Once More Unto The Breach Dear Friends…

It’s funny what you find when clearing out your Internet Bookmarks.  Stuff such as this place.

As you can see from the previous updates – this site has not been updated for nearly 12 months, not because of procrastination or lack of interest – more the fact that I lost the login details for it.

Anyway, I do intend to update this on a casual but regular basis over the foreseeable future.

So – what has happened in the intervening 360-odd days?  Well, quite a bit as it happens.

Biggest change is that I’m currently in my first year of study at the University of Worcester, where I’m trying to secure a Computing Degree over the next three years. Surprisingly for the supposed “easy first year” – it’s been nothing but the opposite in the first Semester.  Assignments coming out of my ears – most of which need to be submitted in the New Year.  Could well be a very busy Christmas period this year.  On the plus side – I’ve met a good number of pretty decent people in our Lecture Groups – you know who you are!

Refereeing is going pretty well so far this season – the requisite number of matches has been reached (but I still need to get my requisite number of Higher Grade matches in, as well as relevant Level Assessments).

The summer was a successful one.  Two main tournaments attended in July/August – two main finals refereed.

The long awaited return to Derry in Northern Ireland and the Foyle Cup was the first of the two.  Have to say that it was probably the best week of football I’ve had both on and off the pitch.  Ending up with a run out in The Brandywell and the honour of refereeing the Under 16′s Senior Final between QPR and the NE Counties Schools League from Meath.  Four things stood out for me in this one.  The videoing of the game by a professional cameraman in the main stand (will need to request a copy soon), the provision of a very solid team of Assistants and Fourth Official for me (I could count on them to give me full support – which they did above and beyond), the provision of a massive video screen behind the one goal with a countdown clock on it (helped with noting the time of a Caution in the second half!) and finally the professionalism of both teams – which assisted my control of the match and added to the enjoyment of it no end.

Away from the football – the enjoyment of the week was greatly enhanced with there being an absolutely great bunch of people working with us – the social stuff in the evening was the stuff of legends.  Too many late nights were had, but they were superb ones. Mr Humphreys, Mr Forbes, Mr Ritchie, Mr Forrest, Mr Doak and not forgetting Messrs Liddy, Kelpie and McAree – I salute every single one of you – and hope to be back in 2011!

Norway was the standard week it has become famous for.  Expensive beer, decent football and a mixed Refereeing Panel all added up to an interesting week.  It culminated for me in being given the task of refereeing one of the 7-a-side Main Finals involving a team from the north of Norway against a team from Palestine.  The Palestinians were victorious 1-0 with a goal 3 minutes or so from time.

Two other trips to Norway for varying Conference weekends with the FA were also well received and very useful for developing my own game.

I also picked up my Long Service Award for 15 Years of Refereeing Service to the Worcestershire FA in November – a very well run evening was enjoyed by all in attendance.

As for 2011 – hopefully the completion of the first year of the degree, Refereeing trips to Barcelona, Ayr, Bognor, Oslo, Derry and Croatia, a trip to Sweden to compile a report for our local Referee Magazine, the completion of the 2010/11 English FA refereeing season, a return to Oslo for part of the summer break to take care of the 2011 Oslo FA Football season, and finally the arrangements completed to study abroad for half of 2012 as part of the ERASMUS scheme.

It will be a packed 12 months – you can be sure of that…

The End of the Year Review

I suppose now (now being 7am on Christmas Eve) would be a good time to look back over the past 12 months and look ahead to the looming mass that is 2010.

So – Christmas Eve is upon’t us – and here I am – stone cold awake since 7pm last night – sleeping patterns well and truly fecked.

Looks like the old home remedy of not going to bed at all – then going out on the lash with a few friends until I drink myself back to regular sleeping hours just in time to wake as normal on Christmas Day.

I suppose all this “looking to what the plans are for 2010″ has some input into no-sleep – got some interesting decisions to make over the next few weeks that could have a direct effect on the next four years.

The last 12 months have certainly been interesting – a brief flirtation with life in another country (which will be explained in full a bit later on), a return to some old proving grounds and some mental working situations have combined to make ’09 an unpredictable one.

March saw me move over to Oslo in Norway – mainly to take up the search for a job (prompted by an interesting phone call received in December previous) as well as to enter the Norwegian Refereeing System.

Ended up traveling back and forth between Norway and the UK – culminating in myself returning for the foreseeable due to personal reasons – thankfully all sorted now.

I managed to do the grand total of 7 matches in the various domestic Leagues in Norway.  This included a cracking 8th Division match in a place called Holmlia – which ended up with a 5-4 win to the home team.  Also ran a line on a Division 4 match in Heming – where a very good friend was in the middle – has to be probably the highlight of the season.

