Morecambe 1-3 Mansfield Town, Saturday 25th March 2017

Morecambe 1-3 Mansfield Town, League 2

Welcome to ....

It’s international week, meaning those of us who support higher division teams (like Barnsley!) can tick off another ground instead; Morecambe will be #87 and I’m well into the home straight. Even better, I’ll be joined on the journey up from London by The Captain, while Molly and Wadd will journey it across from Barnsley. A proper Londontykes’ day out at the seaside! Only South Western Trains desist from ‘minding their neb’ (business) and elect to have engineering works on the day in question. Thus, no Captain, who is bereft somewhere in the New Forest. (As an aside, today, Monday 27th March, it has been announced that SWT have lost their franchise; continued gross incompetence apparently ISN'T the way to run a rail network). 

It's very different to a trip to...oooh...Wolverhampton, say.

Thus, it is a long and lonesome journey, though I’ve plenty of work to amuse me. It was a quiet affair till Brum, when a bunch of screamy Brummie women got on. They’re obviously celebrating, but I know not what (leaving Brum for the day?). After changing at Lancaster, I arrive at Morecambe around 12:30, at what looks like a tram stop. Turns out the original station (400 metres towards the seafront) closed, to be turned into a restaurant. Shame, as the journey lacked the exit it deserved. 

Trying to decide which way in.

Despite agreeing to meet up with the others at the pub (The Palatine) I take a slight detour to wander along the promenade and see the former beauty that is the art deco Midland Hotel. Nice curves, though seen better days. Like Marilyn Monroe, without the affair with JFK. The Palatine was pretty average (4.6 / 5 and best pub in Morecambe according to some app or other – which possibly says more about Morecambe than about the Palatine). A couple of San Miguels and a hotpot later and we’re off to the game. Only we would be if we didn’t have to go via Wadds’ hotel. He takes an age, we miss our 1st taxi…and we get there after kick-off.

Match action.

No worries, nothing ever happens early doors. While we wonder which end to go in, Mansfield score. We know it’s Mansfield cos we’re outside the away turnstiles. We still can’t decide which end to go in. For some reason, Morecambe are not opening the away terrace today, so seating only. Or we could walk a bit further and stand with the home fans. 6 year old Lucas decides; he would like to join the Mansfield fans, possibly cos we all went there the other week. Before we enter, Morecambe equalise. Great. We miss 6 minutes and 2 goals.  At this rate it'll finish 15-all.  Nevermind a cricket score - it'll be a tennis score.  I'll get mi' coat.

TV gantry on the North Terrace.

Once inside, we are greeted by a large, smart stand, overlooking the rest of the ground. It’s single tier and fairly steep, good views. To our right is a small unoccupied covered terrace, and to our left, a barely occupied covered home terrace. Opposite meantime is a small terrace, open to the elements. Considering its modernity, I’ve no idea why this side isn’t covered. I can’t see Morecambe needing to expand the stadium anytime soon. Still, it’s a beautiful, beautiful day and if I knew the place better, I’d have stood over there too. As we ruminate on the likelihood of there being no more goals, Mansfield go ahead.

The Mansfield 'end' celebrate #2.

Morecambe are outnumbered in defence and the ball is laid outside to Danny Rose, who beats the keeper low to his right, despite him getting a hand to it. This is manna from heaven as far as we Londontykes are concerned, what with Rose being ex-Barnsley. Even better, the sizeable Mansfield contingent appears to have at least 4 different chants for him. That’s more than the rest of their chants put together. Turns out he grabbed the 1st an’ all. And it could (should) have been a hattrick early second half when he digs out a poor pass and gets his shot off despite the defender’s attention. 

What coulda woulda shoulda been the away terrace.

Inbetween, Mansfield grab another to lead 3-1 at half time and effectively win the match. Morecambe have nothing and the game peters out on their beach of a pitch. (Why did both sides insist on playing on the mud in front of the main stand, instead of the grass on the far side?  Even when they switched ends it continued.) As a savage indictment of what we were watching, I’ll give word to 6 year old Lucas: ‘Why do they keep kicking the ball in the air?’

All in all, a pleasant day out and a cracking little stadium to visit. Tho' given Morecambe have lost all 6 games in March, and are now playing in front of c1400, I suspect they won’t be in the league for very long. Get there while you can!

