Keith Hackett is largely recognised as one of the greatest referees in the history of football, having overseen such famous games as the 1981 FA Cup Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City and the the now legendary league encounter between Mn Utd and Arsenal that resulted in a twenty-one man brawl. Keith is still out there and still active, and he joins Rob this week for an incredible retrospective across his entire career - the highs and lows - and the invaluable life lessons he's taken from the beautiful game across a lifetime of devotion. KEY TAKEAWAYS The work ethic required in order to be one of the greats, is something that isn't always evident in today's world. In Keith's generation, you had to fight for what you wanted, and the results lasted a lifetime. Refereeing isn't just about applying the laws of the game, You're managing an event. You are the man overseeing a spectacle and making sure it works. A fundamental requirement of being a good referee is to win the players over and not work against them, but alongside them, in creating a football match that lives in the memory. Referees don't want to take away from a game. They only really ever come into focus when the game demands it. This is why professionals were established. BEST MOMENTS 'It's amazing when you look back, 1960 when I started refereeing' 'You see the build-up, you see the players, you see the nervousness' 'You're like the conductor of an orchestra' 'In my day there was an affinity with the player' VALUABLE RESOURCES Leader Manager Coach Podcast      ABOUT THE GUEST Keith is a famous English former football referee who began refereeing in local leagues in the Sheffield area. He is counted amongst the top 100 referees of all time.  He became a referee on what was known as the full List at the age of only thirty two. He has refereed a plethora of famous games including The 1981 FA Cup Final between Spurs and Manchester City aged only thirty six as well as the 1990–91 infamous league encounter between Manchester United and Arsenal, notorious for the twenty one man brawl. He was one of the first set Premier League referees for its inaugural campaign before retiring from first class refereeing just short of his 50th birthday. Keith then worked as a referees' assessor, successfully authored ‘Hackett's Law; a Referee's Notebook’ and ‘You Are The Ref’ as well as being a major part of the ‘Seen Them Given’ Podcast analysing current refereeing issues. He has contributed significantly to the training of match officials for the professional game as well as writing regularly for publications like The Express and The Observer. ABOUT THE HOST Rob Ryles is a UEFA A licensed coach with a League Managers Association qualification and a science and medicine background. He has worked in the football industry in Europe, USA and Africa; at International, Premiership, League, Non-League and grassroots levels with both World Cup and European Championship experience Rob Ryles prides himself on having a forward thinking and progressive approach to the game built through his own experience as well as lessons learned from a number of highly successful managers and coaches. The Leader Manager Coach Podcast is where we take a deep dive examining knowledge, philosophies, wisdom and insight to help you lead, manage and coach in football, sport and life. CONTACT METHOD https://www.robryles.co.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMPYDVzZVnA https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertryles/?originalSubdomain=uk LEARN MORE HERE Football, coach: https://www.patreon.com/robryles This show was brought to you by Progressive Media