An evening with mike dean, 30 January 2020

An evening with Mike Dean

Simon Parkinson
Part one of a three-part story with Premier League Referee, Mike Dean

Top Prem ref Dean pulls no punches at successful Gloucestershire/Somerset FA event

PREMIER League referee Mike Dean proved an entertaining and open speaker at an event jointly staged by Gloucestershire FA and Somerset FA.

The long-serving and well-respected 51-year-old official from The Wirral on Merseyside took to the stage to address an intrigued audience, comprising local registered referees in the main, inside the Grace Room at Bristol County Cricket Ground which plays home to Gloucestershire CCC.

And true to his colourful and professional performances on the pitch, self-confessed Tranmere Rovers fan Mr Dean wasn’t shy in coming forward when it came to his responses to a series of pertinent questions during a lively question and answer exchange!

The forum, attended by some 160 people, was organised by Gloucestershire FA referee development officer Roger Vaughan in tandem with his Somerset FA colleague Matt Eva.

The evening involved a raffle draw which included, as first prize, a referee jersey signed by Mike Dean, a signed football and signed Nike T-shirt as second and third hand-outs as well as a Nike winter jacket and more T-shirts, all of which were provided by the two county football associations.

Following a short montage of film clips showing Mr Dean in action, it was on to the questions which he appeared perfectly prepared to tackle head on.

Informed by the first questioner that Mr Dean “comes across on television as being arrogant,” the candid Prem pro replied:  “I do come across as a little bit arrogant, I’ll be honest with you.

“I’m quite a confident person on the field of play but once you get to know me I’m not as arrogant as you might think I am.

“There’s a little bit of arrogance which I think you have to have because if you let your guard down on the field of play players will get one over you.”

Referencing an excerpt shown prior to his evening address appearing to celebrate a Tottenham goal against Aston Villa in a November 2015 Premier League fixture, Dean admitted: “I enjoy what I do. It probably comes across that I enjoy it too much as you see with that clip.”

Asked about the best and worst manager he’d dealt with, Mr Dean replied with one familiar name: “Alex Ferguson, who was hard on you when he had to be.”

Read part 2 and 3 of Mike Dean's visit to the South-West on the Local Football News here.