***special mention to Molly, who gave me a lift to Lancaster so's I could make my connection back.

Morecambe Beach

The Damage:
47 train
5 taxi
21 ent
3 prog
= £76

The Tunes:
Thirst for Romance (Cherry Ghost)
Coexist (The XX)
High Violet (The National)
The Libertines (The Libertines)
Plumb (Field Music)
Mixmag Sept 2010 (DJ Kutski and Alex Kidd)
Mixmag Oct 2015 (Major Lazer)
Knee Deep in the North Sea (Portico Quartet)
Disintegration (The Cure)

It was a long day!

Panorama from our seats

Panorama ground level

Man takes corner.

Babysitting at the Globe.

Bye Bye Globe Arena.  Hope to see you soon!

Norwich City 2-0 BFC, Saturday 18th March 2017

‘Two decisions.  Two mistakes.  F***ing rubbish already.’

Welcome to ....

Only 81 years since our last victory at Carrow Road.  (Actually, I’m not convinced they’d even moved into Carrow Road at this point; perhaps we’ve never won there???)  Well, we can add another one after today.  Despite a very even game, their shots found the net and ours didn’t.  In fact, I’d go even further.  Our finishing was DIABOLICAL.  After about 86 minutes I turned to Andy and said ‘Y’know, I think all of our attacking players have launched one into the crowd apart from Bradshaw’.

Outside, a bit dated.

Within two minutes, he’d completed the set.  Honestly, if the goalposts had been moved 10 yards into the air, we’d have had half a dozen.  Yet the worst miss was still Kent in the last minute after we were beaten; the cross was put on a plate for him and he sidefooted wide from 6 yards.  If Andy says ‘he’s starting to annoy me’ I say ‘he continues to annoy me’.  He’s done one thing all season – turn and bang it in against L**ds.  A world class finish.  Or, if it never happens again, a complete fluke.  And I know which I’m veering toward.

Outside, a bit too modern. You can't win!

Oh yes, we DID score.  A bit of Hamill magic and a ball is whipped in, only for some carthorse or other to slice it, leaving Bradshaw to bury it on the back post.  Offside.  Looked a close call to me, but I guess the linesman had a better view than us, it was at the other end.  And Andy always gets annoyed when I back the officials.  But, really, there was no need for Bradders to be offside, he could have looked across the whole line.

The teams line up.

One of the Murphy twins then shows how it’s done, turning Jones before firing across the keeper into the far corner.  Great finish, but I’m becoming less sure of Jones the more I see of the Everton loanee.  I wish we’d kept George Williams (and Smith, while I’m at it) instead of relying on loanees (Jones), amputees (White) and Kpekewa (s***).  Still, there’s always Elder.  Oh.

The N&P Stand.

MacDonald later does his best Paulo Futchero impression, deftly dinking the ball over a despairing Davies after the keeper had saved with his chest.  That’s 3 this season (QPR A, Washday A?) and he’s coming in fast on Futch’s record (was it 6?  Someone must know.)  No excuses for this one, it looked like he was trying to play it back to the keeper.  Next time, bury it into the stands.  (If you’re not sure how, ask Scowen, Hamill, Bradshaw, Marley or Armstrong.)

The view to my left.

*** Yiadom.  Good defending, helped out in attack. 
** Davies.  Didn’t do owt wrong, made a couple of good saves, no fault for the goals.
* Hamill.  Looked as likely as anybody on our team.

Londontykes' MOTM: 1= Yiadom / Davies  3. Hamill

Despatches:As ever, a decent pub, the Norwich Tap House, though I recommend nobody goes for the raspberry and vanilla sour wheat beer.  ‘Only 3 things wrong with it’ as Andy said.  Not nice.  Then the train back.  My God, I’m pleased Norwich won, cos their fans can’t half moan even after beating the Super Reds.  One kid in particular, well if 27 is a kid….you didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or mock him (even if he did rate Hamill).  Thank god drink overtook him, cos he wasn’t too chirpy when he came back from the bogs.  And did you know Wetherspoons have an app that allows you to order drinks to your table in ‘spoons?  Me neither, but I do now.
And despite a game turnout from the Reds my overriding emotion in that 1^st half was one of irritation.  I KNEW I could f***ing smell sour cream Pringles (does anything smell worse?) and eventually I tracked the bleeder down to some oik a few seats away.  Apologies Selwood, it wasn’t your eau de toilette.
Onwards and upwards! 

Drink du jour: wheat beer in pub, Leffe on train.  

