Anthony Backhouse is the referee for this Saturday's home game with Norwich, having previously overseen our 2-2 draw at Sheff Utd in August.
Referee >>> Anthony Backhouse (Carlisle)
Assistants >>> Ian Cooper (Kent) and Matthew McGrath (East Yorkshire)
Fourth Official >>> James Linington (Isle of Wight)
Sheff Utd 2 QPR 2, Saturday August 17, 2024, Championship
Michy Frey committed a daft foul on local Marvel universe villain Oli Arblaster down by the corner flag. Bit dim, but I quite liked Frey in this game so I was willing to give him a hall pass. Colback had the now traditional long, extenuated gob off to referee Anthony Backhouse, and was booked for dissent. They say the old ones are the best, but this one’s getting as tedious as Jim Davidson’s routine. Colback was booked 13 times last year, and four of those were for backchatting the officials. International Year of the Wally Brain.
Anyway, no matter, let’s get on with he quiz. I don’t want to talk about Mr Spock. All I’ll say now is what I said then – look at his ears. QPR deal with the free kick. QPR go up the other end. QPR get another corner. QPR continue push for an equaliser. QPR bring on Lyndon Dykes. QPR fans behind the goal bang the drum. But, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of orange. Charging off in the opposite direction to everybody, Gentle Ben was heading for the craft services table. Noooooooooo Ben. Before Cifuentes could get a blow dart in him, Colback had sprayed the fourth official. Deep sigh. Backhouse was called to the scene. A second yellow for dissent in as many minutes. QPR now down to ten men. Not now Chester, daddy’s sad.
Colback to a tee. Transformed the midfield when he came on, and then did that. His complaint, by all accounts, was not that Frey shouldn’t have been penalised but that a Sheff Utd player already on a booking was waving imaginary yellows around in front of the referee, which should have seen him sent off the other way. If it’s true, he’s got a point. Backhouse was rabidly inconsistent all day: Jake Clarke-Salter booked after just ten minutes for an obvious dive by O’Hare while other more serious fouls warranted barely a word on the run; Jack Robinson, immediately after Colback’s dissent dismissal, deliberately delaying the taking of a corner and then getting right up in the referees grill for a bit of an entitled shout and scream of his own with no card in return. But you cannot chase 40 yards across the field to scream at the fourth official while you’re on a card and I’m astonished that apparently needs explaining to a player of his experience. Don’t look at me like that news just came from Mars.
Sheff Utd: Davies 6; Gilchrist 6 (Souttar 77, 6), Ahmedhodzic 6 (Brewster 90+1, -), Robinson 3, Burrows 5; Hamer 8, Souza 7 (Rak-Sakyi 90+1, -), Arblaster 6, Brooks 6 (Slimane 85, -); O’Hare 8 (Peck 85, -); Moore 7
Subs not used: Cooper, Marsh, McCallum, Trusty
Goals: Hamer 6 (assisted O’Hare), Moore 13 (assisted Hamer)
Yellow Cards: Souza 31 (foul), Hamer 72 (foul)
QPR: Nardi 6; Dunne 7, Cook 7, Clarke-Salter 6, Paal 6; Varane 4 (Colback 46, 6), Field 5; Lloyd 4 (Saito 67, 8), Andersen 5 (Smyth 43, 7), Dembele 8 (Celar 68, 6); Frey 6 (Dykes 85, -)
Subs not used: Santos, Dixon-Bonner, Morrison, Walsh
Goals: Dunne 55 (assisted Dembele), Dykes 86 (assisted Saito)
Red Cards: Colback 83 (two yellows)
Yellow Cards: Clarke-Salter 11 ("foul”), Varane 45+1 (foul), Colback 80 (dissent), 83 (dissent)
Referee – Anthony Backhouse (Carlisle) 4 Colback can have no complaints, but there were some wild inconsistencies in this – not least Robinson being allowed to scream in the official’s face seconds after Colback had been sent off. The insistence that every, single, fucking set piece must now be preceded by this utterly pointless, performative warning of everybody from the warring centre backs to the ball boy behind the goal is typically needless, infuriating, bureaucratic bullshit dreamed up by the sort of dickless wonders who genuinely think four out of five fans want VAR in the game. Not an easy game to referee, but nowhere near as difficult as he made it look.
Middlesbrough 2 QPR 0, Saturday February 23, 2019, Championship
But really this was just 45 minutes of Middlesbrough seeing a game out. Fletcher shot wide from the edge of the area 60 seconds into the half as QPR, again, started nice and strong. Saville, lovely looking player, shot just over from ages away. Assombalonga had one disallowed by fourth official Anthony Backhouse (on for original referee Andy Madley who had to leave the field at half time suffering the effects of acute boredom) for a foul in back play and was then denied by a leg save from Lumley one on one when QPR were carved apart once more and he really should have scored.
Boro: Randolph 6; Howson 7, Ayala 6, Shotton 6, Fry 7; Wing 6, Mikel 8, Besic 8 (Downing 59, 6), Saville 8; Assombalonga 6 (Hugill 78, 6), Fletcher 6 (Tavernier 73, 6)
Subs not used: Konstantopoulos, Clayton, McNair, Van La Parra
Goals: Howson 3 (assisted Besic), Fletcher 31 (assisted Besic)
Bookings: Besic 14 (foul), Howson 63 (foul)
QPR: Lumley 3; Furlong 4, Leistner 5, Hall 5, Bidwell 5; Wszolek 5 (Wells 81, -), Luongo 5, Cousins 5, Manning 4 (Osayi-Samuel 46, 6); Eze 6; Hemed 4 (Smith 69, 5)
Subs not used: Ingram, Scowen, Kakay, Lynch
Bookings: Cousins 70 (foul)
Referee — Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire) 6 (Anthony Backhouse 45, 7) Madley a little pedantic in the first half, popped off at half time presumably bored with an uncompetitive encounter. Backhouse marginally better second half, again with no tackles being made and therefore nothing to referee.
Backhouse started refereeing at 14 in the Carlisle Glass Longhorn Youth League and has amassed more than 160 EFL matches as a referee since joining the league list in 2017/18. He was promoted onto the SG2 list for the 2023/24 season. Career highlights to date include refereeing the National League Play-Off Final in 2017, being Fourth Official in the 2022 FA Trophy Final and referee in the FA Vase Final in 2023.
Last season, his first with Championship fixtures, he booked 102 (4.43) and sent off three in 23 appointments – 12 of which were in this division. That’s a high average card number, and was boosted substantially by back-to-back hauls of nine cards first at Northampton 1-1 Wigan and then again at Sheff Wed 1-2 Coventry in January.
Backhouse has booked 57 players and sent two off in 15 games so far this season. It’s already his third Norwich game after a 4-1 home win against Watford and 1-1 draw at Stoke.
This is officially his second QPR game, but he replaced Andy Madley at Boro in 2019 when he was fourth official. Norwich are 1-1-1 from three appointments.
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