Attwell has been pushed forward all through his career. Someone decided very early on in his refereeing career that he was going to be the 'new' golden boy, and they've done their damndest to enable it. Even after his correct demotion I was convinced he'd get back. He has, and he's as bad now as he ever was. From a refereeing perspective, he looks absolutely petrified, as though he doubts most of his own decisions. This automatically transfers to players and those scrutinising him, although patently not those decision makers who have thus far enabled his career.
I've always been a believer in the promotion system as club marks had a lot of effect on referee promotion, as they should when done correctly. In this case I firmly believe he is the beneficiary of some manipulation.