The Ref Stop

Season from hell

Aled

Aled

RefChat Addict
Level 5 Referee
Things this season aren't going good for me, the cards seem to be running out of control and my assessments are well below average and it's getting to me slowly...
So far this season;
14 middles:
43 yellows
7 reds
2 assessments (Average 7.4)...
No matter how I referee it never seems work :/ What can i do to resolve it...
I either have no cards and a crap performance or an excellent performance and millions of cards...
I'm questioning my reffing ability slowly...
 
The Ref Stop
Aled said:
Things this season aren't going good for me, the cards seem to be running out of control and my assessments are well below average and it's getting to me slowly...
So far this season;
14 middles:
43 yellows
7 reds
2 assessments (Average 7.4)...
No matter how I referee it never seems work :/ What can i do to resolve it...
I either have no cards and a crap performance or an excellent performance and millions of cards...
I'm questioning my reffing ability slowly...
Click to expand...

Obviously this is very difficult to critique on here without specifics or situations mate.

What are the majority of cards for?
Do you have anything going on in your personal life that could be having an effect without you realising?
Has anything changed in your prematch or preparations for the games?

Turn a negative into a positive mate - this could be a watershed moment to address all manor of things that will lift your performance 10 fold.
 
Nothing in personal life having a go, cards are for anything and everything, I think i have one of the highest cards counts going...
I've had 1 game with 9YC + 2RC, 1 with 5YC + 2RC and today with 7YC + 1 RC...
Don't know what going on, not changed anything at all
 
Blimey!

Different league this season? Different ages? Do you feel you retain match control throughout?

When did it start, right from the beginning of the season?
 
It's been constant this season, just lots of cards... I'm not sure whether the players are being more aggressive or whether I've gone back to being too strict but somethings changed
 
I find that "last weeks ref" comes to a fore here.Probably players have got away with this and that last week ..AND... When it comes to this week they think they can get away with it again..... they come up against A REFEREE who tolerates nothing....(sorry guys but that's the way i see it)
My card count has gone up this season, if the players contravene the laws then they will be punished.... end of....job done....!!!
I use the laws..... I apply the laws.....
 
It really varies, had some pretty early cards and some later on, it's been really varied
 
Sounds like you're struggling to pinpoint anything in particular mate.

Anything in the assessments that points you in the right direction?
 
Aled, I suspect that from what you are saying you are struggling because you are trying too hard.

How relaxed and confident are you going in to games? Are you settling into matches as you would have previously without worrying about how you are performing? Are you second guessing yourself during incidents? Subconsciously listening and being affected by player and side line chatter?

A couple of tough assessments when you feel you did well can knock confidence, make you try harder which can then have the effect of making you referee worse (in your own eyes) which makes you try even harder thus upsetting your rhythm in games.

If this is the case I would strongly recommend the book "football, raise your mental game". Has some great techniques for approaching games, focussing during games, relaxation techniques, positive thinking skills and generally helping you understand why we react in certain situations the way we do.
 
I was performing OK but not as well as I used to so I looked at my game and remembered what I did well in the past.

I've started talking a lot more again and trying to enjoy it.

It's made me more relaxed and made me referee better - had my best 2 performances of the season this weekend.

As for card counts who's to say you're right or wrong to give more cards. Had a game last season with 4 reds for a mass confrontation - after the game all players shook my hand because I'd dealt with it right.

Players don't like cards but it is our best way to show our limits of acceptability. Most cards given are more as a warning to the other 21 players that they can't do something - and they usually work!
 
No, I done 7-6 and then 6-5 and my 5-4 this season. I'm not sure what it is, maybe I've worded it properly, I'm coming off the pitch with 5/6 yellow cards and reds and I'm questioning my control when there's probably no need to do it... To be fair I only had 1 yellow card today which is an improvement
 
Aled said:
No, I done 7-6 and then 6-5 and my 5-4 this season. I'm not sure what it is, maybe I've worded it properly, I'm coming off the pitch with 5/6 yellow cards and reds and I'm questioning my control when there's probably no need to do it... To be fair I only had 1 yellow card today which is an improvement
Click to expand...
There you go. This is your 5-4 season. You may be trying too hard. You may be getting more challenging games. You may be encountering situations you've not faced before.

Take a step back from the huge swathe of information you have and break it down to individual scenarios. For your first caution yesterday what was the reason for it? Could you have done anything earlier in the game that might have prevented the issue of the caution? Did you miss anything or dismiss it as not important in the build-up to that incident? What was your position relative to the incident? Might your proximity to play allowed you to influence player behaviour? Could you have used your voice more proactively? Could you have slowed down a restart just before this incident to take the heat out of the game?

These and a thousand other questions need to be answered by you before you can start blaming yourself. You'll probably find there was little you could do in that situation. Then move on to the next one...
 
Aled said:
No, I done 7-6 and then 6-5 and my 5-4 this season. I'm not sure what it is, maybe I've worded it properly, I'm coming off the pitch with 5/6 yellow cards and reds and I'm questioning my control when there's probably no need to do it... To be fair I only had 1 yellow card today which is an improvement
Click to expand...
Great advice from others above. And actually, if the Welsh system is the same as the English then there's an extra competency in the 5-4 match control which is about 'Displaying a credible level of tolerance that is based on Law but does not undermine authority' . So simply doing the things that got you smoothly and successfully from 7 to 5 might not produce the desired outcome in 5 to 4.

Hang in there Aled .. time is most definitely on your side ....!
 
Stop worrying about your card count mate! 43 cautions in 14 games equals about 3 cautions per game. Not a lot at all if you are doing competitive senior league games. Stop worrying about your card count, for all I know they might all be correct and perhaps your obsession with showing fewer cards has caused you to miss further cautions or sending offs.

It is difficult for us young referees to gain respect and authority just by using personality. That's why applying discipline more strictly might help your match control and acceptance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top