The annual visits to tournaments in Scotland and the Netherlands also were made – the Dutch trip culminating in myself managing to visit 4 separate countries in the space of some 8 hours.  Scotland was a mixed bag – on the up side, a Canadian friend and myself indulged in a pub crawl of Glasgow – visiting 80% of the City Centre pubs listed in the 2009 Edition of the Good Beer Guide.  On the downside – I managed to fall foul of a bout of food poisoning on the last night of the trip thanks to the awful food they served at the place we were staying.

Salzburg was visited in the summer for the Bohemians – Franchise Salzburg match in the Champions League.  Cracking hotel on the northside (naturally) of the city which had a truly 24-hour bar and with a nice backdrop of some massive mountains, some good company and a superb 1-1 result gained.  All in all one of the best Bohs trips to Europe I’ve been on.

I will NOT mention the return leg in Dublin – I was there and it ****ing hurt – still does to this day.

If it was July – then it’s the annual event of the Norway Cup.  This was my 11th Tournament – and slightly different this year – I wasn’t there in the capacity of a referee – but I was actually working in the Refereeing Administration Department.

The week didn’t get off to a good start – as my transport back into Oslo from Sweden was delayed horrendously – putting me some 3 hours late getting back up to site.  This saw me arrive up to the office at 1:30am – when I was due to be on duty some 6 hours later.  Enough time to pick up a generously filled kit-bag containing a load of Umbro gear (including a nice new pair of black trainers) – try to get a computer system working and hammering several cups of coffee before collapsing into bed for as much sleep as I could get.

The duration of the tournament saw me getting up at 5am to be into the office by 6am.  Then working through on a shift basis until 2am at the earliest before going back to bed until 5am.  This was done for the duration of the tournament, which was some 9 days long.

On the upside – the financial remuneration was good, I came away with quite a bit of free gear, and whilst on duty, we had all the free coffee we could drink and all the free hot dogs and other stuff we could eat.

Back to England in mid-August – and a return to College to gain the necessary qualifications to allow me to enter University next year.  This should give me an advantage for applying for a job in Norway in future as most positions demand a Degree be held.  I’ve applied to various institutions within the local area – just have to see what comes about in the next few months.

The college course I’m on is full of a bunch of decent guys – a pleasure to study with every single one of you – as shown by the end of Semester night out we had in mid-December.

I hit the grand old age of 30 in September – so what better to celebrate than a trip to Dublin and some football.  I had a friend travel over with me for his first visit to Dublin – and all in all – we both had a superb time – the Friday night was a decent night watching Bohs play Dundalk followed by a session in the Dalymount bars.  Saturday night was a night on the town – ending up with several pints in Bruxelles.  A return visit is planned for next year.

As for 2010? Nothing can really be predicted – I’ve applied for several courses at a couple of institutions – however if everything works out to the best case scenario – it could well be one of the best years for ages…

Two Weeks Left…

Yes, a fortnight from now I will be spending my first night in Oslo itself – having travelled over on the Tuesday evening from Birmingham.  The whole thing is beginning to set-in, a whole new challenge in a foreign country is steadily rampaging over the horizon like a very big daunting thing indeed.

I’m currently sat up in bed typing this on the trusty laptop whilst watching some Basketball on Five.  I say “watching” – it’s more of a background companion until something starts on BBC Four in about 30 minutes.  The laptop itself (which I purchased in October last year) will prove a handy bit of kit for when I’m over in Norway – it’ll allow me to keep in touch with stuff happening back in the UK with family and friends – making that transition that little bit easier.

It also contains all of my documents relating to job searches (with a couple of CVs and about 5 covering letters for different job types) – which will also help when I start hammering the agencies in the first week or two I’m there.  There’s only so much I can do from the UK – I feel that it’ll be easier to sort stuff out face to face.

I’ve already sorted out one thing – the refereeing.  I’ve made it known to the NFF (The Norwegian FA) that I’m coming over – and thanks to the help of a colleague I met through the Norway Cup – I’m also now a member of a football club – which is the main stipulation to referee in Oslo.

That may sound strange to our UK readers who are used to the Referee Society and County FA systems.  In Norway, you have to be a member of a football club to be allowed to referee, it replaces the Referee Society in the scheme of things.  You’re treated the same as a player if you want to move clubs (say if you relocate to a different town in the country) – then you have to put in the same transfer form as a player would.

