Should one poor mark cause reclassification though? We all have off days, if people got reclassified every time they had an off day there'd be no officials above L4.
Promotions - Season Ending 2024
- Thread starter JamesL
- Start date
That might have been the case in the past, but with the current timed evidence based competency reports they would effectively have to ignore or misreport what they have seen. Observing is much more regulated and controlled now than it was when I was active, but even back then I thought it was the other way, i.e. a younger L3 was more likely to impress an observer than an older one. I'll always remember one comment in the debrief where he said he was pleasantly surprised by my fitness and positioning, which reading between the lines meant he had already formed an opinion without actually seeing me referee.
I don't know how many observations L3s get these days, but I'm pretty sure it is far less than when I was in the system. If you have a clanger in one game you are being observed on it can't be difficult to recover your average, and the less observations you have the harder it is to recover. Think of it like a golfer, if you put two balls in the water on your first hole you're probably going to have a battle to make the cut.
I can appreciate it's hard to recover an observation average, I suffered a couple of clangers myself last summer as an umpire. Amazing what one off day can do to scores, I just feel sometimes they need to be looked at one by one as well as an average to ensure they know why it's low (please feel free to correct me if that is what they do!)
I am not sure what it means exactly. Possibly he didn't get the minimum number of observations to be considered. Or possibly what you said, he didn't get enough to redeem himself.
That may be true of some, but it doesn’t have any affect with me - I don’t care how young or old anyone is, I am just watching how they perform in the game I have in front of me.
Nope
Unless something has changed recently there isn't a minimum number of observations, not for retention anyway. It can only really be that he got a low mark in one or more games and is then blaming his demotion on not having enough other observations to recover his average.
Haha I was joking! But appreciate the compliment!
For what it’s worth, if I didn’t have first (half) season immunity I’d have been in big danger of reclassification myself. I’m hoping for stronger next year though now I’ve found/beginning to find my feet.
Minimum of 5 (at least that what I was always of the impression and sure it is/was in the promotion/retention criteria). I was observed on 55% of my games last season. And I lost a few games that had observers appointed too.
A colleague was saying they are going to try and get as close to 100% as possible, similar to 2b... Where they will get all the observers from I am not sure, perhaps some step 5/6 observers will step up.
Not all L2B Observers are deployed on NL games every week and it may be the case that they will not be allocated to Supply League games, but instead to Contributory League games, where most go. Time will tell.
Last edited:
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
If a 2B Observer has no game at that level, most will observe a Level 3 referee (Steps 3/4)
Yeah has always gone both ways. Not saying it’s a prevalent issue, but do hear some use it as an excuse or a reason. Guess there’s the age old accountability conversation to be had there.
As well as the fact that since Covid, the FA have been building up their stock of Observers, which could involve quite a few being promoted from Steps 5/6 to 3/4, but I am only guessing.
ChasObserverRefDeveloper
Regular Contributor
That is happening, and is an ongoing process for all levels of Observers.
I've recently accredited to observe step 5/6, so I am part of the "stock" as of next season.
Some don’t take to it, but with you still Refereeing, it should provide further insight into your own on field performances, as well as investing into the future should you decide to hang up your whistle (hopefully many years yet before such contemplation takes place).I've recently accredited to observe step 5/6, so I am part of the "stock" as of next season.
Some of the various motivations tbh. Develop myself as a referee. Help others along their journeys. And, in the future, whenever that may be, have a focus that keeps me involved in refereeing.
Kes
I'll Decide ...
Welcome Sir.
You'll have a bit of conflict on Saturdays if you're still officiating mate. (Also, it's not normal to be observing referees with whom you officiate on field yourself). You'll also have 2 MOAS calendars to keep on top of. Which league/clubs are you looking to observe on?
It can be problematic though, say you observe a L4 and give him a terrible mark only to find him on your line a few weeks later. At best it is likely to be a very frosty atmosphere in the changing room, at worst he chucks you under the bus (that has happened).