Around One – They are using them for paper aeroplanes

Last updated : 12 October 2003 By Tony Scholes

Referee Prosser - not the best of games at Derby
This fixture saw all but one of the weekend goals but it was Prosser’s performance that was the talking point after the game despite the exciting 2-2 result, Wigan’s fourth consecutive draw.

The point took Wigan up two places to third but a two-goal victory would have seen them go back to the top above West Brom on goal difference. That looked very much on the cards too when they found themselves 2-0 at Pride Park just after the half hour with two Andy Liddle goals.

But Derby came back to earn a point with a controversial Ian Taylor penalty five minutes before the break and a second from Lee Morris in the second half.

It was the penalty above all other things that sparked things off and Wigan manage Paul Jewell had a real go at Prosser after the game but was not on his own.

"If that's a penalty, I'm a Chinaman; it was an horrendous decision," said Jewell. "How on earth he sees that as a penalty I don't know, I think the referee was the only one in the ground who did think it was a penalty.

"I'm not one to bang on about referees, but something has got to be done because both George Burley and I were doing our heads in on the touchline. It seems these days every manager in the country ends up talking about the referee's performance and that's got to be wrong.

"You mark them down and make comments on your report but I reckon they just use them for paper aeroplanes because nothing ever gets done."

Derby manager George Burley was more reserved in his comments than Jewell and said only, "There were a lot of decisions out there which I thought were wrong but we could not influence those, we had to remain professional."

That didn’t stop one his own players from joining in though, central defender Michael Johnson. He said, "The referee got too much wrong and spoiled the game. What does this referee want, fairies out there? I said to him after one free kick that it was just two players going for the ball so he booked me for dissent and moved the ball forward ten yards."

Prosser by the way has now refereed 10 games this season and has already handed out an astonishing 60 yellow and 6 red cards.

After all that we needed a quiet game and that’s exactly what we got at Millmoor as Rotherham and Millwall fought out a 0-0 draw. It was described as a match with little action and hardly a chance.

The scoreline had little to do with the quality of the defenders but more the lack of quality in the forward play from either side.

Ronnie Moore admitted after the game that with the lack of invention in the Rotherham midfield that he didn’t think Ruud van Nistelrooy would get goals for the Millmoor club.

Marlon Beresford - in form for Bradford City but still couldn't prevent them going down to a 1-0 home defeat
The third and final game in the division took place at the Bradford & Bingley Pulse Flamingo Land Valley Parade Stadium between Bradford City and Ipswich Town and had this been a boxing match it would have been all over by ten minutes past three.

Marlon Beresford was dropped by Bradford City after a home defeat against Sheffield United but he was back in the side yesterday with first choice keeper Mark Paston away on international duty with New Zealand.

He was on form too and even saved a first half penalty. For most of the match he stopped everything that Ipswich could throw at him and the only time he was beaten was three minutes before half time when Alan Mahon, on loan to Ipswich from Blackburn, hit home from distance which Beresford had no hope of reaching.

It was such a one sided game that Jeff Stelling on Sky’s Soccer Saturday suddenly proclaimed at one point during the second half. "We’ve got some great news for Bradford fans", and after a pause added, "They have just won a corner."

All the other games, nine of them, were called off because of international call ups and the Nationwide League really are going to have to take a close look at this. The idea of playing international matches on Saturdays is going to continue and we now have this constant wait to see whether games are going ahead.

Maybe it is time now to have no scheduled fixtures on the day to avoid all this, our game for example was only called off last Monday just five days before.

This week sees a full midweek fixture list and the full week’s fixtures are below with all midweek games kicking off at 7:45 p.m. and all weekend games at 3:00 p.m. unless otherwise shown.

Tuesday 14th October

Crewe Alexandra v Bradford City
Crystal Palace v Derby County (8:00 p.m.)
Ipswich Town v Burnley
Millwall v Preston North End
Nottingham Forest v Rotherham United
Reading v Gillingham (8:00 p.m.)
Sunderland v Cardiff City (8:00 p.m.)
Watford v Walsall
West Bromwich Albion v Sheffield United
Wigan Athletic v Stoke City (8:00 p.m.)

Wednesday 15th October

Coventry City v Franchise
West Ham United v Norwich City

Saturday 18th October

Coventry City v Cardiff City (12:30 p.m.)
Crewe Alexandra v Derby County
Crystal Palace v Rotherham United
Ipswich Town v Stoke City (5:35 p.m.)
Millwall v Sheffield United
Nottingham Forest v Franchise
Reading v Preston North End
Sunderland v Walsall
Watford v Bradford City
West Bromwich Albion v Norwich City
West Ham United v Burnley
Wigan Athletic v Gillingham

With little change to the leading goal scorers this week we will instead list those who have scored three or more goals in a game this season.

4

Robert Earnshaw

13th September

Cardiff v Gillingham (home)

3

Dougie Freedman

9th August

Crystal Palace v Burnley (away)

3

Peter Ndlovu

20th September

Sheffield United v Cardiff (home)

3

Delroy Facey

4th October

Burnley v Walsall (home)