‘I had to make a horrible walk at Stoke City and I wish I had a microphone on’
In the latest instalment of Gary Rowett’s column he looks at VAR in the Championship and whether it is time to introduce it and the time he was sent off as manager of Stoke
The debate as to whether VAR should be introduced in the Championship reared its head again this week, perhaps influenced by the decisions that went against Derby in their game against Norwich last weekend.
You will have read and digested the fallout surrounding the first goal in particular as TV replays showed the ball was clearly out of play when Josh Sargent crossed the ball.
I understand why there would be fresh calls for VAR when you consider the money at stake particularly when it comes to promotion to the Premier League is huge. If you recall the Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest play-off final, there were two penalty decisions that Huddersfield had that went against them and that game actually had VAR being implemented.
Sometimes you can see the cost of those decisions and how they impact a club and I remember a conversation when I was at Millwall where there was talk about VAR-lite was going to be trialled and how it was going to be a cheaper, less extensive version of what we see in the Premier League.
I sat in so many meetings with other managers and other key figures like Howard Webb and other stakeholders from around the game when they would discuss the rule changes etc. And so when you enter these meetings, VAR just seemed to take so long, it would take the joy away from scoring goals and celebrating for the fans and it was probably something I hadn’t thought about.
It just seems to be a bit of an atmosphere and tempo wrecker. Statistically, I think they are shaving off about a minute for VAR reviews which I think is excellent so there is progress being made. And so when you have that moment like Derby against Norwich, of course, you’re always after that game going to say we need VAR in the Championship. It’s a really difficult debate.
Technology is not going to go away and it’s going to be more prevalent in the game. If it didn’t kill the tempo or the atmosphere, I think everyone would like it. I remember a game for Birmingham against Nottingham Forest when there was a moment where the ball looked like it had gone over the line and I’m on the halfway so bear in mind, I’m 60 metres away and there are seven or eight players in the way.
I’m jumping up and down, screaming to the fourth official saying it’s over the line and that was what used to happen. As soon as goal line technology came in we literally don’t even ask anymore. What the decision is, it is given so it takes a lot of that emotion and that hysteria on the touchline out of it.
