Stroud takes Ipswich game
Monday, 13th Sep 2010 23:27 by Clive Whittingham

Card happy referee Keith Stroud is in charge at Portman Road on Tuesday night as QPR face Ipswich – the R’s have never lost with this referee and beat Ipswich 2-1 with him in charge in 2005.

Referee >>> Keith Stroud (Hampshire), seven seasons on the list, second time he has refereed QPR v Ipswich, seven QPR appointments overall – six of them at Loftus Road. Rangers have never been beaten with this referee in charge.

Assistants >>> Ian Cooper (Kent), David Margetts (Essex)

Fourth Official >>> Matt Stewart (Suffolk)

Previously

QPR 1 Coventry 1, Saturday January 10, 2009

With games off up and down the country, including Fulham’s match just down the road, there was some doubt about the status of this fixture prior to kick off but referee Keith Stroud passed the pitch fit to play on at 2pm after a brief inspection.

Routledge looked bright and pacy but often mis-controlled or overran his chances. In fact the out of position midfielder Gunnarsson actually dealt with Routledge a lot better than the recognised right back Wright. Whenever the former Sunderland man had to come across and cover against Routledge he looked really uncomfortable. Stroud let him off with his first cynical trip on the winger as he raced to the byline, but produced a yellow card for a less nasty foul five minutes later when he body checked him to the ground after being beaten again. As usual Clinton Morison had plenty to say to the referee about both decisions, and in fact every decision anybody made all day.

The game seemed to be petering out towards half time in truth until suddenly a flash point occurred in the middle of midfield. A loose ball bounced up into the air just inside the Coventry half of the field and Heidar Helguson appeared to use the upper part of his arm to knock it down into space and attempt to run in behind the Coventry defence. Before the City players could even appeal Wright came tearing out of the centre half position and launched a wild chest high lunge on the QPR man leaving him poleaxed on the turf. It was a pretty horrific lunge and Stroud wasted no time in issuing a deserved straight red card. Wright reacted angrily, jabbing his finger at Stroud’s face and storming off down the tunnel, needless to say Morrison had a good long say about it all as well but quite what the Coventry players could complain about I do not know. They are always very physical visitors to Loftus Road and in the 37 minutes he had been on the pitch Wright had done nothing but get caught out of position or outpaced and then foul his man. He had done Routledge twice and could have done some serious damage to Helguson with a reckless lunge.

Frustration grew on the pitch as well with Gunnarsson booked for kicking Routledge, then Routledge was carded harshly after an argument with the ever vocal Morrison who somehow escaped with just a ticking off from the match official. He cannot say anything of any significance to the referee because despite talking to him constantly throughout every match he never seems to be booked for it. I do have a sneaking admiration for the way he plays the game – thoroughly irritating but good value entertainment wise.

QPR: Cerny 5, Delaney 6 (Ledesma 73, 5) Connolly 6, Stewart 7, Gorkss 7, Ephraim 5 (Hall 89, -), Leigertwood 7 (Di Carmine 81, 6), Routledge 6, Rowlands 5, Blackstock 5, Helguson 4

Subs Not Used: Mahon, Alberti

Booked: Routledge (off the ball incident), Helguson (foul)

Goals: Blackstock 87 (assisted Di Carmine)

Coventry: Westwood 7, Wright 3, Turner 6, Fox 7, Gunnarsson 7, Beuzelin 6, Doyle 6, Tabb 8, Mifsud 7 (Eastwood 84, -), Morrison 7, Best 6 (McKenzie 66, 5)

Subs Not Used: Marshall, Thornton, Wynter

Sent Off: Wright (dangerous foul play)

Booked: Wright (foul), Fox (dissent), Gunnarsson (foul), Westwood (time wasting)

Goals: Fox 73 (free kick)

Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire) 6 The Coventry fans seemed to be pretty irate with him and I suppose we would be in the same situation but it was hard to argue over any of the cards they received, including the sending off which even Chris Coleman says they will not be appealing against. I thought the booking of Routledge was harsh considering Morrison’s behaviour and only adding four minutes on at the end was a farce but other than that he was not too bad.

QPR 2 Charlton 1, Tuesday November 25, 2009

After a quarter of an hour Rangers took the lead with a terribly soft goal from a Charlton point of view. Nicky Weaver, a keeper in dire form at the moment, miskicked a clearance out to Gillespie wide on the Charlton right and he in turn miscontrolled the ball allowing Damiano Tommasi to swoop and steal possession. The Italian looked to have run the ball out of play on the Ellerslie Road side of the pitch and the visiting players seemed to stop expecting a flag but when the linesman signalled play on Tommasi beat Cranie for pace, no I’m not kidding, and sent in a dangerous low cross that was swept home by a totally unmarked Dexter Blackstock from twelve yards out.

