To dive or not to dive? – That is the question…

Harry Kane’s last minute spot-kick against West Ham on Sunday may have been the cause of great frustration for the many Hammers fans who made the trip across London, but it has seemingly gone down as just another penalty, in just another exciting Premier League match, for the majority of those within the footballing community.

Tottenham triumphantly fought back against Big Sam’s side after going down 2-0 to the visitors. Danny Rose initially struck home after a somewhat chaotic corner-kick for West Ham’s Spanish shot-stopper Adrian, but Harry Kane once again stole the headlines for firing home the equaliser in the dying embers of the match.

Seemingly ignoring the fact that extra-time had long been up after Kane’s penalty was initially saved, referee Jonathan Moss, allowed the 21-year-old rising English star to shoot home the rebound and record a dramatic draw for Mauricio Pochettino’s determined Spurs side.

While such drama seems to have caused great discussion and even further animosity between the two sets of opposing fans, the likes of Mark Lawrenson, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen (for the BBC and BT Sport respectively) responded to the incident on TV by claiming that the ref got it right, and ultimately made the correct call.

So then, was Harry Kane tumbled over in the box unfairly, or did the in-form man and current favourite among many Premier League pundits simply take a dive to win back some valuable points for his team?

Although it would be unfair to single out Harry Kane as a diver and a cheat for this one incident – as West Ham themselves have faced their own simulation accusations with James Tomkins’ theatrical face-holding against Everton earlier this season – the answer on this one is simple, he dived.

Kane is justly made out to be a strong centre-forward who is not easily knocked off the ball. He is meant to be a burley top-man and the proposed future England no. 9, but if he can’t keep on his feet after merely being touched in the box, he really is no different to the rest of them.

There was once a time when English players stood stall against the growing tide of diving and simulation growing in Europe, but with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and now even Harry Kane, giving in to the temptation of late, those days are now sadly long gone.

However, if you are of the opinion that Kane’s penalty claim was a just and deserved one, then it must be conceded that football is slowly turning into a non-contact sport. If it has in-fact been deemed a correct penalty call, fans of the Premier League may have to turn to the likes of basketball and netball for future indications of how the game will be played. Physicality will soon be ruled out football if such opinions have their way, and as Harry Kane’s weekend tumble clearly highlighted, more and more games will be senselessly decided by overly ambiguous referring decisions.

Pundits use the word ‘contact’ as if it is no longer allowed. Contact this and contact that – if contact happens in the penalty box as it did last weekend for Tottenham, then all a player has to do is go down and plead innocence. Nine times out of ten naive English officials fall for such behaviour, and as such trends continue to take place in the ‘Beautiful Game’, players who display a degree of honesty in the opposition’s penalty box are seemingly left ignored and unrewarded.

This is sadly the way the game is going today, and although many fans may turn their nose up at such theories with their sides seemingly profiting from the trend, the truth really is obvious in the cold light of day – no matter what certain pundits have to say about the topic.

Everyone is for player protection and the abolition of recklessly cynical challenges, but the state of the game today is just getting silly. If you are seemingly not bothered by the new direction that football has taken in the last decade or so however, then good luck to you, but for the apparent minority of us who are simply tired of this current lack of dignity and integrity in the game, it seems the unwanted theme of play-acting looks set to continue, at least for the foreseeable future.

Tottenham 2 – 2 West Ham

This was ultimately a waste of a game. For all the excitement and drama this 2 – 2 draw brought fans of the Premier League across the board, it was decided by a last minute dive from England’s proposed future hero, Harry Kane. Whilst it would be unfair to single out him alone as a cheat, because of the many others that make up the so called sensation of European football, this big, strong unit of a striker simply went down too easily in the box for it to be considered a legitimate penalty.

If people want to watch netball or basketball where absolutely zero contact is allowed then that is fine, but this is meant to be football right? It’s time pundits on the BBC, BT Sport and wherever else took some responsibility and stopped advocating the contact-less nature of today’s modern game.

Other than Kane’s last minute finish, which also should have been cancelled out due to the five minutes of injury time clearly being up, goals came through a well taken Cheikhou Kouyate header, an against all odds of an angle finish from Diafra Sakho (which incidentally perhaps should have been ruled out for offside in the build up), as well as a lucky Danny Rose effort in the final ten minutes.

To the widespread bitterness and frustration of West Ham fans throughout the nation, football is rapidly losing the dignity and fairness that it once had. It’s going to be tough supporting an England team full of such characters without the aforementioned qualities.

Adrian – His behaviour in the lead up to Danny Rose’s goal was simply all over the place, but as the finish was born out of luck more than anything else, the Spaniard can be forgiven. Adrian had a fine match discounting that incident, saving several well struck Tottenham efforts, as well as Harry Kane’s ill-fated penalty in the dying moments.

Carl Jenkinson – A solid if not spectacular display from the Arsenal loanee. Carl Jenkinson has nevertheless proved his worth for West Ham this season and suits this current team down to the ground.

Winston Reid – It really was great to have our best defender back among the action. Reid put in a flawless performance and should have been part of the winning team for his contribution.

James Tomkins – Whilst Tomo was caught napping on a few isolated incidents, he along with Winston Reid ultimately proved a great asset for West Ham at the back.

Aaron Cresswell – A great showing from the former Ipswich Town man. His assist was just perfect for Kouyate to fire the ball in the back of the net, and goes down of one of many already recorded by Cresswell in 2014/15.

Alex Song – The Barcelona loanee may not be in his very best form of late, as dwindling too long on the ball has been a distinct hallmark of his most recent performances in particular, but Song nevertheless done well once again and helped West Ham boss midfield proceedings for large parts of the game.

Mark Noble – Nobes was in contention for a man of the match award before being taken off early in the second half. The booking he picked up for an innocuous shirt pull ultimately cost him the rest of the match, with Big Sam believing that his substitution was the only way to avoid another frustrating sending off. Carlton Cole surprisingly came on to replace Mark Noble, but as he literally had zero impact on the match yet somehow got injured for his efforts, the former Hammers no.9 had to be taken off for James Collins, who done his best to sure up the defence in the dying moments.

Cheikhou Kouyate – Where Mark Noble missed out on the man of the match award, Kouyate justly received it. Whether playing in centre defence or centre midfield, the Senegalese enforcer really has been a joy to behold this season.

Stewart Downing – This was definitely not a vintage Downing performance by any means, but despite being somewhat indifferent this Sunday, the former Aston Villa and Liverpool man nevertheless gave his team a good route in attack against Spurs.

Enner Valencia – Enner, work on your touch mate! From now till next weekend when the Hammers face Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace, the Ecuadorian striker must work on the major aspect of his game that has been holding back his season so far…his touch. Valencia was replaced in the second half by Matt Jarvis, who once again sadly failed to influence the match in any way.

Diafra Sakho – Whilst his failure to set up Enner Valencia in the second half was somewhat unforgivable, the in-form man from Senegal made up for his mistake with yet another well taken goal. He really has been the surprise hit of Big Sam’s season, and justly deserves all the praise that he has so far received.

Sam Allardyce – Big Sam’s substitutions were baffling to say the least this weekend. Yes – injuries and suspensions have somewhat restricted our squad in recent outings, but putting on the likes of Cole and Jarvis just made no sense, with the team playing worse as a result of the changes. That said, West Ham were ultimately robbed by Harry Kane’s dive and the referee’s belief that football should be a no contact sport, not by Sam Allardyce.