The Hampshire based referee has refereed in the Premier League this season but is no longer one of the select group and he's a referee who first refereed us at Plymouth in 2005 and has refereed us six times since.
The last two of those games were in our promotion season, the home games against Millwall and Wigan when he had two decent games. That's been the pattern really but he is a referee who is fond of his cards and has twice sent off Burnley players.
He dismissed Steven Caldwell at Chelsea on the night we knocked them out of the Carling Cup and in the 2010/11 season got it badly wrong in my view when he sent off Clarke Carlisle at Millwall and missed Steve Morison's dig at Andre Bikey that led to us losing both central defenders in the first 14 minutes of the game.
I mention his liking for cards and last season he managed to reach a total of 190, 183 yellow and seven red, in 41 games and that is par for him although this season he's averaging less than four cards per game with 45 yellow and a solitary red card in twelve games.
The one red card came at Ashton Gate in Andre Gray's last game for Brentford. They were trailing 2-1 against Bristol City when the home side had Luke Freeman sent off. Stroud had no alternative and got the decision absolutely spot on with Brentford going on to win 4-2 and Gray getting the third.
Of those yellow cards, 23 have gone to home team players and 22 to away team players. The last two came in his last game between Oxford and Plymouth last week. Oxford won the game 1-0 but the two players carded were Plymouths' C Nelson and G Carey.
The Carlisle red apart, we've not had any real problems with him but it will be a big surprise if here aren't a few cards from one of the most prolific in the league.
Keith Stroud is currently 31st in RATE THE REF with a rating of 64.88 out of 100.
The assistant referees are Glen Hart (County Durham) and Shaun Hudson (Tyne & Wear). The fourth official is Football League referee Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire) who is still to referee a Burnley game.
Previous Burnley Games
| Season | Opponents | V | Res | Y | R | Burnley Players Carded |
| 2005/06 | PLYMOUTH | a | 0-1 | 7 | 0 | n Duff, Harley |
| 2005/06 | QPR | a | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | n McGreal, Sinclair |
| 2008/09 | CHELSEA | a | 1-1 | 4 | 1 | n Akinbiyi, Eagles n Caldwell |
| 2008/09 | BIRMINGHAM | a | 1-1 | 4 | 0 | n Kalvenes, Thompson |
| 2010/11 | MILLWALL | a | 1-1 | 3 | 1 | n Eagles n Carlisle |
| 2013/14 | MILLWALL | h | 3-1 | 3 | 0 | n Ings |
| 2013/14 | WIGAN | h | 2-0 | 6 | 0 | n Barnes, Mee |