RateTheRef

Saw this on twitter, was quite interesting

I thought this was very interesting. Teamwork sounded good and the piece with Mrs Steinhaus-Webb was also very good

Wouldn't work in the mens game, it'd be a 90 min long bleep!

Interesting though & well reff'd as well.  Nice to hear one of AR's saying nice advantage to her at one point. Positive teamwork

Saw Emily Heaslip take charge of two matches in the space of 6 days last week. She must surely be the smallest referee I've seen in senior football. The first game was Leiston v a physical Nuneaton Boro side fighting against relegation. I thought she looked a long way out of her depth and any recording of that match would not have made comfortable listening - virtually every decision was contested. Did not detract from my enjoyment of the game not least because Nuneaton got their comeuppance with a stoppage time winner for the home team.  A little better in the second one, Needham Market v Leiston, again, in the Suffolk Premier Cup Final at Colchester United's ground (.... I know). A more parochial match with less confrontation but a few erratic decisions didn't help a poor spectacle. I think it's fair to say that her personality and style are more suited to the women's game where she'll probably do just fine.

In between those matches I saw, firstly, an outstanding performance from Kevin Saunby, the RAF man from Lincolnshire. In contrast to the previous match, he was the tallest man on the field and refereed Lowestoft's vain attempt to avoid relegation with a calm assurance and competence rarely seen at Step 7. He should progress. The day after I saw a less than convincing Will Finnie in charge of the excellent Ipswich v Wigan clash emphasizing the obvious point that the quality of the refereeing is often not proportional to the quality of the match. Easter is a good time for the avid football watcher.