We've got a Mason at Anfield

I don't think many of us will forget in a long while his first Burnley game, the 3-2 home defeat against Preston in the 2007/08 season when he got so much wrong starting with his failure to give a penalty for handball on the line right at the start of the game.

That performance upset Owen Coyle and when he refereed the same fixture last season it was Alan Irvine who had much to say about a performance when the crucial decisions this time went in our favour.

His third Burnley game was the farce that was our 1-0 win at the half a ground at Blackpool. Having boasted to Burnley fans ahead of the game that he was so recognisable now because of his television appearances he had a difficult night and almost called the game off because of the ridiculous conditions. In the end it worked in our favour that he played on but I'm still to be convinced the game should have been played.

Callum Davidson was the Preston player he sent off last season, and he was one of eight players to see his red card during the 2008/09 season when he also handed out 132 yellow cards in 34 games.

He got his first Premier League game in February 2006 at Middlesbrough and has been a select group official since. Tomorrow will be his third Premier League game this season whilst he got his season off to a start with a return to Middlesbrough for a Championship game.

It's been a quiet start so far with just four yellow cards in those three games with two each to home and away teams. The first of those cards was to Rhys Williams making his Middlesbrough league debut.

Mason is currently in bottom place in our Rate the Ref feature on the message board, and some distance behind Howard Webb in the place above him.

Tomorrow the assistant referees will be Scott Ledger (South Yorkshire) and Mo Matadar (Lancashire) whilst the fourth official will be Chester referee Mike Jones.

For Matadar and Jones it is a second Burnley game this season. Matadar was one of the assistant referees for the Everton game whilst Jones was fourth official when we beat Manchester United at home last month.

Previous Burnley games:

Season	Opps	V	Res	Y	R	Burnley players carded
a
2007/08	Preston	h	2-3	2	2	Elliott McCann(R) Gudjonsson(R)
2008/09	Preston	h	3-1	4	1	.
2008/09	Blackpool	a	1-0	5	0	Kalvenes McDonald