by Andrew Crawshaw
Here, Courtesy of premierleague.com are this weekend’s matches and officials. NB kickoff times 15:00 unless stated.
Saturday 2 March
12:30 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Jonathan Moss
AFC Bournemouth v Man City
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistants: Matthew Wilkes, Adrian Holmes
Fourth official: David Coote
Brighton v Huddersfield
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistants: Darren Cann, Dan Robathan
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
Burnley v Crystal Palace
Referee: Lee Probert
Assistants: Simon Beck, Andy Garratt
Fourth official: Robert Jones
Man Utd v Southampton
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Richard West
Fourth official: Martin Atkinson
Wolves v Cardiff
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Simon Long
Fourth official: Peter Bankes
17:30 West Ham v Newcastle
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistants: Daniel Cook, Simon Bennett
Fourth official: Graham Scott
Sunday 3 March
12:00 Watford v Leicester
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Assistants: Marc Perry, Andy Halliday
Fourth official: Simon Hooper
14:05 Fulham v Chelsea
Referee: Graham Scott
Assistants: Mick McDonough, Neil Davies
Fourth official: David Coote
16:15 Everton v Liverpool
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistants: Stephen Child, Lee Betts
Fourth official: Paul Tierney
In a match which we would really like to win the PGMO have rolled out one of their ‘big guns’ thereby ensuring that the task will be as difficult as possible. Our old favourire Anthony Taylor for the fifth time this season. Previously this year:-
- Cardiff v Arsenal (2 – 3) 2 Sept – Cardiff 3 bookings (min 71, 77 & 89) from 12 called fouls, Arsenal four bookings (mins 25, 51, 58 & 66) from 14 fouls.
- Arsenal v Watford (2 – 0) 29 Sept – Arsenal 2 bookings (min 45 & 62) from 12 called fouls, Watford 2 bookings (min 31 &79) from 17 fouls
- Brighton v Arsenal (1 – 1) 26 Decenber – Brighton 2 booking (min 45 & 58) from 10 called fouls, Arsenal 1 booking (min 81) from 9 called fouls.
- Arsenal v Chelsea (2 – 0) 19 January – Arsenal no bookings from 13 called fouls, Chelsea 2 bookings (min 37 & 89) from 15 fouls.
Mr Taylor has also been in charge of 2 previous Spurs matches this season (both against teams currently in the relegation zone)
- Spurs v Fulham (3 – 1) 18 August – No bookings to either team, Spurs called for 9 fouls, Fulham 5
- Spurs v Southampton (3 – 1) 5 December – again no bookings, Spurs called for 7 fouls, Southampton 5
So far this season then the two Spurs matches have resulted in no cards and a total of 26 fouls against both teams. In his four Arsenal matches it is a very different picture, there have been 16 bookings (7 for Arsenal and 9 for our opponents) from 102 fouls. Twice as many fouls per game and an average of a yellow card every 6 fouls. For Arsenal that is 7 bookings from 48 fouls or one every 6.9 fouls committed.
If we take all games this season Arsenal have been called for 311 fouls, Spurs 282. Arsenal have 46 yellow cards (an average of a card every 6.7 fouls), Spurs 40 yellow and one double yellow giving them an average of a card per 6.9 fouls.
Mr Atkinson’s booking rate for Arsenal this season is therefore very much in line with the all referee average. If he were to have followed the all referee average for Spurs we would have expected him to have booked two players.
We all know Mr Atkinson’s modus operandi:-
- He will ignore all but the most blatant of fouls on our players
- He will attempt to pass off possession when under pressure for an “advantage” following a foul
- Phantom fouls will be called to break up Arsenal play or to give Spurs a positional advantage
- There is zero chance of us being awarded a penalty but a very real chance of one of Spurs serial divers being rewarded for an ambitious belly flop
It will be very difficult for us to get the away win on Saturday and I fully expect the task to be made far more difficult by Mr Taylor.
COYG
This looks like a serious issue. Why not take it up officially with the FA and the PGMOL.with a view to legal action to follow.
You forgot the talking to for Kane for at least two yellow caed offences and a yellow for a red card one
And the early yellow for next to nothing to a key AFC Player from play acting from Rose Son ETC
@markyb
He wouldn’t even call them a foul but would insist in his match report that he had seen the incidents at the time thereby ensuring no post match action can be taken either!
Because we don’t have the financial resources to fight the case
Anthony Taylor is currently leading the treatment league for referees, having man-managed 42 treatments this season. His numbers for away teams tend to be a little higher than for home teams; 17:25 for number of treatments, 32:36 for minutes a team plays short-handed due to treatments and 3:4 for substitutions required because of a treatment.
The spuds are 5th lowest for caution this season at 1537 man-minutes (median is around 1890). Arsenal are 5th highest at 2105.
The spuds have suffered the 5th lowest number of treatments at 20 treatments for 44 minutes of short-handed play and (league leading) 12 substitutions. Arsenal lead the league having had 42 treatments for 70 minutes of short-handed play and requiring 9 substitutions.
The spuds are second highest having inflicted 31 treatments on opposition for 41 minutes of short-handed play and having opposition make 9 substitutions. Arsenal are second lowest having inflicted 20 treatments on opposition for 34 minutes of short-handed play and 6 substitutions.
A Pecking Order?
Here is my guess at the PGMO pecking order. If a referee finds himself working on GD N, and the last time he/she worked was on Game Day N-1, they are given the number “1” to refer to when they last worked.
Taylor _ _1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 1
Atkinson _1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1
Dean _ _ _1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Oliver _ _1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1
Marriner _1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 2 2 1 1
Moss _ _ _1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
Tierney _ 2 1 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
Pawson _ _1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 3
Kavanagh _1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 1
Friend _ _1 1 2 2 3 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 3
Attwell _ 2 2 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 2 3 1 2
Mason _ _ 2 2 3 2 4 2 1 3 2 2 3
Probert _ 3 1 1 4 2 1 2 2 2 1 5 2
Scott _ _ 1 2 2 9 1 2 2 2 2 1 2
Coote _ _ 3 3 5 4 5 1 3
East _ _ _7 4 3 1 5 1 3
Hooper _ _7 5 5 3 3 2
Madley _ 17 3
This is more or less up to the end of GD 26.
Its quite weird about Taylor as in the last 2 games in Europe he has shown 3 red cards and quite a few yellows. I watched both games – I didn’t realise how bad a referee he is – very, very inconsistent.
Seems strange that he has a different way of officiating in a different league! Even the German commentators on the Frankfurt Shaktar game couldn’t quite believe he was a top premier league ref.
I see you have Moss as the 4th Official – they really don’t want Arsenal to win!!!