Mike Riley

[allan harper]

Confidential ??? Wtf !

Free Masons night out.

 

[CBlue]

I was there so definitely not a cabal. The confidentiality is nothing sinister, just that they are trialling the presentation and format and don't want to foul it up for the future when it will be rolled out wider.

Some very good insights though and Mike Riley was very good. By the end of it I almost believed there is no agenda.

Great. Don't tell us about the format - just tell us what was said. Are the questions that were asked part of future presentations? Will the answers be the same?

 

[City Raider]

most annoying thread of the year with some who have been cheerleading the conspiracy theory now seemingly part of it

 

[malg]

Fuck me, get over yourselves.

 

[mancity5]

I want to be a celebrity blue & get invited to these secret gigs..!!!

 

[Pam]

Ask him why the rags didn't get that pen last night.

Also, ask him why our 4 goals weren't disallowed last night and why not one of our players was sent off.

 

[Bill]

pisses me off the people who think they are " celebrity" blues and better than the rest of us .

whats the point of this thread ???





sort it !

Lol , I just got an email asking do you wanna come to this thing , had no idea it was " behind closed doors" so to speak, in fact I was hoping to glean some info for our members on here.
If we abide by the rules there will others and perhaps more blue can attend.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I'd heard that Poll and Riley weren't best of friends and lo and behold, Poll has a right go at him in his column.

There is a major issue with the perception of refereeing in the Barclays Premier League. Kenny Dalglish has talked of conspiracy theories and a question of integrity. Roberto Martinez says match officials are not up to standard and Mark Hughes claims managers have lost faith in them.

These comments hurt, as I was proud to be one of the first professional referees who served the Premier League for 14 seasons. Mike Riley, the referees’ chief, was compelled to issue Martinez with his third apology of the season after two clearly offside goals for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. But why single out Martinez?

Fulham were denied a clear penalty at Old Trafford and Manchester United were awarded one when Ashley Young was allowed to run through from an offside position. Arsenal’s Alex Song luckily escaped serious injury when Mario Balotelli caught him with six studs under the watchful gaze of Martin Atkinson.

And fortune favoured Michael Oliver as Norwich won despite the promising young referee missing two blatant penalties for the Canaries at Tottenham.
The Referees

There are currently only 16 referees on the select list after Stuart Attwell was demoted and Peter Walton retired. That is not enough.

They have to referee all 10 Premier League games, act as fourth officials and are appointed to selected Football League games every weekend. Seven of the 16 are international referees, travelling to an average of eight UEFA matches per season.

Howard Webb, the No 1 official, has refereed 42 games already this season and been fourth official at many others. At the other end of the spectrum is Oliver, a really bright young prospect.

He erred in not awarding Fulham that penalty at Old Trafford, then had to officiate at Peterborough later that week and at Liverpool and Tottenham over Easter — missing penalties in both games. There is a clear training and development need which appears to be ignored as the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Ltd) need him out doing games.

Fitness

Referees must be fit for this workload and concerns have led the management to increase the levels of fitness required. Why don’t you try this in the gym?

Set the running machine at 18km/hr. Run on it for 30sec, straddle the belt and rest for 30sec, then repeat 20 times. That’s what refs have to do so they really are fit enough.

Next season, Mark Halsey will be 51 and Chris Foy and Phil Dowd will hit 50. Even if they can pass the new test, mental fatigue will be an issue.

When I refereed I ‘busted a gut’ to get into optimum viewing positions and challenged myself to improve whenever I had erred.

I question whether all of the current list do the same and the fitness test does not check this. The management of PGMOL have never found a ‘fit for purpose’ test — something that replicates running at a variety of speeds, while making decisions under intense pressure.

The Management

When a footballer in your team plays badly you expect him to be dropped, and when most players are underperforming you look at the job your manager is doing. Refereeing should be no different.

Riley is a nice enough guy but has been too quiet and not supportive enough, which erodes confidence. Video analysis at meetings is not decisive and there is a lack of strength and clear direction in the management of the group.

I used to know where I stood and what was expected of me; I’m told that is not the case now.

Foreign referees

With freedom of movement in Europe, could we attract better officials than we develop domestically? Without a doubt, but that would undermine the entire pyramid system and cause mayhem through football at all levels.

While an exchange for key, pivotal matches would do no harm at all, it would only paper over the cracks and solve the occasional problem - not the root cause.

Technology

Referees will welcome goal-line technology when it is introduced but there are so few examples of the ball crossing the line and not being detected. It’s just one small issue.

Make assistants pros

There is always an issue over releasing funds for refereeing, despite the game being awash with money. Issues this week have mainly been caused by assistant referees, still amateurs in a professional game.

Working on concentration techniques and having decent rest periods to prevent fatigue must help. Guys working in 9-5 jobs and then doing their best will always provide an inferior service.
Summary

There is a clear and tangible issue with refereeing. It is not merely that we see more angles and replays highlighting the errors. There are not enough officials and promotion to the select group is hard.

The current list appear weary and lacking motivation — perhaps even complacent and too sure of their positions. The League Managers’ Association and Professional Footballers’ Association should be asked for more input, using their experience to help and support, rather than criticise and undermine.

We have some great referees, but we need to ensure they perform to the best of their abilities.

Like being able to count to three you mean Graham?

 

[dom]

Fuck me, get over yourselves.

Why, malg.... what the fook is the point of Riley coming to a club to develop a culture of transparency when the brief is then not to share info

maybe you should get over yourself.... and think it through a bit

 

[Bill]

pisses me off the people who think they are " celebrity" blues and better than the rest of us .

whats the point of this thread ???





sort it !

Lol , I just got an email asking do you wanna come to this thing , had no idea it was " behind closed doors" so to speak, in fact I was hoping to glean some info for our members on here.
If we abide by the rules there will others and perhaps more blue can attend.

i understand kind sir, but theres blues on here interested in what happened at the meeting since it was highlighted by this thread, to then say we cant tell you just is a bit wrong cos we are all nosey fuckers

As I say I went to see what could be learned, others will have thought the same. It was only at the end of the meeting discretion was requested.