NEIL MIDGLEY

• After he retired as a referee Midgley was an assessor for UEFA and the FA until 1999 when referee boss Philip Don fired him. (Midgley was no friend of Don).
• In the 1990s, when writing about collegues and what happened was still possible (compare those books with Frank de Bleeckere's from 2012) David Elleray wrote about Midgley that he was one of what he called "alternative" referees. According to Elleray, a good friend of Philip Don, Midgley "rarely arrives on time".
• With "altenative" Elleray and Don meant referees who didn't whistle by the book. Midgley said things weren't always black or white, but that there was a huge gray area. To Don the gray area meant inconsistency, but Midgley had different ideas.
  For instance he only used his whistle if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Often a nod and pointing with an arm was enough.
  Midgley had ideas about controlling "the herd". Take out the main guy and talk to him.
  Cards are only to stop explosive situations.
  
• Imagine the two upper-class school masters (Elleray and Don) writing books, making rules and appointing referees and the head strong self-made battery sales man Midgley.