Mike Dean Today

[Cider Queen]

What a refreshing change to see a decent ref down the gate, I'm sure there are many that will moan but in my opinion he let the game flow by allowing BOTH sides to get away with the sort of tackles that many other refs would whistle for. It is a man's game after all!

The other thing I noticed was that none of the players were back chatting him, he seem to have respect.

Oh and from my seat in the Dolman JCR fell over the ball on the break so refs decision was good!

I've seen him on TV and not been that impressed but today changed that.

[Rocky]

Few lucky decisions went our way but yeah for a prem ref he did ok.

[Globe Trotter]

i thought he had a very good game, let the play flow and when players (from both sides) went down, was quick to wave it away and get on with the game. a refreshing change from the whitstle happy norm

[formerly known as ivan]

he was crap, for both teams. blatent fouls not given throughout the game. i'm all for letting the game flow but there were times where fouls went unpunished.

on that performance he can expect to be at the sags next weekend

[simonwheeler]

he was crap, for both teams. blatent fouls not given throughout the game. i'm all for letting the game flow but there were times where fouls went unpunished.

on that performance he can expect to be at the sags next weekend

Just shows that football is a game of opinions? I thought he was one of the best that we have had at the Gate this season (not difficult when you are up against the D'Urso's and Kettles of this world admittedly) but he managed the game with common sense, only blew the whistle when he had to and was quite clearly chatting to the players with a little word here and a little word there during the game, instead of stopping the game and giving them a long lecture? Also his booking of the little cheat Cotterell was spot on - Just wish a lot more refs had the confidence to act on players throwing themselves to the ground?

No sign of him being a Premier League big time charlie and a refreshing change to the usual suspects that we have to endure. Well referee'd and it can only be hoped that when we see more of Mike Dean and the like by getting promoted to a higher level of which in my opinion he certainly is in the referee league.

[iWurzel]

Despite my initial concern about him when announced I thought he was one of the better refs we've had this season.

[redbert]

Thought he was good. Let the game flow and got most things right . Unlike the **** behind me in the Attyeo who just moaned about him all game talk about watching to much telly?.

[Riaz]

he was terrible.

[gordie]

Thought he did ok, have seen better have seen worse, the one good thing he did was try to let the game flow whenever possible on the other hand this may be just me but by his stature when giving free kicks, talking to players etc he comes across as an arrogant big time charlie, like i said just imo

[beaverface]

Thought he did ok, have seen better have seen worse, the one good thing he did was try to let the game flow whenever possible on the other hand this may be just me but by his stature when giving free kicks, talking to players etc he comes across as an arrogant big time charlie, like i said just imo

And this did annoy a few of the players. At one point we got followed, he let the game carry on and we gained no advantage at all, and he then let Swansea carry on with play - rubbish decision!

You could also tell how much stuff he got wrong by the number of times the players were slapping the floor in frustration when no free kicks were awarded.

I wouldn't say he's the best ref we've had down here, he just didn't give many fouls !!

On a final note, I don't think lower divisions should have referees that have been "demoted" from the Premier league as a way of punishment. To me, a football clubs results are far more important in the lower divisions, because you are talking about peoples livelihoods ie. their wages actually pay their mortgages, unlike the top players who don't see cash as important.

A referee should play at a different level each week and incur a different kind of punishment if they make a major cock up!

[Nibor]

One of the better refs we've seen IMO - he didn't let players get away with going down easily or diving and he got his decisions right.

[Antman]

And this did annoy a few of the players. At one point we got followed, he let the game carry on and we gained no advantage at all, and he then let Swansea carry on with play - rubbish decision!

You could also tell how much stuff he got wrong by the number of times the players were slapping the floor in frustration when no free kicks were awarded.

I wouldn't say he's the best ref we've had down here, he just didn't give many fouls !!

On a final note, I don't think lower divisions should have referees that have been "demoted" from the Premier league as a way of punishment. To me, a football clubs results are far more important in the lower divisions, because you are talking about peoples livelihoods ie. their wages actually pay their mortgages, unlike the top players who don't see cash as important.

A referee should play at a different level each week and incur a different kind of punishment if they make a major cock up!

I thought he was a good referee, Because players 'slap the floor' doesn't mean it was a foul not given, it just means they didn't get their way. we've let our game turn into a namby pamby, no tackling (under FIFA edict) version of what it should be.

I for one also enjoyed the way he let many incidents go, too many whistles just breaks up the game. it wasn't in favour of one or the other team either, he did it equally in my eyes.

good ref.

[Alex_BCFC]

Had a reasonable game.

[beaverface]

I thought he was a good referee, Because players 'slap the floor' doesn't mean it was a foul not given, it just means they didn't get their way. we've let our game turn into a namby pamby, no tackling (under FIFA edict) version of what it should be.

I for one also enjoyed the way he let many incidents go, too many whistles just breaks up the game. it wasn't in favour of one or the other team either, he did it equally in my eyes.

good ref.

Yep I agree with you - slapping the floor doesn't mean it's a foul, however this happened many times yesterday which makes me inclined to think that players continued to get frustrated with the referee.

Can anybody also remember that sliding challenge on Danny Haynes in the first half when the ball blatantly came off the Swansea player and the Swansea fans game an ironic cheer when they got the throw in? or what about the other free kick the ref gave to Swansea in the first half, when he gave the free kick only after the Swansea fans shouted?

[Chivs]

I'd be really interested to hear what the players thought about Dean.

I can't quite make my mind up about him.

Strangely, I think he ran the game the way I'd like a ref to run it. He let namby-pamby innocuous fouls go by but stopped the blatant cheating of Cotteril. He was even-handed to both teams and he seemed to communicate well with the players.

Nevertheless, I was annoyed at the time that he was overlooking the obvious fouls. I suspect this is because I have become brain-washed (by Sky and BBC) to think that all those Premiershit prima-donnas (and even worse the internationals) falling over when they are breathed upon should result in a foul.

Therefore, I think he was good but not typical!

My only gripe was that he didn't penalise players (including Maynard and Clarkson) who kicked the ball away when there was a foul awarded.

[Redcliffe 78]

With Chelsea being my second team him and one of the linesman yesterday (sorry assitant referees) are both excellent officials IMO.

[bucksred]

One of the worst I've seen at the Gate. like a previous poster said, with any luck the Mammary Dump is his next stop.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Certainly better than the referee vs Forest, that's for sure.

Was better than I feared he would be, as far as I could tell he got the big decisions correct.

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

I agree with those who rated his performance highly. I thought he kept the game moving well, and didn't blow up for anything trivial. It meant a few 'offences' that fussier refs might have stopped the game for went unpunished, but I thought he was fair to both sides and it was refreshing to see a referee who allowed a bit of physical contact.

[italian dave]

Well, one thing's for sure - people arent indifferent about him!

For what its worth I thought he had a good game - kept it flowing and did so consistently, which I would have though helped players. Its the ones who keep it flowing when we get fouled, and then get picky when we're doing the fouling that I hate!