The Charlton fans were furious that a throw in had not been given, but their team hardly covered themselves in glory here. Martin Cranie looks a shadow of the player we had here on loan last season – slow, cumbersome, lacking any sort of positional sense and carrying at least a stone of weight that he should not be. His promises to be a potential unfulfilled if he does not return to centre half and cut down on his off the field activities which are clearly affecting his game – when you’re being outpaced by Damiano Tommasi you need to have a long look at yourself.

Ephraim was later very harshly booked by referee Stroud when Youga pushed the ball past him down the line and then ran into him. Quite what Ephraim was meant to do to avoid the collision I’m not sure, short of disappearing in a puff of smoke he could not avoid committing the foul – even if it was a free kick, and it’s a big if, to book him for it was ridiculously harsh.

Mark Hudson, by now playing as an auxiliary striker, got Charlton’s first yellow card of the game during three otherwise uneventful minutes of stoppage time – his late lunge on Delaney down by the corner flag after he cleared the ball looked ugly and may have brought a red with another referee but Stroud gave him the benefit of the doubt. The final whistle sounded seconds later.

QPR: Cerny 6, Ramage 6, Stewart 7, Gorkss 7, Delaney 5, Ephraim 6, Tommasi 5 (Mahon 62, 6) Leigertwood 6, Parejo 6 (Ledesma 73, 6), Di Carmine 5 (Agyemang 46, 7), Blackstock 7

Subs Not Used: Cole, Oastler

Booked: Leigertwood (foul), Delaney (foul), Ephraim (foul)

Goals: Blackstock 17 (assisted Tommasi), 80 (assisted Ephraim)

Charlton: Weaver 5, Cranie 5 (Sam 82, -), Primus 6, Hudson 6, Youga 5, Gillespie 6, Racon 7, Semedo 6, Bouazza 7, Waghorn 5 (Varney 62, 5), Gray 5

Subs Not Used: Elliot, Holland, Fortune

Booked: Hudson (foul)

Goals: Racon 30 (assisted Bouazza)

br> Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire) 6 Pretty standard display from Mr Stroud this. He was fussy at times, blowing when an advantage could have been played, and the yellow card for Ephraim was a joke but by and large he was alright, steady, nothing more than that. He’s consistent if nothing else.

Bristol City 2 QPR 2, Saturday August 11, 2007

Rowlands’ frustrations only increased two minutes later when Bristol City were awarded a throw in which was clearly a QPR ball, the midfielder was booked by referee Keith Stroud for his protests.

The last action of the half saw loud shouts for a QPR penalty waved away. Martin Rowlands sent a devilish corner right into the heart of the six yard box and with Nardiello preparing to pounce Vasko seemed to scoop the ball round from down by his side down to his feet followed by a clearance. Nardiello was livid with the referee who was looking right at the incident and carried on his protests after the half time whistle which resulted in a booking as the teams left the field. John Gregory also confronted the officials on the pitch at the break but it was of course to no avail.

Fontaine introduced himself to Blackstock with a hefty smash right into his back as he lept for a long ball forward. Fontaine completely cleaned Blackstock out and left him prostrate on the turf. Referee Keith Stroud awarded a free kick but failed to award a card and frankly, after booking two players for arguing against his crap decisions in the first half, that irritated me a little. I mean what do we want to cut out of our game more, players having a bit of a moan over a throw in decision or players being pole-axed with deliberate clean outs from behind?

Bristol City: Basso 7 (Henderson 46, 8), Orr 6, Carey 6, Vasko 4 (Fontaine 46 6), McAllister 6, Brian Wilson 7, Johnson 7, Elliott 8, McIndoe 7, Trundle 5 (Murray 79, 7), Showunmi 7

Subs Not Used: Jevons, Russell

Goals: Johnson 33, Murray 90

QPR: Camp 6, Rehman 6, Stewart 7, Mancienne 8, Curtis 6, Rowlands 9, Bolder 8, Bailey 7, Moore 7, Nardiello 7 (Ephraim 59, 7), Blackstock 7 (Nygaard 69, 7)

Subs Not Used: Cole, Bignot, Cullip

Booked: Rowlands (dissent), Nardiello (dissent), Stewart (foul)

Goals: Blackstock 34 (assisted Bolder), Stewart 90 (assisted Nygaard)

Referee: Kevin Stroud (Hampshire) 6 A little overfussy at times but did try to let the game flow and keep the cards in his pocket – there’s a time and a place though and after booking two players for dissent it seemed a little daft to allow Fontaine off with a brutal clean out on Blackstock, especially as he then went onto book Stewart for something similar. Should have awarded QPR a penalty in the first half.

QPR 1 Preston 0, Tuesday April 3, 2007

When awarded their first corner of the game Preston worked it out to Songo'o on the edge of the box but Bolder raced out to get a block on his shot. The visitors, and the ever mouthy Graham Alexander in particular, appealed for handball but the referee waved them away. They'd have an even more crucial handball decision go against them later in the game as well.