Away: 1200+

The Damage:35 train25 ent

Norwich v Super Reds panorama.

Check out the revolving scoreboard

See!

Kent whips in a corner

The view from behind the goal (we're far right).

Sarah's view of her Canaries' 1st.  D'oh!

Reds attack a corner, 1st half.

The pre-match atmosphere builds.

BFC 1-1 Ipswich Town, Saturday 11th March 2016

‘If I wasn’t happy at home I’d happily fire into THAT’

Wrighty models the world's oldest Ipswich Town hat.

One for Andy Jones this week, as his annual ‘jolly boys outing’ has his Ipshit mates (and Izy) visit the Temple for what promises to be a feast of football.  Nil-nil I predicted, and I wasn’t far off.  It was dire.  Another week, another turgid home performance.  It’s getting tiresome now.  In fact, so tiresome that I went to the toilet 1^st half, as an excuse to stay awake (seriously).  90 minutes at home to midtable mediocrity and all I remember us having is 2 attacks.  OK, so Marley scored from one, and a great finish it was too.  And since we (allegedly) turned down a million from Ipswich last summer for him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s at Oakwell next season playing FOR them.  Only Marley, with his lack of pace yet strength, could shrug off 2 players, run 30 yards and hit an early snapshot which fooled the keeper.  All the while playing right midfield.  Again.

The teams come out.

Our other attack?  A smart move at 1-0 leaves Hamill clean through on the left and he telegraphs a sidefooter to the keeper’s left.  Easy save.  And that was it, unless you stayed till the very end in the hope of seeing some action and caught their equaliser, the last kick of the match.  Decent break, and the ball was whipped to the far post for a tap-in.  I’d say they deserved it; but it was more that neither side deserved to win.  3 home wins since August.  That’s about 1 every 2 months.  (Mind, when was the last time we had more home wins than defeats in the 2nd tier?)

The Tractor Boys

For a second time recently, there was more action on the train.  Dirty Leeds were in our seats and with ‘reservations cancelled’ I thought ‘f*** it, I’m going in 1^st class’.  The Captain told the ticket woman of our plans and she promised to turf them out.  She didn’t.  She called her boss, reservations were indeed cancelled…and we could go and sit in 1^st class.  All she did was eat into (drink into?) 15 minutes of our drinking time.  As it was, we no longer had 2 tables across from each other (what’s the point of booking???) and were spread out.  Still, I enjoyed a leisurely red wine with The Captain, Nice Guy Chris and a QPR fan coming back from L**ds.  

Match action, Grove Street Junior School no more.

*** James.  A class above anything else.  Reads the game superbly, buys himself time on the ball and even set up our goal.  Shame he’s not ours.  Twitter MOTM. 
** Marley Watkins, baby.  Quality finish totally out of keeping with this match.
* No-one.  Was anybody else playing? 

Londontykes' MOTM: 1. James  2. Hamill  3. Roberts

Despatches:
I was so bored I’ve nowt to say.

Actually, I will say summat.  I’ve heard a lot lately on what we should do with the number of loanees we have.  Obviously, regular viewers have become somewhat exasperated with the picking of Kent (especially over Hamill) while ‘flatters to deceive’ will also be Armstrong’s epitaph.  But at least they’re occasionally worthy of a place, unlike Elder.  But then we come to Matty James, who’s been far and away our best player of the last 2 months of slow decline.  What to do?  No idea.  I’d prefer us to develop our own, but if they’re not good enough, what’s the alternative?  I’ve already seen Hecky’s arguments about it allowing us to get better players without paying full whack, but are some of them REALLY better than what we have?
Onwards and upwards! 

The old Main Stand.

Drink du jour: Brooklyn in the Arcade, Erdinger in #7, red wine on train (no Reedy to share the vodka with).
Away: 742
The Damage:27.40 train
The Tunes:Uh Huh Huh (PJ Harvey)Trans-Europe Express (Kraftwerk)Mixmag Sept 2010 (DJ Kutski and Alex Kidd)

Reds v Ipswich panorama

The Ponty v Ipswich

A closer up of the Ponty v Ipswich

The demolition of Grove Street primary.  Criminal.

Queens Park Rangers 2-1 BFC, Tuesday 7th March 2017

‘I don’t feel too good….BLEEEUUUURRRGHHHHH’

Welcome to ....

