The Bleak Midwinter

How comforting it must be for beleaguered Premiership referees to know that they can count on Jeff Winter to pop up on television or on the radio or in print (any form of media he can get exposure on actually) to announce loftily that in his opinion the standard can be improved a lot.

Cynics might say that Winter, who retired almost three years ago (to the relief of many) is eminently well qualified to pronounce judgement on a very average bunch of referees, on the grounds that at his very best he was decidedly average himself.

Unfortunately, we’re all stuck with him, because in spite of the fact that he hasn’t the face for television, or the voice for radio, or the vocabulary for any of the media, Winter’s unjustifiable narcissism and compulsive arrogance absolutely guarantee that he will continue to offer his shallow and boring opinions for as long as people are foolish enough to indulge him.