CONTINUING our weekly pulse-taking of our 'patient' - the local football scene - we speak this Saturday to two gentlemen who assess the overall state of health from the referee's standpoint.

Keith Whittaker has been with the Bolton Referees Society since 1972, has served with distinction in a variety of roles and is the current secretary.

"In terms of number of members we are down, even on last season," Keith explains. "We have lost about 20 and are now around the 60 mark but not all those members are still active referees. Obviously the things that effect teams hit us as well. We too have lost numbers because the Wanderers are in the Premiership and some lads would rather go and watch.

"With the demise of the Combination there is very little demand on us on a Saturday whereas on a Sunday it can be a struggle to meet requirements. What must be realised is that there is no compulsion on referees to join the society and there are quite a few out there who are not members.

"We offer advantages such as insurance, training and support but the choice is theirs. It's a fair bet though that you could go around on a Sunday and spot which referees are society members and which not. On the plus side we do have new lads aged just 14 and 15 attending our Friday night instruction classes.

"We are the oldest town referees society in the world having been formed in 1897. Staffordshire was formed the year before us but that's a county association. During that time we have had five FA Cup Final referees, 25 made the Football League and 72 as linesmen. Currently we have Lee Mason as a Premiership assistant and David Unsworth and David Enwright as League assistants. All those lads, like the rest of us, learned their trade on the fields of Bolton starting with refereeing in the Boys Fed.

"We don't throw lads in at the deep end. We have a monitoring scheme so as they start to take charge of Boys Fed matches we have a senior referee there with them for their first few games. We also have our monthly meetings when we have guest speakers. Over recent years it has been a struggle to keep the numbers up. Fifteen years ago we had 135 members - now as I said its around 60."

Down in Leigh it's a different tale. Frank Mort Chairman of the Leigh Referees Society tells us: "We're doing quite well. Our numbers have never been better. We're up over the 40 mark and that's a record for us. We regularly have 15 plus lads at our Tuesday night training sessions and those are new referees. Our monthly meetings are always well supported and we have never needed to advertise, its all word of mouth, we are always looking to add to our numbers."

If anyone is interested in starting refereeing contact numbers are Bolton - Keith Whittaker 01204 792201, Recruitment Officer Jim Waring 01204 306280. Leigh - Frank Mort - 01942 511968, Gilbert Wilkinson 01942 883285.