Source: Team_Talk
Simpson critical of rookie referee
The 30-year-old West Midlands official, who had issued 15 yellow cards in his previous two games, handed out another seven - two of them to Shrewsbury skipper Graham Coughlan - and a mistaken red to Town right-back Dean Holden.
"He certainly set his stall out early," said Shrewsbury manager Paul Simpson, after Bratt booked Vale's Louis Dodds after 35 seconds.
"Micky (Adams, Port Vale manager) had to make substitutions because of the ref and you shouldn't have to do that. Maybe he had read that there was trouble in this game last season, but the early booking simply added to the hype. He should have just told them to settle down that early on.
"I don't quarrel with Coughlan's first caution, but for the second the ball hit his hand when he says he was looking over his shoulder to see where the strikers were, it's difficult to understand how it could be called deliberate."
The game ended in confusion when Holden was shown a red card in the third minute of stoppage-time. Simpson added: "The fourth official got on the microphone and told the ref it wasn't Holden's second yellow. It's the first time I've ever seen the fourth official use the microphone."
