Was it worth it?

10 weeks of my summer were spent running up hill and down dale in an effort to get ready for today's kick-off only for my best laid plans to go awry in the last 3 weeks as I picked up a calf strain.

I  kept losing weight because of my change in diet and starting a new job but my training was on hold. I've managed to lose 26lbs (11.8kg) since the beginning of June. So it was with some trepidation that I stepped out on my opening 11 a side game of the season. I had some nagging doubts as I felt a bit of tiredness in it yesterday when I was working with a group of new referees on their Basic Course. As things turned out I had good reason to be wary as I managed to tweak the calf again in the warm-up and walked for most of the first half. In the second I managed what I thought was a few short jogs but in fact I travelled 4.4km and burned off more than 750 calories.

I enjoyed the game and despite a few mistakes I felt ok about the game afterwards (own biggest critic!). The reports have been done and sent in to the County FA. It's 3 weeks to my next game because of other commitments (football related) so hopefully the calf recovery will continue.

Countdown to chaos

At the weekend I read about a local council who had not prepared all of the fields due to be used by local Sunday Leagues for the opening games of their season.

Looking back one year my local Sunday League was in the same position. That was nothing to do with the annual switch from cricket to football seen on many council owned fields which is the bane of their lives for many fixture secretaries. For all of the political rhetoric about the creation of a sporting legacy in the wake of the London Olympics, local councils in many areas do not appear to have the necessary funding to organise themselves for the start of the football season. It's not as if the date varies that much from year to year. Many Sunday Leagues kick off in the last two weeks of August and run, weather permitting, to mid May.

Even worse is that some who have the available land on which to develop facilities to avoid the cricket/football share, choose not to do so. Too frequently playing fields are sold off as building land. The proceeds provide a much needed boost to local and central government coffers meanwhile the media decry the lack of home grown talent available to the national team manager.

So what's the answer? I found out when I recently visited a new club at the weekend. It's not in fashionable town, it is just off a major motorway, yet this complex appears to have been grown quietly and the local community are rightly proud. A new clubhouse sits at the centre of the site which houses (from my wander around), a rugby field, a football field, a cricket field, 5 a side/hockey courts and extensive parking.

It benefits from a chairman who is a local businessman with a willingness to invest his own funds and a supporter base who are passionate about their sport. I overheard a typical remark just after kick-off which made me smile. One supporter turned to another and said,"So this is about six levels before the Football League, is it? .... That's nowt that...". it typified the early season confidence of a supporter whose team are doing well.

The team were subject to a smash and grab act by a more experienced team at their level on Saturday. Until then it had been three wins from three. Looking at their line up, it won't take much more work to begin that string of wins again.

Now why can't my local council and others follow the lead given by this club and involve more local businessmen? As usual though, the fuss will all be forgotten by 12:15 on Sunday when the first round of Sunday League games have been completed, the first cautions issued and (unfortunately) players dismissed. Then we crash through league games, league/district/county cup games at a rapid pace.

Hopefully, teams will stick through to the end of the season, unlike last year when 2 gave up by Christmas. Such actions and team success in cups make for a difficult life for a league fixture secretary. It's one of the reasons I'm retiring at the end of the season.

Let the chaos begin ...

Look at a football field ...

Look at a football field. It looks like a big movie screen. This is theatre. Football combines the strategy of chess. It's part ballet. It's part battleground, part playground. We clarify, amplify and glorify the game with our footage, the narration and that music, and in the end create an inspirational piece of footage.

Is it really that long?

A closed season consisting of a holiday on Kos, some sporadic training sessions, a little weight loss and a wedding came to an end with the opening game in my 10th season on the local Sunday League.

The game was being played on a field financed by the Football Foundation and it was used to host our local Sunday League Cup semi finals last season. It was flat, smooth and despite the recent wet weather, dry. I'd considered applying sun cream before heading out but couldn't find it. Probably just as well I was wearing my new Umbro Wembley kit with a white collar.

I had tried to get an Umbro Respect kit but A&H sold out (after I had placed my order) and offered me an Umbro Diamond kit in place of it. I specifically hadn't ordered a Diamond kit because being of a slightly larger frame (euphemism for fat) and having see the kit worn by others of similar dimensions, I decided it wasn't for me. So I reverted back to a Wembley kit and despite it being the same size as my other Wembley kit, it seemed to be less snug fitting.

Even my smaller size of undershirt wasn't constricting my chest so I was able to run and breathe at the same time (for a change). I managed my warm up with ease but then the sun came out and it was very hot. Before the game I had a chat with a player I've known for a few years. He told me that since he "retired" at the end of last season when his team folded, he's been diagnosed with a heart condition. It's similar to my own and he's hoping that with treatment, he'll be able to get back into football again. I didn't want to tell him but I think he'd make a good referee. Maybe that's a talk for another time.

The game went ok and despite a couple of errors on my part we got through to the final whistle with 22 players on the field and me still running. I did a full warm down which should mean I can walk on Tuesday and not be struggling until Wednesday!

I had a post match discussion with one of the coaches from the away team concerning my decision to suspend the game on 70 minutes for a drink break. I had consumed more than a litre and half of water in the run up to the game and at half time but was feeling dehydrated. I noted one or two of the players slowing down and one (typical of Sunday morning football) complaining about being hungover.

His view was that he and his team, because of their religious beliefs, didn't drink alcohol and he felt that as a referee I should stop players who were still under the influence of alcohol from the previous night, from playing in the games in which I officiated. I explained that it was outside the bounds of my authority to tell a team which players they could play during a game. The best I could do was to advise a coach that I believed his player was unwell and to consider whether he played.

He didn't accept my point, so I left the discussion where it was and went to get some some more fluids onboard (blackcurrant cordial and soda water) before heading home for a family barbecue. It's great to be back in football and I'm hoping to last another 10 years before finally hanging up my whistle.