This is amazing timing

Which of these two was really refereeing the cup tie?

Incredibly tomorrow afternoon it will be Laws in charge of our game against BRBC tomorrow at the Bradford & Bingley Pulse Flamingo Land Pension Fund Valley Parade Stadium.

That was a nightmare afternoon for Laws, particularly in the first half when he let Hessenthaler’s thugs run amok without ever coming close to taking the appropriate action. He did book three Gillingham players in a five minute spell when the nastiness was at its peak but how on earth the Gills kept eleven men on the field only Laws will ever know.

The one incident that appeared to infuriate Stan more than any other was the challenge, if indeed challenge can be used in this case, by John Hills on Glen Little on the half way line right by the touch line. He nearly put him straight through the Harry Potts Longside and into the Leisure Centre. Laws only wagged his finger at Hills for that and two minutes later was forced to get the card out to him after an assault on Robbie Blake.

But as is always the case, the manager protecting his players gets hit with a ban and a fine whilst the referee can carry on regardless which brings Laws and Burnley back together again.

Since that cup tie he has been reasonably quiet with his yellow cards but has sent off three more players taking his total for the season to eight.

His yellow card total has not gone up to 76 in 29 games but we really do need to beware tomorrow. All but one of those red cards has gone to an away player – when he sent off a home player, West Brom’s Andy Johnson, a visiting player went with him.

The yellow cards have hardly been even distributed either and of those 76 yellow cards only 24 have been given to home team players with more than twice as many with 52 going to away team players.

Tomorrow he will be assisted by Allan Rawcliffe (Greater Manchester) and Russell Tiffin (County Durham).

Previous Burnley games: