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The game at Ashton Gate was his first of the season despite the close proximity to Christmas, although that was better than the previous season when he didn't referee a game until February. It can only be assumed he had injuries.
I warned ahead of the Bristol City game that here was a referee who didn't always appear to treat the two sides alike. Nothing happened at Bristol to change that view as the home side repeatedly won free kicks that would never have been given our way, and that will remain a concern ahead of the game at Plymouth.
He doesn't wave cards around confetti style though and when he sent off Neill Collins of Wolves in January as they lost 1-0 at Reading it was his first red card in over two years. He's since sent off Millwall's David Martin in a 2-2 draw at Stockport.
There were no cards in that first game of the season for him at Bristol, and in total this season he has yellow carded 39 players in 16 games, and that includes seven in Luton's 2-1 win against Grimsby on Tuesday night.
He's had a flurry of cards to home players in the last few games but it still doesn't disguise the fact that his card count is a perfect illustration of how he referees. Only twelve of those yellow cards have gone to home team players with the other 27 to away team players.
If there are any cards tomorrow then I would very much expect there to be more Burnley players carded than Plymouth.
He will be assisted by Simon Knapp (Gloucestershire) and Glyn Mellor (Derbyshire) with the fourth official duties in the hands of Richard Martin (Somerset).
Previous Burnley games:
Season | Opps | V | Res | Y | R | Burnley players carded |
a | ||||||
2005/06 | Luton | h | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | . |
2007/08 | Norwich | a | 0-2 | 4 | 0 | Alexander Blake Elliott Harley |
2008/09 | Bristol City | a | 2-1 | 0 | 0 | . |