Ever since I became a fully qualified referee, my views on their performances have drastically changed. Whereas before, I would slate every referee that wasn't 100% spot on with his decision making, recently I have held back, knowing how hard it is to referee football matches, and so I hadn't actually been saying anything negative about referees. After all, the better team should be able of winning a game regardless of the referee's performance, so, with that in mind, I would think about the referees tough job, and come to the conclusion that it was Palace who simply hadn't been good enough on the day to beat the opposition. Until yesterday.

In the Palace versus Sheffield United match at Brammall Lane yesterday, live on Sky Sports, I can quite confidently say that Anthony Taylor had the refereeing performance that I have ever seen in football, be it on the parks on a Sunday morning, or in the Premier League on a Saturday afternoon. And this isn't with my Palace tinted glasses on either, because he wasn't just poor for us. He was poor for Sheffield United as well. Ask anybody who watched the game and they will agree with me. Believe me, I would be just as outraged had we won the game.

Taylor has already issued 55 yellow cards and 7 reds.

The first penalty was very soft. Don Goodman said that the referee "has been conned", and that may be the case. From the angle the referee was at though, and judging by the flight of the ball and the direction in which Neil Danns was running, I would say that Danns went down under the challenge of Calve. That's not to say it was a penalty, I would never have given it, but Danns was going for the ball, so obviously couldn't have kept his balance as well as if he had been stationary.

Following that, the referee awarded a penalty to United, despite the fact that Nathaniel Clyne won the ball, and Claude Davis was booked, before Owen Garvan was sent off for foul and abusive language, something which I am sure would not have been punished in the Premier League. Then, with 5 minutes to go, United scored an offside goal, which was not spotted by the referee or his assistant, and Taylor then awarded another penalty to United. Granted, it was a trip, but I wonder whether it would have been awarded by Howard Webb, in my opinion the best referee in the world, for example. Another sending off in the dying seconds capped off his performance, but that red card was probably deserved.

He has refereed several games in the Premier League, but his references have not been glowing. During the game between Fulham and Blackburn earlier this season, he missed a handball outside the box by Mark Schwarzer, and was criticised by both managers, and Blackburn put in an official complaint to the Premier League.

These fast-tracked referees simply aren't of good enough quality to referee in the Football or Premier Leagues. Perhaps a good idea would be for the fast-tracked referees to spend a season or two running the lines as Assistant Referee or 4th Official, while watching more experienced, and more qualified, professionals control the game in the middle. Certainly, a far more cautious approach will be needed if the fast-tracked officials are to avoid becoming synonymous with making high-profile blunders.

Capello - Idiot, or Genius?

Bothroyd has scored 15 times already this season

As everybody now knows, last night Jay Bothroyd, the Cardiff striker, was called up to the preliminary England squad for the friendly against France that will be played on Wednesday night. So far, Bothroyd, 28, has played for Coventry, Perugia, Blackburn and Charlton, but it seemed that he has only recently been able to settle down and get stuck in at a club, and perhaps now that he is being given a run of games at Cardiff we are seeing the real Jay Bothroyd. With 15 goals in 16 games this season, there is no doubting he is in top form.

But the big question is why has Capello chosen him? Yes, he is in form, but he is not playing at the highest level, something Capello has always stressed to David Beckham is key if he ever wants to play for England again. And why was Kevin Davies not picked? He only got a cameo appearance in what is so far his only England appearance, and when Don Fabio went to watch him against Tottenham last week he scored two and got an assist - not a bad return for a man who was used as a "big target man" before this season.

Capello has been scouting young talent

On the other hand, a few people are praising the Italian's "inspired" decision. Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager, has been calling for the call up to happen, and many football experts also believe that Capello is moving in the right direction. Following the World Cup he promised a revolution, a new start, a completely refreshed England side, and you cannot argue that he has picked players that wouldn't have had a look in pre-World Cup since, such as Scott Loach, Andy Carroll and Kieran Gibbs. Capello is clearly looking to the future, giving this young talent international experience in order to hopefully have the team of tomorrow, today.

Some people wonder if he has gone slightly too far, however. Chris Smalling, Frankie Fielding and Kieran Gibbs are not starting on a regular basis for their clubs, and so far this season have failed to play more than 500 minutes of football between them. It begs the question: Is Capello picking players who are young, rather than just players who are in form and playing regularly? Possibly, but it is certainly refreshing to see a squad with players who under previous regimes would not have dreamed of a call up without a move to Manchester United.

Here is the England preliminary squad, to be cut down to 23:

Foster (Birmingham), Hart (Man City), Green (West Ham); Gibbs (Arsenal), Cole (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Jagielka (Everton), Lescott (Man City), Richards (Man City), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Smalling (Man Utd); Walcott (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), Young (Aston Villa), Gerrard (Liverpool), Barry (Man City), Johnson (Man City), Milner (Man City), Henderson (Sunderland); Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Bothroyd (Cardiff), Carroll (Newcastle), Crouch (Tottenham)