O is for Officials

F is for Follow-up - Subbuteo, but it was so long ago I did the Subbuteo 'round-up' posts it might as well have its own title.

Today we're looking primarily at the new set of match officials from the resurrected Hasbro Subbuteo (carried in the UK by Paul Lamond Games), actually called Official Referees Set, you get four completely new sculpts and a spare ball (you can't have too many spare balls; they tend to leave the table easily and don't support the weight of a human in shoes terribly well!), firmly embedded in a vac-form tray and further ensconced in a window-box - so you can see what you're getting.

Compared to the older (Charles Stadden) sculpts, these new ones are slightly smoother, and although not the soft, pliable polymer of the new players, are in what seems to be a pretty survivable hard plastic like polypropylene? Also where the older sets gave you two identical linesmen, this new set has opposite flags, so whichever side you place them, the 'wind' will be true across, or on both sides of the pitch!

The digital substitution board is a nice touch and as far as I know the first time he's been seen on the Subbuteo sidelines? I see a market for a set of stickers . . . or it'll be continual bad luck for Number 2!

While the cultural changes in football over the years are evident in the Ref ' who used to be firmly pointing to the penalty spot - no questions asked - but is now waving in the hope that whichever miscreant primadonna it is, will realise he's not getting away with it!

While I had them out I sorted a few others that have come in since the last set of posts and found that there are now three generations of policemen to join the three generations of St. John's Ambulance we looked at previously.

With the first type slotting into players bases (with all those pitch invasions in the 1970's they needed to move round the pitch quickly!), then a similarly based figure to the last set. I only have the one - so far, so don't know how many there were in the set, but it looks like the 1^st type were converted to integral-bases and all three issues seem to be by the hand of Stadden?

Buckshee shot on the right of the rest of the set, but I don't know what I was doing there or why I cut his hat off?

Finally, while I'm comparing; the old pitch versus the new pitch, I know some old-school die-hards have some harsh-words for the new pitch elsewhere online, but then the old school always hate change in any field of endevor!

The fact is - it is first and foremost a plaything for kids - it will follow industry trends and changes in technology as time passes and the new nylon pitch holds its shape better than the old felt one which would warp over time. I do think it could be a lighter green . . . and it (the new one) will be very useful for 'charging-up' balloons and sticking them to the ceiling at parties . . . every cloud!