Woolmer takes charge - full analysis
Friday, 13th Aug 2010 01:08 by Clive Whittingham

After two action packed encounters with QPR last season, including the cup replay against Sheffield United, Andy Woolmer takes charge of the R’s and the Blades this Saturday.

Referee >>> Andy Woolmer, Northamptonshire, seventh season on list, gave two penalties against QPR in his last match with us and refereed FA Cup replay between these sides last season

Assistants >>> Phill Dermott, Cheshire, and Amy Fearn, Leicestershire, first ever female referee of a Football League fixture and target of Mike Newell’s sexist rant following a match between QPR and Luton in 2006.

Fourth Official >>> David Benton, South Yorkshire

Previously

Saturday February 27, 2009, Middlesbrough 2 QPR 0

QPR started the game reasonably brightly. An early handball from Kyle Naughton presented Akos Buzsaky with a chance to deliver the ball into the penalty area and win the first corner of the game which came to nothing. Rangers were then denied a penalty when Lee Cook went to ground in the penalty area after a decent move down the left but to be fair it looked like he had made a lot of it and with referee Andy Woolmer right on the spot to emphatically wave the appeals away he was probably lucky not to receive a yellow card.

Boro had a very good looking appeal for a penalty turned down in the twentieth minute. Kaspars Gorkss allowed a through ball to bounce causing a problem for Damion Stewart who was harshly penalised for a foul on Killen wide on the QPR right. As Gary O’Neil prepared to take the free kick I noticed just how ridiculously unmarked Jeremie Aliadiere was bang in the middle of the goal. My attention was drawn to him as the ball came over so I missed the ball’s point of contact with Kaspars Gorkss at the near post but the home crowd and players appealed as one for handball and the general consensus at the back of the away end was that it was a stick on penalty. Woolmer awarded a corner.

The game swung on two penalty decisions in the final five minutes of the first half. Both were given, the first for a foul by Ramage on Alliadiere as he went to ground and the Boro winger touched the ball past him, the second for a ridiculously clumsy challenge from Gorkss on Lita after getting the wrong side of him in the penalty area. Gorkss is a player I like and rate, Ramage is a player I have a lot of time for because of his work ethic and attitude, but I’m afraid both of them were dire on Saturday and totally at fault for the goal. Ramage was foolish to go to ground, and although the replays are slightly kinder to him than the live action was on the day, it still looks like a blatant spot kick. Gorkss had his worst game for the club since the Sheff Utd 3-0 away game in my opinion – centre halves are taught in the womb not allow the ball to bounce and yet with a pacy handful like Leroy Lita buzzing around like an angry wasp Gorkss allowed the ball to hit the ground time and time and time and time again. It was like he was a centre forward pressed into action at the heart of the defence for the first time. Once again for the penalty a ball bounced in behind him, Lita stuck himself between Gorkss and the ball and waited for contact then flung himelf to the floor when he felt it. The linesman flagged for the foul, but referee Woolmer was way ahead of him and had already pointed to the spot and produced a yellow card. QPR could have few complaints – punished for incompetence and crass stupidity in equal measure.

Both spot kicks were taken by Scottish midfielder Barry Robson, both were drilled solidly down the middle, the only difference was Ikeme fell weakly off to his left for the first, and then weakly off to his right for the second. LFW Boro Match Report

Middlesbrough: Coyne 7, Naughton 6, Wheater 7, McManus 6, Pogatetz 6 (Taylor 78, 6), Flood 6, O'Neil 6, Robson 8, Aliadiere 5 (Franks 66, 6), Lita 6 (Arca 83, -), Killen 6

Subs Not Used: Jones, Hoyte, Miller, Grounds

Booked: Killen (foul)

Goals: Robson 39 (penalty), 45 (penalty)

QPR: Ikeme 6, Ramage 4, Stewart 5, Gorkss 4, Hill 4 (Borrowdale 53, 4),Cook 6, Leigertwood 7, Faurlin 6 (Taarabt 69, 6), Buzsaky 7, Simpson 6, German 5 (Bent 54, 6)

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Vine, Balanta, Ephraim

Booked: Gorkss (foul)

Referee: Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire) 5 Hard to argue with either penalty decision as they both looked blatant however Woolmer missed another spot kick when Gorkss apparently punched the ball clear, and should have sent Borrowdale off for denying Lita a clear run on goal with an astonishingly obvious hand ball that the referee missed altogether. Turned down an early penalty appeal from lee Cook that should have been either a penalty or a booking.

