Chelsea's arrogance is staggering

Chelsea are getting irritating.

Their assertion that Mark Clattenberg had racially abused John Obi Mikel was ridiculous from the outset. I've said it before: NO referee - pretty much at any level - would be stupid enough to abuse at all - let alone racially abuse - a player. Perhaps players (and I don't just mean Chelsea's) should not judge other people by their own standards.

It was inevitable that the FA would throw out Chelsea's complaint with no evidence. There was no evidence, because it didn't happen. It is interesting that the FA have decided to charge Mikel himself for actions after the game. It will be interesting to see what comes of those.

Then Chelsea sacked Roberto Di Matteo: a man who last season, when standing in after Chelsea had sacked Andre Villas-Boas, won them the FA Cup and Champions League. Now, because they've lost a couple of games, the tantrums at the top start again. Good grief, if every club acted in this manner, then Sir Alex would still be Mr Alexander Ferguson, scratching a living with Partick Thistle until he retired in 1997. And Arsenal would still be playing at Highbury, having scored only 11 goals so far this season (but conceding only six).

But Chelsea expect instant success. Today, today, TODAY. Why?

Because of the money.

It's only because of the money. There's little history from the last century. Not until the money arrived.

These days, any club needs an almost bottomless pit of cash to be able to compete, so all the clubs have to look to rich overseas magnates to own their clubs. It's a sad trend.

Chelsea's arrogance is staggering as they throw their weight around, complaining about referees' decisions, trumped up accusations about what referees say, and sack managers like they're going out of fashion. And, having had their case against Mark Clattenberg thrown out, they have the audacity to refuse to apologise. Outrageous.

Now the man that all Chelsea fans hate, Rafa Benitez, is the interim manager until the end of the season. That's a laugh: the interim manager will be in charge for more games than the erstwhile permanent manager!

Manager after manager has come and gone. Hired by whom? Someone else? No, the man at the top - that's who.

Perhaps he should take a look at himself and sack himself.

That would be good for English football.

Clubs should get their own house in order before complaining about officials

Distractions, distractions, smoke and mirrors.

Managers have for years sought to blame everyone else for their woes. Now whole clubs are at it.

Rarely do you get a manager admit that it was his fault or his team are just useless (as fans, we know that most of them are!). It's always somebody else's fault - nearly always the officials'.

Now Chelsea, as a club, are seekinbg to blame the officials for their defeat by Manchester United last weekend.

"It was never a sending-off."

"Hernandez was offside."

Referee Mark Clattenburg used "inappropriate language" to player(s) "containing a racial element".

I didn't hear Chelsea complaining when they were given two offside goals against Wigan Athletic last season or when a ghot "goal" turned the FA Cup semi-final in their favour against Tottenham Hotspur.

Managers and clubs only moan when they lose - have you noticed that? Of course you have.

They're not interested in fairness, only winning.

A referee using "inappropriate language"! He didn't swear, did he? Heaven forbid. Players swear at referees, assistant referees and fourth officials all the time. Well, that's all right, isn't it? No, actually, it's not. If referees are at fault at all, it's because they don't deal properly with players who break this law.

Law 12, sending-off offences (bullet 6):

• using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures.

Hmmm, watch how often that happens in a game. And see how many times it gets punished.

So, before players or clubs start accusing officials of inappropriate behaviour, I think they should get their own house in order.

As a final point: was John Obi Mikel's handling of Mark Clattenburg's arm (as often shown on Sky Sports News) in that game "appropriate"?