Current EPL referees ranked.

[Greavsy 2,412]

https://www.givemesport.com/1826609-premier-league-referees-keith-hackett-ranks-all-of-them-from-worst-to-best?amp

Interesting who's bottom of the list.... 

[shefcanary 2,385]

A referee "needs a run of matches".  Says it all, jobs for the boys again.

[Norfolk Dan 308]

If they have 18 refs available, then the only way it can be fair is they all do 2 games per team. Even better, they ref the same home and away game. 

Else the best refs get the same best teams and thus the best teams get better decisions and less cards etc. 

 

[WD40 720]

Interesting stuff. Vast majority barely breaking 5/10! 
 

Hooper is deserving of his own tier of awful, why do we always get him? Kavanaugh also shafted us this season, runs away when there’s a controversial decision and pretends he hasn’t seen it.

[tricky974 61]

9 minutes ago, Norfolk Dan said:

Even better, they ref the same home and away game

Can't have this due to bias, a referee god forbid it could favour a team more.

[hogesar 9,618]

Yep, hardly a shock, think most would agree the level of refereeing at this level is shocking in relation to the quality of player and finances involved.

[Foxy2600 297]

12 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Yep, hardly a shock, think most would agree the level of refereeing at this level is shocking in relation to the quality of player and finances involved.

Agree, you have to scroll down to find the first ref at 9th 1/2 a point over mediocre. Mike Dean - punching above his weight. Highest score 8…. Says it all. 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,675]

Surprised Gillet the Aussie isn't ranked better. Never had any real issues with him either in the Champs or now in the Prem

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

Hackett's always been a fairly strict judge. That said, I like his focus on fitness and sprint speed, as they are keys to good positioning and therefore good decision-making. What people don't always realise is this:

1. Visual focus fades somewhat when sprinting (so those close calls on whether the ball was hit first or not in a tackle can suddenly look rather different)
2. When "scrolling", eyes don't take everything smoothly like a video camera, what you basically get is a litany of images created every fraction of a second, fused together by the brain as part of mental processing. A lot can happen in those fractions, and that's where the errors tend to lie.

It is true that a run of games is needed though. If you accept players need a few games to get fully match-sharp, then you really have to double it for match officials.

EDIT: Wait a minute, wasn't Darren England the one who got into the ruckus with Ipswich's Alan Judge??

Edited January 26, 2022 by TheGunnShow

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Probably the hardest job in football and they probably get as much stick if not more than the players. They aren't allowed to make mistakes like a striker does time after time.

Having just defended them, I think they all show the cards too much. Some bookings are just silly and put a player one late tackle away from a red. And they are hiding behind VAR too much.

[Greavsy 2,412]

4 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

Probably the hardest job in football and they probably get as much stick if not more than the players. They aren't allowed to make mistakes like a striker does time after time.

Having just defended them, I think they all show the cards too much. Some bookings are just silly and put a player one late tackle away from a red. And they are hiding behind VAR too much.

And as individuals they cannot explain / defend their decisions. 

[Yellow Wal 314]

VAR is to blame for mediocre referees like Hooper getting as many Premiership games as they do.

They have every chance to make amends and get another chance to correct poor decisions with VAR.

Good referees in the Championship, L1 or L2 have to do it all by themselves and have less of a chance of progression, regardless of how they perform. This is why VAR seems to be loved so much by those who use it.

[canarybubbles 1,915]

Why would we expect on-pitch refereeing to get any better when the refs are subservient to VAR? At best, it takes away their ultimate responsibility for decisions; at worst, it actively encourages them to dodge that responsibility.  

[CANARYKING 634]

No surprise who is last

[Bovril 219]

A run of games is definitely needed to both a) improve consistency b) develop relationships/respect with the players

Similar to teachers in that regard. When a new teacher arrives at a school, students are always initially sceptical and cautious. Over-time as teacher/student gets to know each other better, respect can develop and less negative behaviour arises and when it does, it can often be resolved in a calmer manner. 

It's the same with referees. Players will see Michael Oliver, and it won't stop them questioning his decisions but they will respect what he has to say as he has now developed that level of respect/communication through experience (remember when we had him for Norwich vs Reading and he sent Holt off? He's improved massively since then). 

EDIT: The reason we get the worse referees are that we are in an unfortunate position of being a good 'training ground' for referees. Refereeing a match at Carrow Road isn't going to be bring as much pressure onto the referee as refereeing at Elland Road or Anfield for example. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Bovril

[sgncfc 1,221]

The fitness requirement for top flight referees is simply inadequate. It's barking mad that someone like Simon Hooper can be a top class referee. How we expect 50 year olds to keep up with super athletes in their 20s is beyond me though. There should be an easier path to bigger money for those players in the game in their early 20s who are not going to make it, to transfer their knowledge - even for players who are retiring at 32, 33 who could still give a decent 15 years. Poachers turned gamekeepers works in pretty much every other walk of life.

