Blackpool referee Leigh Doughty, in his fourth season on the Championship list, takes QPR’s hiding to nothing at home to Leicester on Saturday.

Referee >>> Leigh Doughty (Blackpool)

Assistants >>> Nigel Lugg (Surrey) and Shaun Hudson (Tyne and Wear)

Fouth Official >>> Josh Smith (Lincolnshire)

History

Stoke 0 QPR 1, Saturday April 29, 2023, Championship

Some tales from my first half notes, just to paint the picture of what sort of a game this was. After three minutes QPR botch a free kick opportunity so badly it ends up with Stoke countering back in the opposite direction, which would have caused a problem had Rob Dickie not intervened and then launched a wild pass-back to Dieng of the sort Karl Ready made a ten-year career out of, which would have caused a problem had Seny Dieng not intervened but then in turn hacked a horrid clearance off the outside of his boot and into the stand. Stoke’s first corner, worked short, was eventually cut back low through a crowded penalty area, right past Albert Adomah who was… kneeling down. I’m starting to wonder how many takes those Instagram videos require. 12 — Dieng flaps at a corner. 22 — Ethan Laird (back in the good books this week) a daft tackle but quite a harsh yellow card. 38 — Chair’s cross too high for Adomah. Chair would later try to get on the end of a similar ball himself, collapse to the ground, and plead for a penalty which the referee, rightly, showed little interest in.

Stoke: Bonham 5; Sterling 5, Taylor 5 (Hoever 61, 5), Jagielka 4, Fox 4, Tymon 5; Smallbone 6 (Baker 71, 6), Pearson 5, Laurent 5; Gayle 3 (Powell 61, 5), Campbell 6

Subs not used; Thompson, Macari, Fielding, Howard-Wilkinson

Bookings: Campbell 75 (foul)

QPR: Dieng 6; Laird 6, Dickie 6, Dunne 7, Paal 7; Adomah 6 (Martin 78, 7), Field 6, Iroegbunam 5 (Amos 64, 6), Chair 6 (Willock 90, -); Dykes 7, Lowe 6

Subs not used: Clarke-Salter, Johansen, Archer, Drewe

Goals: Adomah 48 (unassisted)

Bookings: Laird 20 (foul), Field 53 (foul), Amos 90+7 (foul)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 7 I think this guy is excellent. Few challenges late in this game let away without a yellow card on both sides which raised a few eyebrows, but could basically have refereed this game in his lounge suit. Clearly on the fast track to the Premier League and, at this point, difficult to argue with that.

QPR 1 Blackburn 3, Saturday February 25, 2023, Championship

QPR: Dieng 4; Kakay 5, Dickie 2, Dunne 3, Paal 4; Iroegbunam 5 (Richards (!!) 88, -), Johansen 5, Field 5; Lowe 3, Martin 5 (Adomah 75, 2), Chair 5 (Dozzell 35, 3)

Subs not used: Amos, Archer, Dickson-Bonner, Gubbins

Goals: Iroegbunam 24 (unassisted)

Bookings: Johansen 37 (foul), Kakay 57 (deliberate handball), Field 59 (foul), Lowe 66 (foul)

Blackburn: Pears N/A; Rankin-Costello 8, Carter 6, Hyam 7, Brittain 6; Travis 7, Buckley 7 (Phillips 90+5, -); Thomas 7, Szmodics 7 (Hedges 69, 6), Dolan 7 (Morton 80, -); Gallagher 8

Subs not used: Pickering, Brereton, Garrett, Hilton

Goals: Gallagher 14 (assisted Dolan), 60 (assisted Rankin-Costello), Szmodics 45+2 (assisted Travis)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 7 An afternoon spent judging whether QPR’s desperate attempts to literally hang onto the coat tails of their opponent were worthy of yellow cards or not.

