0% Villa: Liverpool's goal today

[damon loves JT]

My cousin's new Facebook picture (a very old one)makes him look incredibly like Gary Numan. I am convinced he's going to get a solicitor's letter for infringement of image rights

[Chris Jameson]

Chris, it only becomes a profession at Pl level, the others all have full time jobs.
If anyone on the course said you were god out there, id disagree.

Perhaps i'm being a little unfair, to ref's, I stand by what I said about 'Numanoids'.

The Ref taking the course actually said the God thing and didn't seem capable of differentiating full size matches involving pro's and Under 8's football and enjoyed telling us far too many tedious stories involving his time as a referee. I refereed a game last weekend and my 7 year old son did actually tell me during the game I was a rubbish ref, his team were 4 down at the time and I had just given a penalty to the opposition.

[Dave Cooper please]

I was pressured into it and I honestly can't see why anybody would wish to take it up as a PROFESSION unless they like the bit where you are told you are God on the football pitch.

I sat in a room for 2 and a half hours having my enthusiasm for junior football slowly drained out of me.

It's a good job not everyone thinks like this or there wouldn't be any junior football.

[Chris Jameson]

I was pressured into it and I honestly can't see why anybody would wish to take it up as a PROFESSION unless they like the bit where you are told you are God on the football pitch.

I sat in a room for 2 and a half hours having my enthusiasm for junior football slowly drained out of me.

It's a good job not everyone thinks like this or there wouldn't be any junior football.

Ahem. I do help out with my son's team and referee matches from time to tme, I have no wish to do it PROFESSIONALLY AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO. I can't make myself any clearer so please don't take the moral high ground with me unless you spend every one of your weekends refereeing junior football matches.

[Somniloquism]

Ahem. I do help out with my son's team and referee matches from time to tme, I have no wish to do it PROFESSIONALLY AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO. I can't make myself any clearer so please don't take the moral high ground with me unless you spend every one of your weekends refereeing junior football matches.

Is there a rule for the GK deliberately rubbing the ball in dog poo and then kicking it at the opposition players head?

[Dave Cooper please]

I was pressured into it and I honestly can't see why anybody would wish to take it up as a PROFESSION unless they like the bit where you are told you are God on the football pitch.

I sat in a room for 2 and a half hours having my enthusiasm for junior football slowly drained out of me.

It's a good job not everyone thinks like this or there wouldn't be any junior football.

Ahem. I do help out with my son's team and referee matches from time to tme, I have no wish to do it PROFESSIONALLY AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO. I can't make myself any clearer so please don't take the moral high ground with me unless you spend every one of your weekends refereeing junior football matches.

No moral high ground here, but you said you did one course and hated it, if everyone did that there would be no referees and hence no junior football.
I didn't go down the refereeing route because I continued to play until my knees dropped off.
Not many referees take it up as a profession, and only those who have been right through the system from the lowest level are given the chance, so basically I doubt anyone CHOOSES to be a referee as a PROFESSION because they would have to serve a 15 (at least) year apprenticeship! They just get very good at their chosen hobby really.

[Chris Jameson]

But I did the course, hated it but still find myself reffing as do the 4 others who went with me and also felt the same way.

[Villa'Zawg]

I was pressured into it and I honestly can't see why anybody would wish to take it up as a PROFESSION unless they like the bit where you are told you are God on the football pitch.

I sat in a room for 2 and a half hours having my enthusiasm for junior football slowly drained out of me.

It's a good job not everyone thinks like this or there wouldn't be any junior football.

Ahem. I do help out with my son's team and referee matches from time to tme, I have no wish to do it PROFESSIONALLY AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO. I can't make myself any clearer so please don't take the moral high ground with me unless you spend every one of your weekends refereeing junior football matches.

No moral high ground here, but you said you did one course and hated it, if everyone did that there would be no referees and hence no junior football.
I didn't go down the refereeing route because I continued to play until my knees dropped off.
Not many referees take it up as a profession, and only those who have been right through the system from the lowest level are given the chance, so basically I doubt anyone CHOOSES to be a referee as a PROFESSION because they would have to serve a 15 (at least) year apprenticeship! They just get very good at their chosen hobby really.

Stuart Attwell refereed his first professional match in 2007/8. He was given one of the play-off finals that season and started refereeing PL the following season. He hasn't served a 15 year apprenticeship.

[pauliewalnuts]

I was pressured into it and I honestly can't see why anybody would wish to take it up as a PROFESSION unless they like the bit where you are told you are God on the football pitch.

I sat in a room for 2 and a half hours having my enthusiasm for junior football slowly drained out of me.

It's a good job not everyone thinks like this or there wouldn't be any junior football.

Ahem. I do help out with my son's team and referee matches from time to tme, I have no wish to do it PROFESSIONALLY AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO. I can't make myself any clearer so please don't take the moral high ground with me unless you spend every one of your weekends refereeing junior football matches.

No moral high ground here, but you said you did one course and hated it, if everyone did that there would be no referees and hence no junior football.
I didn't go down the refereeing route because I continued to play until my knees dropped off.
Not many referees take it up as a profession, and only those who have been right through the system from the lowest level are given the chance, so basically I doubt anyone CHOOSES to be a referee as a PROFESSION because they would have to serve a 15 (at least) year apprenticeship! They just get very good at their chosen hobby really.

Stuart Attwell refereed his first professional match in 2007/8. He was given one of the play-off finals that season and started refereeing PL the following season. He hasn't served a 15 year apprenticeship.

I don't know if he's served a 15 year apprenticeship - I doubt it, isn't he about 30?

However, I would point out that by the time you're refereeing professional games of any level, aren't you already a fair way up the ladder?

[olaftab]

Stuart Attwell has made some mistakes but so does everyone in   their everyday job. Leave him alone to get on and improve. I applaud the  PL and FA for supporting him.

[Villa'Zawg]

Stuart Attwell has made some mistakes but so does everyone in   their everyday job. Leave him alone to get on and improve. I applaud the  PL and FA for supporting him.

I just with they supported him to improve in a lower league. There is something very odd about his rise. He was put on the FIFA international list after only 4 PL matches and less than 40 league games in total.

[pauliewalnuts]

Stuart Attwell has made some mistakes but so does everyone in   their everyday job. Leave him alone to get on and improve. I applaud the  PL and FA for supporting him.

Will you be saying that if he awards a goal like the one last week against us?

*wink*

[olaftab]

Stuart Attwell has made some mistakes but so does everyone in   their everyday job. Leave him alone to get on and improve. I applaud the  PL and FA for supporting him.

Will you be saying that if he awards a goal like the one last week against us?

*wink*

He  can improve  but NIMFBY!

[Dave Cooper please]

Stuart Attwell refereed his first professional match in 2007/8. He was given one of the play-off finals that season and started refereeing PL the following season. He hasn't served a 15 year apprenticeship.

He was around in The Conference and slightly lower non-league levels in 2002, I have a programme from Tamworth v Chelmsford in 2002 and he's the ref, (sorry to be an anorak but I was tidying up my collection yesterday and noticed his name!), it says in the programme that he had refereed Conference matches.
So maybe not 15 years but he's come up through the ranks.
He does seem to have been fast-tracked though, maybe it is a case of him knowing all the laws of the game but not having quite enough experience to apply common sense all the time?

[Villa'Zawg]