Razor Ray retires

[Meteoric Rise]

Can the retirement be made retrospective?

Good-bye Razorblade Raymond Chamberlain. The kindest thing I can say is I think there are worse umpires.

 

[terrybull]

We have not had good umpires since Crapp and Elder.

 

[HairyO]

One of the few competent umpires in the game

He never seemed influenced by the crowd or AFL demands, only his ego. Which these days is probably better for the game.

I saw him on a podcast a month or 2 ago and he was swearing away like a trucker. I assumed he had already retired, given players and coaches get in trouble for such things.

 

[Johnny_Dogg4]

 

[jakson68]

One of the better decision makers in a game that decisions need to be made quickly, under pressure and with 1000 things going on around him.

Has a bit of character about him.

Well done Ray

 

[jakson68]

Preempting that the retirement was coming, was it a sort of protest, or to show how the game would look, by not bouncing the ball on the weekend.

 

[SammyRoo]

He was a pretty good umpire.

I remember a game where a player was going off his chops at Ray and he says - “ Im glad you’re not talking about me with that language?! ”

Diffused the situation. No 50m paid

 

[FreddyTwoShoes]

How good would it be to have him as part of the commentary team though? Would go a long way to keeping fans informed of the rules.

Not just the fans, but the woefully out-of-date commentators too.

 

[MF]

He never seemed influenced by the crowd or AFL demands, only his ego. Which these days is probably better for the game.

Yeah that's why I always liked seeing him umpire our games. You knew he'd just make the call as he saw it without worrying about pressure from a home crowd.

 

[HairyO]

Yeah that's why I always liked seeing him umpire our games. You knew he'd just make the call as he saw it without worrying about pressure from a home crowd.

The only downside is if a player from a team pissed him off, that team wasnt getting another free kick for the rest of the game.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Haha, a bit harsh ….. 20 years of service is a great achievement considering it’s a tough job

Service?

He was being paid, wasn't he?

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Ray...umm.....I like your sheets.

 

[Sector 7G]

Yeah that's why I always liked seeing him umpire our games. You knew he'd just make the call as he saw it without worrying about pressure from a home crowd.

Not afraid to make the hard calls in the dying seconds even if that makes him unpopular with some fans. There have been far too many non decisions this year on obvious frees

 

[Back One Out]

There are many "gutless" umpires who refuse to make the hard decisions and apply the laws of the game. You could never accuse Ray Chamberlain of doing this. He always called it as he saw it, irrespective of what anyone thought of him

That's the charitable way of looking at it, anyway

 

[janty]

Thank God it's the little twerp's last game.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

I'm taking bets that he gets his umpire buddies to chair him off after the game.

Currently 600-1 that he tries to get the players to do a guard of honour for him.

 

[lizard man]

He will be missed ….. doing a good job so far tonight

 

[PenfoldsFan]

Wether you like him or not the game loses another character and is worse off for it.
Didnt know he was giving it away when I saw him out there Saturday night in the Showdown but glad I got to see him do his thing one more time.

Good on ya Razor, thanks for your contribution to the game.

 

[Port 2004]

We have not had good umpires since Crapp and Elder.

And even Crappy was crapp.

 

[Billy ray]

Will be on fox footy next year

 

[Clark G]

Will be on fox footy next year

Imagine if he went to 7 to commentate alongside BT.

 

[Billy ray]

Imagine if he went to 7 to commentate alongside BT.

He knows BT is a buffoon.

 

[My Tilly]

Good riddance.

 

[Lunchtime]

Great career - 389 games including 31 finals matches and 3 Grand Finals. He umpired the 2010 drawn Grand Final too.

Good umpire. All the best.

 

[EagleShore]

Service?

He was being paid, wasn't he?

What the heck does this mean?

Most people get paid for providing a service...that's how the economy generally operates. Many bosses and companies celebrate the longevity of their employees in a workplace, including AFL players, coaches, administrators, and...umpires.

I hope you are not an employer.