Authors: Graham Poll
Seeing Red (31 page)
The first of my twenty-seven seasons and the start of the journey from parks to the Premiership. The four columns on the right before the result were when I received and then confirmed details from the fixture secretary and then the home club. I did not include a column for crowds because there weren't any. I did not have a column for cautions, either, because there were not many of those. Challenges which would
| Away team | R | C | R | C | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor | _ | _ | _ | _ | 6â0 |
| Bedwell Rangers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â7 |
| Taylors | _ | _ | _ | _ | 18â0 |
| Wymondley United | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â3 |
| Stevenage Post Office Res | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â1 |
| Fairlands Youth | _ | _ | _ | _ | 2â11 |
| Derby Way Wanderers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â5 |
| Stevenage Minor League | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â4 |
| City Hearts | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â2 |
| Goffs Oak | _ | _ | _ | _ | 6â0 |
| Lister Hospital | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â7 |
| Fairlands Youth | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â4 |
| Fold United | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â2 |
| Fairlands Youth | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â11 |
| Whitehill | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â2 |
| Borg Warner | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â1 |
| Southfields | _ | _ | _ | _ | 5â0 |
| Elliot Sports | _ | _ | _ | _ | 7â2 |
| Cygnet Athletic | _ | _ | _ | _ | 6â0 |
| Weston United | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â1 |
| Austen Arrowheads | _ | _ | _ | _ | 6â0 |
| Bedwell Rangers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â1 |
| Argonauts | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â5 |
| St Margaretsbury | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â0 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â6 |
| Longmeadow Athletic | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â5 |
| St Ippolyts Res | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â0 |
| Bedwell Rangers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â3 |
| Wilbury Wanderers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â3 |
| Westmill United | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â5 |
| Suffolk | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â4 |
| Henlow Res | _ | _ | _ | _ | 5â1 |
| Derby Way Wanderers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â2 |
| Mount Grace O.S. | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â1 |
| Austen Arrowheads | _ | _ | _ | _ | 8â0 |
| Kings | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â3 |
| Whitehill | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â8 |
| Kalstan | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â1 |
| Bovingdon Res | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â0 |
| Shephall Athletic | _ | _ | _ | _ | 2â4 |
| Hitchin Clublanders | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â0 |
| Woodland | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â0 |
| Sandridge Rovers | _ | _ | _ | _ | 2â1 |
| White Lion | _ | _ | _ | _ | 10â0 |
| Stevenage | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â7 |
| Codicote | _ | _ | _ | _ | 10â0 |
| Panshanger | _ | _ | _ | _ | 4â2 |
| Cottered | _ | _ | _ | _ | 2â1 |
| Royal Oak | _ | _ | _ | _ | 0â1 aet |
| ICI Plastics Res | _ | _ | _ | _ | 1â1 |
| Sandon | _ | _ | _ | _ | 2â1 |
| Westmill United | _ | _ | _ | _ | 3â2 |
be illegal now were commonplace and bookings were a rarity. In that entire first season, I remember that I only took five names. You can see that, almost straight away, I was doing three games a weekend. I was seventeen and yet I did more men's matches than youth games. At the end of the season I was appointed linesman at three cup finals â more than I appeared in during my entire playing career.
| Date | Competition | Home team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug | Friendly | Other 1 | Tring Athletic |
| 9 Aug | Friendly | Other 2 | Chelsea |
| 12 Aug | Championship | FL 1 | Colchester United |
| 19 Aug | FA Premier League | PL 1 | Arsenal |
| 23 Aug | UEFA Ch. Lge. 3rd Qual, 2nd leg | UEFA 1 | Steaua Bucharest |
| 26 Aug | FA Premier League | PL 2 | Fulham |
| 6 Sep | EURO 08 Qualifier | UEFA 2 | Poland |
| 9 Sep | FA Premier League | PL 3 | Everton |
| 13 Sep | Coca Cola League One | FL 2 | Brentford |
| 17 Sep | FA Premier League | PL 4 | Manchester United |
| 23 Sep | FA Premier League | PL 5 | Middlesbrough |
| 27 Sep | UEFA Ch. League Group Day 2 | UEFA 3 | Real Madrid |
| 30 Sep | FA Premier League | PL 6 | Chelsea |
| 2 Oct | FA Premier League | 4th 1 | Watford |
| 14 Oct | FA Premier League | PL 7 | Portsmouth |
| 18 Oct | UEFA Ch. League Group Day 3 | UEFA 4 | Olympiakos |
| 22 Oct | FA Premier League | PL 8 | Manchester United |
| 28 Oct | FA Premier League | PL 9 | Fulham |
| 5 Nov | FA Premier League | PL 10 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 8 Nov | Carling Cup 4th Round | FL 3 | Everton |
