Ben Burgess column: Blackpool boss Bowyer sets a fine example

This item has huge potential but has received little love from the owners recently.

It has a manager who is currently working miracles and an excellent fanbase waiting to return.

Through all the turmoil over the last few years at Blackpool FC, there has been one man quietly chipping away and working feverishly to ensure that whoever does end up owning the Seasiders, they will be doing it in a respectable league position.

I mentioned last week about Jose Mourinho making statements in public to try and force the Manchester United owners to give him even more money to spend.

We don’t hear that negativity from Gary Bowyer.

We didn’t hear it at the start of last season when the team were in a bad spell, we haven’t heard it recently as the patched up team struggles for victory.

Think back to practically every managerial incumbent that has taken up position at Bloomfield Road, since Ian Holloway, and their depressing press conferences.

They blamed everything on the turmoil off the pitch.

The Seasiders picked up a valuable four points from their two games either side of New Year.

The Plymouth game was tough and once again it was all about the resilience to come back and equalise from being two goals down.

Rochdale away, on New Year’s Day, was an excellent and comfortable result that keeps Bowyer’s men comfortably in mid-table.

This weekend, Blackpool will be in League One action against Oxford United while the rest of the country will be getting excited for the third round of the FA Cup.

Brighton and Hove Albion’s clash with Crystal Palace on Monday holds extra significance as Video Assistant Referees (VARs) will be trialled for the first time in a competitive club game in England.

The technology was used in the Under-20 World Cup and in various other countries – with differing success.

In Australia for example, Sydney FC’s Flilp Holosko had a header wrongly disallowed for offside.

The referee didn’t use the VAR but a replay was shown on big screens around the ground as the game continued and confirmed clearly that the goal should have stood!

I understand that referees have an exceptionally hard job to do and that with the pace of the modern game it’s extremely hard to keep up with play.

With the amount of TV coverage and exposure on every game, there is no hiding place for a referee who makes a mistake.

They are often vilified by the press and managers and from their point of view any extra help would be welcomed with open arms.

My issue is that are we trying to make football easier for referees?

Or are we trying to keep football as the superfast, awesome spectacle it is?

I’ve been as frustrated as anyone, as both a player and a fan, when the referee makes a ridiculous decision, but I understood that, just like a player, referees can make mistakes because they are humans.

Sometimes those mistakes and sense of injustice can drive a team on to overcome a referee.

Generally, I do believe that the decisions will even themselves out over the course of a season.

The VAR is supposed to only be used ‘to correct clear errors and for missed serious incidents’.

The referee can use the VAR whenever he requires but the VAR will mostly be informing the referee of any mistakes.

There will be a TV at the side of the pitch for the referee to review the footage himself and he can then overturn the VAR’s decision, who will be residing at Premier League HQ near Heathrow.

Video referees in cricket were supposed to be used for major incidents but have now reached the point where they are used all the time.

Do we want football to be stop-start like cricket and rugby?

It will be a sad time when we see everyone stood waiting on the pitch whilst a referee talks to a virtual referee and then watches a TV at the side of the pitch for every contentious decision.