THE word respect has always meant a lot to me.

It was drilled into me by my father at a very early age – probably when I tried to pinch my elder brother’s duck in the bath.

It’s a word that football has been trying to instil this season – with a notable lack of success.

Asking for managers and players to respect referees is like asking MPs to be honest in claiming allowances.

They just don’t get it.

The antics of Chelsea and Manchester United players last week highlighted yet again what charmless clubs they have become.

That is not a knee-jerk comment, it is a view I have held for a long time, and let me say immediately they are the only two clubs to whom I would apply that tag.

When Liverpool and Arsenal were at the top of the English game they retained humility and class – something sadly lacking at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge these days.

It’s not worth going over old ground so far as Didier Drogba is concerned. The man is a waste of space!

Hugely talented but the ranting and raving that comes with him guarantees a nomadic career.

What on earth were the club thinking about though allowing Frank Lampard and John Terry to stand up on his behalf?

His foul mouthed tirade into the lens of a live camera was indefensible.

Then we had Messrs Ronaldo and Tevez.

The Portuguese may be the best player in the world right now, but he is also the most petulant and Sir Alex Ferguson might ultimately be glad to pack him off to Real Madrid.

Tevez deserves some sympathy because he has been made to feel unwanted at United, but he should let his goals do the talking rather than two fingers.

The Norwegian referee Tom Ovrebo was dreadful at Stamford Bridge last week – though I don’t agree with those who claim he should never have been appointed.

He has handled dozens of top games without a murmur of protest, but however provoked and frustrated players feel they simply cannot react in the way Chelsea's players did.

It reminded me of the incident at Middlesbrough when Roy Keane, Japp Stam et al surrounded the referee who, it transpired, had made a perfectly good call.

IF YOU want to see respect you should have been at Post Office Road, Featherstone, on Sunday.

There was a minute’s silence before the game for former Warrington centre Derek Noonan who passed away nine days earlier.

With his son and daughter joining players past and present on the pitch you could hear a pin drop – and the tribute wasn’t cut short as it is so often – it lasted over a full minute.

Mention of those former players who were reunited from the 1974 Challenge Cup Final which Warrington won 24-9, brings me to the funniest story I’ve heard in a long while.

One of the Featherstone players, who might wish to remain anonymous, was asked by a fan years later if he could borrow his Wembley shirt to show to his father.

Agreement was struck but the player never saw the shirt again.

He bumped into the fan and naturally asked for the return of the prize possession, only to be told that the fans father had passed away and his wife knowing how much the old boy loved the shirt buried him in it!

There was also a nice yarn told by former Great Britain forward Mike Nicholas who was sent off 15 times in his career, three of them along with Jimmy Thompson – it was great to see them embrace on the halfway line on Sunday – at least I think it was an embrace!

Nicholas recalled ‘copping one’ from another of Featherstone’s Great Britain stars Peter Smith once, so the following year he thought he’d get his retaliation in first and gave Smithy a short arm job before the toss of the coin !

Smith had to be brought round with colleague Mick Morgan whispering in his ear ‘Looks like you're in for a hard game today’.

Nicholas said Sunday was the first time he'd ever got through a full game at Post Office Road!

HAVE you noticed some of the huge scores being posted around the cricket circuit ?

Record stands seem to be the norm right now, even in league cricket, and numbers 8 and 9 are expected to come up with at least half-centuries.

Nine, ten, jack used to be rabbits, eager only to get back out to ply their regular trades as bowlers, but not any more as Warwickshire debutant Jeetan Patel showed in compiling 120 against Yorkshire at Edgbaston.

The New Zealander became the first Warwickshire No 10 ever to hit a century, and his effort also followed personal bests in the match from Anthony McGrath and Joe Sayers.

It’s good to see Sayers, in particular, back in the runs after a tortuous last summer.

It was a shame, however, that Tim Bresnan got little opportunity to shine in the Lords test, through no fault of his own.

Not as much a shame as that for people who had bought tickets for Saturday and Sunday.

Perhaps a three day result was a little unpredictable, but by starting the game a day earlier than the traditional Thursday the ECB left themselves open to ridicule within a totally blank weekend.

Yet another example of cricket shooting itself in the foot.