Winning the ball is no justification for a reckless tackle

"Was it a savage tackle? I don't think it was. In the penalty box we see them 100 times and, unfortunately, Shane got injured. I understand what the argument will be; it will be that he's got the ball and followed through and collided with the player, but how can you stop in mid-air?"

The Aston Villa manager, Alex McLeish, reeled out the same lame excuse we hear, usually but not exclusively from British managers, after Alan Hutton raised both feet off the ground (see screengrab) and thundered into a tackle with West Bromwich's Shane Long. He sent the ball and the player flying high into the air. To answer McLeish's question, Hutton should not have been in mid-air in the first place. Long can count himself lucky that his leg did not take the full weight of Hutton's challenge on the shin. The injury could have been as horrific as Eduardo's at Birmingham. But the tackle was not punished by the referee, Phil Dowd, as it should have been – by a red card.

There is still a deeply ingrained belief in English football that winning the ball legitimises any kind of tackle. There is no doubt that, had Hutton not connected with the ball, he would have been sent off. Referees need to look beyond the ball, at a player's intent and the damage that could be caused. Only when reckless tackles are properly punished will managers and fans stop defending potentially leg-breaking challenges.

To make matters more infuriating, the Aston Villa defender Chris Herd was sent off soon after for a supposed stamp – which only the assistant referee saw – in the kind of baffling incident in which there was no chance of a serious injury, yet the punishment doled out was more severe than Hutton received. GR

Luiz cannot defend

Given whom David Luiz's haircut makes him resemble, it was not too surprising to see the Brazilian defend against QPR as if he had spent the morning before the match at Clown College. The Chelsea defender seems to operate by what could be called the Ian Harte principle: make sure people do not notice your shoddy work at the back by contributing goals at the other end. Harte, lest we forget, built up his reputation when he was at Leeds by taking the penalties and free-kicks, but that often disguised that he was one of the slowest full-backs in the league at the time; he was once outpaced by David Beckham. Gary Cahill's eye for goal has earned him praise as well, as has Phil Jones's rampaging. Similarly David Luiz has won plaudits at Stamford Bridge after fine goals against Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City and Manchester United since his arrival in January.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with defenders who can play and no one is going to complain about a player who contributes goals. However, a defender who can do only the fancy stuff is no use to anyone except the opposition and, worryingly for André Villas-Boas, David Luiz is placing himself firmly in that category. There were more reasons for Chelsea's defeat by QPR than simply his foul on Heidar Helguson, which gave away the penalty. The red cards for José Bosingwa and Didier Drogba, Chris Foy missing David Luiz being fouled in the area and Nicolas Anelka's glaring late miss were chief among them. Even so, David Luiz deserves criticism for the sheer stupidity of his error, impetuously bumping into Helguson's back with all the subtlety of an episode of Friends. At that point Chelsea must have pined for the sneakiness of Ricardo Carvalho.

David Luiz has previous in this area. Early on in his Chelsea career he conceded a last-minute penalty against Fulham with a foolish foul on Clint Dempsey, while he was hauled off by Carlo Ancelotti at half-time against United last season because he could not be trusted. The QPR game showcased the best and worst of David Luiz, terrible defending coupled with moments of brilliance going forward. He created one great chance for Anelka and nearly equalised with an acrobatic overhead kick. It is questionable whether that is enough from a centre-back and certainly Villas-Boas may find himself with a difficult decision to make in the coming weeks, especially as he left the more reliable Branislav Ivanovic on the bench. Based on the evidence at Loftus Road, Ivanovic would not have particularly big shoes to fill – assuming David Luiz didn't get his from the circus. JS

Suárez needs to work on his finishing

Luis Suárez is brilliant, one of the best strikers in the league. Liverpool fans will take that further and argue that he is the best striker in the league, much better than that bloke they sold to Chelsea for £50m. But, although Suárez possesses all the qualities required to justify such claims, he is not quite there yet. So far this season he has managed five goals in 11 appearances in all competitions for Kenny Dalglish's side, which is a reasonable enough return for a forward embarking on his first full season in English football. The frustration for Liverpool, however, is that the total could be so much more.

During the 1-1 draw with Norwich City, Súarez had 10 shots, excluding those that were blocked, and became the first player in the Premier League since Cristiano Ronaldo against West Ham in December 2006 to reach double figures in attempts without scoring. Just one of those days? Given that one of his efforts drew a wonderful late save out of John Ruddy, quite possibly. Yet it was not the first time in which all of Suárez's fine approach work was undone by his waywardness in front of goal. After all, Suárez's goals-to-shots ratio this season is 12.5%; Steven Fletcher's is 21%. He has missed his fair share of chances this season, including a penalty against Sunderland and a sitter against Stoke City. That he is getting these openings, which he often creates for himself, demonstrates how dangerous he is, but unless he becomes more clinical, he runs the risk of being labelled a scorer of great goals rather than a great goalscorer. JS

Wolves fans are helping no one by booing McCarthy

"My emotions are running pretty red hot at the minute. I'm delighted with the result but angry with a lot of other things," said the Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, after his side's 2-2 draw with Swansea. It does not take Peter Falk to figure out exactly what McCarthy was angry about. Boos that have been ringing out of the mouths of Wolves fans during the past few games started early on Saturday and reached a deafening level with his side 2-0 down and time running out. McCarthy rescued the situation with two unpopular substitutions but despite the manager's expressed delight with the result, it will not extinguish his ire, especially with fans chanting for his head and conducting internet polls to nominate a successor.

There is no denying that Wolves are in a slump – before Saturday's draw they had lost their past five league games – but who, realistically, could be brought in who would improve the club? McCarthy brought the club up from the Championship and has masterminded their Premier League survival on two occasions. At this same stage last season Wolves were second from bottom with only six points and not one fan was questioning him then, so why now?

That the Wolves players kept on working hard to the end shows that they are behind the manager. The fans should follow their lead and be very, very careful about what they wish for. Before they know it Steve McClaren could be pacing the sideline of Molineux as Wolves slide to the bottom of the table and fans wish for the good old days of McCarthy. IMC

The Republic of Ireland should look at Hoolahan

With Robbie Keane injured, Kevin Doyle suspended and Shane Long reeling from that horrendous tackle by Alan Hutton, the Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, has a selection dilemma ahead of next month's Euro 2012 play-off tie against Estonia. West Bromwich's Simon Cox replaced Keane in the starting 11 against Armenia and it is reasonable to assume that he will start the first leg in Tallinn – Trapattoni is not a man who likes change.

But the question is who will start alongside him? Leon Best is the obvious answer but Wes Hoolahan may be a less obvious one and the former Blackpool man made a strong case for his inclusion with his performance for Norwich against Liverpool on Saturday. He worked hard, tracked back and had a hand in Norwich's deserved equaliser – he has created the most chances (16) for Norwich in the Premier League this season and only Grant Holt had more assists than him in the previous two seasons. He is also a good passer of the ball and rarely cedes possession – 86% of his passes met their intended target at Anfield.

The game in Tallinn will most likely be one that Trapattoni sets out not to lose, rather than to win, and selecting Hoolahan would fit the Italian's perennially conservative plans. The Norwich man could play in front of the central midfield pairing – Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews – supporting Cox when his side attack and dropping deeper when Ireland are not in possession, helping to swamp the midfield; a role not too dissimilar to what Doyle does for the Italian, albeit with a more attacking edge. His steady, mature and level-headed approach is what Ireland will need and, judging by Best's somewhat reckless performance against Wigan – he was substituted to save himself from being sent off – Hoolahan may just have earned himself a place in Trapattoni's thoughts. IMC