Seeing Red

This book was a great read, couldn't hardly put it down and when I did I was anxiously awaiting a moment to get back to it. I have gained a whole bunch of respect for referees after reading this, didn't realize how much pressure they are under to be at top form. I have also learned so much about the game after reading this book. No doubt this is a must read for football (soccer) fans old and new.

This is from the perspective of an American who has played soccer since the 60s but never really became a regular spectator until the past couple of years, when English Premier League games have become available weekly on TV here. Before this book I knew of Poll only from the headlines of his 2006 World Cup gaffe and the ridicule to which he was subjected in one of the final anecdotes in Chuck Culpepper's book Bloody Confused: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer (a gem of a book, by the way - I'll have to write a review of it very soon). As has been mentioned by an earlier reviewer, the most impressive part of this book is the description of the degree to which soccer refereeing is a very serious calling that requires quite a high level of cardiovascular fitness as well as the mental aspect of making judgments, knowing the game itself and its rules, and maintaining a subtle, qualitative sense of the personalities and the changing emotional state of the players during a game. My two strongest reactions were: 1.) Top-level officials are people, too ("Duh!") and 2.) I would love to see baseball umpires as closely and constantly evaluated and (especially!) assigned to the most prominent games and series on a largely meritocratic basis, as Poll describes for English and international soccer. (Yes, he also describes cases in which politics or personalities were a consideration, but that seems really to be a relatively minor issue.) Since reading this book I now fairly regularly read his column on the Daily Mail web site, which partly just rehashes some of the points made here but includes many new and insightful comments as well. (The typical responses also show how much a certain segment of the English public seem never to tire of putting down the substance of anything he says with the shopworn witticism "You can't even count to two." Gee, maybe Americans don't have a complete monopoly on boorish and self-righteous comments about sports and the people involved in them!) Also as mentioned by an earlier reviewer, the flow of the book is a bit disorienting, since a large part of it is chronologically arranged, but a large part is not. This is a fairly minor quibble, however. I learned a lot from this book as a whole, and it was nearly always enjoyable page-by-page as well.

The book is very interesting but not gripping. It provides a nice insight into how the refs interact with the EPL and International Soccer. I never realized the scrutiny the top refs are under nor the level of dedication they are required to have to earn an appointment to a World Cup match.

I've read many books about soccer/football over the years and this one was very eye opening. If you sit down and think about it, every story comes from the fan's point of view, in one indirect way or another. Graham Poll, however, is not your average fan, he loves the game, yet has no affiliation with any team. As a referee, he must deal with the abuse of the players, media, and fans. His pure love for the beautiful game is the only thing keeping him on the pitch. His stories are truly amazing, taking the reader from the locker rooms of gigantic stadiums to the playing fields themselves with stories that have never been told before. His motivation to be the best ref in the world provides for a new outlook on the game of football, and this book was a joy to read, as multiple layers of human emotions are peeled away, chapter by chapter.