Yellow cards are often an area of the Imps game I feel people get wrong.
It’s easy to say ‘we pick up too many for back chat’ because we’ve had two in a game. It’s easy to say we have a discipline problem when we rack up four bookings and a red card, but the truth is more nuanced.
For instance, did you know in our first three games this season, we only got two bookings? The divisional average across three games is around six, two per game, so we didn’t start badly.
I wanted to dispel some myths with this piece, arguing a lot of our yellows were unjustified and that we didn’t get many for talking back. That makes the piece a classic example of the data not fitting my argument, as you’ll see…
I’ll always report what I find.
I’ve watched every card we’ve had this season on Wyscout, across all competitions. It’s actually 31 in total (counting Rob Street’s second yellow as one card), and I’ve found little argument for most of them.
Reading – 1 Booking
Sonny Bradley picked up the only Imps booking of the game for a late foul on Paddy Lane. Lane is away, the challenge is awkward and definitely takes Lane out. No issues at all.
Wimbledon – 1 Sent Off
Remarkably, we didn’t get a single booking at Wimbledon. Adam Jackson was sent off and it was a red card, no arguments.
Harrogate Town – 1 Booking
Three games in and we’re only on two bookings. I think this is a little harsh, Tom Bayliss is booked for a challenge on Curzon. However, despite winning the ball, he is slightly off the ground and catches the player also, so it could be argued the other way as well.
Plymouth Argyle – 6 Bookings
This is where things start to go awry. The game against Plymouth was a tough one, us leading 3-0 and then letting two in late on. Were the six bookings justified?
Towler was booked early doors for tugging down Xavier Amaechi and it’s a booking. The ball has gone, the winger goes off the pitch to get around Towler and there is a tug. Booking.
Our next five yellows all come in the second half, starting on 70 minutes, with us 3-0 up. Freddie bodychecks Boateng and while it is soft, there is good argument for a yellow.
Wyscout is a little unclear on the next two. Rob Street receives a yellow from our corner, which one can only assume is either time wasting or chatting. Minutes later, there is one for Ben House as well, and as it comes from a Plymouth goal kick, again, one can only assume it is something he has said. At that stage, it is 3-2 and I suspect we’re looking to break up play and slow things down.
Tendayi is then booked for talking to the referee as well. He’s prepping to take a throw-in, and the ref points to where he wants it taken. Tendayi shouts back, and the ref comes over with his yellow card. Finally, deep into stoppage time, Tendayi runs into the corner, is buffeted about by the defenders before Ethan Hamilton steams in and gets a justified booking.
For the record, Plymouth also got four in this game.
Northampton Town – 4 Bookings
Northampton got three in this one, and I think we were a little unlucky not to get fewer.
Our first is for Towler, and I think it is harsh. He’s clearly been punished for leading with an arm, but it just feels like a 50/50 aerial duel to me. Still, yellow card comes out and that’s that.
Next, McGrandles is booked, and rightly so. One of our lads does look to be fouled in the build up, the ref waves play away, and McGrandles just lunges in clumsily after being done on the flank. Wickens then takes a yellow for taking an age over a free kick, can’t argue with that.
Finally, Hamilton is also booked, again for time wasting. He’s passed the ball for a throw and drops it for another taker on 86 minutes. Can’t argue with that.
Bolton Wanderers – 2 Bookings
We’re back to the divisional average at Bolton, a game where their fans felt we should have had a few more. McGrandles is booked for handball, which I think is fair. He’s bumped into from behind, goes down looking for the free kick, but handles the ball in doing so. It’s a bit of a silly yellow.
Towler is booked again, fairly. There is a ball through, he’s grabbed their player as he’s gone past and the lad has gone down. That’s the sort of thing where Michael Skubala says we need to be smarter, because blocks happen all the time, but when it’s a clear grab, the referee doesn’t really have a choice.
In this game, two were booked for Bolton.
Burton Albion – 2 Bookings
No arguments with either of these – Ivan Varfolomeev is booked on his debut and can probably say it was justified, and Adam Jackson was lucky to stay on the field for a really clumsy challenge. It’s not unlike Sonny Bradley a few days later, only this time it probably is a red! There is no offside, their player is going through on goal and Tom Hamer is the only covering man, but is as far away as Bayliss in against Mansfield.
Mansfield Town – 6 Bookings, 1 Sent Off
Urgh. I have to do this again.
Freddie Draper was booked not long after the red card, and I think it’s harsh as it looks to be for saying something to the referee. That’s an issue, as I don’t know what was said, so can’t really say whether it was justified or not. My argument during this game is that Draper wasn’t the only one yapping at the referee, but only red and white shirts were booked for it.