| 11 Nov | FA Premier League | PL 11 | Manchester City |
| 18 Nov | FA Premier League | PL 12 | Reading |
| 2 Dec | FA Premier League | PL 13 | Arsenal |
| 6 Dec | UEFA Ch. League Group Day 6 | UEFA 5 | AC Milan |
| 9 Dec | FA Premier League | PL 14 | Manchester United |
| 16 Dec | FA Premier League | PL 15 | Reading |
| 23 Dec | FA Premier League | PL 16 | Portsmouth |
| 27 Dec | FA Premier League | PL 17 | Charlton Athletic |
| 30 Dec | FA Premier League | 4th 2 | Watford |
| 1 Jan | FA Premier League | PL 18 | Liverpool |
| 6 Jan | FA Cup, 3rd Round | FA 1 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 13 Jan | FA Premier League | PL 19 | West Ham United |
| 24 Jan | Carling Cup Semi-final 1 | FL 4 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 27 Jan | FA Cup, 4th Round | FA 2 | Bristol City |
| 31 Jan | FA Premier League | PL 20 | Chelsea |
| 3 Feb | FA Premier League | PL 21 | Wigan Athletic |
| 10 Feb | Coca Cola Championship | FL 5 | Coventry City |
| 17 Feb | FA Cup, 5th Round | FA 3 | Manchester United |
| 25 Feb | FA Premier League | PL 22 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 28 Feb | FA Cup, 5th Round Replay | FA 4 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 8 Mar | UEFA Cup Round of 16 1st leg | UEFA 6 | Paris St Germain |
| 31 Mar | FA Premier League | PL 23 | Newcastle |
| 7 Apr | FA Premier League | PL 24 | Arsenal |
| 9 Apr | FA Premier League | PL 25 | Charlton Athletic |
| 15 Apr | FA Premier League | PL 26 | Wigan Athletic |
| 18 Apr | FA Premier League | PL 27 | Liverpool |
| 21 Apr | FA Premier League | PL 28 | Fulham |
| 28 Apr | FA Premier League | PL 29 | Wigan Athletic |
| 3 May | UEFA Cup semi final, 2nd leg | UEFA 7 | Sevilla |
| 6 May | Friendly | Other 3 | Tring Tornadoes Managers |
| 9 May | FA Premier League | PL 30 | Chelsea |
| 13 May | FA Premier League | PL 31 | Portsmouth |
| 18 May | CC League One Play-off semi | FL 6 | Nottingham Forest |
| 28 May | Championship Play-off Final | FL 7 | Derby County |
MATCHES: 54 (52 Referee, 2 4th); REFEREED: 7 FIFA/UEFA, 4 FA, 31 Premier league, 7 Football league, 3 other. |
My last season, and a very different set of statistics from a very different world. I no longer had to worry about getting confirmation of the kick-off time and venue, butthe number of cautions had risen to an average of just over four a game and 1.8million spectators paid to watch matches with which I was entrusted. This last set of
| Away team | Result | C | S/0 | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedmond Social | 5â0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | ||
| Celtic | 1â1 | 2 | 0 | 21,000 | ||
| Barnsley | 0â2 | 3 | 0 | 5,000 | ||
| Aston Villa | 1â1 | 3 | 0 | 60,000 | ||
| Standard Liege | 2â1 | 9 | 1 | 50,000 | ||
| Sheffield United | 1â0 | 6 | 0 | 22,000 | ||
| Serbia | 1â1 | 7 | 0 | 15,000 | ||
| Liverpool | 3â0 | 4 | 0 | 40,000 | ||
| Swansea | 0â2 | 4 | 0 | 4,000 | ||
| Arsenal | 0â1 | 4 | 0 | 75,500 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 0â1 | 4 | 0 | 26,000 | ||
| Dynamo Kiev | 5â1 | 2 | 1 | 80,000 | ||
| Aston Villa | 1â1 | 2 | 0 | 41,000 | ||
| Fulham | 3â3 | 4th | â | â | â | |
| West Ham United | 2â0 | 8 | 0 | 21,000 | ||
| AS Roma | 0â1 | 1 | 0 | 32,000 | ||
| Liverpool | 2â0 | 4 | 0 | 75,800 | ||
| Wigan Athletic | 0â1 | 3 | 0 | 21,000 | ||
| Chelsea | 2â1 | 9 | 1 | 36,000 | ||
| Arsenal | 0â1 | 3 | 1 | 32,000 | ||
| Newcastle United | 0â0 | 4 | 0 | 42,000 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2â0 | 4 | 0 | 25,000 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3â0 | 3 | 0 | 60,000 | ||
| Lille OSC | 0â2 | 1 | 0 | 40,000 | ||
| Manchester City | 3â1 | 4 | 1 | 75,000 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1â2 | 3 | 0 | 23,000 | ||
| Sheffield United | 3â1 | 2 | 0 | 24,000 | ||
| Fulham | 2â2 | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | ||
| Wigan Athletic | Abandoned 56' | 1â1 | 4th | â | â | â |
| Bolton Wanderers | 3â0 | 3 | 0 | 40,000 | ||
| Manchester City | 1â1 | 5 | 0 | 30,000 | ||
| Fulham | 3â3 | 10 | 1 | 30,000 | ||
| Arsenal | 2â2 | 5 | 0 | 36,000 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2â2 | 2 | 0 | 19,000 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 3â0 | 1 | 0 | 38,000 | ||
| Portsmouth | 1â0 | 1 | 0 | 15,000 | ||
| Cardiff City | 2â2 | 5 | 1 | 17,000 | ||
| Reading | 1â1 | 3 | 0 | 70,000 | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 4â1 | 4 | 1 | 35,000 | ||
| Arsenal | 1â0 | 6 | 0 | 19,000 | ||
| Benfica | 2â1 | 4 | 0 | 35,000 | ||
| Manchester City | 0â1 | 4 | 0 | 52,004 | ||
| West Ham United | 0â1 | 1 | 0 | 60,053 | ||
| Reading | 0â0 | 1 | 0 | 27,000 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3â3 | 3 | 0 | 16,000 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2â0 | 1 | 0 | 43,000 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1â1 | 2 | 0 | 23,000 | ||
| West Ham United | 0â3 | 3 | 0 | 22,000 | ||
| Osasuna | 2â0 | 5 | 0 | 45,000 | ||
| Tring Tornadoes U-16 | 2â1 | 0 | 0 | 350 | ||
| Manchester United | 0â0 | 7 | 0 | 42,000 | ||
| Arsenal | 0â0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | ||
| Yeovil | 2â5 aet | 8 | 1 | 26,000 | ||
| West Bromwich Albion | 1â0 | 8 | 0 | 75,000 | ||
1,806,757 |
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