Mike Jones, eh?

A referee who seems allergic to yellow cards for the opposition, or, in the case of Saturday, just in general.

While we didn’t see a performance like he put in when he took charge of our game against Leicester, mainly because Newcastle weren’t quite so kicky as the Foxes, Jones still allowed more to go than perhaps was reasonable.

On my sheet of notes on the ref from the match I have 17 entries which is relatively high although none of the decisions he got wrong could be said to have been key.

Thankfully.

Allowing Ayoze Perez free reign, the Spaniard got away without warning for a number of fouls and without fouls being given for a number of other incidents, most notably when he clattered Gabriel in the second half.

Being biased, I noticed more decisions going in favour of the home side as Jones waved play on a number of times when other refs would have blown but he could quite easily have pointed to the spot for a Calum chambers handball in the box – call that karma for the two non-penalties Newcastle got in the 4-4.

You know the ones.

Jones is clearly a referee who likes to try and let the game flow, a stance that isn’t really helped by his own poor positioning as he blocks off passes. For the most part, he did no real damage on Saturday.

Had Newcastle brought their kicking boots, things might have been a lot different.

Ifs and buts, I know, but it’s worth remembering these things for the future so you’re prepared.