A&H

Open Age Observer requested - Northamptonshire

JBeil

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
Hi all,

I've been asked to take a reserve game for a county league and I'd appreciate it if someone would be availble to come down and cast their expert eye on proceedings - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but this is the level that I want to be officiating at next year and if anyone's available this saturday in the county, please send me a message! I'm happy to pay for petrol and a drink or two in the clubhouse afterwards.
 
The Referee Store
Happy to oblige if you pay the expenses :)

On a serious note, if you are asking because this is a good opportunity to get tips to improve then you are on the right track.

But if you are asking to gauge what level you are at, you are taking the wrong approach. The right game for that is the highest level you regularly referee now not the game you want to be at next year.
 
I think @JBeil is referring to a regular OA County League, typical of that in which Level 7's are appointed on Saturdays
@JBeil , what games have you been refereeing up to now?
 
Hi all,

I've been asked to take a reserve game for a county league and I'd appreciate it if someone would be availble to come down and cast their expert eye on proceedings - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but this is the level that I want to be officiating at next year and if anyone's available this saturday in the county, please send me a message! I'm happy to pay for petrol and a drink or two in the clubhouse afterwards.
@Tealeaf
 
Happy to oblige if you pay the expenses :)

On a serious note, if you are asking because this is a good opportunity to get tips to improve then you are on the right track.

But if you are asking to gauge what level you are at, you are taking the wrong approach. The right game for that is the highest level you regularly referee now not the game you want to be at next year.

I'm on a promotion season so I have got feedback on my regular games, I'd like to see how well someone more experienced thinks I adapt to a more difficult fixture.

I think @JBeil is referring to a regular OA County League, typical of that in which Level 7's are appointed on Saturdays
@JBeil , what games have you been refereeing up to now?

It's the reserve division for a step 6-5 league, usually I'm on Sunday League and youth football in the area, with some higher-level AR duties every so often.
 
I'm on a promotion season so I have got feedback on my regular games, I'd like to see how well someone more experienced thinks I adapt to a more difficult fixture.



It's the reserve division for a step 6-5 league, usually I'm on Sunday League and youth football in the area, with some higher-level AR duties every so often.
Have your observations gone well?
Just down the road here in Hertfordshire, we have the Herts Senior County League. The Prem is Step 7 and the Leagues below feed into that
The teams are frequently Step 5 - 7 Reserves or small Clubs with their own pitch/club house etc.
What you're referring to sounds equivalent
 
Have your observations gone well?
Just down the road here in Hertfordshire, we have the Herts Senior County League. The Prem is Step 7 and the Leagues below feed into that
The teams are frequently Step 5 - 7 Reserves or small Clubs with their own pitch/club house etc.
What you're referring to sounds equivalent

One absolute mare that was by far and away the worst game I've had, then the second one went much better. I'm pretty happy with how my own refereeing has progressed, and I did have a cup game earlier in the season inolving a team from this level which went pretty well but that was towards the start of the season.
 
So your Northants Combination League is equivalent to the Herts Senior County League in that the top division is Step 7
This theoretically gives regular Saturday County teams a pathway into the National League System

In my experience, the top division of a regular (County) Saturday League, will roughly equate to Step 8 or the second tier of your Northants Combination League (although Step 8 is not recognised)

I refereed in a Saturday County League for 2 years before moving to the HSCL this year. Also been an observation year for me
The games in the HSCL are better organised and played at much better venues. Small clubs with private pitches and facilities
 
This will be on the United Counties League, I've gone to the ground before and it's a nice set up, I'm just wondering if I'll be able to keep up and whether my interpretation of the Laws (particularly jumping, arms in the back, and shoulders) will match what the players are expecting.
 
I see. The UCL has a Reserve League which is not categorised
The Spartan South Midland League used to have the equivalent; on which I refereed a few games. The rules that apply to the prem/div 1 will likely also transcend to the Reserve League. So the games have a more 'important feel' about them and are good for familiarising with process

So what? The players might be slightly more skilful, Just referee them the same as you would a Sunday League game. Don't big it up in your mind into something it's not. Understanding the League Rules and formal expectations are more important considerations than mistakenly thinking you have to change your game overnight
 
Ref it the way you would normally otherwise it will be an ordeal for you and you will be second guessing yourself as your will be doing things diffrently to what you normally would
 
I was probably observed lots of times, pissed off managers asking for me to be watched etc. GOOD, I never got one callback from anyone, the leagues knew that i was the only one big enough, daft enough and strong enough to put up with some of the crap dished out so left me alone!!!
I didn't ref at posh grounds very often, but when i did the clientele didnt change much!!! Same ****, shorter grass!!! ;)
 
So, for those who were interested...

Bloody hell!

From the start I had trouble, potential yellow for dangerous tackle from blue captain, tried to warn him and he just walked off so clearly talking to the players wasn't going to work. Almost the next kick was a foul in a promising area from orange, which was a yellow he didn't appreciate. There was a goal that I overruled an offside on which obviously made me very popular, plus a set of handbags which was started because I happened to have an arm out the opposite direction to the free kick I'd just given. Yellow for a second challenge for blue captain before half time, and I'm starting to worry what I've got myself into!

