bocadillo
Water Gypsy
... is Tony Leake of Darwen, Lancashire.
This bloke looked to be in line for a place in the 'Elite' group of referees for the Premier League last year, but missed out when Clattenburg got the nod instead. He will be 48 by the end of the season so that's his chance gone, I'm afraid.
Although he's been around for years, he's only ever officiated twice in our games. The first was the opening game at the Walkers when Watford were the visitors and then more recently last season's game against Ipswich, again at home. In this latter game, he kept his cards in his pocket all afternoon but was witness to the unusual spectacle of Matt Heath putting us 2-1 up but then scoring the equalising goal for the Suffolk club in the last minute of the game.
Only 44 yellows and 3 reds in 21 games this season suggests that he is one of the less fussy refs; he's even managed no less than 5 completely cardless games. The last of the sendings off did put a smile on a few faces though. It was at the other end of the M69 with Millwall the visitors earlier this month, when he had cause to send Matt Lawrence off for a professional foul in the second half. Apparenlty the act of brandishing the red card caused him to pull a leg muscle and he had to be helped from the pitch - clearly a case of not knowing his calf from his elbow!
For those that might be interested, local lass Amy Rayner is again the 4th official.
This bloke looked to be in line for a place in the 'Elite' group of referees for the Premier League last year, but missed out when Clattenburg got the nod instead. He will be 48 by the end of the season so that's his chance gone, I'm afraid.
Although he's been around for years, he's only ever officiated twice in our games. The first was the opening game at the Walkers when Watford were the visitors and then more recently last season's game against Ipswich, again at home. In this latter game, he kept his cards in his pocket all afternoon but was witness to the unusual spectacle of Matt Heath putting us 2-1 up but then scoring the equalising goal for the Suffolk club in the last minute of the game.
Only 44 yellows and 3 reds in 21 games this season suggests that he is one of the less fussy refs; he's even managed no less than 5 completely cardless games. The last of the sendings off did put a smile on a few faces though. It was at the other end of the M69 with Millwall the visitors earlier this month, when he had cause to send Matt Lawrence off for a professional foul in the second half. Apparenlty the act of brandishing the red card caused him to pull a leg muscle and he had to be helped from the pitch - clearly a case of not knowing his calf from his elbow!
For those that might be interested, local lass Amy Rayner is again the 4th official.
