So this is my first blog here, hopefully just one in a long series. What shall I write about? Don't expect to see exactly the same as you can read on the back page of your daily paper. The source for this blog will come more from the grass roots of football but concern issues that can also affect the upper echelons of the game. Now the ground rules have been set, let's get on.

My first contribution will concentrate on an issue that arose in the lower reaches of football in England. A match in the Blue Square South between Bromley FC and AFC Wimbledon finished in a remarkable manner when first the away team, AFC Wimbledon, scored what seemed to be the winning goal only three minutes from time. Then, in time added on, a Wimbledon player went down injured in their own penalty area and the ball was eventually kicked into touch by a Wimbledon player so that his team mate could receive help from the physio. Traditionally the ball would have been returned to Wimbledon's possession after the resulting throw in but a Bromley player punted the ball from around the halfway line towards the Wimbledon goal, apparently so that the Wimbledon goalie could retrieve it and restart the game proper. The problem was that the goalie was out of position and saw the ball sail over his head and into the back of the net! Unsportsmanlike or mishap? You decide. For me, the astonishing thing was that the referee then approached the Bromley bench and asked if they would allow Wimbledon to "walk the ball in" as compensation.  What do you think? Is this something the referee should be concerned with? Similar events have taken place in matches at all levels but this is the first time I've heard of the referee getting involved. Should this practice of "giving the ball back" continue?