RateTheRef

I see Ms Welch is at Carlisle on Saturday, womens semi-final on Sunday and  Harrogate on Tuesday - would this be an acceptable programe or likely to be replaced for one of yhe fixtures?

I'm finding it increasingly depressing reading the reports of mainly premiership matches which seem to be about such things as 'was it offside,was it a penalty,did he handle,did he kick the opponent,did he abuse match official.and all the numerous other things thst crop up'
It seems to me  that the fun side of football is now missing - I used to go to a match and thoroughly enjoy the afternoon, more so if your team won - part of this fun included -comments about the referee performance etc. was quickly forgotten until the next match - and I suppose this still applies at lower level matches - but obviously the introduction of things such as VAR has meant that  it is now a different kind game at Premiership level than anywhere else - I know progress  is inevitable but if 2 matches were broadcast at the same time on free to watch TV - a Premiership  and a Conference game I know which one I would choose

Sad report from Mr Southgate in todays news where he says he is increasingly worried about the decreaing number of English players in the Premier League - he quotes onlty 32% of players are eligiable for England selection and the numbers are going down
I have long thought that there should be a limit of foreign players allowed for clubs - there is so much money now involved this is extremely unlikely to happen (as I believe used to be the case -but I may be wrong)
The same applies to managers
Let's hope any pressure to import foreign referees continues to be opposed
I have nothing against any person from another country indeed some of my best friends have come from non uk people
Just thinking about the state of our national game

Hello - has anyone else noticed that in pyramid patrol from page 13 it is not displaying  properly making it is imposible to read/reply etc  - I dont think it is me as everything else seems ok

I may have missed any post but why have 5th round cup matches changed to midweek - just interested

The latest  news today about grass roots refereeing makes very depressing reading -assaults,abuse,threats etc., -Chris Sutton seen refereeing a junior match (obviously staged} is a bit of a joke - although he make some valid points
I despair about how things are going - the situation seems to be getting worse - much blame seems to be placed on the amount of football seen on TV and the behaviour of the grossly overpaid professional players
What is the answer - it seems that nobody really knows

Has anyone seen this article in todays I Paper - it is rather a long article which raises some concerns - it alleges that some referees in the EFL and Non league are using small audio devices to covertly record exchanges on the pitch and in their offices after   gam es to protect themselves from false allegations - there are some excerpts from these recordings
All a bit worrying