Making the right decision......

I am surprised that it has taken Gordon Brown 56 years to learn that decision making is not just about the ‘decision’ but most importantly the timing of the decision.

Gordon you simply could have decided that to call a General Election after two years of Labour’s third term was unacceptable, 100 days ago…..after all you knew that you wanted to show the Country how effective your vision will be, when you were gifted the job of Prime Minister. Didn‘t you?

Now Football Referees have a thankless task. Their decisions are exposed to scrutiny in every game that they officiate. Whether it is in the local park, hounded by irate and ‘knowledgeable’ parents or under the microscope of the Sky TV ‘reverse camera angle’, refs will never find respite.

But like Gordon, they must make the right decision based on what they see, applying their own judgement to the evidence. Tough I guess. And not something that most of us would wish upon ourselves. So much easier to shout….‘Lino you’re useless….. Ref you know you got that wrong‘.

Clive ‘the Book’ Thomas was one of the World’s top Refs. Clive came from Treorchy, in the Rhondda. And, the ‘highlight’ of his career was not controlling Aldershot’s most famous game…..September 9th 1970, Aldershot v Manchester United, Football League Cup 2nd Rd, 1v3 in front of a crowd of 18509 …..no, it was during his second appearance at the World Cup.

Yes, Clive was in charge of the first round pool game between Sweden and Brazil at Mar de Plata, Estadio Jose Maria Minella on June 3rd 1978. Clive controlled the game in his own distinctive style. Time keeping was with the aid of the watch given to him by the Organising Committee.

Then ooops. Clive got the decision right. He blew for the end of the game……but Brazil had been denied top spot in their group with that single blast of the whistle. He had blown for full-time at the precise moment that Zico's header was crossing the line for what would have been a match-winning winning goal against Sweden. The disbelieving samba boys had to settle for 1-1 and then went on to meet Argentina in the second group stage……

To this day Clive claims that his decision was right. And the watch clearly keeps excellent time….he is never late for a meeting. But the application of judgement is the telling lesson in this case. And for Clive his World Cup was over, the dream of controlling the Final shattered by the judgement of the Organising Committee.

Mr P Gibbs was in control of the Stevenage v Aldershot Town game on Saturday……judgement and opinion. I have my own.

It was in about the twentieth minute of Saturday’s game that my brother turned to me and confided that he thought Stevenage were like a Pub Team. I reflected on this observation and concluded that indeed, when compared to the skill and potential fluidity of Aldershot, the simile could be accurate….but unfortunately they were also well organised, strong and motivated. And the Stevenage Manager had clearly undertaken a detailed review of Aldershot’s strengths and established a plan to stifle them.

From the own goal in the 24th minute our approach became increasingly chaotic and the Stevenage side displayed even greater organisation and control…3v1 a fair result in the end.


Gary Waddock will have used the intervening days to reflect on his team selection, initial set-up, tactical changes and use of substitutes. Good teams always build on the mistakes made. Great teams come back considerably stronger after defeat…..


I look forward to this evenings game, against Ebbsfleet United, with optimism. We are a good team and I believe we can become a great one.