Refwatch Preview: Exeter (h)
First-year referee Jeremy Simpson is the man in the middle for Dale’s home game against Exeter City on Saturday.
The Carnforth-based PE teacher was promoted to the league in time for this season having progressed through the ranks in recent years.
This culminated in him refereeing last season’s Blue Square Premier League play-off final between York and Luton at Wembley.
Prior to his promotion, Jeremy had been an assistant referee on the Premier League and also a FIFA official, which meant he travelled overseas to ‘line’ at European and international matches.
Jeremy’s last visit to Spotland was as a linesman for our 1-0 win over Scunthorpe last season, while in 2010/11 he was on the line for the FA Cup tie against FC United and our first game in League One at home to Hartlepool.
Mr Simpson has had a busy start to his Football League career and Saturday will be his 14th match of the season.
He started with Cheltenham’s 2-0 home defeat of Dagenham on the opening day and was most recently at Tranmere v Walsall a couple of weeks ago. He has also already seen Exeter this term, refereeing their 4-2 win at Oxford in September.
In total, Jeremy’s 13 games have yielded 42 yellow cards and two red.
What to read next:
Southampton At Fulham The VerdictWas this the start of a new era or the ending of the old one, with Ivan Juric sat in the stands, no one was quite sure, but by the end of the game the travelling Saints supporters went home in a happier mood than they have felt for most of the games so far this season.
Southampton Appoint Ivan JuricSaints have finally let out what has been the worst kept secret over the last few days when just after 5pm on Saturday evening they announced Ivan Juric as the replacement for Russell Martin.
Southampton V Fulham The PreviewSaints travel to West London on Sunday to take on Fulham in a state of limbo, it is expected that Ivan Juric will have been announced as the new manager at St Mary's but it is unlikely he will take over sole charge of the team for this game.
A Rough Guide To FulhamA trip to a good old fashioned football ground as opposed to stadium or arena, well at least on 3 sides of the ground, here is all you need to know about one of our shortest trips of the season.
Southampton V Liverpool The Carabao Cup VerdictA slow start for Saints under interim manager Simon Rusk, but they grew into the game and by the end, the team had restored some of the pride to both themselves and their fans as they made Liverpool fight right to the end.
Southampton V Liverpool The Carabao Cup PreviewIt's been a traumatic week around St Mary's, but for many Saints supporters it has seen change and that is what has been needed, so Southampton go into this game with the shackles off and a new manager and with a realistic chance of getting to the semi finals.