A&H

Level 4 - latest kit required?

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Middleman

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Level 4 Referee
I never got round to buying the 2016 Nike kit, as I didn't particularly see the point.

Now I'm moving to level 4, I'm wondering if it'd be frowned/commented upon for 'only' having the 2015 shirt with the white piping on the collar?

I don't particularly fancy dropping £70 odd quid for a kit that's going to get replaced at the end of the season and for all intents and purposes, is the same.
 
The Referee Store
Hi mate,
First impressions count it takes a human 6 seconds to make a judgment on you, A word of advise make the 6 seconds as good as you can. My advise would be do it buy a new kit look how many times you are going to use it this year.
 
Completely agree with Mick. You will be working in teams of three in front of potentially hundreds of paying spectators, and you really don't want to be standing out like a sore thumb.

I don't know what the contrib assistant fees are these days, but it can't be less than £35 so you'll make that £70 back in just two games. Given that more often than not you'll be doing two games a week you'll have recouped that by the second week in August.
 
Completely agree with Mick. You will be working in teams of three in front of potentially hundreds of paying spectators, and you really don't want to be standing out like a sore thumb.

I don't know what the contrib assistant fees are these days, but it can't be less than £35 so you'll make that £70 back in just two games. Given that more often than not you'll be doing two games a week you'll have recouped that by the second week in August.
£34 plus 34p per mile.

I have ordered mine. One for he long sleeves to cover my tattoo and two so that I will match my colleagues.

Also my old kit has a cheshirr badge and not the fa decal so also wanted that upgrading too.
 
£34 plus 34p per mile.

I have ordered mine. One for he long sleeves to cover my tattoo and two so that I will match my colleagues.

Also my old kit has a cheshirr badge and not the fa decal so also wanted that upgrading too.

Fair Play mate I haven't even met you and took me all of 6 seconds to read your reply my judgment is top man who will be a L3 very soon
 
Completely agree with Mick. You will be working in teams of three in front of potentially hundreds of paying spectators, and you really don't want to be standing out like a sore thumb.

I don't know what the contrib assistant fees are these days, but it can't be less than £35 so you'll make that £70 back in just two games. Given that more often than not you'll be doing two games a week you'll have recouped that by the second week in August.

Totally agree with you 100% and could be thousands of supporters not hundreds it happend to me last season and we all had the new gear on we looked awesome
 
I don’t think fans actually give a hoot out of the Football leagues how refs look. It’s how they actually do their job that’s far more important. I’ve never ever heard comments like the ref/ Lino was crap today but at least he looked smart and he had the latest fad kit....
 
I made do without the latest kit last season, no one cared I didn't have it

That said I have to invest in a new top this year as the chest pockets were coming off!
 
I don’t think fans actually give a hoot out of the Football leagues how refs look. It’s how they actually do their job that’s far more important. I’ve never ever heard comments like the ref/ Lino was crap today but at least he looked smart and he had the latest fad kit....
Quite right Sheffield's Finest, if the FA want us all to look the same get some kit sponsorship and we can all have free ones............
 
£34 plus 34p per mile.

I have ordered mine. One for he long sleeves to cover my tattoo and two so that I will match my colleagues.

Also my old kit has a cheshirr badge and not the fa decal so also wanted that upgrading too.

Is it an offensive tattoo?
 
Is it an offensive tattoo?

No, not really. It is the initials of the club I support.

With potentially doing u18pdl games and an increased likelihood of contact with proffessional academies I think its probably not best practise to be so open about my colours.

Its probably not a big issue but I dont ever want it to be one.

Apologies for double lost hadnt hit reply.
 
Totally agree with you 100% and could be thousands of supporters not hundreds it happend to me last season and we all had the new gear on we looked awesome


Again, each to own. Surely the priority when officiating at football is to get the decisions correct. How you look is secondary !
As someone else says, whats the point in wearing all the latest gear but messing up every big call !
Appearance counts, yes indeed. No player or fan is going to be delighted that you had new kit on if you have had a shocker of a game !
"we looked awesome". Its enlightening that your quote is that, and not, "we had a great game".
For all I care when observing, if the referee had a plain t shirt on and had a great game, then he would get all the praise in the world.
 
I don't think anyone would argue for style over substance but I do think that fresh, relatively new kit is useful.
As already stated, first impressions are important. If you turn up looking like a bag of sh*** then your task is immediately harder without even starting the game. Look like you mean business and your performance will often be looked on more favourably by those on the pitch. I don't for one minute think you need the latest season kit to do this but it is often worth the outlay.
I havent seen too many level 4's turning up in 1980's Errea recently - food for thought.
 
Do they sell this delusion at L4 ref school..... no one really cares how you look! Have a good game, no one remembers you, have a shocker, no one forgets you.....
 
A pretty kit won't set up a good performance.........positive attitude, communication and not taking any sh1t will. I could referee in my y fronts and put in a good performance, the notebook may irritate a little though..........
Some think they have nine lives with a Minty performance!!! Well, he doesn't take any ***** talk!!! :cool:
 
Yes, a nice new kit isn't going to turn you in to Howard Webb.

But, first impressions count, if you were to turn up with dirty boots and kit that looks like it's been left in the boot of your car then people will look at you and think "He doesn't care, obviously he doesn't really want to be here"

Back, to the OP, if your current kit is in decent nick then I'd say not to worry about it, or at least wait until you've done a few games and have a bit of spare cash.

Of course, I've never been a level 4, so I don't what your expected, either officially or unofficially, to have.
 
At senior levels a surprisingly large percentage of club secretaries are ex referees, often ex senior referees. Turn up looking like you've got dressed in the dark, or in kit that is more grey than black or one that belongs in the 1990s, and you are risking your club marks before you have even started the game. As an aside, turning up late is pretty much guaranteed to affect your mark with these guys, especially if you have forced them to chase you up. As is over claiming mileage, not joint travelling when you should have, bringing a guest without notice, etc. Any referee who does any of this at level 4 and above is a fool, or must be so good that they can afford to throw away marks.

A lot of the observers are part of the elderly generation, who in their day had to have pristine clean white laces and sock tops, this is even more so at level 4 and county observing levels. How a referee looks on the pitch should of course never, ever affect the overall mark / grade, but anyone that thinks that it doesn't is living in cloud cuckoo land. It probably won't get mentioned in the report, but if you are borderline in a section it might turn that 7.5 into a 7, or a well above standard into above standard.

So you don't absolutely need the latest kit to be a level 4, but at that level you should not be doing it for the money, and for the sake of a couple of match fees my question would be why do you not get the latest kit? As a level 4 who is active most weeks throughout the season you are likely to be bringing in close to £2,500, plus expenses. Surely you can afford £70 out of that ...?!
 
So turn up early, fully togged up in the latest clobber, a nice genuflect as you pass the octogenarian assessor and you've bagged a half decent mark in the bag before you even blow the whistle..... Brilliant!

They'll be letting MPs go into the Commons next with no ties...whatever next...:angel:
 
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