Well, a summer of heroes and villains in the middle with goal line mistakes and World Cup final glory for an English referee. Inspired by other men in black, a desire to improve, or simply a means to get fit, whatever the reason, I have written the cheque and secured a place on the Cheshire FA Referee's course which commences 6th September. If all goes to plan, I will take an exam mid September, and be subject to a weekend assessment followed by 6 11 'a' side matches with me in the middle. If that all goes to plan, I'll attain L7 Referee status towards the end of the year.
I'm looking forward to seeing our Egerton team progress into Under 10 football with the big kick off next saturday. Not sure if I'll have the whistle or not, but just in case, the training regime has begun again after a six week enforced layoff following the IoM Parish Walk, blisters have gone, and toe nail is growing back!!
2010/11 season reports to commence next week and I'll also give you a quiz question each week based on my studies on the laws of the game. I bet you can't wait!
Your man in black.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Monday, 14 June 2010
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Guest report from Matt @ Weaverham (Away)
RESISTING THE TEMPTATION
The game itself was fairly uneventful. I managed to avoid any controversy which is always a positive result. Not too many dodgy decisions although I was admittedly not concentrating in the first 30 seconds and was done by the colour clash. Manager Hargreaves gave me a bit. Fair enough.
The hardest thing about reffing Saturday’s game was resisting the temptation to give advice to the boys. The boys were fast asleep and weren’t responding to Lee’s instructions. It can be difficult to hear from the sidelines…
In the middle of it though I reckon I could have got us a win. Tom would have cleared the ball for the first goal with me in his ear “empty it!”.
When they had the ball I was mentally willing the boys to track back and pick up the runner that was causing the damage. No good. Uri Geller I clearly am not.
When we had the ball I’m thinking “lift your head up and pass it”, the boys are thinking “I wish I was still in bed….”
I think it was just one of those days. I’m used to it because I coach the Lions U13s. Sunday mornings with them is like a grassy version of the shopping centre on Dawn of the Dead. As I said to Lee afterwards “welcome to my world”.
With Special Thanks to this week's referee..... Matt Sproston
The game itself was fairly uneventful. I managed to avoid any controversy which is always a positive result. Not too many dodgy decisions although I was admittedly not concentrating in the first 30 seconds and was done by the colour clash. Manager Hargreaves gave me a bit. Fair enough.
The hardest thing about reffing Saturday’s game was resisting the temptation to give advice to the boys. The boys were fast asleep and weren’t responding to Lee’s instructions. It can be difficult to hear from the sidelines…
In the middle of it though I reckon I could have got us a win. Tom would have cleared the ball for the first goal with me in his ear “empty it!”.
When they had the ball I was mentally willing the boys to track back and pick up the runner that was causing the damage. No good. Uri Geller I clearly am not.
When we had the ball I’m thinking “lift your head up and pass it”, the boys are thinking “I wish I was still in bed….”
I think it was just one of those days. I’m used to it because I coach the Lions U13s. Sunday mornings with them is like a grassy version of the shopping centre on Dawn of the Dead. As I said to Lee afterwards “welcome to my world”.
With Special Thanks to this week's referee..... Matt Sproston
Friday, 12 March 2010
Puma's & Panthers v Davenham (Away)
A second successive double header for me to referee when the home team were unable to field a parent to take up the role. So, two matches totalling 40 minutes for me to pace myself through. I have to say the pace of the teams is beginning to test me -I watched the Man Utd v AC Milan game on Wednesday this week, when I saw the pace of that game, and what the ref had to do,I concluded that I may have only a season or so left in me - chasing the ball around at U9 level is fast enough for me.
Now, the Egerton parents didn't seem overly impressed with my latest 'must have' accessory. I'm not talking about the slimming 'Boro' training jacket, or the new stop watch. Did you not notice the difference with my new eyes? Three weeks ago I had laser eye surgery, responding to previous 'feedback' from the touchline that I should have gone to specsavers! It was this 'better than 20:20 vision' that gave me the edge awarding three penalties over the two games - none of which, apparently were seen by some of the Dads on the line - I recommend my surgeon at Ultralase Manchester!!
Despite the three penalties, both games were played in a really good spirit. The players are toughening up, and I thought it was the sort of hard but fair game that the they could do with once in a while. I tried to keep the game flowing but some shirt pulling & deliberate pushing led me to have words with a few players. We are starting to come up against some verbals as well "nice save keeper... not" was heard. The team will have to learn to live with 'sledging' it's going to get worse! A high foot which brushed the face and caused a cut led to me immediately blowing up when the attacking team were cleary flowing forward, but head injuries demand an immediate cessation of play. An important lesson in the first game - after the ball was picked up by the keeper from a back pass I awarded an indirect free kick in the box. Learning from the recent Premier League incident, I prevented a quick free kick and gave the defence ample time to get ready - I made it very clear to all players what was awarded - the defence didn't make the most of the time I allowed and conceded an easy goal - Worth watching the referee after a whistle is blown to make sure you understand exactly what has been awarded and then quickly prepare yourself for the next action.
Thoroughly enjoyed the game - My friends on the touchline, witnessed their first aggregate defeat in 35 games. They had to blame someone, and the Big man in black is a far better target than the Manager, kitman, or kids. It's OK, I can take it!
