I see Willie Collum has had his knuckles rapped. He has a tendancy to control matches with his cards rather than common sense. A quiet word in an ear should be the starting point of control. He is very fit but doesn't seem to have a feel for the game, and as for the decisions it would appear his positioning is not what it should be. It can be a thankless task having done it myself, not to the level he has attained I might add, a quite word can save a lot of hassle during a game and build up a mutal relationship with the players  makes the game better for all.

most referees have their moments but Gollum is consistently bad.

 

A good referee - at whatever level - does not need to control the game with cards. That's the mark of someone who feels inadequate or insecure and needs to compensate for that by dishing out yellows and reds. Its the refereeing equivalent of a steward who picks on folk and feels like a big man (or woman) to make up for their rejected police application form ! In both cases, neither should be anywhere near a football pitch !

On the subject of refs, I see Scotlands top refs are having a get together this week to "prepare for the 2nd half of the season" and to learn how to use vanishing spray. I kid ye not, they have had tuition, familiarisation time and practical sessions with it. Aerosols!

 

And where is this training being held? Hampden? A hotel in the central belt? No. La Manga. That's where our poor refs are this week.

There would be less need for questioning decisions if video playback was allowed.

 

It would make life easier for referees, players and fans...............come the revolution!!!

the biggest issue I have with refs is their inconsistency not just from game to game but during games .

Often the player first in the book is that players first bad tackle but it has come after a number prior to his .

However Collum does seem to be a law unto himself .

I see the Championship refs are getting a substantial pay increase

He has an unfortunate tendency to disrupt the flow of a game with excessive stoppages for soft free kicks, exacerbated by draconian use of cards.

 

The old cliché, 'you can tell a good referee when you hardly even notice him' - very rarely applies to Mr Collum.

 

That said, he had a decent game last time out at TCS.   

 

Edited January 14, 201511 yr by AlexJones

the biggest issue I have with refs is their inconsistency not just from game to game but during games .

Often the player first in the book is that players first bad tackle but it has come after a number prior to his .

However Collum does seem to be a law unto himself .

I see the Championship refs are getting a substantial pay increase

I'm glad you mentioned that as I had no idea how much refs were getting.

 

Current match fees - Premiership £840; Championship £195; League One £150; League Two £150

The proposal 'on the table' for the refs is an increase to £240 for Championship games.  

As it stands, taking charge of a heated Edinburgh derby pays £195 - but Hamilton v Ross County in front of 2,000 punters (for example) is worth £840!

It's great to see that the officials have taken action after a series of incompetent performances from Collum. He has, quite frankly, been atrocious and has been punished, but what of the clubs that had to put up with his inadequacies. Sorry seems to be the hardest word.

 

Anyway, it's a start and might make others think harder about their decision making.

There would be less need for questioning decisions if video playback was allowed.

 

It would make life easier for referees, players and fans...............come the revolution!!!

 

I am not one for video playback let the game flow!!!!

 

A Hungarian lad was telling me that in their game with Romania last year Collum was the ref and it was one of the worst displays by a ref he had ever seem and that he managed to upset both sets of fans with his incompetence.

 

Fans from every club in the country have been saying how bad Collum is for years why has it taken the authorities so long to do something about it?

 

Scottish football would be a far better place without him being a part of it.

 

I accept that refs make mistakes, they have a split second to decide but his constant holding up of the game by dishing out cards is unacceptable.

 

Its pity more ex footballers couldn't be encouraged to be refs, guys that understand the game.

As an ex-ref in the Grampian region, albeit at very minor levels, we trained as all grades which included Grade 1.  Referees here had regular meetings and all Association refs were eligible to attend.  Meetings included all sorts of things, often reviews of controversial incidents in other nations leagues and a discussion on what the appropriate interpretation of the laws would be.  It will come as no surprise that in a room full of refs, there were some who would red card an incident others would not even have called a foul!  It led to interesting discussions, but the point was that the Grade 1s were our mentors in proper interpretation, so we could at least try to have a consistency in the individual game performance regardless of level.

 

Behind that is the monitoring process.  At my level it was infrequent, but at top level it is supposed to be every match.  The observer should meet with the referee afterwards, review the key points, give an outline of their observation and clarify any points of difference.  The purpose is to promote consistent application of the laws and to keep standards from slipping.  You get to take on board what they say, or you run the risk of being reduced in Grade and have to work at getting back if you still wish to do so.  Obviously the observer system is also meant to identify the young thrusters who are tagged as being potentials for the higher grade and encourage them to do so, replacing those who inevitably have to bow out when the time comes.

 

It seems Collum has now had his collar felt and warning issued, so if he cannot get a grip on what he is doing then chances are he will be reduced in Grade and we will not see him ruin another SPFL game again.

Edited January 15, 201511 yr by FoolPhysio

He has an unfortunate tendency to disrupt the flow of a game with excessive stoppages for soft free kicks, exacerbated by draconian use of cards.

 

The old cliché, 'you can tell a good referee when you hardly even notice him' - very rarely applies to Mr Collum.

 

That said, he had a decent game last time out at TCS.   

 

 But it was business as usual next time at Dens Park.

Refs do get demoted which has to be a good thing. There's a guy P*** H***** who handles the Lowland League who came down a level. Everybody says what a nice guy he is but he can single-handedly destroy a game which he turns into a card-fest.

Our old pal Willie Young was observing at the recent Spartans-Whitehill game.

LL refs get £55 + expenses at the moment whereas HL refs get £75 I think but maybe including expenses(?).

I have to say Collum has handled Whitehill matches a couple of times and I've been impressed by the way he calms the players and talks to them all the time- you can hear it all when the crowd's only 150. Maybe that just shows how bad the rest are though, and how maybe he's out of his depth in the SPL.

A couple of weeks ago I was at a fairly tame LL game in the East but the ref and assistants were from the glasgow area. They must have been used to the West Juniors, what an aggressive lot they were, swearing at the players if they questioned anything .