‘Support our referees – we need them week in, week out’

You’ve cut the grass, marked the pitch and washed and laid out the kit…then suddenly something dawns on you.

Who’s contacted the ref? Oh…

No referee, no game.

Club volunteers have a multitude of tasks to complete in the run up to matchdays so it’s understandable if that one job is sometimes overlooked.

This is where Barry Cropp is invaluable – in his role as Referee Appointments Officer, he’s in charge of the league’s pool of 84 referees who help to cover up to 38 games every weekend.

That roll call is made up of experienced referees giving something back to the league and young starlets hoping to reach the very top.

“We’ve got some former Football League officials in Bob Roberts and Paul Kettlewell,” says Barry, himself a former Football League assistant for seven years and now a Level 5 referee.

“Real experienced lads like Mark Doherty and Mark Hughes and then the new young blood like Matt and Dan Parker and Jack Lucas among others.

"Jack is only 17 but was in the Top 10 in the merit list last year and he was named Lancashire’s Young Referee of the Year last season.

"It’s a real good mix on what is I think the best amateur league in Lancashire.”

The West Lancashire League 2021/22 season kicks off tomorrow with 36 fixtures across five divisions.

But Barry, 43, reckons he’s already clocked up more than 60 hours of admin before a ball has been kicked ensuring every match this month is covered and liaising with match officials, league officers and clubs.

“It takes me about five or six hours to appoint a month of fixtures – you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the referees’ availability all in hand, make sure the right referees are on the right fixtures, working out where they are based and whether joint travel is an option.

“One key task is to try to keep costs as low as possible for the clubs.

“I’m just really pleased to be involved – I spent 10 years as a Level 4 referee on the West Lancs before I got promoted to the Northern Premier League.

“Other referees like Leigh Doughty, Darren Bond and Natalie Aspinall (nee Walker) now all operate on the Championship and have come through the ranks on the West Lancs.

“And I have lads at higher non-league levels like Dave McNamara and Peter Shacklady offering to help out when they can because they have an affinity with the league and don’t want to see games called off if I’m short of officials.

“My role is also mentoring and developing those younger ones coming through and being on the end of a phone if they need to discuss anything.”

And on the eve of the season, he has a simple for message for clubs and players.

“Support our referees – you may be angry and upset about a decision during the 90 minutes which goes against you.

"We need referees to be turning out, week in week out. I’m always happy to speak to managers too…always.

“When I started out, Steve Edwards who was at Thornton at the time, took me aside for 20 minutes after a game and gave me what I would call some constructive criticism.

"He spoke to me like a human being and it helped me – isn’t that better than ripping into someone over one mistake?”

The West Lancashire League supports the FA’s Respect programme.

• Want to be a ref? Find out about courses in Lancashire here FA Referees Course - Lancashire FA

• To officiate on the West Lancs League, email barrycropp.ref@hotmail.com

• Got a story? Get in touch – click here to find out how young journalists will be helping to bolster the West Lancashire League’s news coverage in 2021/22.

How referees are ranked
Select Group 1 – Premier League
Select Group 2 – Championship
Level 1 – Football League referee
Level 2a – National League Premier (Stockport/Wrexham etc)
Level 2b – National League North/South (AFC Fylde/Chorley etc)
Level 3 – Northern Premier League (Bamber Bridge/Lancaster etc)
Level 4 – North West Counties League (Charnock Richard/Burscough etc)
Level 5-7 – West Lancashire League and other amateur leagues.