I try to base all of my actions on the field on honest interpretation of what I see and to referee to the best of my ability - maybe my new eyes need running in (like a new motor), but I can only act on how my brain interprets these new, crisper images!! Thanks for the banter at the end, makes me feel part of the entertainment. I look forward to reciprocating at a game very soon.
Looking forward to the next outing..... unless I've been dropped!
your man in black.
Now, the Egerton parents didn't seem overly impressed with my latest 'must have' accessory. I'm not talking about the slimming 'Boro' training jacket, or the new stop watch. Did you not notice the difference with my new eyes? Three weeks ago I had laser eye surgery, responding to previous 'feedback' from the touchline that I should have gone to specsavers! It was this 'better than 20:20 vision' that gave me the edge awarding three penalties over the two games - none of which, apparently were seen by some of the Dads on the line - I recommend my surgeon at Ultralase Manchester!!
Despite the three penalties, both games were played in a really good spirit. The players are toughening up, and I thought it was the sort of hard but fair game that the they could do with once in a while. I tried to keep the game flowing but some shirt pulling & deliberate pushing led me to have words with a few players. We are starting to come up against some verbals as well "nice save keeper... not" was heard. The team will have to learn to live with 'sledging' it's going to get worse! A high foot which brushed the face and caused a cut led to me immediately blowing up when the attacking team were cleary flowing forward, but head injuries demand an immediate cessation of play. An important lesson in the first game - after the ball was picked up by the keeper from a back pass I awarded an indirect free kick in the box. Learning from the recent Premier League incident, I prevented a quick free kick and gave the defence ample time to get ready - I made it very clear to all players what was awarded - the defence didn't make the most of the time I allowed and conceded an easy goal - Worth watching the referee after a whistle is blown to make sure you understand exactly what has been awarded and then quickly prepare yourself for the next action.
Thoroughly enjoyed the game - My friends on the touchline, witnessed their first aggregate defeat in 35 games. They had to blame someone, and the Big man in black is a far better target than the Manager, kitman, or kids. It's OK, I can take it!
I try to base all of my actions on the field on honest interpretation of what I see and to referee to the best of my ability - maybe my new eyes need running in (like a new motor), but I can only act on how my brain interprets these new, crisper images!! Thanks for the banter at the end, makes me feel part of the entertainment. I look forward to reciprocating at a game very soon.
Looking forward to the next outing..... unless I've been dropped!
your man in black.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
YouTube - YouTube - Referee
Sorry that I have not been publishing notes recently. We've had a long run of postponements due to bad weather and I've taken the opportunity to go to Referee's finishing school. Take a look at the link below to see what new refeering skills I have been learning!
YouTube - YouTube - Gay Referee
YouTube - YouTube - Gay Referee
Friday, 1 January 2010
Happy New year
2010 is upon us. Have you made your new year resolution yet? Why not join me and commit to taking the FA referee badge. Interested? Post a comment or drop me an email and we can encourage each other along.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Egerton Pumas v Winsford (Home)
The wettest pitch on which I've ever refereed and the home team played as if they were born in wellies, hardly changing their usual pace and movement. The heavy conditions required twice as much effort as usual and the superior fitness of the players over the ref ensured that there was a greater gap between me and the ball in play than at anytime this season so far. The only thing that saved me was that the game seemed to be played in just one half of the pitch most of the time.
We had our first ever game without the need to stop play for a shoelace tying - must have been extra training this week.
Quite a bit of banter coming from a few players this week - "How was that a corner" came from one very sulky looking lad! I did cause some confusion towards the end of the game when my concentration was being severely tested by a bout of dehydration following too much liquid intake the night before. I called 'blue thrown in' to some derision from the players, one of whom was quick to point out his team was playing in green and the others in Yellow. "How thick is this ref" was uttered under his breath - for the record - 54 inches, or 137cm at the Shoulders is my thickest circumference.
Great bravery from the visiting keeper this week who was the busiest player on the pitch. I stopped the game immediately when he took a blow to the head. He won the courage award of the week - closely followed by my 15 year old football boots who had not been tested by my weight for over 8 years. They have got their own back on my big toe.
I was quite relieved with FIFA's decision not to have the two extra officials in next years world cup matches. I could do without the extra pressure of scouts watching our games from now through to June.
This week your man in black was sponsored by Faustino VIII Rioja
We had our first ever game without the need to stop play for a shoelace tying - must have been extra training this week.
Quite a bit of banter coming from a few players this week - "How was that a corner" came from one very sulky looking lad! I did cause some confusion towards the end of the game when my concentration was being severely tested by a bout of dehydration following too much liquid intake the night before. I called 'blue thrown in' to some derision from the players, one of whom was quick to point out his team was playing in green and the others in Yellow. "How thick is this ref" was uttered under his breath - for the record - 54 inches, or 137cm at the Shoulders is my thickest circumference.
Great bravery from the visiting keeper this week who was the busiest player on the pitch. I stopped the game immediately when he took a blow to the head. He won the courage award of the week - closely followed by my 15 year old football boots who had not been tested by my weight for over 8 years. They have got their own back on my big toe.
I was quite relieved with FIFA's decision not to have the two extra officials in next years world cup matches. I could do without the extra pressure of scouts watching our games from now through to June.
This week your man in black was sponsored by Faustino VIII Rioja
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