Football: Dave Powell retires as Chester and District FA referees secretary after 26 years

Mar 3 2011 by Dave Bettley, Chester Chronicle

THE role of appointing match officials for the city’s grassroots football has been in safe keeping for more than a quarter of a century.

But after 26 years of sterling service as Chester & District Football Association referees’ secretary, one-time amateur goalkeeper Dave Powell will be handing the job on at the end of this season.

“It’s not that I can’t do it any more but at 66, it is time I stood down to let somebody younger take over,” he said.

The retired Cheshire County Council building services manager will continue in the game through other duties, including those as the county FA’s longest- serving referees’ coach instructor.

Himself a former class-one referee and county assessor, Powell, of Brook Lane, Chester, took up the whistle when injury prematurely cut short his playing career.

He had spells between the sticks with the now defunct Mickle Trafford and Cheshire County Officers (these days known as Upton AA) before knee problems struck at the age of 29.

He qualified as a referee and rose to West Cheshire League level while running the line in the old Cheshire County League, which became part of the North West Counties (now Vodkat) League.

Allocating officials to games in the Chester & District Leagues is just one of the many and varied tasks Powell has undertaken since becoming referees’ secretary in 1985 on retirement from the middle aged 40.

Just some of the other roles the position entails are reporting to Chester & District FA meetings; representing the district on the Cheshire County FA referees’ committee; collating referee registrations; nominating officials for county cups; arranging assessments and providing promotion reports.

“It’s a 10 or 11 month-a-year role really,” said father-of-four Powell.

“I think as the years have gone by, there’s more and more football, which is great.

“Probably when I took over there was senior football and a bit of youth and junior football. Now we’ve got veterans’ and ladies’ football and quite rightly so. It has really snowballed in the last 10 years.

“But with our district committee and people like secretary Ian Speed and president Tony Summers, who are both also on the Cheshire FA full council, you couldn’t have better people involved.”

One of the many highlights for Powell has been charting Mike Jones’ rise from the Chester & District referees’ ranks to the Barclays Premier League list.

“Mike’s ability has got him there – we just got him started,” said Powell.

“He is a smashing lad to boot and all the success he’s had has been well deserved. He’s worked very, very hard.”

Powell has countless tales to tell of his officiating days. A Manchester versus London schoolboys’ fixture introduced him, for instance, to a certain Ryan Giggs, who at 15 years old was already a ‘phenomenal talent’ on his way to a glorious career at Manchester United.

An England Schoolboys’ match against Holland at the old Wembley threw up another big name of the future.

Michael Thomas will always be remembered for his last- gasp clincher for Arsenal at Liverpool in the 1989 Division One title decider.

There have been some funny moments, too – not that Powell necessarily found them humorous at the time!

“A goalkeeper and a referee – I think you have to be a bit barmy to do both!” he quipped.

“I always remember when I was going for promotion as a referee to the old class one.

“The referee’s kit we used to have in those days was the old Bukta kit like (England’s 1974 World Cup final referee) Jack Taylor wore. It was made of nylon with the collars and cuffs clipped on.

“Then, Clive Thomas created his own kit, made of the ultra-new material.

“My wife Pauline – we’ve now been married 44 years – was a very good seamstress and decided to make me a kit. It was a cracking kit. I wore it and it looked the business.

“But one day I was at Cammell Lairds and didn’t have a particularly good game.

“Somebody came up to me after the final whistle and said: ‘The kit’s smashing – but as for the guy who’s wearing it...’. Well, I wouldn’t like to repeat what he said!”