Gwyn Pierce
Owen, headmaster of Llanddona Primary School Anglesey, is no
ordinary headmaster. He is one of those special breeds of
masochist who dares referee football matches in that cauldron
of controversy, the Football League.
His weekend
"hobby" demands that he travels the country, and
such are the extremes that one week he could be refereeing at
Hereford United, and the next, Manchester United.
So as not to
interfere with his full-time occupation as headmaster, any
weekday matches allocated to him are fairly "local",
such as Chester, Wrexham, or Shrewsbury.
For this
"Herald Special" I met Gwyn at the recent Birmingham
City v Ipswich game which had a distinct bearing on the
top of the First Division League table.
OFF TO
BRUMMAGEM
The round trip
to St. Andrew's is over 200 miles from Gwyn's home near
Beaumaris, but Gwyn is fortunate in having his close friend
Vic Owen around to chauffeur him to the country's football
stadiums.
When I arrived
at the ground at 12.40 p.m., Vic was well into his steak and
chips, courtesy of the club, but for Gwyn it was time to start
work.
A day and a
half of heavy rain had left the pitch pretty well sodden, but
after a quick inspection Gwyn was able to declare the pitch
playable as it was now drying fast. He was accompanied on the
inspection by one of his linesman, Derek Capey from
Stoke-on-Trent, who joined Gwyn and I in an exclusive
lounge for tea and sandwiches. We were also joined by
Gwyn's second linesman, John Ball from Leicester. Gwyn then
returned to his dressing room and was visited by Hugh John
whose TV company was covering the match, and is well known to
us in Wales as a contributor to HTV's "Sports
Arena".
ON CUE
A Football
League rule stipulates that team sheets should be handed to
the referee half an hour before a match, and thus the
managers, Jim Smith of Birmingham City, and Bobby
Robson of Ipswich arrived on cue and exchanged greetings,
stories and jokes before departing to give last minute
instructions to their teams.
At five to
three the teams are out on the pitch loosening up and its time
for Gwyn and his linesmen to join them.
On leaving
their dressing room they pass the player's dressing
rooms, and the Birmingham City boot room, where many a
famous player has started his career with the most recent
of them being Trevor Francis, now "on loan" to
Nottingham Forest.
Then on past the gym
to ascend a long corridor underneath the main stand . . . big enough to drive a bus down! This then forces them
right at a "T" junction and delivers them onto the
St. Andrews pitch where they are greeted by the customary
boos, which all referees take with a pinch of salt.
THE GAME
Ipswich were a
goal in front at the interval. From Gwyn's point of view the
half was tidy and nobody had questioned any of his decisions.
The second half
saw Ipswich collect two more goals and gain two
valuable points in their quest for the league title, while Birmingham
managed just one in reply.
The after-match
inquests on television and in the Press did not query any of
Gwyn's decisions which is compliment indeed to any referee. It
is often said, "If a referee is not noticed then he has
had a good game".
I'm sure
everyone at Llanddona School will give him ten out of ten for
that!
