Largs Thistle legend George Wall writes for the News about football matters local, national and international...

Largs by all accounts were unlucky not to get the three points on Saturday against Glenafton.

Largs remain in eighth position in the league, with 12 points from 10 games. Seven games in and Beith drop their first points of the season drawing 3 - 3 with St Cadoc’s allowing Clydebank to go top of the league albeit having played two games more than the Beith.

Seven games in, we also have Talbot winning their first league game 2-0 against Irvine Meadow. The “Medda” are now at the bottom of the league courtesy of that defeat and Glanafton snatching that point against Largs.

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No live football for me at the weekend. It was interesting listening to the radio and all the “pundits” giving their opinions on the games being played. I remember back in the day, one of the highlights for me coming home from a game was waiting for Drew Cochrane to give his update and results on West Sound of the junior games. Drew was very articulate and his description of the game he was at gave you a clear image of what was going on at that game. It was also the only way to get results before the Sunday papers.

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It’s been reported that the Saudi Pro League are offering tax-free salaries of £330,000 to European referees, more than three times higher than the wages paid to the top refs in the English Premier League who are full time. A couple of Largs supporters I know, David Rumbold and Graeme Swanson, would be happy to see the back of some of the refs in our league. There really are some poor refs around and ones you can’t even talk to. Take the suspension of Largs manager Stuart Davidson as an example. I know we need refs and there are not enough of them to go around with some clubs who request assistant refs unable to get them.

At grassroots level, refs do have a hard job and they will make mistakes as they are starting out. One comment I get from a grassroots ref is that the “laws” were becoming too complicated to execute. He does not understand some of the changes made. Maybe they all make sense to the top refs who have VAR to help them but we are all subject to the same laws, no matter the level of the game.

Let’s give the grassroots refs some leeway but at WoSFL level, refs need to step up their game. The good refs in my day were the ones who spoke to you, Jim McCluskey being one, others being Dougie Smith and Willie McLeish.

You knew where you stood with these guys and you gave them respect. I was once sent off by a ref for not giving him my name. The conversation went, “Mr Wall what’s your name ?” I replied, “you’re having a laugh”. Red card for me for not giving him my name. However any junior fan that watched my era playing will know the best referee ever was Ross Findlay, of Auchinleck Talbot. At the end of the day refs have a hard job - but some make it hard for themselves.