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       #Post#: 35818--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Tweed
       Date: August 3, 2021, 2:42 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Motherwell 2-3 Hibernian - David Munro
       With a great sense of excitement, I returned to Fir Park for the
       first time in just over 500 days however due to the distancing
       rules we were allocated seats and my seat in row S was replaced
       with one at eye level in row A.
       A game that was fast, exciting and flowed from end to end was
       not really enhanced by David Munro.  Foul detection and bookings
       were inconsistent and it didn't feel like a game that needed
       eight cautions however the Hibs penalty that won them the game
       was the big decision which he undoubtedly got correct.
       However he seemed flustered and inexperienced and nowhere near
       as in control as you'd expect but maybe a learning curve for him
       as he has developed through lockdown and not having to deal with
       the raucous supports.
       Not great, not terrible but all in all just great to be back.
       #Post#: 36048--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Tweed
       Date: August 9, 2021, 11:40 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       St Johnstone 1-1 Motherwell - Nick Walsh
       Mr Walsh had been suitably entertained by a blockbuster
       Lanarkshire comeback last weekend as Hamilton's debut in the
       Championship finished 4-4 after Raith had been 4-0 up with 22
       minutes left.  This one was probably a bit more normal as this
       game buzzed from end to end with Saints having a sustained spell
       of pressure that concluded with their goal in the first half and
       Motherwell's decent play creating more penalty box chances after
       the break, though our goal was a lovely break away move both
       started and completed by Tony Watt.  Four cautions for Mr Walsh,
       nobody could really argue as he only brandished for the cynical
       or late and in one case an ill advised over the top form of
       dissent.  Granted it was a good game with 22 guys trying to play
       the game fairly but passionately and it rarely looked like he
       was going to have to discipline to keep control.  What he needed
       to do he did well, when the players were playing he let them get
       on with it.  Overall very good.
       #Post#: 36506--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Tweed
       Date: August 22, 2021, 9:00 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Livingston 1-2 Motherwell - Craig Napier
       I don't really have much to say as only saw the Sportscene
       highlights.  One bizarre incident when the goalie came out with
       his knee up and clattered his own man and they got a foul for it
       but I think our striker did nudge the defender so can see why.
       Someone did ask if the ref could send the goalie off as he
       clearly endangered the safety of his teammate - I don't think he
       could?
       #Post#: 36519--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Affy_Moose
       Date: August 22, 2021, 11:19 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Tweed link ---
       >
       > Livingston 1-2 Motherwell - Craig Napier
       >
       > I don't really have much to say as only saw the Sportscene
       highlights.  One bizarre incident when the goalie came out with
       his knee up and clattered his own man and they got a foul for it
       but I think our striker did nudge the defender so can see why.
       Someone did ask if the ref could send the goalie off as he
       clearly endangered the safety of his teammate - I don't think he
       could?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Serious Foul Play has to be against an opponent, so no. To send
       off a player for a contact offence against a team mate, it would
       need to be either VC or a second cautionable offence.
       #Post#: 37897--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Tweed
       Date: September 26, 2021, 11:26 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I've been at three games since I last contributed to this thread
       so let me bring you up to speed.
       28th August - Motherwell 1 Dundee 0 - William Collum
       A bit of a picky performance in the first half and unusually far
       too keen on the whistle, the Collum I'm used to always tries and
       plays an advantage but wasn't doing so.  One of these soft free
       kicks that didn't need to be given led to Motherwell scoring the
       only goal through Tony Watt.  In the second half Collum went
       from giving everything to giving nothing as several clear fouls
       went undetected and he was just strangely all over the place.
       He did have one big incident to deal with as Jake Carroll's very
       poor tackle received the red card it deserved 12 minutes from
       time.  However he had been warning Liam Kelly for timewasting up
       to that point and the very first time the ball went out after
       that he booked him despite the ball still being in the crowd and
       Dundee waiting to make a couple of subs, it was almost like he'd
       decided the marker was being made now it was 1-0 10v11.  Over
       the course of the half, the yellow was more than justified but
       the time he gave it was just ridiculous.  For our so called best
       ref, this was a poor day.
       11th September - Motherwell 2-0 Aberdeen - John Beaton
       Thought he was very good.  A mate of mine said as we were
       leaving the ground that this wasn't a dirty game and he couldn't
       believe the something or in the other in the middle had given
       nine yellows.  I asked him which ones he thought were harsh and
       he said, well thinking about it none, it just didn't feel like a
       nine yellow cards game.  And this really was it, it was a
       frantic, physical game, no malice anywhere but people did
       mistime things and when they did they were worthy of a card.
