The midfielder who's always in your ear

The summer break must have lulled me into a false sense of security but I've been snapped back to reality and a reminder that most teams have one player, usually a midfielder, who is the dedicated whinger, the player who is always in the referee's ear, telling him his decisions were wrong, that he's favouring the opposition, all said quietly enough to keep him below the threshold of a tellow card for dissent.

It's a tactic that in the past only belonged at a senior level but it's worked its way down to the lower echelons in recent seasons - and frankly it's a pain in the bum.
At the weekend I lasted 70 minutes of wasp-like buzzing in my ear before I stopped play and told the designated whinger that I knew what he was up to, it wasn't working, and that he'd get a card the next time he complained.
That little display of temper had the desired effect and I didn't hear anything from him until the end of the match.
That said, I heard plenty from the other 10 players, the club linesman and the manager of one side, who all objected strongly to my decisions.
As the years go by, I suspect I have become more lenient. I booked three players on Saturday but really, I suspect it should have been more, considering the amount of dissent and bad language aimed in my direction.
It's a shame that losing players so often blame the referee for their defeat. It's a lazy view, covering up for their own mistakes. Despite the complaints, Saturday's 3-2 win for the home team turned out to be an exciting game and both teams worked hard. It's a shame that the disappointed team can't rise above their personal disappointment.
I find myself imposing my own rules of tolerance on player behaviour rather than the laws of the game, which are considerably more direct and severe. I'm going to be clamping down on that aspect of my refereeing for the rest of the season, just as every injured player on Saturday was made to leave the field, complaining, "You're the only ref who makes us do this." See last week's entry for enlightenment.