Tuesday, January 12, QPR 2 Sheffield United 3 (FA Cup 3rd round replay)

LFW Sheff Utd Match Report

QPR: Cerny 4, Borrowdale 5, Ramage 6, Gorrks 7, Stewart 6, Buzsaky 6, Faurlin 7 (Taarabt 69, 6), Leigetwood 6, Routledge 6, Simpson 5 (German 80, 7), Agyemang 7

Subs not used: McWeeney, Hall, Connolly, Balanta, Ephraim

Bookings: Gorkss (foul)

Goals: Buzsaky 71 (penalty), Stewart 88 (assisted Buzsaky)

Sheff Utd: Bunn, Geary (Walker 80), Morgan, Seip, Taylor,Quinn, Harper, Montgomery, Williamson (Ward 67), Evans,Cresswell (Henderson 74)

Subs Not Used: Bennett, France, Stewart, Little

Booked: Evans, Seip, Quinn

Goals: Williamson 19, Ward 68, Cresswell 70

Referee - Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire) 4 Fussy, melodramatic and the fact he missed a blatant penalty for Sheffield in the first half then gave us a highly debatable one, gives him a four when he really should be nursing a one. Awful.

Saturday, November 15, 2008, QPR 1 Burnley 2

Chris Eagles pushed the ball past Peter Ramage wide on the Burnley left and the QPR man lunged in with a horribly mistimed tackle that cut the former Man Utd midfielder down above the ankle and could have caused a very serious injury. It was a shocking tackle really and I think only the time it took place and the fact that Eagles made it pretty obvious that he was alright saved Ramage from a red card. There could have been few complaints if he had been sent off, in the end referee Andy Woolmer let him off with a yellow card.

QPR did have a couple of chances though. Just before the hour mark a ball in behind Burnley finally caught out Clarke Carlisle who had been excellent to this point. Blackstock moved it out of his feet and set off for the penalty area. When he arrived the striker was involved in a tussle with Carlisle inside the area and crashed to earth just as he was about to pull the trigger. The Lower Loft reacted with fury as Woolmer waved away the penalty appeals and Blackstock could scarcely believe it himself. The general consensus in F Block was that it was a spot kick. Blackstock was sent tumbling in different circumstances a quarter of an hour later when he reached a loose ball on the edge of the box first, poked it past the last man and was then sent tumbling by a late trip from Duff – that looked a nailed on spot kick to me and again Woolmer waved the appeals away.

A very soft decision by the referee started it – Stewart harshly punished for an almost non-existent touch on Blake. Woolmer waved away two penalty appeals presumably because he didn’t think there was enough contact or a foul, but everywhere else on the pitch he blew his whistle and gave decisions for the most meagre of touches and trips. Surely a foul is a foul wherever it occurs on the pitch? If either of the Blackstock penalty appeals had been outside the area he would have given free kicks without giving it a second thought. LFW Burnley Match Report

QPR: Cerny 6, Ramage 5, Stewart 7, Hall 6, Connolly 5 (Delaney 46, 5), Ephraim 5 (Agyemang 63, 7), Rowlands 6, Tommasi 5 (Mahon 53, 6) Cook 5, Blackstock 6, Di Carmine 5

Subs Not Used: Cole, Ledesma

Booked: Ramage (foul)

Goals: Blackstock 14 (assisted Cook)

Burnley: Jensen 7, Alexander 7, Duff 7, Carlisle 8, Jordan 7, Elliott 8, McCann 7, Gudjonsson 7, Eagles 8 (Mahon 56, 8), Blake 8 (McDonald 79, 7) Thompson 6 (Akinbiyi 84, -)

