[Archived] Gillingham away 17.3.18

[Dreams of 1995]

7 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

He's had 30 in all competitions this season, none in the Championship or above.

Yeah I was just looking in League 1. Either way he shouldn't be allowed to ref down Pleasington.

[arbitro]

35 minutes ago, renrag said:

Isn’t he the son in law of a senior Football League official?

Not quite. The ex Referee Manager for the National Group is godfather to one of Kettles children and they served in the RAF together (Kettle is still in actuality).

[philipl]

Psychologically winning this one is going to be really huge now.

If we do, we cannot be toppled from top spot while we have the international week off.

 

[funny-old-game]

1 hour ago, arbitro said:

Not quite. The ex Referee Manager for the National Group is godfather to one of Kettles children and they served in the RAF together (Kettle is still in actuality).

Tony, do you think refereeing standards throughout the leagues are the same as when you referred or have they dropped from grassroots upwards?

[windymiller7]

2 hours ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

He doesn't seem to referee much. Is that common in these leagues? You'd expect to see him have a game somewhere every weekend.

It's amazing that there isn't anybody else better than him to fill his shoes. I know the Wimbledon game was a defeat (you do look for someone to blame) but it was hands down the worst referee performance I have ever seen, including Sunday League.

I can honestly say that it's the first time in watching football at Ewood for 35 years I've said "who the F$%K is this clown" and picked up the programme to check the ref's name.

Fortunately, reading his name did make me chuckle and was cue for the 'off the boil today' etc jokes.

[arbitro]

2 minutes ago, funny-old-game said:

Tony, do you think refereeing standards throughout the leagues are the same as when you referred or have they dropped from grassroots upwards?

I think there are too many 'manufactured' referees now who don't understand the game. When I started in 1983 there were very few teenage officials and all the group I came through the local leagues with had all played and understood things from a players perspective. Now there are youngsters refereeing at fourteen and they know the laws like the back of their hands but they simply don't know and understand the wider game. I learned a lot from talking to players after the game over a drink when the emotion had gone. I don't see that being done now and there seems to be an arrogance about a lot of the officials which infuriates players, managers and fans alike.

So to answer your question Tony I think the standard is worse right through from parks to the PL.

[CrouchingNunhiddenCucumber]

2 hours ago, JHRover said:

It's the inconsistency that annoys me. Against Wigan, arguably the biggest game in this league this season, top of the table Lancashire derby, big crowd, live on tv, they appointed Geoff Eltringham, who had a poor game. Nevertheless he has spent most of this season refereeing in the Championship, so at the very least you could argue his CV warranted getting the game, even if he made a mess of it.

Then against Blackpool they suddenly appointed Lee Probert to the job, who is a regular Premier League referee.

Now against Gillingham we have Trevor Kettle, who has spent most of the season in League Two with some time in League One, and who has been proven to be incompetent many times.

So In the space of 2 weeks we've done the full circuit of referees, from Premier League regulars to League Two regulars.

I can't remember watching a game where the ref had as much as an affect on the outcome than the Wigan game, he was appalling. 

[tomphil]

Ref in the Wigan game let too much go early on in what was already going to be a blood and thunder fixture so it was inevitable he was going to lose it quickly and inevitable after reviewing it at half time he was going to start throwing cards about and try to get a grip.

In some ways it was good to see a ref letting a feisty game be just that but the inconsistency of his wrong/right calls for both sides was ridiculous.

[oldjamfan1]

1 hour ago, arbitro said:

I think there are too many 'manufactured' referees now who don't understand the game. When I started in 1983 there were very few teenage officials and all the group I came through the local leagues with had all played and understood things from a players perspective. Now there are youngsters refereeing at fourteen and they know the laws like the back of their hands but they simply don't know and understand the wider game. I learned a lot from talking to players after the game over a drink when the emotion had gone. I don't see that being done now and there seems to be an arrogance about a lot of the officials which infuriates players, managers and fans alike.

So to answer your question Tony I think the standard is worse right through from parks to the PL.

Yeah I don't think too many of us old timers would disagree with you there Tony. It is sad.

[J*B]

Is everyone in this thread called Tony?

[Mike E]

1 hour ago, J*B said:

Is everyone in this thread called Tony?