       Beaton managed the game well, Aberdeen felt van Veen should have
       had a second yellow but to me this was a cry in optimism.
       25th September - Motherwell 2-1 Ross County - Craig Napier
       Not good at all this one.  This was the sort of performance that
       with some of the bigger clubs could have led to a riot.  Giving
       fouls that weren't, making flamboyant advantage gestures from
       things that weren't fouls, waving blatant fouls away and just
       generally didn't seem to have a clue what was going on.
       McGinley was very lucky not to concede a penalty that could have
       sent us behind 2-1 and just seconds letter, van Veen was going
       to burst through on the keeper and was rugby tackled to the deck
       and nothing was given.  Saw this level of performance from him
       at Aberdeen last season and I'm afraid he just doesn't look up
       to it to me.
       #Post#: 38178--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Tweed
       Date: October 3, 2021, 6:49 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Tweed link ---
       >
       > Motherwell 2-3 Hibernian - David Munro
       >
       > With a great sense of excitement, I returned to Fir Park for
       the first time in just over 500 days however due to the
       distancing rules we were allocated seats and my seat in row S
       was replaced with one at eye level in row A.
       >
       > A game that was fast, exciting and flowed from end to end was
       not really enhanced by David Munro.  Foul detection and bookings
       were inconsistent and it didn't feel like a game that needed
       eight cautions however the Hibs penalty that won them the game
       was the big decision which he undoubtedly got correct.
       >
       > However he seemed flustered and inexperienced and nowhere near
       as in control as you'd expect but maybe a learning curve for him
       as he has developed through lockdown and not having to deal with
       the raucous supports.
       >
       > Not great, not terrible but all in all just great to be back.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Hearts 2-0 Motherwell - David Munro
       I'd say it was a very similar performance to the one at Fir Park
       a couple of months back.  I think he got the first penalty
       right, I didn't in Tyneceastle yesterday however without a
       shadow of a doubt, it was a daft daft challenge for Kelly to go
       into as Boyce was going nowhere.  Ojala received a soft booking
       and then undoubtedly should have been booked again for the
       challenge that led to the free kick that led to 2-0 but wasn't.
       And this inconsistency happened with several players in both
       sides throughout the course of the game.  I didn't think the
       second penalty was correct.  However having given it, Kelly
       definitely encroached so was lucky it wasn't retaken after his
       save.
       Both Hearts goals came from keeper errors in the first 20
       minutes.  Their goalkeeper was different class in a game
       Motherwell weren't that far in 2nd place in and our keeper made
       some telling saves later on.  A bit like v Hibs, the big
       decisions were OK but there is no sense of authority or control
       - highlighted by the swarm of Hearts players who met every
       Motherwell decision.
       Towards the end there was a throw in and clearly neither he or
       his linesman had been watching as they looked at each other to
       make a decision - it wasn't one where there was a challenge near
       the line, a Hearts player just headed it out.
       There is a good referee in David Munro but he needs to be a bit
       more authoritative and he seems to have some concentration
       lapses.
       #Post#: 38628--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: October 13, 2021, 10:17 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Though the current handbook has not yet made its way online, I
       note that this week's appointments in League 2 include three
       officials who were listed as Level 2D at the start of last
       season, so must have received two promotions in the course of
       last season to reach 1D., so particularly well done to them.
       Edit: A further check suggests that Mr Soutar was promoted to
       Category 2 in May, so perhaps the restructuring mentioned
       elsewhere by our Scottish expert makes Category 2 eligible for
       League 2 appointments.
       #Post#: 38636--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Affy_Moose
       Date: October 13, 2021, 1:46 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: JCFC link ---
       >
       > Though the current handbook has not yet made its way online, I
       note that this week's appointments in League 2 include three
       officials who were listed as Level 2D at the start of last
       season, so must have received two promotions in the course of
       last season to reach 1D., so particularly well done to them.
       >
       > Edit: A further check suggests that Mr Soutar was promoted to
       Category 2 in May, so perhaps the restructuring mentioned
       elsewhere by our Scottish expert makes Category 2 eligible for
       League 2 appointments.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Those officials remain at Category 2. The Category 1D promotions
       in summer 2021 have all had their first senior appointments
       already this season.
       The points made elsewhere in the forum regarding difficulties
       with the numbers of officials this season has become apparent in
       the Scottish leagues as well.  It seems that this week’s
       appointments are both reflective of a more forward looking SFA
       referee operations team, as well as some difficulties in numbers
       this week (I suspect October half-term, alongside some notable
       injuries are partly problematic).