Another season, another pasting at Loftus Road, and for some of us, an even more dire nite than usual, if one includes projectile vomiting on Shepherd’s Bush high street.  I ate a Mediterranean lamb stew and knocked it back with a pint and a half of Erdinger.  I thought it was the speed I ate and drank these things, but my innards today tell me there was more to that ‘stew’ than met the eye.  Tho any restaurant with a cat eating her dinner at the table (sat on a chair) outside is normally fine by me.  (Her name was ‘Boss’ and she was a 6 month old cutie).   

Nearly there...

Of course, that was before I got IN the pub.  Christ, we should get those 2 guys at the door in our defence.  No away fans, so half our lot pretended to know nowt about football (easy) or had to be picked up at the door by Phil (resplendent in a blue away shirt.  How does THAT work?)  It appeared that if you rocked up in the office attire of jumper and collared shirt, you were in.  Still, Erdinger on tap.  In plastic glasses.  So, they root out the riff-raff and still charge you the earth for the honour of drinking from plastic.  I problies felt sick before I left the pub.

The view from the top tier.

On to the match and at least we’d made the effort to buy a ticket in advance, limited view, £28.  (As expected, there was plenty of space, so we sat where we liked and plonked ourselves right behind the goal).  Marvellous view (as long as the rows in front were empty – they were), and about 6 inches of leg space.  Brentford was similar.  Is West London populated by dwarves?  But pity the poor few (Stu) who bought a ticket on the night: THIRTY SEVEN F***ING QUID.  Now, obviously, Stu only paid cos he likes our company, rarely sees us, and is a masochist anyway.  But this is CRIMINAL.  (Bearing in mind I wouldn’t even have paid the £33).  

I wasn't aware it had closed...

I missed the kick-off, and thereby the chance to see Ben10 mascot us for the hundredth time.  That kid’s made more appearances than Hassell!  I had a good feeling too.  For the first time since EVER, I felt I was going to QPR confidently knowing we are a better team than them.  This lasted for about 3 minutes, or however long I was in the ground when we conceded.  A cross, a flick, and the ball just hit the heel of a forward and trickled in.  Jammy ba5tards.  Still, poor defending, and there was plenty of it 1^st half.

Match action

Thereafter, both sides looked decidedly average.  Scowen put his foot through a couple of shots (over) while Marley (centre forward!) had one chance blocked with Kent blazing the rebound over.  Later, we went 2 on 1 and while Kent overlapped, Armstrong pussied a ridiculous sidefoot effort to the keeper.  Pathetic.  Then, with time ticking at the end of the half, Marley rounds a defender, fires across the keeper…and it’s cleared off the line.  Well covered, dammit.  QPR meantime hit the bar from a header and Davies dived low to his left to save a sweetly connected 20 yarder.  

It can’t be all bad though; Bristol City and Little Lee are losing to Norwich. And say what you like about the cosmopolitan nature (or not) of Oakwell and BFC, but we’ve yet to have an ‘always ar5e club’ a la QUEENS Park Rangers.  If I understood the half time announcement, Shaun Derry is the latest member.  You’d never have guessed to look at him (though the shaven head possibly gives it away.)  That was about it as far as my entertainment went last night.

The salubrious surroundings of the concourse.

2^nd half, I don’t think either side got going.  Mowatt was dragged off in midfield and a re-shuffle brought Bradshaw up top, Scowen moving centre and Marley out wide.  We still looked s***.  Or at the very least ‘unlikely to score’.  Then a ball was whacked out wide by QPR, it hit their man and proceeded to drop kindly for him to run onto and cross.  Jammy ba5tards.  And he whips in a beautiful cross to the front post where MacDonald and their bloke challenge to get the last touch.  Apparently it’s MacDonald.  Jammy ba5tards.  (Only kidding, great cross).

The game meandered on, then Hecky threw on Hedges and Hamill for the last 20.  Finally, we look like something going forward and a hopeful long ball is flicked on with his boot by Hedges and Bradshaw runs on, rounds the keeper and strokes it home.  We have pulled one back.  The atmosphere is still flat.  We know.  That’s it for another evening at Loftus Road.  3 draws, 20 defeats and counting…since our last win here.  It comes to something when fans are reminiscing about a draw, once (Martin Bullock scoring the equaliser, despite trying to clear the bar from under it).

A late free kick is wasted.