Subs Not Used: Penny, Paterson

Booked: Gudjonsson (foul), Jordan (foul), McDonald (foul)

Goals: Blake 34, Mahon 60

Referee: Andy Woolmer 4 Should probably have sent Ramage off in the first minute and harshly booked Gudjonsson in the second half but the main talking points were the two penalty decisions. The first one I thought was but can see why he didn’t give it as it was a shoulder to shoulder tangle, the second I thought was nailed on. Having not given those he then proceeded to whistle up for every meagre bit of contact anywhere else on the pitch including in the build up to the second Burnley goal which was a very inconsistent attitude to take. Failed to clamp down on Jensen’s time wasting but did ad on five minutes for it at the end.

Saturday, March 10, 2007, QPR 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1

Nygaard forced a save from Turner within two minutes of coming on and then after a one two with Furlong he hit the deck under pressure from Wood and Spurr. At the time it looked a harsh decision to me but I've had a look at the replays and it was a penalty in my opinion. Martin Rowlands stepped up with some Rangers fans, yes alright me, unable to watch and slotted the ball into the bottom corner past Turner who dived the right way but couldn't get close to the ball.

Referee Andy Woolmer typified a fussy and card happy display a short time later - booking Cook for play acting on the edge of the penalty area when it was neither a foul or a dive. Seven players saw yellow cards in all, several of whom could feel very aggrieved, but remarkably Glenn Whelen wasn't one of them. An afternoon of fouls, dissent and hissy fits unpunished by the official for reasons only he will know. LFW Sheff Wed match report

QPR: Camp 7, Bignot 7, Cullip 6, Stewart 6, Mancienne 6, Rowlands 6, Bolder 7, Idiakez 7 (Ainsworth 7), Cook 8, Furlong 7, Blackstock 6 (Nygaard 60, 7)

Subs not used: Royce, Kanyuka, Smith.

Goals: Rowlands (pen) 72

Bookings: Rowlands 30 (foul), Bolder 51 (foul), Cook 83 (diving)

Sheffield Wednesday: Turner 9, Simek 5, Bullen 7, Wood 8, Spurr 7, Tudgay 7, Whelan 5, Watson 5 (Lunt 6), Brunt 7, MacLean 6 (Graham 80, -), Burton 6

Subs: Adamson, Gilbert, Lekaj

Goals: Brunt 56

Bookings: Watson 22 (foul), Wood 41 (foul), Simek 68 (foul), Spurr 87 (foul)

Referee: Andy Woolmer 4 Over fussy throughout, made Rangers take the kick off again and got steadily more pedantic from there. Seven yellow cards is a ridiculous haul for that game, especially when Whelen didn't get one despite countless fouls and dissent, and Wood didn't get a second one for the penalty incident. Carding Cook for diving was a joke decision - there are occasions when players go to ground and it's neither a dive nor a foul you know.

Apart from the Loftus Road replay last season Woolmer had Sheff Utd for a 1-0 win at Leicester in 2007 and a 2-2 draw at Plymouth in 2009.

Stats

Rather promisingly Woolmer has refereed two games already this season, and is yet to show a card. He had Crystal Palace and Leicester last Saturday and Aldershot v Watford during the week with little incident. Last season he showed 79 yellows and three reds in 31 games – 2.54 bookings a game. His biggest haul in a single match was six – done twice towards the end of the season, six yellows for Reading v Coventry and five yellows and a red at Dagenham v Barnet. The season before he showed 98 yellows (2.45 a game) and six reds in 40 games.

Other listings

Championship >>> Trevor Kettle, Rutland, twice bottom of the LFW referee league, takes Watford v Coventry. Premiership referee Mike Jones, Cheshire, does not get a top flight game on day one, instead he will be doing Leicester v Middlesbrough.

League Two >>> Gavin Ward, Staffordshire, harshly sent off Damion Stewart and awarded Reading a late penalty for a rating of 1/10 at Reading last season, has Barnet v Burton Albion.

Photo: Action Images

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.