Moss Ref's Reading Clash

Jonathan Moss from West Yorkshire will take charge of the battle of the R`s this weekend as QPR take on Reading.

The official has been a Football League referee for four seasons and has established himself in the lower leagues as a card merchant in his bid to reach the Premier League.

His first game in charge came in August 2005 as Rochdale defeated Shrewsbury Town at the Gay Meadow, courtesy of a strike by now Shrews forward Grant Holt.

He finished that season in typical form for an aspiring Premier League official by dishing out 108 yellow cards in 31 games, with an additional eight red cards.

The following season didn`t seem to curb his temperament as another 99 yellows and nine reds were handed out in a mere 40 fixtures, this included a red card in three successive League Two fixtures towards the back end of the 2006/07 campaign.

Mr Moss predictably enough made more of an impression in the Championship due to his heavy-handed exploits with his whistle and cards - and before long he took charge of his first Rangers fixture.

Rangers were rock bottom of the Coca Cola Championship having sacked boss John Gregory for the unforgivable sin of not only losing 5-1 away to leaders West Bromwich Albion live on Sky, but reintroducing Zesh Rehman to the starting line-up - a cardinal sin for any QPR boss.

They visited Layer Road under the guidance of Mick Harford, with new loan additions Jason Jarrett and Rowan Vine bolstering a depleted squad. Rangers had equalised through former Colchester loanee Hogan Ephraim, before United raced into a two goal lead with Kem Izzet and Mark Yeates on target.

Another former Colchester man Rowan Vine spun and shot to reduce the arrears in front of the travelling fans, before Clive Platt put the R`s to bed in a disappointing fixture.

Six yellow cards were dished out in this fixture, helping to add to the bulky total of 106 yellows and seven reds in 38 games.

So far this campaign Mr Moss has not failed to disappoint his superiors at the FA, handing out six red cards and 55 yellows in 24 games. This gives him a current card average of 2.54 cards per game.

Mr Moss & Queens Park Rangers

Colchester United 4-2 QPR - 03-10-07
Goals: Mikele Leigertwood 19og, Kem Izzett 30, Mark Yeates 38, Clive Platt 63; Hogan Ephraim 29, Rowan Vine 58.
Yellow Cards: Karl Duguid, Johnny Jackson, Clive Platt; Gareth Ainsworth, Adam Bolder, Hogan Ephraim.

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