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Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:48 pm
by robjoenz
jinkin jimmy posted:
Don't ask why would a ref want to be, ask why wouldn't a self obssessed, arrogant, authoritarian human being want to be?
Please, Jimmy, humour me. Why would a referee want to be centre of attention?

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 4:56 pm
by jinkin jimmy
robjoenz posted:
jinkin jimmy posted:
Don't ask why would a ref want to be, ask why wouldn't a self obssessed, arrogant, authoritarian human being want to be?
Please, Jimmy, humour me. Why would a referee want to be centre of attention?
You miss my point, Rob. A ref would not want to be the centre of attention merely because he is a ref. If this was the case all refs would be like Ganson, when they clearly aren't.

A man brings his personal qualities to his job, whether he is a ref or a bricklayer. Ganson is pedantic, arrogant and an attention seeker and it is these personal traits that make him the ref he is.

I haven't met you but I am sure you are a different character and, as such, referee in your own inimitable style! :wink:

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:00 pm
by robjoenz
jinkin jimmy posted:
You miss my point, Rob. A ref would not want to be the centre of attention merely because he is a ref. If this was the case all refs would be like Ganson, when they clearly aren't.
You've not answered my question though... why would a person who is a referee want to make himself centre of attention?

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:07 pm
by cpwigan
Rob I have seen you officiating. I know you like the sport tremendously. I am guessing as I do not know you well enough that you love the sport, want to be involved and are not exactly built to play the game, so you contribute by refereeing. I again surmise that you are a contributor and an unselfish person in real life. People who want to officiate for those reasons are potentially the best officials. If they have calmness, control, good decision making then they make outstanding officials.

Remember what makes you want to be a referee is not necessarily the same reason as somebody else.

Steve Ganson pretended as a youngster to be part of St Helens colts. He could not even master basic skills. Rugby players laughed at him. However, he remained loud and arrogant and craved recognition. He was not academic, not sporting so he opted for refereeing. It gave him his need to feel in control and the limelight.

Indeed, he actively seeks further limelight through after dinner speaking. How many referees do after dinner speaking so early in their careers? I think even Bill Thomson waited until he had retired?

Steve Ganson worked in the Bradford and Bingley in Wigan as a cashier. Anybody who walked in that building could wind him up. You only had to walk in and say how rubbish are Saints and he would start bellowing at the top of his voice. Not seeking attention? My late father used to wind him up. If he spotted a big head he would do so. Ganso said if I can make Wigan lose I will do. He said it in a public building. Is that a calm, balanced individual? is that the sort of person who should be a referee?

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:11 pm
by jinkin jimmy
I don't think i can make it any clearer Rob but I'll try again. Certain types of people crave attention - look at the next series of Big Brother - whilst certain people are happy with the personal satisfaction of a job well done. IMO Ganson is closer to the former whilst Silverwood is closer to the latter.

Maybe it makes more sense if I turn your question on its head - are you saying all referees have exactly the same temperament, capabilites and ambitions or are you willing to admit they are individuals in their own right? Or, to more accurately reflect your question, why would a person not want to make himself the centre of attention simply because he has chosen refereeing as his profession? Surely it is his personality rather than chosen profession which dictates this?


Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 6:26 pm
by Glynola
cpwigan posted:
Ganso said if I can make Wigan lose I will do. He said it in a public building. Is that a calm, balanced individual? is that the sort of person who should be a referee?
This kind of anecdote means absolutely nothing. Ganson would not have made it as a SL referee if he is as uncalm and unbalanced as you claim.

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 6:36 pm
by cpwigan
Glynola, whilst what he said was pure bull. It does show the kind of person he is. Nobody has ever explained how/why Ganson got fast tracked so incredibly quickly. As to what type of people get to the top, I have to disagree. Indeed, the arrogant confident bullsjitters are the type who do get to the top. There are people in my own profession that I would not trust near children BUT they advance up the greasy pole.

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 6:37 pm
by - psycho -
-cough miss gormally cough-

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 7:41 pm
by waterside glens
robjoenz posted:
jinkin jimmy posted:
You miss my point, Rob. A ref would not want to be the centre of attention merely because he is a ref. If this was the case all refs would be like Ganson, when they clearly aren't.
You've not answered my question though... why would a person who is a referee want to make himself centre of attention?
can i answer ......EGO

Re: Referee For Saturday I...

Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:23 pm
by robjoenz
jinkin jimmy posted:
Maybe it makes more sense if I turn your question on its head - are you saying all referees have exactly the same temperament, capabilites and ambitions or are you willing to admit they are individuals in their own right? Or, to more accurately reflect your question, why would a person not want to make himself the centre of attention simply because he has chosen refereeing as his profession? Surely it is his personality rather than chosen profession which dictates this?
All referees are different, but they all sing from the same hymm sheet... get the people on the park to play rugby, allow the game to flow as much as possible and only intervene if required to. If a referee deliberately went out to place the focus on himself he wouldn't achieve the above and hence wouldn't last long in the professional game.

The attributes CP gives of Ganson allow him to be a good referee, however, the same traits make him hated by the fans.

Some of his calls have seemed pedantic this season, for example, Wigan not playing the ball correctly against Warrington, but I have seen less pedanticism after the first few round of the season and more consistency between referees. Plus, as I often try to put across, we don't know what communication is going on on-field or what the referee is making a mental note of.