One would have thought that Mike Riley would finally get a chance to referee a Newcastle game this season, having been appointed to this fixture last week. He was replaced on our fixtures against Middlesbrough and Portsmouth by Martin Atkinson and Mark Halsey respectively….and amazingly, it’s happened again.
Phil Dowd of Stoke on Trent has taken Riley’s place. Dowd has taken charge of 7 United games, with us having a strong record of 5 wins, a draw and a defeat, while our 3 away fixtures he has refereed have seen a win, a draw and a loss.
His most recent appearance in a Newcastle game was our 4-2 away win at West Ham United almost exactly a year ago.
During half-time in the TV coverage of the Frankfurt game, a particular text message was featured. I can’t remember the exact words, but the gist was – ‘Milner is a great player. Freddie Shepherd would be foolish to sell him’.
Loading ...