The County System is also in place – which also helps with training seminars and the actual appointing of officials to games.  I hear the weather is still pretty bad out there (as it’s still snowing quite a lot) so the season start may be delayed somewhat.

Apparently from what I can make out – the football club takes care of kit and training requirements for referees – in return, we agree to officiate on their friendly games and also help with the club’s in-house training on the Laws – educating the players.

Anyway – back to the present.  I’m off out later on Wednesday to see some people, collect some stuff, and start to tie up the loose ends that need doing.  After that I’ll turn the focus to what I need to take with me initially.

I only get 25kg luggage allowance (including Cabin Baggage) – it’ll be an interesting exercise…

An Update – and the Rebirth of this thing…

You may as well be wondering why this has been started up again – so let me elucidate further.

As of Friday – I finished the last day of a year-long stint working for a leading UK Energy Company.  Towards the middle of December I was informed of the intention of our department that my contract would not be renewed after March 1st – which gave me ample notice to reconsider my position generally.

Over the past three or four years I had been toying with the idea of taking the plunge and trying my luck with working and living in Oslo – the capital city of Norway, one of my favourite places on Earth.

So – this whole set of circumstances kind of made my mind up to go ahead and put this plan into action.  A couple of enquiries to good friends over there – couple with a tranche of flight bookings – sees me leaving Birmingham Airport on the afternoon of March 24th for the short 2 hour flight to Sandefjord – into what could be an interesting and hopefully beneficial experience.

I have also made contact with the Oslo Football Association – and fully intend to continue with my refereeing, another reason for this blog being resurrected, which will catalogue the games I am involved in, and my experience of the system of refereeing employed over there.

I intend to keep this thing up to date with the trials and tribulations of the move, the problems encountered, and situations adapted to.

21 days and counting…

It never rains – but it pours…

Bromyard Town vs. Wolverhampton Casuals
Sport Italia West Midlands Regional League Premier Division
15th April 2008

Well – just restarted the whistling after a decent couple of weeks off – meaning I could actually go and watch some football!

Chose to head down to Sutton in Surrey to take in the Sutton United vs. Welling United fixture in the Conference (or Blue Square if you will) South.

This wasn’t really the main reason for trekking all the way down there – I had to go and pick up some new refereeing kit (the new Umbro Wembley stuff that they use on the eircom League and English Premiership) in preparation for a Cup Final I’d been appointed to (a County Final which in the end went off without any problems whatsoever).

In the course of collecting the kit – I got to see the nerve centre that is A&H International (who supply the kit and accessories to the Premier League and Football League Referees Panel).  I’m sworn to secrecy by Jeff (the guy who runs the company) – let’s just say – it’s totally different to how I pictured the place!

Sutton – Welling was an entertaining game (Welling won the game 2-1) – and was excellently refereed by John Magill of Colchester.  After match was a tour of a couple of really top notch Real Ale pubs in the town centre – courtesy of my host for the day – medibot – a poster from a non-league football forum I post on.  A colleague and myself are off to Bath this Saturday to meet up with a few more of them at the Bath City vs. Sutton United fixture.

Anyway – on Tuesday evening I found myself travelling out to Bromyard to run the line on the West Midlands Premier Division game between Bromyard Town and Wolverhampton Casuals.

That afternoon – which had been a nice day mostly – we got 50-odd minutes of really torrential rain – which had softened the pitch at Delahay Meadow up somewhat – meaning that from wearing Astroturf boots on Sunday – I had to crack open the boots with the studs for this one.

So with new Umbro kit donned and County Badge secured onto the jersey via some double sided tape – we went out and took charge of what turned out to be a pretty touch and challenging match.

Bromyard started the game 2nd bottom and looking like real prospects for relegation into Division 1, Casuals weren’t faring much better – 2 places and 8 points higher than their Herefordshire hosts.  It had the hallmarks of a tough, tight game with no quarter given.

Or so we thought – until Bromyard took a 2-0 lead into half time – confounding the pre-match predictions of a nil-niler – the main other incident was the sight of a Wolves Casuals player being subbed early on after having been cautioned by the referee for losing his head with everyone around him – a sensible decision by the manager to do so.

As we come out for the second half – the heavens once again opened themselves and decided to dump what felt like a decade’s worth of rain onto Bromyard Town Football Club.

Thankfully the rain abated after about 15 minutes – any more and we may not have finished the game it was that bad.  However the rain did have one major effect on the game – it made the game a lot faster.

