Mr Marriner gave a good account of himself as he gave a presentation which included that great film clip made by the FA - the one where actor Ray Winston is shouting and bawling at the side of the pitch when his lad is playing a game only to find at the end everyone has left because he has driven them away.
At the end of the presentation there was a question-and-answer session which started with dozens of questions by the kids, some relevant, some amusing and some confusing! Andre answered them all very well. He then asked the parents for any questions and I have to say that some of his answers were very enlightening.
A snapshot of some of his answers and statements are as follows. (I found the last two here particularly interesting):
He's a Villa fan so he's not allowed to referee any game involving Villa, Birmingham or WBA.
He admitted that, after reviewing the video evidence after the recent game between Stoke City & Man Utd, he made a big mistake in not sending Gary Neville off.
He loves the way Arsenal play the game but couldn't agree with a lot of what Arsene Wenger said!
He couldn't understand why Man City have appointed Teves as captain as he can't speak English so he has to use Gareth Barry as some kind of interpreter when explaining something to him on the field.
He explained (justified) why he allowed the Theo Walcott goal up at Newcastle last week in the Carling Cup when there was suspicion of offside.
He confirmed that referees ARE allowed to go in front of the cameras after a game to justify their decisions, but the reason they rarely do is because many referees feel that the media are always trying to set them up.
When asked if there were any current players who were a pleasure to referee he said Yossi Benayoun and Danny Murphy as they had no airs and graces about them and were well mannered.
When asked who were the most difficult players to referee, i.e giving him verbal grief he stated Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher!!!
And when asked which ground he particularly like refereeing at he said Goodison Park because it was a great atmosphere and the fans were so passionate. (I kid you not!)
He also informed me that he will be refereeing our game against Blackpool on Saturday, so if any of you are fortunate enough to get tickets then give him a round of applause when you're there. A top, top bloke who not only gave a great presentation to the kids, but he did it free of charge! Well done Mr Marriner ? I respect you for being so honest and open.
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I remember having the conversation with him when he was thinking about packing his job in to try full-time refing as he was having to turn to many matches down through work commitments. It's funny now to see him at Goodison refing Premier League games, and seeing him deal with the big name players! He is going to be a top ref for a long time! And Matt's right, A top bloke!!
As Evertonians we have a long history with poor reffing: Clive Thomas, the Hutchison goal, Clattenburg and that slimy nosferatu Collina (he got an honorary degree from Hull University for services to sport!!) so it's hard to have sympathy with the man in the middle but well done to Andre Marriner for his input and let's pray for at least one pen on Saturday and some protection for Pienaar.
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