A&H

My last ever observation

You are very lucky I haven't had any on the 7-6 scheme yet and after this weekend I'm 1 away from completing the 20 Games as Referee and 5 as assistant.
 
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You are very lucky I haven't had any on the 7-6 scheme yet and after this weekend I'm 1 away from completing the 20 Games as Referee and 5 as assistant.

I didn't get an observation from 7-6. Not enough observers and obviously the higher levels come first. I was never asked to provide games to the observer coordinator, presumably because they knew their wouldn't be one available but at 6-5 level I was asked. I think nobody at 7-6 was asked because when we went for 6-5 the coordinator sent many emails out complaining that hardly anyone was providing him with their games!
 
You are very lucky I haven't had any on the 7-6 scheme yet and after this weekend I'm 1 away from completing the 20 Games as Referee and 5 as assistant.
He will have more limited resources, as some of his local observers will be not active - Some of the older, more as risk will not be doing matches. I am also not active at present, staying safe.
 
He will have more limited resources, as some of his local observers will be not active - Some of the older, more as risk will not be doing matches. I am also not active at present, staying safe.
I've actually been really lucky with my Observer panel this year. Only one out of the fourteen is currently choosing not to observe because of COVID. And a Step 3/4 Observer has dropped back down to county observing to stay away from the larger crowds at the higher level. So net net I'm still at last year's numbers. As a result, we're roughly halfway through the total required observations for the season .... fingers crossed we will get everyone to the right number, weather & virus permitting!
 
I've actually been really lucky with my Observer panel this year. Only one out of the fourteen is currently choosing not to observe because of COVID. And a Step 3/4 Observer has dropped back down to county observing to stay away from the larger crowds at the higher level. So net net I'm still at last year's numbers. As a result, we're roughly halfway through the total required observations for the season .... fingers crossed we will get everyone to the right number, weather & virus permitting!
I have only had one so far. I always seem to get the rough end when it comes to getting obs. I see others on 3/4 and I'm still on one. Then I start getting them now, when the weather is crap. Have one this sat and one on boxing day. I expect Saturdays game to be off as we have a 4 day weather warning for wind and rain.
Boxing day we will have to see if we recover but both games are far west Cornwall which aren't the dryest regions!!
It's frustrating as I need to curtail my season early (end of Feb) for personal reasons so really can't afford for many more observation games to be postponed.
I should add it is not through lack of availability on my part either.
 
I'm starting to get worried about not managing to get my 20 games in. Only managed 3 so far with a combination of having to isolate/lockdown/no games being available. Thankfully I've managed to get 2 of my assessments in that have been standard expected & above. Just need to hope there are more games available in the new year.
 
I'm about 2 games off being done with my 20 games and 5 lines.

Still waiting on observations but I've been informed that even some L5's are struggling this year for their Observations.
 
I'm starting to get worried about not managing to get my 20 games in. Only managed 3 so far with a combination of having to isolate/lockdown/no games being available. Thankfully I've managed to get 2 of my assessments in that have been standard expected & above. Just need to hope there are more games available in the new year.
Depending on what level you are going for, FA's can help you out. If you're 7-5, your County FA are responsible for your promotion. They can give you dispensation if required however, they would check to make sure you were available most game days.

I missed out on my first shout on6-5 despite the RNFA saying they'd promote me if I didn't get the required number of games in... It was hard seeing as I was in the Middle East with work for 90% of the season. So my advice from experience, do all you can to get the games in, especially if you want promotion. A good Referees Committee will see you've tried your best.
 
Depending on what level you are going for, FA's can help you out. If you're 7-5, your County FA are responsible for your promotion. They can give you dispensation if required however, they would check to make sure you were available most game days.

I missed out on my first shout on6-5 despite the RNFA saying they'd promote me if I didn't get the required number of games in... It was hard seeing as I was in the Middle East with work for 90% of the season. So my advice from experience, do all you can to get the games in, especially if you want promotion. A good Referees Committee will see you've tried your best.

I've done 21 middles (I was available every week possible and often did 3 games in a weekend). Only got 2 lines in though and I've transferred to a new County where I've only done 2 matches (rest were cancelled due to covid). I've had all 3 observations.

If we don't get back out there it would be a shame not to get promoted, as I've tried to get 5 lines in (would've had 10 so far if it wasn't for covid cancellations). I hope there isn't a blanket 'no promotions' rule applied to this season if we don't get up and running, but we shall see.
 
The National League System is obviously in trouble and season curtailment is increasingly likely. Sunday Leagues and (smaller) County Saturday Leagues ought to be OK though
 
The National League System is obviously in trouble and season curtailment is increasingly likely. Sunday Leagues and (smaller) County Saturday Leagues ought to be OK though

No chance I'm afraid, we are heading full on to another national lock down. Pretty much every hospital in the South East is full, and we are yet to see any impact from the Christmas mixing. I just can't see how grass roots football can return until this wave is over.
 
I just can't see how grass roots football can return until this wave is over
I didn't say it would return any time soon. It doesn't have to
Some teams in my Sunday League have only six games remaining! Not sure how there's 'no chance' of that League concluding
 
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I didn't say it would return any time soon. It doesn't have to
Some teams in my Sunday League have only six games remaining! Not sure how there's 'no chance' of that League concluding

You may be right, the biggest problem becomes pitch availability though as the vast majority go down to make way for cricket at the end of March.

For the league I help to run no team has played more than 50% of their games, so we are fearing the worst unfortunately.
 
You may be right, the biggest problem becomes pitch availability though as the vast majority go down to make way for cricket at the end of March.

For the league I help to run no team has played more than 50% of their games, so we are fearing the worst unfortunately.
Could /should double headers become more prominent?
 
Could /should double headers become more prominent?
They certainly help, but you still need to have a pitch to play them on :)

We are in a worse place now than we were on March 23rd at the first lockdown. To get the cases under control and relieve the pressure on the NHS will take months just like it did last time, and the only hope we have now that we didn't have then is the vaccines. Get all of the vulnerable people vaccinated and then just perhaps we can get back to normal, the others will still be infecting each other but they will be highly unlikely to need hospital treatment. Realistically though, even if they somehow get to the 2 million vaccines per week, that still takes us into April and I just think that will be too late to restart for most leagues.
 
They certainly help, but you still need to have a pitch to play them on :)

We are in a worse place now than we were on March 23rd at the first lockdown. To get the cases under control and relieve the pressure on the NHS will take months just like it did last time, and the only hope we have now that we didn't have then is the vaccines. Get all of the vulnerable people vaccinated and then just perhaps we can get back to normal, the others will still be infecting each other but they will be highly unlikely to need hospital treatment. Realistically though, even if they somehow get to the 2 million vaccines per week, that still takes us into April and I just think that will be too late to restart for most leagues.
We don't need 30 million vaccinations to restart though. Restrictions will be tightened... and then lifted proportionately... as the number of vaccinations increments through the millions and the case numbers in the vulnerable groups progressively declines
I read somewhere that 12 million is a 'big number', in that it includes the most vulnerable and 70+ community (Wetherspoons clientele so to speak!)
I think I may be quoting Professor Alex Ferguson above

None of us have a crystal ball, so we can only take a punt. I'd be quite surprised if we don't see adult football back on the scene by first week of March. Maybe slightly earlier than that. The big worry being the revised R rate
 
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