Wolves got back into the tie – and managed to bag themselves 2 goals of their own – making the last 15 minutes of a 2-2 draw even tougher for us three match officials.  Wolves were going for the win – by employing what could be referred to as “kitchen sink” tactics of basically throwing everything they had at the Bromyard goal.  This meant, as I had the Bromyard defence in the second half, that the concentration and fitness had to be taken up 3 or 4 levels.  Thankfully I managed to do that – and all three of us came off at the end of the game – which ended up as a 2-2 draw – very wet, but very satisfied with the job done.

I’d have to say this was one of the best games I’ve done this season – one well worth traveling out for…

From Torrents to Tropics – 29/30 March 08

Malvern Town Reserves vs. Stafford Riverway
Sport Italia West Midlands Regional League Division 1
29th March 2008

After the disappointment of not attaining Promotion to Level 5 and above and a superb trip to the Easter Open in the Netherlands (an account of the weekend there will be up on here soon) – I turned the focus back to domestic matters and a short trip over to Malvern to take charge of a West Midlands Regional League Division 1 match between Malvern Town Reserves and Stafford Riverway.

Unfortunately it decided to dump a load of rain on our corner of the Midlands on Saturday morning so we allowed ourselves an extra half hour to make the 10 mile journey west to the town of Great Malvern, in the shadow of the imposing Malvern Hills – so I could monitor how the pitch at the Langlands Stadium would be affected by the rain.

Thankfully – when we arrived our worst fears weren’t recognised – a few small patches of water in the centre circle and goalmouths were soon removed with the intervention of the groundsman’s trusty garden fork. The ground was still quite hard so the water was just sitting on top of the pitch and was easily removed.

So the two Assistant Referees, Bruce Rogers and Darren Williams – and myself got togged out and come 3pm the game was underway with no further delay.

The rain that had already found it’s way onto the pitch made conditions a little more tricky than usual – so as a collective unit of players and officials we had to tailor our game to take this into account.

Had to get a couple of players together for a talking to after a small confrontation (suppose some would call it “handbags”) towards the end of the first half – apart from this small flare up I could more or less take a less intrusive role and let the game unfold – making it into halftime with the game balanced at 0-0.

The second half saw more of the same – but I ended up cautioning two players – both Number 6′s as it happens and both for dissent (one for audibly shouting his opinion of our collective performance so far that afternoon – and the other one for slamming the ball down into the sodden turf – something that everyone in the ground could see).

Unfortunately the bad weather didn’t leave us for long – more rain in the first half – at first a light drizzle turned into another downpour in the second half – and for the last 10 minutes we were on a knife-edge regarding actually finishing the game. Thankfully the rain didn’t get any worse (although I didn’t think it could) and the game was completed without complications.

Riverway came away with the three points on the Saturday thanks to a 2-0 victory – with both goals coming in the last 5 minutes.

Came off the pitch feeling that things had gone pretty well – we’d got the game completed and without any major incidents or such – something that could maybe have happened in such conditions. Thankfully the players seemed tuned into the game management techniques that the three of us employed – with the use of the cards only as a last resort or in the event of things getting really out of hand.

====================================================================================================

AFC Deers Leap vs. Villagers
Worcester League Sunday Division 3
30th March 2008

Talk of the town on Saturday evening was that if the horrendous weather we had to endure on Saturday kept itself on the radar overnight – then not many games would be played on the following morning

However – as I was appointed to a game on the Northwick Lodge – I knew for a fact that I wouldn’t be affected. The Lodge is probably now the title holder of best local ground in the City for Sunday morning games. The drainage is excellent – and the quality of the pitches is always verging on excellent come rain or shine.

But – lo and behold – I leave the house on the Sunday morning to travel Cross-City – and find it to be an absolutely glorious morning – blue sky – fairly warm and no hint of rain in the air.

The pitch – as predicted is in excellent condition – there’s another game also taking place on the other pitch in the complex – and the referee for that one is an old friend from Bromsgrove. A quick chat and back to the pitch to get sorted and ready for the task ahead.

Small issue over the away goalkeeper wearing a navy blue jersey (which clashes with the home side’s outfield kit) – which is sorted quickly and amicably – with the keeper changing into n orange jersey with the number 18 on the back.

Kick off comes just on the strike of 10:30 – and immediately I try to get into the flow of things. Naturally, compared to yesterday – the standard of play isn’t as high as the Malvern game – but still decent enough not to offend the eye.

11 minutes in – and one of the most bizarre goals I’ve seen for a good few years. I award a free-out to the away side for a push – which is just inside the away team’s half – out on the right hand touchline – a distance from goal of some 55 / 60 yards.

I make sure everything is set with the kicker – and as I walk back – one of the home team attackers asks me to just clarify something. As I do the kick is taken with some power – and just keeps going.

