radhi Jaidi (Birmingham). For jumping up and down in front of opposition goalkeepers at free-kicks. Was he offside? Who cares. He should have been booked for unsporting behaviour. Will he be carrying on that lark in the Championship?

HARDEST TEAM TO REF:

Blackburn. Mark Hughes won't like it but they are not bottom of the fair play league for nothing. They're aggressive, but they can play, too.

WORST PENALTY AWARDER:

Rob Styles for Birmingham against Manchester City � and again for Liverpool against Chelsea earlier in the season.

DEFINING IMAGE OF THE SEASON:

Ashley Cole turning his back on Mike Riley as Tottenham and Chelsea drew 4-4. Two questions. 1) Why didn't Riley just send him off? 2) Why did Fabio Capello select Cole for the England squad the next day � for a friendly � when dropping him would have sent out a clear message? This behaviour did so much damage to the English game.

WAS HE ON ANOTHER PLANET AWARD?

Javier Mascherano. There was such an outcry following Cole's behaviour but, five days later, he still chased Steve Bennett around the pitch. Well done Benno for showing a red card.

AND FOR NEXT SEASON...

Players will do what they deem necessary to win � this is a business now and not only a sport. Refs must keep this in mind at all times. From next season they must be strong from the start. They were too lenient with horror tackles, which led to a dangerous explosion.

As for the Respect campaign, the FA appear happy to campaign rather than take action. Referees need to earn respect rather than demand it � they can make it work and improve discipline, but they need help.

Graham Poll
DAILY MAIL
 

Poll on Champions League Final:

Lubos Michel enhanced his reputation as the best referee in the world with a performance of commonsense and strength when it mattered. Chelsea lost their discipline and it cost them the game. Didier Drogba had to be sent off.

Any player who raises a hand deserves to be dismissed. He would have taken a penalty, too - and would probably have scored. His red card cost his team a penalty taker in a shoot-out.

Chelsea's Didier Drogba strikes Nemanja Vidic to earn a red card
And his squabble with Nemanja Vidic was all over a throw-in. Another question thrown up on this dramatic night was Ronaldo's technique in the penalty shoot-out. A stutter on the way to address the ball is acceptable, but to stop and eyeball the goalkeeper is unsporting. I believe 100 per cent that the referee would have forced a re-take if he had scored..

Poll talks to FA Cup Final Referee Mike Dean:
Can you imagine the joy of being told you are going to referee the FA Cup Final ? and then the agony of having it taken away from you?

The FA only give the final to a referee once and when I was awarded the last one at the old Wembley, in 2000, it was the biggest day of my career.

Owning up: Mike Dean says he was hasty to send off John Mikel Obi (right)


But this year's man in the middle, Mike Dean, suffered the anguish of being taken off the 2006 final between Liverpool and West Ham because he lives near Merseyside. So when I caught up with him recently I asked how he had coped with that nightmare.

DEAN:
I was cutting the grass at home when Neale Barry (head of senior referee development) phoned. He said he had news for me. It was a horrible, horrible feeling. There had been rumours that they'd take me off the game if Liverpool made it. I've no affiliation to Liverpool or Everton. I put the phone down and sat down in a chair and burst out crying. My wife Karam burst into tears as well. Then we had to tell the kids. I didn't watch the game and I've refused to watch the Cup Final since.

POLL:
The FA had broken with tradition by naming the referee before the semi-finals. It was ridiculous. It will never happen again but as soon as they felt able to give it to you again, they did. You've earned it.

DEAN:
Neale called me this time and his first words were: 'This isn't a hoax call.' I was crying again but they were tears of joy.

POLL:
Didn't you call him back after his bombshell two years ago?

DEAN:
I called him to see if he was OK. Remember that he doesn't make the decisions alone but has to deliver the news ? good and bad.

POLL:
I'd have gone mad!

DEAN:
The good thing is that I'm a better referee now. I was coming out of games with eight or nine cards. So I examined things, right down to where I kept my cards. A tackle went in and my hand was straight in the pocket. Since then, I've learned to give myself more thinking time.

POLL:
You're not afraid of the big decision, though. You've shown 10 red cards this season and I'd say there's only a question-mark over Chelsea's John Mikel Obi at Old Trafford.

DEAN:
My gut feeling at the time was yellow card, but I heard my assistant in my earpiece say: 'It's two feet, it's a red card.' I don't know why he didn't back it up with a flag. I've spoken to him since and he doesn't know. Without a flag, it would have been a cop-out to go and talk to him; that looks like I'm passing the blame.

POLL:
I'd have lynched him.

DEAN:
Well, one thing I did learn was not to take advice from an assistant who hasn't raised a flag. Looking back at that tackle now, in a climate where referees are coming down hard on two-footed tackles, it's still a very orangey-coloured card.

POLL:
People always want black-andwhite decisions where referees are concerned. Obi was a grey decision. In hindsight you might have left him on and sent off Joe Cole in the second half for a much worse challenge.

DEAN:
I know I should have sent Joe off. The assessor gave me the lowest mark I've had in years for that game and I was kept away from the 'big four' for a while. It was a real kick in the teeth.

POLL:
You are now refereeing better than ever and have lost some weight.

DEAN:
Yes, I gave up all alcohol in January as part of a fitness drive. Karam has joined me on the health kick and she feels much better for it as well.

POLL:
She'll have had to buy a new outfit for the big day as she will no doubt be at Wembley supporting you. How many tickets were you given for the final?

DEAN:
Still only two. One is for Karam and I've given the other complimentary one to the wife of the fifth official, Peter Kirkup, as he doesn't get any tickets. I have managed to buy 14 more tickets for family and friends, mind you that's set me back over �1,000 and the referee's fee is still only �525.

But every referee in the country would do the game for nothing: just the medal and the fact that you can say you've done the FA Cup Final. It's more important than money knowing that my mum, Janet, will be there and the kids, Zara and Brittany. And some people I used to work with. I worked in a poultry factory in North Wales for 10 years.

POLL:
You always did know how to spot a fowl!

DEAN:
Yeah, very funny. But you'd work in the factory all day and then get home and think: 'Chicken and chips? No thanks'. I lived off beans for a while.

POLL:
I used to like making a big decision early in a big game. Not a controversial one but a clear penalty or an obvious caution. Would you prefer a big decision at Wembley or a nice quiet game?

DEAN:
You want to pick up the paper the following day and see nobody talking about the referee but there's always something. If I've got to make a big decision, I won't be afraid of making it.

When Martin Taylor made that challenge on Eduardo two minutes into the Birmingham-Arsenal game, if I'd not given a red card I don't think I'd be the Cup Final referee.

All I hope is that I never witness such an horrific injury again and that the final is remembered for all the right reasons.

Graham Poll
DAILY MAIL