Mick
Life President
It's that time of year again. For the third year running on the first Tuesday of October, we have ex-Select Group referee, Keith Stroud from Gillingham in Dorset. Last year at Dagenham in the JPT and the year before at Barnet in the same competition.
In his ninth season as a League referee he has risen through the ranks and was employed as a PGMO official for 2 years, although he was given no Premiership matches for the second of those years whilst they sorted out contractual issues.
He last refereed Southend in that match at Dagenham which he and we cruised through without any problems. Prior to that it was the Barnet match in which he showed plenty of yellows, mainly to them, and a red to Mohsni. One of Patersons finest (few) moments in a Southend shirt.
Before those two he had done Southend 6 times before (2 w 2 l 2 d) the most notable being the vital end of season victory against Bristol City. The only previous away games were also in London - the 2-2 draw at Orient and, more recently, four seasons ago at Millwall (1-1) when he booked 7 (4 of them theirs).
A somewhat short official who doesn't hesitate to produce cards if necessary but is right more often than wrong. He does appear to like being noticed. His card count was high last season but so far this season he is decidedly average with 19 yellows and no reds from half a dozen games. He has only had one cardless match in three and a half years (and that was at Christmas time!)
Assistants are the two Carls: Brooks from St Leonards in East Sussex and Fitch, the ginger-haired school teacher from Ipswich. Fourth Official is newcomer, Constantine Hatzidakis from Bromley.
The assessor is the infamous Kelvin Morton from Bury St Edmunds. This man's refereeing career was littered with condemnation and controversy. The man who awarded 5 penalties in one match (not necessarily wrong per se) and in another game, when reaching into his pocket for a card to show a, I think, Charlton player, he instead flourished his handkerchief!
In his ninth season as a League referee he has risen through the ranks and was employed as a PGMO official for 2 years, although he was given no Premiership matches for the second of those years whilst they sorted out contractual issues.
He last refereed Southend in that match at Dagenham which he and we cruised through without any problems. Prior to that it was the Barnet match in which he showed plenty of yellows, mainly to them, and a red to Mohsni. One of Patersons finest (few) moments in a Southend shirt.
Before those two he had done Southend 6 times before (2 w 2 l 2 d) the most notable being the vital end of season victory against Bristol City. The only previous away games were also in London - the 2-2 draw at Orient and, more recently, four seasons ago at Millwall (1-1) when he booked 7 (4 of them theirs).
A somewhat short official who doesn't hesitate to produce cards if necessary but is right more often than wrong. He does appear to like being noticed. His card count was high last season but so far this season he is decidedly average with 19 yellows and no reds from half a dozen games. He has only had one cardless match in three and a half years (and that was at Christmas time!)
Assistants are the two Carls: Brooks from St Leonards in East Sussex and Fitch, the ginger-haired school teacher from Ipswich. Fourth Official is newcomer, Constantine Hatzidakis from Bromley.
The assessor is the infamous Kelvin Morton from Bury St Edmunds. This man's refereeing career was littered with condemnation and controversy. The man who awarded 5 penalties in one match (not necessarily wrong per se) and in another game, when reaching into his pocket for a card to show a, I think, Charlton player, he instead flourished his handkerchief!