The way that the EFL and the PL keep players and refs apart at pretty much every stage is massively outdated and the resources and rewards given to referees are pathetically small.

Training them to use VAR rather than be used by it would help too.

The main problem is that the organisations in charge are run by people who have no idea about football at this level and who must at all times remain fully subservient to the saleable TV product. Nothing can be allowed to threaten the TV gods.

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

7 minutes ago, sgncfc said:

The fitness requirement for top flight referees is simply inadequate. It's barking mad that someone like Simon Hooper can be a top class referee. How we expect 50 year olds to keep up with super athletes in their 20s is beyond me though. There should be an easier path to bigger money for those players in the game in their early 20s who are not going to make it, to transfer their knowledge - even for players who are retiring at 32, 33 who could still give a decent 15 years. Poachers turned gamekeepers works in pretty much every other walk of life.

The way that the EFL and the PL keep players and refs apart at pretty much every stage is massively outdated and the resources and rewards given to referees are pathetically small.

Training them to use VAR rather than be used by it would help too.

The main problem is that the organisations in charge are run by people who have no idea about football at this level and who must at all times remain fully subservient to the saleable TV product. Nothing can be allowed to threaten the TV gods.

Re. the bit in bold, that was tried with former players, but very few stuck around simply as the abuse they got told them "sod that" and they left. There is an intriguing double standard going on in that plenty of former players are happy to be pundits and criticise referees, but VERY few (I think Steve Baines might have been the only example who got to any top level, I do remember Tony Philliskirk, a former Bolton striker, had a crack but quit it) who go for it with the whistle. There - might - be mileage in coming up with a credible fast-track system for players retiring in their early 30s as they should in theory fly past the fitness tests.

I do agree that the relative lack of money is part of the problem when it comes to attracting former pros, as you can bet a pundit earns far better. Your major problem was, is, and probably forever will be that a hell of a lot of referees at local level who could well push up simply jack it in due to too much abuse.

Increasing money could be part of a strategy, but I can't see it ever being the key component of it.

Edited January 26, 2022 by TheGunnShow

[Mark .Y. 351]

38 minutes ago, sgncfc said:

The fitness requirement for top flight referees is simply inadequate. It's barking mad that someone like Simon Hooper can be a top class referee. How we expect 50 year olds to keep up with super athletes in their 20s is beyond me though. There should be an easier path to bigger money for those players in the game in their early 20s who are not going to make it, to transfer their knowledge - even for players who are retiring at 32, 33 who could still give a decent 15 years. Poachers turned gamekeepers works in pretty much every other walk of life.

The way that the EFL and the PL keep players and refs apart at pretty much every stage is massively outdated and the resources and rewards given to referees are pathetically small.

Training them to use VAR rather than be used by it would help too.

The main problem is that the organisations in charge are run by people who have no idea about football at this level and who must at all times remain fully subservient to the saleable TV product. Nothing can be allowed to threaten the TV gods.

I often think that the rulers of football simply prefer there to be plenty of controversy, it's what gets fans talking, media attention etc. Sure, it means teams losing when they shouldn't do at times, but hey, that keeps the game in the news. 

[Mr Angry 1,545]

46 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Re. the bit in bold, that was tried with former players, but very few stuck around simply as the abuse they got told them "sod that" and they left. There is an intriguing double standard going on in that plenty of former players are happy to be pundits and criticise referees, but VERY few (I think Steve Baines might have been the only example who got to any top level, I do remember Tony Philliskirk, a former Bolton striker, had a crack but quit it) who go for it with the whistle. There - might - be mileage in coming up with a credible fast-track system for players retiring in their early 30s as they should in theory fly past the fitness tests.

I do agree that the relative lack of money is part of the problem when it comes to attracting former pros, as you can bet a pundit earns far better. Your major problem was, is, and probably forever will be that a hell of a lot of referees at local level who could well push up simply jack it in due to too much abuse.

Increasing money could be part of a strategy, but I can't see it ever being the key component of it.

Surely the lack of money isn’t a problem, aren’t they coining it in backhanders from the top 6 if some on here are to be believed? 😳😳😳

[Sooty57 403]

19 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

Probably the hardest job in football

I'm not sure that the marketing manager at Ipswich would necessarily agree with you on that one 😉

[Willmeister 35]

On 26/01/2022 at 12:13, cambridgeshire canary said:

Surprised Gillet the Aussie isn't ranked better. Never had any real issues with him either in the Champs or now in the Prem

Agree, always found him to be fair and not afraid to make the big calls.

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

Didn't read it but I presume rock bottom is our old mate Hooper? Beggars belief he gets games at any level, let alone Premier.