This weekend we travel to Wycombe looking to add to our tally of four points from two games.
It’s going to be a tough ask, they’ve come away from the season with seven points from their first three matches, and they’re a tough side to break down. Also, they have recently come out of the Championship and look a better team for it.
We’ll have our work cut out with an approach that more often than not is likely to be direct and aggressive, especially with their robust defence. Who knows, we might need a picky referee to give a few niggly fouls and break play up so we can get some respite. Is that what we have?
Referee: James Bell
Assistants: Dean Treleaven and Damith Bandara
Fourth Official: Sam Allison
James Bell is a relatively new referee on the circuit, although we’re no stranger to him. He made his Football League debut last season, and predominately took charge of games in League Two. He did officiate one of our matches, the 5-1 victory against Bolton which was notable for the goals and player departures, not the performance of the referee, which is a good sign.
Last season, he handed out nine red in 31 matches, and he was fourth official for our games on a couple of occasions, one of which was the EFL trophy semi-final defeat against Sunderland. So far this season, in three matches he hasn’t sent anyone off, but he has awarded three penalties, and booked 12 players. His last match was the game between MK Dons and Sunderland, which the latter won 2-1.