Premiership referee Mike Dean drops down into the Championship for the third time this season to take charge of Coventry City v Queens Park Rangers

Coventry City v Queens Park Rangers
Referee – Mike Dean (Wirral)
Assistants – Richards (Camarthenshire) and Stokes (Wirral)
Fourth Official – Whitestone (Northampton)

We start this midweek referee preview with the inevitable news that Andy D’Urso has admitted his mistake and rescinded the red card handed out to Stoke’s Andy Griffin at Loftus Road on Sunday. It was a poor decision, even at normal speed, and I’ve been surprised at the amount of people I’ve spoken to who thought it was a red card and who have made excuses for D’Urso talking about the angle he saw it at and things like this. A poor decision, more than likely influenced by the ridiculous media furore over how many bad tackles there are at the moment.

Footballers will commit bad tackles as long as they’ve got a hole in their arse, it’s part of the game. Is there really any need for the hysteria around at the minute and referees racing across with red cards in their hands every time somebody dives into a tackle? I’m intrigued not only by D’Urso but by all referees who are sprinting across to such incidents and showing a red card immediately. I always told when I was refereeing to chill out a little bit, give yourself some time to consider the decision, and explain fully to the player why you were making it. Very little of that in evidence on Sunday, and at West Ham’s last two home games.

In other news Frank Lampard got off on appeal after his sending off at Upton Park – rightly so. Although why he gets off and Jeremie Aliadiere gets an extra match for a frivolous appeal I’ll never know. Big club syndrome having an impact in there me thinks.

It’s a Premiership referee for us at Coventry on Wednesday – Mike Dean. The Wirral official is currently top of the referee league for his performance in the Chelsea match – having said that, and although that was a local derby, he didn’t really have much to referee that day as Chelsea played below their usual level and QPR spent the afternoon getting to know each other.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral) 9 - An almost faultless display with just one free kick given for a foul on Mikel that I would question. Allowed the game to flow, only showed one card. Great stuff. LFW Chelsea Match Report

He had a decent game in a London derby with us last season as well, although again the game ended in a defeat for us – 3-0 at Selhurst Park on that occasion. That was good enough for second place on last season’s referee league.

Referee: M Dean 8 - Nothing to referee really but allowed the game to flow, used the cards sensibly and didn't get too much wrong. Certainly one of his better displays of late. LFW Palace Match Report

Dean is of course one of the game’s top officials in this country and passed the 100 yellow card mark for the season last week in the Birmingham v Arsenal game which of course featured the sending off of Martin Taylor, who could have been playing for QPR at Coventry had the January transfer window activity gone differently. As it is Eduardo got his leg broken, Martin Taylor is getting death threats and we’ve got Fitz Hall. Strange game football.

So far this season he has shown 102 (3.4 a game) yellows and seven reds in 30 matches, last season he booked 173 (4.02 a game) and sent 16 off in 43 matches. These are both pretty high averages compared to the other referees we’ve had lately. He hasn’t been card happy in either of the QPR games he’s had in that time though – first time for everything I suppose. Only two of his games this season have been in the Championship – Burnley v Blackpool and Hull v Cardiff, six yellows and no reds shown in those fixtures. His most prolific game so far was a nine yellow and one red haul in the Reading v Chelsea game right at the start of the season. Just lately he seems to have calmed down a little, failing to show a card in three of his last six matches and showing just one yellow in one of the other.

Lots of football this midweek of course, the vast majority of it taking place on Tuesday night. Hull and Burnley will be glad to know that a Premiership ref is dropping down for their game at the KC Stadium, until they find out it’s the terminally fussy, card happy and incompetent Mike Riley. Speaking of card happy, Trevor Kettle has Barnet v Peterborough. Looking ahead to Saturday it’s our second meeting of the season with Neil Swarbrick as we travel up to Sheff Wed. More on him on Friday.

Photo: Action Images

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