Tom Bayliss fouls Dom Dwyer, and there is no complaint from me. It’s a lunge, it’s a yellow, simple. Reeco could have been booked moments before the foul he was booked for, but wasn’t (if that makes sense). The infringement he is booked for isn’t a foul, let alone a yellow card.
Towler I’ll take as a booking, it’s against a clumsy handling of the player. Going through these, I’ve noticed nothing Towler has done really looks nasty, it’s just holding. We’ve seen penalties given for holding this season, which is interesting. Something officials are clamping down on?
Hamer’s booking is harsh I think, and it was the fourth in seven minutes. He’s booked for time wasting, but he asks the ref where it is to be taken from, then goes to get the dry ball from the cone, rather than use the one in play. Surely, that’s allowed? What I find interesting is it is the second booking from almost the same spot for the same infringement – has moving the dugout worked against us?
Finally, Wickens is booked for catching the ball, keeping it in play, and appealing the decision. It’s a booking, but a symptom of the referee and assistant making an error. Also, moments after, Kyle Knoyle shouts loudly in the assistant’s face about a throw in, and gets nothing.
I also think there were two bookings for staff in this game, Michael Skubala and David Preece, neither of which go on the stats we’re usually presented with.
As for Bradley’s red card, I think it is the wrong decision.
Notts County – 3 Bookings
Three bookings in the EFL Trophy don’t count towards the totals. Ben House gets one for a late challenge, no arguments. Oscar Thorn might be a little hard done by; he appears to catch Connor Grant on the heels in the second half, but it’s not a definite booking.
The McGrandles booking annoyed me at the time, he barges Scott Robertson off the ball and is booked. What the referee doesn’t punish is Robertson doing exactly the same seconds before, with the ball nowhere near. If one is a booking, so is the other. I guess because it’s a reaction from McGrandles, it’s a booking.
Wigan Athletic – 4 Bookings, 1 Sent Off
Tom Bayliss is booked again, and it looks to be for something he has said, as we’re about to defend a corner. If it was a foul it would have had to have been after play on had been waved, so we’ll have that one down as dissent until proven otherwise. (Edit – I’ve been proven otherwise, the ref had waved play on from a foul).
Darikwa was booked for tugging down Hungbo, and I can’t complain, even though plenty of supporters did. Rob Street’s first yellow is similar to Towler against Northampton – it’s an aerial duel and he’s been booked for leading with an arm, but nine times out of ten, it’s not even a foul. 15 minutes later, Towler is punished for exactly the same, going to head the ball and one would assume, using his arms as well.
Street’s second yellow is for a high boot, and I shall not comment on that as I’ve done that already, a lot.
Conclusion
There are some interesting numbers. We talk about getting too many cards for dissent – of the 31 cards, five have been for chatting back, all in two matches, Plymouth and Mansfield. If we had an inherent problem, would they not be spread across other matches? Two, Draper and Wickens against Mansfield, were given despite opposition players doing much the same. Three against Plymouth is odd as well – 10% of our cards came for talking back in one single game.
Have we been unlucky with referees? So far, three of our eight league matches have been taken by refs in the top ten for bookings per game. Aaron Bannister, rightly, has only had the one game and is top for his dire Mansfield performance. Carl Brook took the Plymouth game and averages four per game, but showed TEN in the encounter. Finally, Ollie Yates showed seven against Northampton, and is ninth, averaging 4.25 per game.
Ryley Towler’s yellows are all interesting – he’s banned now, but all five of his cards have been for either pulling back (two) or for contesting aerial duels and leading with an arm. That fascinates me, because if he can get five bookings in ten games for that, I fear for Jayden Stockley. Having watched a couple back, I think his jumping style makes him look (at times) clumsy, but I could argue that at least two of his yellows were harsh.
McGrandles might feel aggrieved – one nasty challenge at Northampton has been followed by two avoidable bookings, for handball at Bolton and the barge against Notts County make up his three. There are no arguments for any of them.
Sonny Bradley and Adam Jackson have both had straight reds, Jacko could probably have had two, but I find it staggering that of all the cards, I have only labelled 12 as ‘fouls’ (open play, lunging tackles), only ten of which were yellows (the other two reds). Four have been aerial collisions, six for backchat, one barge, one bodycheck, two pulling down, three timewasting and a single handball and high boot.
My conclusion? Of the 31 cards we’ve been given, I have five I could make an argument against, and two of those were Rob Street on Saturday, as well as Sonny Bradley, which others will argue were fair.
So, contrary to my original desire for this article, maybe we do have to start being a bit smarter with the pulls, pushes, barges and chatter.