*** James.  Put his foot on the ball, rounded people, ran at people, gave himself time and space. 
Otherwise, I’m struggling, so….
** Kent.  Looked dangerous 1^st half.  (I know, I couldn’t believe it either) then disappeared 2^nd (I could believe that).  I’m obviously not the only one exasperated with this fellow, cos one Reds fans was giving him some right abuse, inviting him to p*** off back to Liverpool.  Unless it was Waddington, and he was talking about Hamill…
* Hamill.  At least there was some threat once the maestro came on.

Londontykes' Top 3:
1. James  2. Hamill  3. Roberts

Despatches:I can barely think of a morsel to write about the rest.  Yes, the centre halves cleared a few balls, but yes, the goals came from crosses.  As Stuart said ‘2-1 flattered both teams; it had nil-nil written all over it.’  Another crap nite in the Bush.  And Bristol City equalised.

Onwards and upwards! 

Drink du jour: Erdinger on tap.

Away: 526 Reds fans wishing they were somewhere else from the 1^st minute onwards. 

The Damage:
28 ent

I refuse to give ‘em any more of my money.

Loftus Road panorama

Full time.  Another defeat in Shepherd's Bush.

Derby County 2-1 BFC, Saturday 4th March 2017

‘He is OUR Michael Carrick’ (Stephen McPhail - LOL!)

An in-house Greggs.  What's not to like!?

Bad start to the day.  I arrive half an hour before the train and enjoy a greasy caff.  So when I call in at Kings X to withdraw cash (I know the Captain doesn’t like debt owed to him) I misjudge time and when I rock up to St P for a 10:58 train it’s 10:56 (and a half) and it’s last orders on boarding.  Even worse, our ticket is some kind of threesome, all or none.  Not the kind of threesome I’d ever dreamed of.  I’d always imagined I was Dogtanian to my friends’ Porthos, Athos and Aramus.  To my compadre, my 2together buddy, my bodyguard (Oldham away, last season) I can only apologise.  I’m an idiot.

Nearly there.

Then we offski to Derby.  I haven’t been here since we were in the Premiership. Which was….well, a long time ago. I remember one corner of the stadium was open in those days.  I had to ask Andy which corner it was.  He’d no idea – we get shunted around every time we come.  Nice ground, but that’s the thing: they’re all the same these places; without a fixed point, they look identical, save for the colour of the seats.  Derby, Leicester, Cov, Soton et al…you know who you are.  And the last time I came here, all that existed between the station and (No) Pride Park was wasteland. Now, it is all industrial units and Frankie and Benny’s.  A wasteland, then.  Still, a more pleasant walk this time as we followed the river.

Them and us.

Actually, I do have one regret.  (I have many, so this is merely one of them.)  One year, I’d arranged to be picked up for a Xmas/New Year game at the old Baseball Ground, but I got terribly ‘tired and emotional’ and my alarm had to be sacked for dereliction of duty.  That was the last time we played at Derby’s legendary old ground.  The modern plasticity makes it no better, though I am slightly assuaged by the thought that DCFC still have to play us when their 30,000 crowds say something else.  Which brings me to think: is there nothing to do in Derby? while Reedy and every other Reds fan in the stadium wonder, if there’s so many of ‘em why is the atmosphere so s***?  I had to wonder whether cursory chants about their ‘mams and dads (being) scabs’ was some cunning Reds’ ruse to tease some passion out of them there Derby.  Though experience shows they DO wake up when they score.  Then they shut up again, bless.

Maybe circa 1975

But, tis true, they won.  Two goals to one.  I’m not sure how.  We ran the roost for 40 mins (nil-nil) before they woke up for the last 5 mins of the 1^st time.  (Secretly, I was pleased; it gets a bit tiresome when the action is at the other end.)  Armstrong in particular looked lively early on.  We really should have pressed the advantage.  Oh well.

As we contemplated not going in at HT at least one goal ahead, we nick the lead in rudimentary fashion early 2nd half; Roberts’ long throw is headed home by James.  (Pompey) Ian is a genius; he wondered earlier why we don’t use this tactic more often.  (I bet he doesn’t remember saying this, but he did).  All our hard work and slick moves, and it takes a 30 yard throw to give us the lead.  Oh well.  Pompey makes a break for the toilet and I follow (yeah yeah).

The Super Reds celebrate.

