Seb Stockbridge travels down from Newcastle to take charge of Dale’s first fixture of 2017 at Walsall on Monday afternoon.

Mr Stockbridge is his fourth season on the league list, but this is only his third Dale game at that level.

In August 2013, his second Football League appointment was our match at Burton.

Fans will remember Peter Cavanagh being sent-off early in that game, before Dale slumped to their customary Pirelli Stadium defeat, losing 1-0 to Olly Lancashire’s own goal.

Early last season, Seb was in charge at the Crown Oil Arena for the visit of Shrewsbury, a game in which Dale raced into a 3-0 lead, before being pegged-back to 3-2 before half-time. Thankfully, there was no further scoring.

Stockbridge also took charge of our friendly at Bury in August 2014 which ended in a 3-3 draw.

His Football League life has been fairly uneventful since joining the list and he has largely refereed in League One and League Two.

However, Seb was handed a live TV appointment before Christmas when he refereed the FA Cup tie between Macclesfield and Oxford.

He has also already taken charge of a match at Walsall this season and it turned into a thrilling encounter back in September when Bury came back from 3-0 down at half-time to earn a 3-3 draw with The Saddlers.

Photo: Action Images

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