I'm Tony, and so is my wife!

[rigger]

I am Tonycus

[Stuart]

7 hours ago, JHRover said:

It's the inconsistency that annoys me. Against Wigan, arguably the biggest game in this league this season, top of the table Lancashire derby, big crowd, live on tv, they appointed Geoff Eltringham, who had a poor game. Nevertheless he has spent most of this season refereeing in the Championship, so at the very least you could argue his CV warranted getting the game, even if he made a mess of it.

Then against Blackpool they suddenly appointed Lee Probert to the job, who is a regular Premier League referee.

Now against Gillingham we have Trevor Kettle, who has spent most of the season in League Two with some time in League One, and who has been proven to be incompetent many times.

So In the space of 2 weeks we've done the full circuit of referees, from Premier League regulars to League Two regulars.

The sad thing is that, at this level, referees can be a huge difference due to their competence.

Us, Wigan and Shrewsbury should be able to expect the better L1 refeees at least.

Still we shouldn’t be looking to give these refs any excuses.

[1864roverite]

Will take a simple 1-0 win. Pressure then lands firmly on wigon whilst hoping Scunthorpe do us a huge favour

[scotchrover]

8 hours ago, JHRover said:

It's the inconsistency that annoys me. Against Wigan, arguably the biggest game in this league this season, top of the table Lancashire derby, big crowd, live on tv, they appointed Geoff Eltringham, who had a poor game. Nevertheless he has spent most of this season refereeing in the Championship, so at the very least you could argue his CV warranted getting the game, even if he made a mess of it.

Then against Blackpool they suddenly appointed Lee Probert to the job, who is a regular Premier League referee.

Now against Gillingham we have Trevor Kettle, who has spent most of the season in League Two with some time in League One, and who has been proven to be incompetent many times.

So In the space of 2 weeks we've done the full circuit of referees, from Premier League regulars to League Two regulars.

Not Trevor Kettle- he is absolutely appalling. You only have to Google the name to see his a regular to controversy.

[arbitro]

3 hours ago, renrag said:

Agree wholeheartedly, also the system does not allow officials to referee a game according to their natural personalities. I spent a few years working (and refereeing) in South Wales and got to know two of their finest quite well. Mervyn Griffiths was a headmaster with a very scholarly bearing,  Leo Gallaghan an ex miner with an eye watering vocabulary. Both were FIFA and refereed the FA Cup final, but they did so operating in they own individual way. That would not be tolerated by the authorities today.

Did you ever meet Keith Cooper from Pontypridd?

[GreenRover]

Big game tomorrow night also Bradford could do us a favour. ?

[Mike E]

22 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Did you ever meet Keith Cooper from Pontypridd?

Is there a punchline?

[rigger]

12 hours ago, Mike E said:

Is there a punchline?

And has it got anything to do with Gillingham away?

[nathan_rovers1]

Am I the only who is surprised that this has not sold out.... ? 

[MarkBRFC]

I'm not surprised really, it's a fair trek, not really a new ground compared to a lot of others in the league, and with 4 away games in April which will be more crucial than this I can see why people might be opting to give this one a miss.

I was going but unfortunately something came up.

[only2garners]

There will be more tickets available if needed but as of last night we had sold c900.

[JHRover]

25 minutes ago, nathan_rovers1 said:

Am I the only who is surprised that this has not sold out.... ? 

Surprised given that the initial allocation was only 1100-1200 with plenty more available should they be needed. I'd have expected going on 2,000 given our position and form.

Compare to 1500 at Plymouth. 800 sell out at Wimbledon on a Tuesday night and similar at Portsmouth midweek.

[Mattyblue]

Never try and pre-judge the Rovers away support, law to itself.

I don’t know many going on Saturday, but plenty seem to be gearing up for MK.

[West Yorks Rover]

17 hours ago, GreenRover said:

Big game tomorrow night also Bradford could do us a favour. ?

Well as we know Bradford have been on a shocking run for quite sometime, hence sacking of their manager, I think they have only

played 2 games since Grayson came in, they lost 1-0 at Plymouth, which is probably to be expected and drew 1-1 at Charlton. so maybe

we have some reason for optimism, a draw would be nice, a win for the bantams, would surely make us favourites for the title.