We return to a bellicose ‘Barns-ser-lee, Barns-ser-lee, Barns-ser-lee’.  I just know Derby have equalised.  They have.  I might have even seen it had I not had the temerity to wash my hands.  Standards, eh? Who needs ‘em?  Allegedly it’s a scramble in the box and Ince prods one home.  ‘Your dad’s a cnut, and so are you.’  Anyone who used to visit Peterboro in the days of their terrace will recognise that one.  Catchy.  La la la la….la la la la.  And there’s not enough chants with the c-bomb in it, is there?

They're here, they're there, they're .....at Derby.

Thereafter, Derby rule.  Pompey (him again) puts it down to Butterfield coming on for them and playing some kind of deep lying Hourihane role.  Couldn’t we buy him back with the Hourihane/Bree/Mawson money?  A pre-match applaud from Jacob shows what Hourihane will (already does?) realise; he is better off in a team who will APPRECIATE him, who will actually PLAY him.  Where the fans love him. Or sit on the bench at Derby earning 4 times as much.  The irony.  Only in football do you get paid MORE for producing LESS.  I’d have him back in a shot.

Is this the Pride Park (Ipro?) extension?

Anyway, they have all the play, create a few snippets, and make Davies tip 2 or 3 over….before Hecky makes a game changing sub.  Kent and Mowatt come on for our forward line (Bradshaw and Armstrong).  To the uninitiated, it looks like we’re playing for the draw.  But we know switching Marley up front, and having more energy in midfield will make the difference.  It does – they go up the other end and score.  I still think the right back (the Everton bloke?) doesn’t deal with it, allowing it to bounce and Nugent hits a snapshot winner.  Fair play to the goal-a-game former England striker (if you can’t remember the goal, look it up on youtube!) as he buries it with aplomb, deflection or not.  We lose, it’s one of those games.  We rule one half, fail to take advantage, they run the other and do.  Lesson learnt.

Game in progress, fans leaving in hordes.  Eh???

***.  Roberts Immense.  Won headers, intercepted balls, covered others.  Set up our goal with amazing trickery from wide right (threw a ball a long way).
** MacDonald.  As above, minus the trickery.  Worked great as a pair.
* James.  I was saying to Andy, he impressed 1^st half…then he scores..

Londontykes' Top 3:
1. Roberts  2= James/MacDonald

Despatches:
Yiadom was poor today.  Do the fullbacks take turns?  Jones played well, tho missed a late chance to whip a ball across goal.  Talking of which, Kent nearly equalised after coming on, hitting a decent effort with his weaker right.  Hamill played well, without dribbling past everyone and scoring a 30 yarder (which is what some people who’d rather go and watch Hartlepool v Exeter today might say).  Davies never put a foot wrong.  Some good saves and no chance with the goal I saw.  (If I never saw the 1^st goal, does that mean it never happened…which meant neither did the second…so actually, we won.  YOOOOUUUU REDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  Andy says no, it does not mean that.  Dammit.

Scowen surprised me today.  He didn’t track back for a ball and they nearly scored from his half-arsedness.  Bradshaw had some good touches but faded, while Armstrong continues to be the centre forward version of Kent (on loan, flatters to deceive, but if you watch him enough, produces very little).  Just saying – no need for the hate mail.

And Wadd, I’m with you – good luck completing the 92.  You’re not missing much not going to Derby.  And besides, we’ll be playing them again next season.  See you at Morecambe in a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!

And so it stayed.

Drink du jour: Maisel Weiss in the Derby CAMRA pub 2016 and 2017.  No idea what it’s called, but turn right outside the train station (actually, ‘railway station’; the Captain tells me ‘train station’ is an Americanism).  Anyway, turn, right, walk down the sidewalk, cross the freeway and it’s there.  And there’s a booze express or somesuch by the station for those necessary vodka and cokes for the way back.  For when Andy ejects an old lady from her seat and spends the rest of his journey feeling guilty.  He is Raskolnikov incarnate.

Away: 1500+.  A tremendous turnout, inc the West Stand Bogs crew who’d walked from Barnsley, setting off yesterday.  Thus far, I have no knowledge on whether Master Hicks bled his feet in some named set of shoes this time, or whether he learnt his lesson at Bradford.  Problies the former. 

You Reds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Damage:
26 train
17.60 (very specific, but if you bought 4 tickets in advance, you got 20% off, or summink.  Either way, well done Derby.)
3 prog
= £46.60

The Tunes:
Among My Swan (Mazzy Star)

Match panorama

Full time panorama

Welcome to ...

The Derby dugout.  Steve Bloomer watches on.

Match action.