Second half, two more yellows and some more handbags, which I did my best to calm down. Interestingly, players were then moaning at me for trying to keep the peace! For most of the second half, there was much less backchat, and plenty of 'well done refs' at the end. I'm not a hundred percent sure that it was the best game I've ever had, but I'm reasonably happy with my first game at that level. Apart from the offside goal I don't think there's a lot that I could have done differently. There was one shout for a red for an elbow in the face off the ball, but since I couldn't see it all I could do is warn both parties that I was watching them and try to move on.

Thanks to everyone who gave the advice, now I'm going to have a well-earned cup of tea!
 
So, for those who were interested...

Bloody hell!

From the start I had trouble, potential yellow for dangerous tackle from blue captain, tried to warn him and he just walked off so clearly talking to the players wasn't going to work. Almost the next kick was a foul in a promising area from orange, which was a yellow he didn't appreciate. There was a goal that I overruled an offside on which obviously made me very popular, plus a set of handbags which was started because I happened to have an arm out the opposite direction to the free kick I'd just given. Yellow for a second challenge for blue captain before half time, and I'm starting to worry what I've got myself into!

Second half, two more yellows and some more handbags, which I did my best to calm down. Interestingly, players were then moaning at me for trying to keep the peace! For most of the second half, there was much less backchat, and plenty of 'well done refs' at the end. I'm not a hundred percent sure that it was the best game I've ever had, but I'm reasonably happy with my first game at that level. Apart from the offside goal I don't think there's a lot that I could have done differently. There was one shout for a red for an elbow in the face off the ball, but since I couldn't see it all I could do is warn both parties that I was watching them and try to move on.

Thanks to everyone who gave the advice, now I'm going to have a well-earned cup of tea!
I was... and am, still inclined to think you were bigging the game up in your mind (I know because we all do it to some extent). The way forward, is to strut about the place like Andre Mariner, like you've seen it all before. It's done now, so chalk it off
 
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So, for those who were interested...

Bloody hell!

From the start I had trouble, potential yellow for dangerous tackle from blue captain, tried to warn him and he just walked off so clearly talking to the players wasn't going to work. Almost the next kick was a foul in a promising area from orange, which was a yellow he didn't appreciate. There was a goal that I overruled an offside on which obviously made me very popular, plus a set of handbags which was started because I happened to have an arm out the opposite direction to the free kick I'd just given. Yellow for a second challenge for blue captain before half time, and I'm starting to worry what I've got myself into!

Second half, two more yellows and some more handbags, which I did my best to calm down. Interestingly, players were then moaning at me for trying to keep the peace! For most of the second half, there was much less backchat, and plenty of 'well done refs' at the end. I'm not a hundred percent sure that it was the best game I've ever had, but I'm reasonably happy with my first game at that level. Apart from the offside goal I don't think there's a lot that I could have done differently. There was one shout for a red for an elbow in the face off the ball, but since I couldn't see it all I could do is warn both parties that I was watching them and try to move on.

Thanks to everyone who gave the advice, now I'm going to have a well-earned cup of tea!
You said it was a potential caution for a dangerous tackle but the captain walked off when you tried to warn him. That’s him showing who’s boss, so if talking doesn’t work then you have to make it. By letting him walk away he’s won that round. It’s surprising how often the captain is the one who gives trouble. That’s because he’s a handful and they think if he’s captain you’ll let him get away with stuff like “talking to you”
The first incident sets the scene. If the tackle was actually dangerous then you needed to slow the game down at least but really dangerous tackles shouldn’t get away with a warning. It should be at least yellow. However you were the one there so only you really know the answer to that one. If you’ve made the decision to warn him and told him that then don’t let him walk away. By doing that your credibility is gone. You’ve then got to come down hard to recover the game.
After the tackle was the opponent down or did he get straight up? If he was on the ground then have a look at him to buy time to decide what to do. Use player reaction to decide if it was actually a bad foul, because if it’s your first senior game things can look worse than they really are. If it’s bad the players will tell you.
Have a quick think and if you decide to warn him and tell him that then you have to follow through. If you call him and he says no or just keeps walking then that’s a caution. You were going to warn him but he didn’t want to listen to it so the chance is gone. That may have meant his second foul didn’t happen.
If players won’t accept your authority then you have to make them by upping your game. They don’t know you so the first foul is a test to see how much they can get away with.
Well done on the over-ruled offside. That can be a big moment, especially if it leads to a goal.
It’s good you came on here to share your experience. It does get easier. You should have concerns before a game, especially if it’s a big game or a new league. If you don’t then things will happen and you won’t be ready for them.
Well done.
 
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You said it was a potential caution for a dangerous tackle but the captain walked off when you tried to warn him. That’s him showing who’s boss, so if talking doesn’t work then you have to make it. By letting him walk away he’s won that round. It’s surprising how often the captain is the one who gives trouble. That’s because he’s a handful and they think if he’s captain you’ll let him get away with stuff like “talking to you”

I'd played advantage because there was actually a promising attack coming from it that went nowhere so I brought it back, tried to get the captain to come over but he wasn't interested. In retrospect I could have just whacked the yellow out as soon as I blew and that might have saved me some trouble. Glad I got through it, looking forwards to the next one!
 
Asked to have talk. If player doesn't respect that warn "don't leave me with no options". If he still doesn't want to listen then "have it your way" and show the yellow card for the original offence or for dissent (and the bin to go with it). There isn't much retrospect or hindsight required in this process.

You can lose control of a game very quickly if you let players get the upper hand. You don't need to boss them around or be arrogant but you need to make sure everyone knows you are in charge.
 
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