       I suspect the SFA’s challenge right now is quite complex.
       Having got rid of the Category 2D level this season, we now have
       a fair number of officials ‘stuck’ at the cusps of senior
       football proper.  They are mostly officiating Lowland League,
       WoSL, EoSL each week (as well as SWPL1/2 on a Sunday).  A number
       of talented individuals have been there for some time.  Since
       the removal of the mandatory retirement age, such problems have
       been a long-time coming.
       Whilst the ‘Select Group’ of officials for both Referees and ARs
       are primarily allocated to Premier League fixtures, we have seen
       at least two officials from the Performance Group be given AR
       appointments this last month, and two or three referees have
       done the same.  Even officials like Craig Napier who had their
       break out season last year (and now on regular European trips as
       4th official) have done every level between the Premier League
       and Lowland League.
       Similar problems exist at Cat 3 and 3D, where the latter almost
       had nothing to do for 15-18 months, and a sizeable number in the
       former category had nothing outside a couple of senior line
       appointments for 9 months.  Effectively we’ve had 1.5 seasons
       written off, where there was little-to-no upwards movement
       through most of the categories.  A number of officials have left
       and not come back, though this only really affects the lower
       levels where I understand some leagues (mainly the small sided
       game) have instructed their teams not to use registered
       officials, as there simply aren’t enough to go around.
       The entrance classes are back up and running, but obviously that
       takes some time to filter through.  We might well see some
       movement from 4D to 3D, 3D to 3, and 3 to 2/SARdevelopment in
       January and next summer.  Until then, there may continue to be
       some oddities around appointments.
       #Post#: 38716--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: Tweed
       Date: October 16, 2021, 4:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Motherwell 0-2 Celtic - William Collum/Chris Fordyce
       A really strange game at Fir Park this afternoon which included
       a lengthy first half stoppage for a referee swap.  Motherwell
       started well with a couple of low driven balls across the Celtic
       box but as time wore on Celtic looked really dangerous on the
       break.  Collum gave a few softish fouls to the defending team as
       the game struggled to get into a rhythm.  But when the Celtic
       defender leaned on a rushing forward Slattery and dispossessed
       him, the free kick didn't come and within second the ball was in
       the Motherwell net.  Foul or not was inconclusive in the John
       Hunter Stand and my dad has told me Sportscene did not clear it
       up.
       Celtic began to take control of the game and Motherwell were
       struggling to get a touch but their momentum was cruelly
       snatched away from them by Collum picking up a knock.  The
       medical team tried some treatment on the touchline but the game
       was paused whilst he and Fordyce went down the tunnel to swap
       roles.
       Fordyce not a name known to me at all and I imagine being
       pitched into Motherwell v Celtic was quite a level higher than
       anything he's refereed before.  Within seconds he was being
       overruled on a throw in by his assistant, and couldn't change
       his mind quickly enough - sadly, I think he was right.
       What followed was a decent effort to be fair to Fordyce but
       there were a few times he didn't seem to be giving something and
       he then was persuaded by the shout from one side or other.  None
       of these decisions were game changing but he just looked like a
       referee from a lower level refereeing a bigger game.
       Celtic gained daylight with an absolute worldy from Turnbull and
       Motherwell probed without ever getting a good chance.  But they
       were robbed of the most blatant of penalties for a handball by
       Bolingoli.  No blame attached to referee for this as he was
       looking through some bodies but the volleyball dig to take the
       ball away from van Veen was not only obvious cheating, it was a
       few yards from the assistant who had an unimpeded view.  It was
       not a debatable handball - it was deliberate and the assistant
       not seeing it was grossly incompetent.
       For all Fordyce did OK, he clearly is a League 1 or 2 ref for
       now but the experience today would have done him no harm and the
       big error was definitely on his colleague.
       #Post#: 39176--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Caledonia you're calling me
   DIR By: JCFC
       Date: October 29, 2021, 10:08 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The SFA Handbook has now been updated. The first two absentees
       from the Category 1 list, Kevin Graham and David Lowe are listed
       at Category 4. Gavin Ross has left the list altogether. When
       Affy_Moose mentioned four departures from Category 1, my guess
       was that the fourth was Graham Beaton, but he is still shown as
       Category 1, so I am none the wiser. The changes do mean that
       rather than 5 Category 1s that I had not seen, there are now 11
       to tick off on the list. Several trips North would seem to be in
       order in 2022.
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