Last year's trip to Southampton was forgettable to say the least.

Because it seemed so far away on the map, we left Blackpool ridiculously early and arrived on the south coast four and a half hours before kick off.

It was then that I discovered Southampton was not the quaint coastal resort I had hoped for - a Bournemouth or a Torquay, say, complete with deckchairs, teashops and pensioners with hip replacements skipping along the beach - but an industrial port.

There was nothing to do except wait until kick off, and after the ref blew his whistle the day didn't get much better.

Pool were robbed of a draw when Gary Taylor-Fletcher had a brilliant diving header ruled out.

The referee (Iain Williamson from Berkshire - let's name him, he deserves it) made an embarrassingly bad decision, blowing up for a foul on Danny Coid at the precise moment the full back delivered a cross from which Taylor-Fletcher scored.

It was an awful example of why every official should always strive to play advantage.

Pool lost 1-0 and Simon Grayson's mood at the final whistle was as dark as a winter's day in Manchester

What made it worse was that the referee would not come out of his room to speak to anyone, neither the Blackpool manager or the media.

That is disgraceful and one thing I can't understand.

OK, refs have a tough job. A very tough job.

But they have to be accountable for their performances, just as a baker takes the blame for a bad loaf, a manager for a bad result and Gordon Brown for the country going to pot (oops, I digress...)

Part of that accountability involves talking to the media and yet Williamson didn't have the bottle.

Instead the refereeing assessor eventually came out a good 45 minutes after the game had ended and explained, very apologetically, that Williamson had basically made an error.

Honest enough but no comfort for Grayson, whose side were in the middle of a miserable run (one win in the previous 11 outings) and desperate for any kind of positive result they could get.

At least the Blackpool manager made the return journey by plane and was in front of the fire at his Skipton home with a glass of red wine by 9pm.

At that time, the rest of us were just parking up at Stafford services, about to start queuing at Burger King.

Let's hope Saturday's trip is more enjoyable and, given the kick off time, at least we'll all be back home a little earlier, airplane or not.

*Interestingly enough Williamson was up to his old tricks again at the weekend.

He was the ref in charge of the Crystal Palace-Burnley game. What happened? Two Palace players red carded and seven booked.

You'll be relieved to hear Williamson will be nowhere near Southampton on Saturday.

Premiership ref Andre Marriner is the man in charge.

>> Kabba backed to recapture prolific form

Do you agree with Steve? Leave your thoughts below.