I don't know whether Alan Pardue sets any restrictions on Royal's players before a match, but you may have seen the item in one of Sunday's newspapers about what some managers lay down.
Jimmy Quinn when manager of Swindon apparently barred players from going grocery shopping the day before a game because it put too much strain on them. As I never go grocery shopping I can't really comment on the relevance of his ban, but I do know what he was aiming at. When I was first married my wife believed that I was using my refereeing as an excuse for not carrying out any household chores or repairs around the house on a match day. It was hard to convince her that my reluctance was genuine.
There are two aspects. Firstly, I could do myself a physical injury. Even something simple like raking up leaves for instance could result in a twisted back. But much more than any possible physical harm, there was the psychological damage that could be inflicted.
Suppose the mower broke down half way through mowing the lawn, or I put up a shelf only to find when I had finished that the spirit level showed it sloped? All these things could have a negative effect on my mental attitude and possibly the way I would approach the game and the players.
I know that there will be some, especially among my lady readers, who will think that this is just another male excuse for getting out of helping around the house, but it does mean sacrifices as well. Only last week, a cup final I was due to referee, after two cancellations through waterlogged pitches, was re-scheduled for a day I was playing golf in the morning. Imagine the mood I could have been in if I missed a few easy putts or sliced all my drives into the woods. The golf had to go.
There is often talk about full-time professional referees and the question inevitably posed is 'what difference would it make to their performance?'. I don't think it would improve their fitness - there are already fitness tests to pass every season. There is no reason to believe it would change their decisions. The one benefit I could see is that their stress levels would be a lot lower. Few people appreciate the mental pressure a referee is under prior to a match.
Just imagine sitting in the dressing room prior to refereeing Manchester United against Liverpool. The pressure on officials is far higher than on the players who are after all only one of a team. On top of that, the referee might be a busy executive who has left a load of problems behind at the office or factory.
Premiership referees have to meet with their assistant referees at least three hours before the game. This is not to make sure they don't get caught in the match traffic but so they can start to get in the right frame of mind for the game. It is increasingly recognised that mental preparation is just as important as physical.
This pre-match tension permeates down to local football. I always warn new referees that they probably won't need any All-Bran for breakfast on a match day. I know one local referee who progressed to run the line on the Football League but who could not leave his house on a Friday night before a match.
One question that is often asked about preparation for all manner of sports, is whether having sex prior to the game will affect performance. I was pleased to see recently in an article about pre-match preparation for referees, the following advice. 'It is quite O.K. to have sex on the day of a match, as long as it doesn't make you late for the pitch inspection'.
Dick Sawdon Smith