Huddersfield 2 QPR 2, Friday April 15, 2022, Championship

Huddersfield: Nicholls 6; Turton 7 (Avila 89, -), Lees 6, Colwill 7, Toffolo 7; Hogg 7, Russell 6; Sinani 5 (Anjorin 75, 5), O’Brien 6, Thomas 6; Ward 5 (Holmes 46, 5)

Subs not used: Rhodes, Koroma, Blackman, Sarr

Goals: Barbet og 6 (assisted Hogg), Toffolo 53 (assisted Turton)

Bookings: O’Brien 64 (foul), Holmes 66 (foul), Thomas 90+1 (foul)

QPR: Westwood 6; Odubajo 7, Dunne 5, Barbet 5, McCallum 7; Field 7, Amos 7 (Adomah 85, -), Dozzell 6, Chair 8; Thomas 7 (Gray 83, -), Dykes 6 (Austin 83, -)

Subs not used: Johansen, Ball, Sanderson, Mahoney

Goals: Amos 43 (assisted McCallum), Chair 57 (assisted Odubajo)

Bookings: Austin 90+2 (foul), Field 90+5 (foul)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 8 Very good.

QPR 1 Bristol City 2, Saturday September 18, 2021, Championship

The afternoon ticking on through five minutes of added time, and QPR seemingly were to be left frustrated with their point. They’d had 26 shots, and 11 on target, to Bristol City’s nine and soon to be three. Johansen’s challenge on Massengo barely existed, and the free kick awarded by the corner flag was a rare misstep from excellent new referee Leigh Doughty — Johansen’s yellow for dissent puts him on four already for the campaign as he races towards a one match ban.

QPR: Dieng 6; Odubajo 5 (Adomah 65, 6), Dickie 6, De Wijs 6, Barbet 6, McCallum 7; Johansen 7; Chair 6, Willock 7; Dykes 5 (Ball 80, -), Gray 6 (Austin 64, 5)

Subs not used: Thomas, Dozzell, Dunne, Walsh

Goals: McCallum 54 (unassisted)

Bookings: Gray 51 (foul), Barbet 79 (foul), Ball 85 (foul), Johansen 90 (dissent)

Bristol City: Bentley 9; Tanner 6, Kalas 7, Atkinson 7, Baker 6 (Dasilva 45, 6), Pring 6 (Semenyo 71, 6); James 6, Bakinson 7, Messengo 8; Martin 6 (Wells 62, 7), Weimann 7

Subs not used: Simpson, Williams, O’Leary, Palmer

Goals: Martin 44 (assisted Messengo/Weimann), Wells 90+3 (assisted Weimann)

Bookings: Bakinson 53 (foul)

Referee — Leigh Doughty (Blackpool) 8 You’re never going to agree with everything, and nor is a referee going to get everything right — the late decision against Johansen resulting in a booking for dissent was a bit of a joke, and many of the the usual complaints about lack of action on time wasting apply — but overall I rated this the best refereeing display we’ve had this season. Calm, unfussy, uninvolved, right up and on top of play, built like an absolute brick shit-house, very confident and assured. Absolute chalk and cheese from the Keith Stroud-chaired chimp’s tea party on Tuesday night and easy to see why he’s been promoted four levels in five years.

Stats

A rapid rise up the ranks for 31-year-old Doughty who joined the EFL list in 2019/20 and was given a League Two play-off date between Cheltenham and Northampton at the end of a first season which included 82 yellows (3.03) and two reds in 27 appointments. He was promoted to the Championship for the start of 2020/21, a fourth elevation in as many seasons for the PE teacher, and finished up with 81 yellows (3.24) and four reds in 25 outings. In 21/22 he concluded on 118 yellows and four reds in 32 games, and was rather more prolific last season with 154 yellows and six reds in 33 outings — totals boosted substantially by 21 yellows and a red in his first four games of the season and a hefty haul of eight at Stoke 0-1 Preston in the Ben Pearson derby. Ticking along at 44 yellows and one red from ten games so far, topped out by eight in Millwall’s League Cup win at Reading in August. This is his first ever Leicester game while QPR are 1-1-2 from four with him.

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