Ref Watch ..... Aldershot

[Mick]

The dead hand of dead-eyed Darren Deadman will be in charge of tonight's second attempt to get this match played. Deadman, from Chatteris, Cambridgeshire is a civil servant, specifically a public transport officer for Peterborough City Council.

In his seventh season as a League referee he has notched up well over 700 yellow cards. His red card count is above average too. This season he already has a staggering 161 yellows and 11 reds from 35 games.

In his last three matches he has shown, in this order, 6, then 7 then 8 yellow cards. Don't rule out a 9 as he has a couple of those already this season.

His last Southend match was one of his better ones (or should that be less bad?) and also one of our better ones as we beat Torquay at home 4-1 earlier this season.

Before that he showed 9 yellow cards in a staggering display of incompetence the season before last at home to Franchise FC. As it happens, we probably benefitted from this abject performance.

He is, for some reason I never really understood, a member of the so-called Talent Group of promising young officials being groomed for better things. He remains highly rated getting mainly Championship matches and loads of TV games.

Based on previous experience of watching Mr Deadman, expect unnecessary cautions and a few puzzling decisions all delivered with an iritating style.

He was once suspended for two weeks for allowing one too many substitutions in a pre-season friendly - hardly his biggest crime against football.

Refereed us 7 times before. It would have been 8 but the weather spared us last Boxing Day. Before the above-mentioned matches it was the previous season away to Brighton, where those of you with binoculars would have seen him caution Dervite and Sankofa. The season before that at home to Northampton (1-1 just 2 yellows), Preston at home the year before that (0-0 6 yellows) and the year before that at home to Swansea (1-2 7 yellows). He also did our 4-3 away win at Chesterfield that year when he sent off their defender for being unwittingly struck by the ball some way from goal.

His assistants will be first year lino Jake Hillier from New Barnet and Mark Scholes from Buckinghamshire. The 4th official will be Michael Webb from Woking.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

This comment isn't so much aimed at the above but in general at the referee bashing that goes on.

It's not as if the fans are anywhere near as good as the officials with many of the decisions - there are countless times when clear fouls and penalties have been given against Southend and "fans" have let fly with a bucket load of vitriolic abuse that would shame a screaming 3 year old who was not being allowed chocolate at the supermarket checkout.

I know we all want the referee to be anonymous and to get every decision right ......... but it's a bit "kettle calling the pot black" at times .................

It would be much nicer if the fans and the "professional" players just got on with the game instead of trying to outwit, influence and second guess the officials.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Bilel to get sent off tonight I fear.

 

[Paul Shrimper]

Not the normal resume from Mick. Are you trying to tell us that you do not rate him as a Referee?

As for RN comments, it would be great if the fans did not rant at the officials, but when they (the paid Officials) begin to make correct, balanced and consistent decisons, perhaps that will happen. Problem with football is that there are too many grey areas where different Referees and Assistants interpret decisions differently. That together with no replay technology to help them, makes all officals on to a loser before they begin.

Anyway, I suppose if you are baiting the officlals it does leave out players alone!!

Good Luck tonight Blues. I will not be there as I feel I have spent enough on Aldershot already, and have to work until a time that prevents me making the kick off.

UTB

 

[canveyshrimper]

His performance against Franchise FC a few years ago was abject, and as Mick says we benefitted from this by a last minute penalty scored by Barnard IIRC.

 

[londonblue]

As for RN comments, it would be great if the fans did not rant at the officials, but when they (the paid Officials) begin to make correct, balanced and consistent decisons, perhaps that will happen. Problem with football is that there are too many grey areas where different Referees and Assistants interpret decisions differently. That together with no replay technology to help them, makes all officals on to a loser before they begin.

I wouldn't say that is an issue with grey areas, rather a consequence of human nature. We all see things differently, and have different opinions. The only way to remove all inconsistency is to hand over refereeing duties to computers/robots.

It's also important to remember that the referee and his assistants are pretty much the only neutral people at any game. It's therefore not surprising that we don't always agree with them. I've lost count of the amount of times I've been to a Southend game that has been shown live on TV where I have berated the ref for some poor decisions, only to be proved wrong when I have got home and watched it again...

 

[Mick]

Bilel to get sent off tonight I fear.

.... to prompt "Dead man walking" headlines ?

 

[Mick]

Not the normal resume from Mick. Are you trying to tell us that you do not rate him as a Referee?As for RN comments, it would be great if the fans did not rant at the officials, but when they (the paid Officials) begin to make correct, balanced and consistent decisons, perhaps that will happen. Problem with football is that there are too many grey areas where different Referees and Assistants interpret decisions differently. That together with no replay technology to help them, makes all officals on to a loser before they begin.

Anyway, I suppose if you are baiting the officlals it does leave out players alone!!

Good Luck tonight Blues. I will not be there as I feel I have spent enough on Aldershot already, and have to work until a time that prevents me making the kick off.

UTB

Personally I don't but plenty of people, whose opinions count for a lot more than mine, do. He is even being spoken of in terms of a Select Group replacement for the demoted Attwell.

I have seem him have a few decent games but generally I find he has no empathy with the game, is needlessly picky and arrogant to boot. He referees to the letter of the Laws and too many games I've seen have been spoilt as a consequence.

Funnily enough he was the referee who did not caution Billy Sharp, and he would have been just about the last referee I would have expected to take that approach.

 

[MK Shrimper]

.... to prompt "Dead man walking" headlines ?

IF he gets a yellow, I hope Luggy substitutes him, 'cos Aldershot will no doubt be gunning for him.

 

[OldBlueLady]

IF he gets a yellow, I hope Luggy substitutes him, 'cos Aldershot will no doubt be gunning for him.

After the abandoned one, there were more gunning for Dicko and Timlin I think than Bilel.

 

[bazzashrimper]

It's one of those where there has been so much injustice in this fixture already that you hope the ref tries to even it up a bit. Sadly these things don't turn out as hoped for so I can see a dubious last minute penalty for aldersh*t