: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:39 pm
All I can say on this subject is that they must the best of a bad bunch.
The standard is awful in my opinion over the last few years mainly because lads are starting their reffing careers far too soon in life and not getting any experience playing the game before their reffing begins. Most of them are character-less robots doing things the Stuart Cummings way from his hymn sheet instead of reffing games as they evolve and using common sense.
I did ask my old fella about Mr. Thomason as he was the MC at this Blackpool fixture and I'd seen his name on the lists but don't remember coming across him anywhere.
I also feel that with the reserve grades not as good a quality as they have been over the years these refs are getting fast-tracked up the ladder instead of getting some quality games under their belts. I was really dis-appointed chatting with a local ref at a junior game the other sunday morning when I inquired if he'd been promoted to a senior referee after he was trialled in quite a few first team fixtures last year but he told me that he's been advised "at his age" to concentrate on touch-judging at first team grade. I find it ridiculous, if he's only one year older than he was last year, why was he trialled ? It smacked a bit of being used when short of refs at senior or first grade. The thing is, the lad is a decent enough ref with plenty of experience and he'd reffed reserve cup final's for the last two seasons, he must have been better than a lot of the others.
They retire them off at 50 at senior level and I think it's too early, experience just cannot be substituted in referees.
How are the new lads going to get experience in the big games when there is a group of full time lads in front of them who get the cream games each week ? The full time lads have to be utilised at that level but what happens if one of them drops into a bad run of performances, will he be docked games like in the good old days ? I think not somehow.
It appears to me and I may be wrong, but some refs turn up for games with a pre-requisite of what is going to happen, every season there is a purge on one technicality or another, but the game's hierachy need to remember that they are in the entertainment business.
Let the games flow..........
No advantage ever seems to be played from a handling error any more, knock-ons are given for any dropped ball regardless of whethter it's in a forward motion and the 10 metres defending mark is far too much, let the players at each other.
Bring back the Whitfield's, Thompson's, Lindop's, Campbell's, Wall's, Smith's, Holdsworth's of the reffing world, Ganson is the nearest their is to the old school, at least he's got the stomach to drop a clanger.
The current refereeing is indicative of the game at SL level generally and that is soul-less, it needs a right kick up the a$$.
