I always love it when Phil Dowd (above) referees Spurs. Lots of potato jokes amongst my crowd. “Is it just me or does Phil Dowd look like a potato with a pack of cards?” “Don’t be silly! Potatoes have eyes.“ (I actually think Phil Dowd is terribly sexy in a weird way. Which I know I probably shouldn’t admit.) Anyhoo… Aside
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The biggest game of the week is undoubtedly Liverpool v. Chelsea. Martin Atkinson (above) is up in the rotation for that one. Hopefully, foaming madman assistant coach Rui Faria will be suspended by then, so Atkinson doesn’t have to hire a bodyguard. Chris Foy, who took a Jonjo Shelvey deflection in the face last weekend, will be fourth official at Fulham
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We’re rapidly running out of daylight on the season, and the title is still undecided. This puts even more pressure on the referees than they usually face. Any mistake could impact who wins the title. Liverpool play at Norwich on Sunday, with Andre Marriner (above) in the middle. Poor Andre has not had the … steadiest of seasons. Let’s hope
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Liverpool are an excellent team: fun to watch, exciting, hard working. The Liverpool v. Manchester City game was incredibly fun for a neutral like myself. Not only were the stakes high, but the emotions – with the tribute to the Hillsborough disaster – were even higher. Both teams gave it everything they had (in American parlance). There was only one big
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NOTE: This refers to an appointment in the past. See the sidebar for updated appointments. Well, no doubt, this weekend’s Big Match is Liverpool v. Manchester City. With four points dividing them, and City still with two games in hand on both Liverpool and Chelsea, this match could decide the title, pardon the hyperbole. And when you think hyperbole, you
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It could be the biggest game of the year: the one that decides the title. Liverpool v. Manchester City. Big game = big referee. Right now, the biggest referee in English football is undoubtedly Mark Clattenburg. Sure, Howard Webb is still The Man, and he will be going to Brazil and not Clattenburg. But as I’ve mentioned here before, Clatts
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I’m going to be honest with you guys: I didn’t watch much football today. I was out late last night killing zombies. Long story. But pretty much first thing in the morning, my phone started buzzing with texts: “Did you see it??” “Anthony Taylor sucks.” “Not a yellow card!” So, after a couple
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Mark Clattenburg must keep a fifth of scotch in the boot of his car for just such a day. Not that I think Clattenburg did anything wrong in Manchester United v. Liverpool. He did the very best he could in a game that was just absolute madness. He got a few calls wrong, missed a few he could have given,
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I always know I’m in for a treat when I come home from the movies, check my blog’s stats and find the search term: “Is Howard Webb a cheat?” This is obviously about the Arsenal v. Liverpool match in the FA Cup Fifth Round. Webb was the referee, and he had plenty to deal with, including Raheem Sterling pushing him
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Here are the referees for the upcoming fifth round of the FA Cup, held Saturday through Monday, February 15-17. Several big matches, including Manchester City and Chelsea, where Phil Dowd will once again have the joy of dealing with Manuel Pelligrini and Jose Mourinho in the same stadium. (He should get some form of hazard pay.) Sunday will see current
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 