No referees or Assistants from Berkshire on First Class list

[glass half full]

Apologies if this has been asked before but a scan of the list of officials for first class fixtures seems to reveal that there are none registered from Berkshire.

Surely we have some that will meet the standards.

Or is it the responsibility of Berks. and Bucks. FA and they have applied their own criteria?

Or is it that there is a disillusionment with FA criteria?

Or is it that no-one from Berkshire and Buckinghamshire can be bothered?

[Royalist]

It's just not as active and passionate football area as others i've found.

[Green]

What other areas have you found, royalist?

[parky]

That and the Berks & Bucks refereeing department aren't very strong at organising or helping young referees with anything.

[TBM]

Does Mike Rowley not do it any more then?

I know he was 4th official a few times in the football league

[parky]

Iain Williamson is Berkshires only national list referee

Berks and Bucks also have three national list assistants all of whom live in Bucks.
Adrian Gillett
Robert Hodges
Mark Scholes (Also does a few Select Group Games)

I think what the OP meant by First Class was select group?

[Silver Fox]

You can keep your matchfixings, your racisms, your drugs, your corruptions and even your hot world cups, this really is football's most shameful issue

[Green]

You can keep your matchfixings, your racisms, your drugs, your corruptions and even your hot world cups, this really is football's most shameful issue

^ this.

Pretty damning of the Berks and Bucks FA. Questions have to be asked of David Grange really.

[Bandini]

It'd be nice to know if there are any Berkshire expats who were learnt their trade on the tough grounds of your Sloughs, your Sonnings and your Mortimers, but who have since left the Royal County. Bit tough to condemn Berkshire FA before this is clarified.

[Royalist]

I actually did the course as a kid and reffed sunday kids games. It wasn't very organised. I didn't even bother going to every lesson and still passed

My work takes me all round the uk and the passion for the game is just not the same in Berkshire as it is elsewhere.

[Green]

Sorry to press you on this Royalist but I'm genuinely curious about that. Where is the most passionate in the UK, perhaps you could give us two or three hotbeds? Does your work involve football, or do you just get chatting to colleagues/locals about the game and are taken aback by their footballing zest?

The North East is supposedly famous for it, "The Far Corner" is a good read demonstrating this.

[Green]

It'd be nice to know if there are any Berkshire expats who were learnt their trade on the tough grounds of your Sloughs, your Sonnings and your Mortimers, but who have since left the Royal County. Bit tough to condemn Berkshire FA before this is clarified.

It's a good point. Might be more of a retention than an acquisition issue.

Perhaps Berkshire is a tough place to be a ref.

[Magic Hat]

Or perhaps people in Berkshire have higher aspirations than having thousands of fans shouting wanker at them every weekend?

[Royalist]

Speaking to people, living in different parts of the country over time and playing park football etc i'd say there is more of a passion in the north than the south in general. Worked in Sheffield, Manchester and Newcastle for long times and they are far more passionate and not just the 'big' manchester clubs either but the fringe clubs too.

Only one Berkshire club at any sort of decent level says it all.

[NewCorkSeth]

Speaking to people, living in different parts of the country over time and playing park football etc i'd say there is more of a passion in the north than the south in general. Worked in Sheffield, Manchester and Newcastle for long times and they are far more passionate and not just the 'big' manchester clubs either but the fringe clubs too.

Only one Berkshire club at any sort of decent level says it all.

Mate, I wouldn't really call Slough Town F.C. a decent level club..

[LUX]

quite a few players were born in Berkshire though. That's more important, surely.

Charlie Austin for example.

(just off to google to check)

[Green]

Only one Berkshire club at any sort of decent level says it all.

I'm not sure it does really.

Taking ceremonial counties with a similar population (in brackets), we've got

West Sussex (808,900) 0 professional football teams
Norfolk (859,400) 1
Gloucestershire (861,700) 1
Berkshire (863,800) 1
County Durham (902,500) 3
Somerset (910,200) 1
Leicestershire (980,800) 1

I think we can hold our heads high in this company. We're no former manufacturing county in the North East but most places aren't. I'd say this is the exception rather than the norm across England as a whole.

[Platypuss]

3 in Durham?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I think the presence of cities is more important that counties.

Successful teams with passionate supporters tend to come out of industrial cities rather than provincial towns, so rather than compare Berkshire to Leicestershire and Norfolk maybe you should compare Reading to Leicester and Norwich?

[NewCorkSeth]

3 in Durham?

I cant name 1 in Durham.. Whats up there?