Big Sam Calling Out James TomkinsI can’t stand diving and play-acting in football. Given the headache that Chico Flores’ cheating and diving against Andy Carroll gave West Ham United last year, I would have thought we were above needing to participate in such behavior. Ergo, the Everton game was frustrating.
Both James Tomkins and Everton player Ross Barkley were guilty of play-acting, but whilst Everton manager Roberto Martinez referred to the incident in which Barkley went down with absolutely no contact whatsoever from Kevin Nolan by saying “I don’t think it [Saturday’s incident] was a dive as such,” Sam Allardyce more or less ripped Tomkins a new one. Allardyce said of Tomkins that “he knows what he did was not right” and that “it was not the type of reaction you want to see from your players.”
I have a lot of respect for Sam for his honesty over his fellow manager’s blind eye towards actions that do nothing but blight the beautiful game. Thank you for that, Sam.
