RateTheRef

Mike Bailey always seemed calm and assured and should have gone further

Was always a question asked by us. Lovely man, very quietly spoken but well worth listening too. I owe him a great deal

Could it be work related that several of the very respected names mentioned in the post never reached the heights that they had the potential to achieve?

Could be. Back in the 1980s/90s  most referees had primary jobs/careers and some employers I suppose would be more accommodating than others. I seem to remember Mike Bailey was a telecommunications engineer but it was a long time ago and memory might be playing tricks.

Ian Hemley, aforementioned, was a secondary school teacher. I once asked him how he managed to accept evening appointments during school term. He replied that he had very supportive Departmental colleagues and Senior Management and so it was sometimes understood that Mr Hemley would be working off the school site on occasions.

Quote from: scottie on Wed 22 Dec 2021 17:03

Could it be work related that several of the very respected names mentioned in the post never reached the heights that they had the potential to achieve?

Could be. Back in the 1980s/90s  most referees had primary jobs/careers and some employers I suppose would be more accommodating than others. I seem to remember Mike Bailey was a telecommunications engineer but it was a long time ago and memory might be playing tricks.

Ian Hemley, aforementioned, was a secondary school teacher. I once asked him how he managed to accept evening appointments during school term. He replied that he had very supportive Departmental colleagues and Senior Management and so it was sometimes understood that Mr Hemley would be working off the school site on occasions.

Correct - Mike Bailey worked for BT.  A very good referee and a very nice person.

Quote from: Whistleblower on Wed 22 Dec 2021 17:11

Quote from: scottie on Wed 22 Dec 2021 17:03

Could it be work related that several of the very respected names mentioned in the post never reached the heights that they had the potential to achieve?

Could be. Back in the 1980s/90s  most referees had primary jobs/careers and some employers I suppose would be more accommodating than others. I seem to remember Mike Bailey was a telecommunications engineer but it was a long time ago and memory might be playing tricks.

Ian Hemley, aforementioned, was a secondary school teacher. I once asked him how he managed to accept evening appointments during school term. He replied that he had very supportive Departmental colleagues and Senior Management and so it was sometimes understood that Mr Hemley would be working off the school site on occasions.

Correct - Mike Bailey worked for BT.  A very good referee and a very nice person.

It may be recalled that Mike's last game on the list was a Div 1 relegation match, Stoke City v Man City in May 1998. Both teams could be relegated or the winners could stay up depending on results. The whole match was broadcast live on ITV (I believe), City won 5-2 and both teams ended up being relegated. I recall Mike had a good game, given the difficult circumstances.