Marc Nygaard retrieved possession just inside his own half and floated a glorious forty yard ball straight onto Blackstock's chest. Dexter brought the ball down with a killer touch, completely taking St Ledger out of the game, and then hammered an unstoppable shot past Lonergan and into the roof of the net. Loftus Road erupted and for the second time in as many games Blackstock was booked for over celebrating by referee Keith Stroud.

At the Loft End Ricketts and Alexander had good reason for a moan, not that a lack of reason had stopped them to this point, as time ticked away and Stroud missed a blatant penalty decision. Wilson, on for Matt Hill, won the ball at the back post under challenge from Blackstock who had his arms up above his head and inadvertently killed the ball stone dead with his elbow. It was a blatant penalty, but with Stroud unsighted he was relying on his linesman who kept his flag firmly down by his side.

Perhaps he just couldn't be doing with the hassle of giving such a crucial decision on that side of the ground. The fans in and around the P, Q and R blocks were magnificent in the second half, getting increasingly louder and more vociferous in their support as the half went on. By the end of the night it was hard to recall an atmosphere like it since the Oldham play off semi final. I wouldn't like to have given a penalty against them and then stand in that corner for another twenty minutes.

QPR were on the end of some rough decisions as well, Steve Lomas was absolutely cleaned out by a nasty fore arm smash from Alexander who was barely even spoken to by the referee. Within thirty seconds Adam Bolder had been booked for a sneaky push and kicking the ball away. Dexter Blackstock also looked to have a good penalty claim after beating Lonergan to a loose ball and collapsing but the free kick went against him.

QPR: Camp 8, Bignot 7, Cullip 8, Stewart 7, Mancienne 6 (Kanyuka 46, 6), Ainsworth 8 Bolder 8, Lomas 7, Cook 5 (Ricketts 46, 6) (Smith 82, -) , Nygaard 7, Blackstock 8

Subs not used: Cole, Furlong

Scorers: Blackstock 49

Bookings: Blackstock 50 (over celebrating), Cullip 54 (foul), Lomas 54 (dissent) Bolder 73 (foul/kicking the ball away)

Preston North End: Lonergan 7, Alexander 6, Pugh 6, St Ledger 7, Chilvers 7, Sedgwick 6, Whaley 7 (Dichio 75, 7), Hill 7 (Wilson 77, 7), Songo'o 7 (Agyemang 61, 7) Ricketts 7, Nugent 6

Subs not used: Henderson, Nowland.

Bookings: St Ledger 8 (foul)

Referee: K P Stroud 5 He's a referee I like but it's hard to give him a higher mark than five because he missed the most blatant handball penalty you're ever likely to see, booked Lomas for dissent and yet allowed Alexander to moan on and on and on and on and on at him all night, and allowed a forearm smash on Lomas to go without a card. Inconsistent.

Prior that all of that he refereed a 1-1 draw with Leicester in the Autumn of 2006 – a game where Rangers got a penalty and Gareth McAuley was sent off for Leicester.

Referee: K Stroud (Dorset) 6 Did well to spot the handball for the penalty and sending off decision. Made some poor decisions as well though; needlessly blowing up when there hadn't been a foul and then ignoring blatant fouls. He was very picky at times and clearly didn't have a clue with one throw-on decision in front of South Africa Road - he quickly changed his mind when everyone jumped up screaming at him!

In 2005/06 he refereed two matches at Loftus Road against Burnley (1-1) and Ipswich (2-1)

Referee - K Stroud – 5 A generous 5 at that as well. The game was a pulsating affair that had both sets of fans on tenterhooks, but Mr Stroud was a constant thorn in the side of both sets of players and fans alike. LFW Ipswich Match Report

Ref: K Stroud (Hampshire) 7 A fairly decent game from the ref today, in fact it wasn't a dirty affair at all really. Have we turned over a new leaf this year? I doubt it! He took a bit too long to get to grips with Sinclair and McGreal but nobody's perfect - not a bad display really. LFW Burnley Match Report

Stats

This is Stroud’s third game of the season – so far he has been in charge of two League One games, showing six yellow cards so far. Last season he showed a hefty 108 yellows (four a game) and ten reds in 27 matches. That included eight yellow cards at Watford v Derby, seven yellows and a red at Bristol Rovers v MK Dons, and six or more yellows in a single match on six other occasions – certainly looking back through his past history with QPR he hasn’t got any less fussy and card happy in recent times. Eight of his matches last season, 38 of the yellows and four of the reds, were in the Championship – including six yellows and a red in Ipswich’s 2-1 home win against Reading in April. Matt Mills was sent off for the visitors after half an hour that night so hopefully no repeat of that on Tuesday.

In the past he has run the line in the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Southampton, and refereed a Conference play off final between Shrewsbury and Aldershot.

Other listings

Championship >>> Premiership referee Peter Walton drops down to take charge of Palace v Portsmouth at Selhurst Park. Rob Shoebridge, of Palace ghost goal infamy and the lowest marked referee on LFW last season for his performance at Newcastle, has Preston v Forest.

Photo: Action Images

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