Faxfan1999 wrote:
The refs in the Championship are way worse than him - Stokes , Turley etc and Jamie Bloem refs at the Championship level he has officiated Fax Games....
Yeh, every official in the country is unmitigated shiit, and you're the expert, OK we get it.
Speaking to fans at games I believe most fans actually do appreciate that overall the officials do a very difficult job pretty well, but it is certainly true that these sort of internet forums attract a constant stream of hyperbolic whingers. It's the modern day equivalent of the radio phone in, they always just attract loud-mouthed pontificating spittle-dribblers and ignorasnt morons who would abuse an official whatever he did.
Rational discussion and criticism of specific instances and decisions is fine, and i am not trying to suggest refs aren't up for discussion, quite the contrary, everything is, but what I query is the huge disproportion in the heads of some who simply obsess about the officiating in games, and probably get so wound up about it, they don't actually wacth much of the game itself at all, as they're too busy raising their blood pressure to near explosion point, griping at what they see as the inevitable procession of ref howlers, and all 9of course) against their team.
On forums for a few leaping in to slather the ref is all they can't wait to do. Do they watch the whole game like that? Don't they actually want to talk about the play, their team, how it performed, what they did?
But it is really ridiculous to (for example) accuse, say, Silverwood or indeed young Hicks of being a rubbish ref. The guys have reached the top level, refereed thousands of hours to get there, and have the respect of most fans and players. To say a ref made a mistake, or didn't allegedly police the 10 properly is one thing. To say he is crap is just pissmatical nonsense.
As for lower league refs - like in any job where there are progressively harder jobs, how else do you suggest refs cut their teeth - on a fscking Playstation?