I know there are some close contenders but has there even been a referee more determined to make sure he gets noticed than Andy D'Urso? The Essex banker has made a virtue of incompetence to such a degree that he is one of the most familiar names on the referees list, solely due to the regularity with which he shows his ineptitude. Contrary to what some might think after yesterday, the man is not a cheat and the Os have previously benefited from his inability to engage his brain and apply common sense. Two years ago he insisted our game with Gillingham kick off at 7:45, despite a monster traffic jam around the Blackwall Tunnel which prevented half of Gillingham's team, fans and kit from reaching the ground on time. Unsurprisingly the players that did make it were disorganised and unfocused and Orient raced into a two goal lead that could easily have been more.
Yesterday's team sheets brought unwelcome news that the intended referee Pat Miller was no longer officiating and had been replaced by the nearest available ref - one Andy D'Urso. And true to form D'Urso made sure everyone knew he was there, handling the game with typical fussiness and inflexibility. Five bookings may not seem a lot but the game was so uncompetitive I'd be surprised if any other referee could have given five fouls in the entire match. That was the least of our problems as the stunned mullet of refereeing took little more than half an hour to change the face of the game.
Walsall skipper Andy Butler clashed in the air with Jonathan Tehoue, the Frenchman left rubbing his head on the floor. None of the Os players reacted particularly but D'Urso booked Butler. He may have been the only person in the ground to think that Butler challenged Tehoue recklessly with his forearm, but having done so he decided to show only a yellow card for it. That was just two minutes before his major cock up. At first sight it appeared that Taiwo stretched for a tackle but won the ball cleanly, one footed, from the side and on the ground. Replays show that more or less to be true, although in slow motion in looks as though he clipped the ball rather than making a proper connection but that he still reached it before Cuvelier. At worst it was mistimed and a yellow card and D'Urso's decision to show a straight red was inexplicable.
But that is the problem with D'Urso, his ability to use his own judgement is non-existent. He saw a tackle, the conclusion of which looked like something he'd seen people sent off for on TV recently and decided he was obliged to show the red card. Russell Slade has already said that Orient will appeal the decision but that would seem to be a futile act. The FA never overturn a decision based on a referee's judgement and like Charlie Daniels and Matt Spring before him he is unlikely to have his ban overturned. Only the fact that it is D'Urso may play in our favour as he is one of the few referees I can recall to be demoted from the Premiership for his incompetence.
The game itself would have been a non-event were it not for the refereeing controversy. You have to worry for Dean Smith and Walsall. They turned in a performance as poor as I've seen at Brisbane Road for a long time. It is hard to believe that a team led by Dean Smith could look so unmotivated and completely lacking any kind of cohesion. In truth it was like watching a school side playing - a school side where half of the team had been forced to play. The Saddlers players looked completely disinterested, rarely chasing or tackling and giving the ball away with alarming regularity. In particular Jon Macken is an embarrassment and how the hardworking Ryan Jarvis can't get in the team as Macken plods around contributing nothing to the team is beyond me.
Unfortunately Orient weren't much better and despite being a man down should have put the game beyond doubt. Lisbie failed to take a one-on-one chance to score his first home goal in 6 games and Jimmy Smith failed to score in injury time, the otherwise erratic Grof denying him with a good save. Sub debutant Calvin Andrew looked useful and took the paint off of one of the posts as a half chance whistled wide. But even without a second goal the Os should have been able to contain such a poor side quite easily. Instead they took their foot off of the pedal and allowed silly mistakes to creep into their game. On loan keeper Marek Stech is definitely a cause for concern. He rarely looked comfortable and on three ocassions in the second half he came and either got nowhere near a cross or barely made a connection with a punch. The fourth time he flapped, missed and Oliver Lancashire headed into the empty goal with the keeper blaming his team mates for failing to rescue him from his own mistake. Butcher's replacement looks like a decent shot stopper but a liability from crosses.
There is still a 7 point cushion between Orient and the relegation zone but that gap will start getting uncomfortably small if, as it now appears, the Os have developed a fully fledged complex about playing at home. As ever, In Slade We Trust and all eyes will be the teamsheet on Tuesday night to see how he will address the absence of Taiwo and maybe Dickson. If Leon McSweeney isn't on it the quiet muttered questions about his unexplained absence will start to get very loud.
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