Tom Barber                                              1998/99                           From Watford Observer

Club man quits Sun after 50 years' service

A stalwart of Sun Postal Sports for more than half a century has decided to quit the club in protest at the standard of officials and system of fines in the Hertfordshire County League.
Tom Barber, who first played for the club when he was 15 and has since managed all three teams, encountered the final straw at Saturday's bad tempered cup game against Cuffley.
The decision highlights a faltering relationship between some clubs and the league, which is currently tightening its rules and regulations.
"It's no longer a man's game - there are players falling around, referees getting conned and referees punishing good tackles," said ex referee Barber.
"Some referees don't seem to know the difference between a late, or mis-timed tackle, and a tackle with intent."
"The other thing is the amount of fines clubs have to pay. The sort of money is ridiculous. Most clubs do not have the money."
"Things are deteriorating and I just don't enjoy it anymore,"
But Herts County League secretary Kevin Folds said most of the fines attracted by the clubs are avoidable.
One bone of contention has been the technical area rule, which limits the number of club members in the dug out and allows only one person to be standing.
Other clubs have been fined for not adhering to the rule of phoning in their result to the league within half an hour of the final whistle.
"Clubs have been sloppy in terms of administration, but with a number of new officers coming in, we have started the transition of getting rules and regulations back to standard," said Folds.
"Most of the clubs are going to find it painful, but once they get into the habit it will be for their long term benefit and the league will attract quality new clubs.
"We introduced the technical area rule because we were struggling to get officials and the linesmen did not appreciate being chased up and down the line.
There is also a safety aspect.
"The main problem is that clubs do not have the administrators anymore and they have got sloppy."
"The league has been over generous in the pat. We gave an inch and clubs took a mile. We are now applying the rules rigidly and it is hurting,"
"Any incident involving a player is down to the FA. I accept that clubs have a genuine grievance due to the fact that the penalty for an offence can be less in a Premiership game than at our level."
"For example, swearing can mean a two week suspension in the Premier League, but a five week suspension at this level, which can mean a player misses 15 games."