Mick
The Ref Aficionado.
"A referee who likes nothing more than to let the players get on with the game commanding respect with a quiet word here or there rather than the ostentatious approach of some referees. He is not at his best if matches get nasty, but to his credit most of his don't."
I've seen Mr Singh referee a dozen times or more and this was unquestionably the worst performance of the lot, not especially for the big decisions but for his general approach which seemed random and inconsistent.
He started fine. Revell set the tone for the evening with a late challenge on the keeper who was not best pleased and reacted. Two red cards? Two yellow cards? I think he got that right. He kept the lid on things for half an hour after that and a very entertaining half hour it was too.
Then came Clark's yellow. Didn't have the best of views but there seems to be a concensus that it was a two footed lunge. Then, for me the moment he lost it somewhat, he had the ideal opportunity to even things up when seconds later their closing down forward clattered our defender after he'd cleared the ball. Clear yellow. Game, and refereeing, then got a bit scrappy 'til half time. Harding's caution was absolutely correct; no ball in sight when he tripped the opponent.
Second half started in lively fashion. In was a feisty game and plenty of players, mostly ours, were diving in. Then came the big decision. From the West Stand, and from the TV cameras also in the West Stand, I honestly can't tell if Moussa's challenge was very late/high. Worryingly that was the same view Mr Singh had. I think Moussa suffered as a consequence of some of the previous reckless challenges and Singh was looking for something which may or may not have been there. Subsequent bookings were hardly contentious although I would have given Sawyer a little more leeway having just come onto the field.
When you lose a player unjustly one of two things usually happens. A side rolls up their sleeves and battles away to overcome the disadvantage or they feel sorry for themselves and invite the inevitable. I think we did too much of the latter.
A very entertaining game whilst it was eleven a side and we will play worse and win this season. Mr Singh will referee much better this season too.
I've seen Mr Singh referee a dozen times or more and this was unquestionably the worst performance of the lot, not especially for the big decisions but for his general approach which seemed random and inconsistent.
He started fine. Revell set the tone for the evening with a late challenge on the keeper who was not best pleased and reacted. Two red cards? Two yellow cards? I think he got that right. He kept the lid on things for half an hour after that and a very entertaining half hour it was too.
Then came Clark's yellow. Didn't have the best of views but there seems to be a concensus that it was a two footed lunge. Then, for me the moment he lost it somewhat, he had the ideal opportunity to even things up when seconds later their closing down forward clattered our defender after he'd cleared the ball. Clear yellow. Game, and refereeing, then got a bit scrappy 'til half time. Harding's caution was absolutely correct; no ball in sight when he tripped the opponent.
Second half started in lively fashion. In was a feisty game and plenty of players, mostly ours, were diving in. Then came the big decision. From the West Stand, and from the TV cameras also in the West Stand, I honestly can't tell if Moussa's challenge was very late/high. Worryingly that was the same view Mr Singh had. I think Moussa suffered as a consequence of some of the previous reckless challenges and Singh was looking for something which may or may not have been there. Subsequent bookings were hardly contentious although I would have given Sawyer a little more leeway having just come onto the field.
When you lose a player unjustly one of two things usually happens. A side rolls up their sleeves and battles away to overcome the disadvantage or they feel sorry for themselves and invite the inevitable. I think we did too much of the latter.
A very entertaining game whilst it was eleven a side and we will play worse and win this season. Mr Singh will referee much better this season too.
