Who would be a football referee?

Who would be a football referee? Plenty of people, it turns out - and there are now more than ever in the Black Country.

The job has its fair share of pitfalls but the Wolverhampton's referees association has just been named the largest in the UK with 132 members.

And the men in black say the thrill of taking charge of a match - whether it is watched by one man and his dog or thousands of supporters - is the biggest attraction of all.

Wolverhampton and District Referees Association chairman Phil Reade argues the future of the game relies on people being willing to put themselves forward for the thankless task of taking charge of a match.

And though the game in the lower leagues may not have changed dramatically in recent decades, referees at the top level face a whole new set of challenges with the development of technology.

They run out on to the pitch in the knowledge that any mistake will be replayed and dissected by highly paid pundits from the comfort of their TV studio.

But they keep doing it - and hundreds of officials dream of getting the chance to blow the whistle at the country's top matches.

When fans and ex-players slate a Premier League referee's judgement and question his knowledge of the game, it would be worth bearing in mind that he has worked for at least 10 years to reach that standard.

Referees start at the bottom and have to climb the ladder, getting assessed three times every 20 games to step up a level.

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It takes plenty of determination to make it to level one and lead out some of the world's highest paid footballers, but Alan Wiley from Burntwood showed it was possible when he became one of the country's best known officials.

Having his fitness questioned by an irate Alex Ferguson after Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland in 2009 was a world away from his days in the West Midlands (Regional) League.

Mr Reade, himself a level four official, says only people who love football would put up with the abuse and years of hard work.

The 48-year-old said: "It's a very lonely world when you're a referee. It's you against 22 players but you get used to it and you build up the experience.

"Referees that reach the top have put the hours in on cold Sunday mornings. They do it because they love the game, not for the money, and it takes a lot of work to make your way in the game."

Mr Reade qualified as a referee in 1997 but is now stepping back from the sport as he is struggling to fit it around his day job as a postman.

But he is confident the next generation of officials will be better than ever.

"We hope that one day one of our members will make it to the Premier League," he said. "Plenty of them are good enough if they stick at it."

It is unlikely there will be many that will match Wolverhampton-born Jack Taylor's achievements, though, after he refereed the 1974 World Cup Final between West Germany and the Netherlands and famously awarded two penalties in the first 30 minutes.

Tributes poured in from legends including Sir Trevor Brooking when Mr Taylor died aged 82 in 2012 - and it raises questions over whether today's referees would command the same respect from the current stars.

Mr Taylor told his friends that refereeing was easier in his era when there were fewer cameras and less player power.

And the Black Country's longest-serving referee John Kyte said the stars of the 1960s and 70s were more well-mannered.

The 71-year-old chalked up more than 4,600 games during a 54-year odyssey that took him from the Dixon Street playing fields in Parkfields, Wolverhampton, to Anfield and Old Trafford.

He said: "Cloughie was a complete gentleman. I always used to think how well mannered his teams were. There were some big name players, internationals like Shilton and the rest. But when I would go and inspect their studs they would all lift their legs up without question."

But he insisted this should not put anyone off pursuing a career as as referee, as being part of the weekly football ritual can become a way of life.

"Football has been my life," he added. "I just love getting out there and meeting people, going to the different grounds. I always think if I had been able to keep on playing I would have been finished a long, long time ago."

Other famous former members of the Wolverhampton association are Alex Hamil, who graced the turf of every stadium in the football league during a 35-year career as an official, and Walter Wakeman who finally hung up his whistle at the age of 80 in 2008.

The WRA started life in 1910 as a sub-association of the Birmingham Referees' Association and branched out on its own a dozen years later.

And Mr Reade is keen to preserve its rich heritage and keep attracting younger members.

He said many now realised that refereeing could be a 'job for life', and school pupils as young as 14 are now taking courses as part of a Duke of Edinburgh schemes.

Though the rise of technology and its impact on the game seems unstoppable, he insists there will always be a need for a referee.

"As soon as you put the black uniform on it all changes and the players think: 'We were rubbish today - who can we blame?'" he said. "But without a referee you haven't got a game."