It floats up into the area, over the home keeper – who is rooted to the spot who watches it go over him, drops under the crossbar- and nestles nicely in the back of the net – 1-0 to the away team.

With this most opportunistic of strikes recorded on the score sheet we go back into the pattern of long ball, mishit pass, midfield skill and grit.

30 minutes in – ball is hooked up towards the away team’s penalty area. One of the away team’s defender jumps up – the arm goes straight up in the air – and the ball is flicked off the fingertips – so the free-in is awarded. Some protests naturally come my way from the away side- I clarify the decision which seems to be accepted by all after a short while (I seem to recall the offending player baing fine with the decision a few minutes later whe n speaking with him in open play). The home side equalise from this free-in to make it 1-1, which happens to be the score going into half time.

Second half follows much the same vein – more long ball – end to end football with a plethora of chances for both sides to take control – which unfortunately for the most, aren’t taken. The home side felt they should have had a penalty midway into the second half for a trip on an attacker. Unfortunately this shout came from a long ball hit out of defense on a quick break – leaving me trying to make up ground on a 60-yard long ball (which is really where I felt the effects of the game the previous day in trying to get there as quickly as possible). Sadly the view I get of the incident from just outside the centre circle (some 35-40 yards from the incident) is rubbish to say the least – and results in me having to turn it down on the grounds that from my position I hadn’t a hope in hell of being 100% sure that the player had been taken out or if the defender had got a touch on the ball first. Naturally – the protests from the attacker as a result of that were quite vociferous. All I can say – what I would have given for neutral Assistants in that situation to give me some advice from a bit closer to the incident!

The only other testing situation to deal with was as a result of a corner for the away side. The keeper was being obstructed by the home team player who had given away the free kick in the first half from which the home team had scored their equaliser. I gave the free-out to the goalkeeper for the obstruction against him – only for both players to then take umbrage with each other – which resulted in a pushing and shoving match with some choice “advice” being thrown in. A classic case of mountains out of molehills. Thankfully a couple of home players got in there before it escalated and managed to seperate both players – resulting in the away team player being walked up the pitch by a home team defender who was trying to calm him down and thankfully it appeared the away team player was being receptive to this- a great bit of nous by both parties.

Had a word with the keeper – notifying him that he had the free kick but the need to carry on afterwards wasn’t needed at any point of the game – and once he had calmed down, I went back upfield and did the same with the away team player. To both player’s credit, they took on board what I was trying to do and we carried on with the game with minimal fuss.

Those really were the stand out incidents of the second half – the away side take a 2-1 lead after 55 minutes and managed to hold it for some 10 minutes – when the home side fired intwo goals in 2 minutes. The away side pulled another one back 5 minutes from time to restore parity – but with 3 minutes left on the watch the home team score what turned out to be the winner and secure what was to be a 4-3 victory.

====================================================================================================

So – two contrasting games at two contrasting levels in two very contrasting sets of conditions – each with their own unique sets of circumstances and problems to overcome – who says this job doesn’t throw things at you!

Now onwards to Bromyard Town on Tuesday night!

A Little Bit of Background

Well – I expect you’re wondering why another one of these has popped up suddenly out of the ether.

Mainly it’s for me to keep some kind of record of the matches I’m involved in during the next season – and also to hopefully provide some insight into the world of the football referee operating on the lower levels of the game – the world where no TV cameras, ex-players masquerading as “experts” or the national press exist to scrutinise decisions.

I qualified as a Referee in May 1995 – under the tutoring of then Premier League Referee Gerald Ashby, and Steve Dorr (who is currently serving on the National List). The 8-week course and final exams gave me some grounding in knowledge of the 17 Laws – the real litmus test was getting out onto the green bit to put all of this into practise.

And that I did – in the Worcester League Sunday Division 5 in September 1995 – a game between Acco-Rexel and The Royal Exchange. Can’t remember a thing about the game itself except that I gave a penalty to the home side late on.

In the intervening 13 or so years I’ve had many great experiences doing this job – and some not so good. I’ve traveled all over Europe refereeing, and have taken charge of some 6 games on the hallowed turf of the Home of Irish Football, Dalymount Park – which is the home ground of the team I support, Bohemians.

I may look back to some of these experiences on here over the next season or so – but for now – I’ll stick to the present day.

I’m currently a Level 6 Referee – which sees me referee games on the local Worcester League on a Sunday morning – and the higher level semi-pro Sport Italia West Midlands Regional League on a Saturday (of which I’ve completed my first full season as a referee on – having done a previous 9 seasons on the Line and the occasional middle).