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NEWS

28 February 2004

Give a little bit of Hart and soul I think as Hartley Hare 0 Zippy from Rainbow 2 proved today, we are now entering into the tricky, don't-expect-much-entertainment stage of the season where things could get tricky. On a crappy pitch, with interesting flatness, we started off pretty poorly, and HW could have easily got one. However, a slightly-against-run-of-play from the edge of the area by KC put us 1-0. After that, despite the occasional bit of pressure, we started to go up a gear, especially in the second half. After some fine saves by their goalie, we went 2-0 up thanks to a KC penalty. Nice off the ball bundle, sent KC flying anyway. Two sendings off (see below), and the ghosts of last year were gone. It was NE's first game at AFCW last year....

Unfortunately, the ever-improving Scotty was given a straight red for head-butting, which can carry a bloody long suspension. That said, it was reported that Scotty was retaliating after a comment by the HW player about bananas. Work out the insinuation there, I understand Colne have already been alerted to the player in question.

Anyway...

Plus points: Win. 3 points. Clean sheet. Kept going. Got stronger as game went on

Minus points: Shooting. Defence still looks iffy.

The referee's a......: Actually not that bad. Disallowed an all-right looking HW goal, gave most decisions to us. Linesman was quite fit as well, don't think we've had a lino who goes red after Joe Sheerin before.

Them: Welcoming as usual. Supplied buses to/from the railway station as well. Certainly went for it until we went 1-0 up. Their #5 looked like (and I quote) "somebody from a 1970s football comic strip". Had a bit of a mouth on him as well. Their dugouts were purchased with the money from our game last season, though that didn't stop them nabbing the seats from the local primary school.

Question time: Which one of our players was seen in the half time interval with his bag looking VERY pissed off? Football can be a vicious game, even at this level.

Trivia time: Is this the first time that it's ever snowed at an AFCW game?

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The Hartley Wintney Explorer Unit was in full force in downtown HW today. No, it wasn't the local firm but instead a bunch of weird looking scouts with something that looks a cross between a campaigning stall and a strange pagan festival. Most of the participants were wearing Sutton United-esque colours, and a couple of them were walking around with THE worst sandwich boards I have ever seen, basically a cardboard box with "6000 Children Die Each Day" or something. Please don't ask me to expand any further on what it all means, because I honestly don't know. But anything with jugglers in its ensemble isn't something I want to get involved with. I don't think there were many takers, though they did try, bless them. One thing for sure, I'm going to miss these quaint local customs if/when we finally leave the CCL. (2) Didn't the first half feel like it went on for bloody ages? (3) PISA making merry for most of the second half. Methinks "Nicky English's barmy army" has a nice enough ring to it..

Franchise watch: Lost. 4-0. To Watford. Neil Ardley scoring. Please, don't laugh. As it's their localish derby, they took a massive ONE coach to Herts, with reportedly 36 people on it. Now that's what I call a frenzy. Sadly, Warren Barton is now playing for them, reportedly playing like a huge shadow of his former self. That said, he might just be getting his coaching badges with them, so will probably leave when he wises up or the admin people wise up, whichever comes soonest.

Wallingford watch: It really must be disheartening to be a Wallingford fan. Whenever they win 6-0, they tune in to find out that we win 8-0. And on a day that we struggle at HW, they entertain the Vile in the agricultural epicentre and what happens? They lose, 3-2.....

Anything else? Yes, the new garden furniture in a neighbouring house was the cause of many seconds of distraction for a few ~~sad~~ inquisitive Wombles. How suburban...

So, was it worth it? I suppose so, as said above, I'm going to miss these sort of places if/when we go up, so it's best to make the most of them

In a nutshell: Who are our next victims?

26 February 2004

God, do I really have to write about Wanking 3 Woking 0? Suffice to say, I didn't bother taking any photos and my notepad has the entire first half scribbled thus : "First half so non-descript I didn't write anything". It was 0-0 by the way. We went 2-0 up when I was still in the bar trying to ~~numb the cold through Guinness~~ keep warm, so all I can tell you on that score is that Paul Scott scored the first and Steve Gibson scored the second, though I was told when I re-entered that it was direct from a corner and that Danny O caused GBH on the goalie. Probably. Thanks to a penalty by Ryan Gray that was cleared effortlessly over the bar, and him making amends by doing the same thanks to a KC cross (thankfully only 3 yards out, though same trajectory) we went 3-0 up and put our goal difference to +100. And that was that.

Plus points? Minus points? Truth? Ah, can't be bothered this time, suffice to say that our shooting is on a par with Anne Winterton's judgement, the referee was so anonymous that I can't write much about him, we still look three classes above everyone else, there was 2100 odd people there, it was a pretty boring game and the burgers tasted nice and the chips didn't. And I met a couple of SW19 readers who I had never met before. Salutations. That OK for today? Oh, all right, it was bloody cold as well.

Normal service will be resumed Saturday

21 February 2004

8-Ace Back to normality? Possibly, I can't help thinking that O'Hare 8 Heathrow 0 has not done NE's CV much harm, and indeed help soothe the obvious wounds that TEgate caused. 22-0 in our last three games is certainly worthy of employing him on a more permanent basis, and if he wants the job he should get it. The players seem to respond to him anyway.

As for the game? Well, a hat-trick for Scotty (wonder if change of manager has done him good?), plus Everard, JS, Danny O, Sully and Ryan Gray completing the humiliation. We are surely too good for this league.

Moving forward...

Plus points: Professional. Kept going. Good shooting. Looking focused. Need I go on?

Minus points: Defence still looks a little bit shaky.

The referee's a.....: Jesus fucking christ. What a complete waste of DNA. What a retard. Even the Ann Summers "Monster Kong" 12-inch sex toy complete with vibrating mechanism and lubricant was less of a complete dildo than this guy. Where did he get his refereeing certificate anyway? Woolworths? His refereeing seemed to consist of running backwards, being indecisive about what to do (especially clear in that ruck), running backwards again, staying in the centre circle, running backwards yet again (very daintily) and er, not much else. Can't wait to get promoted, hopefully we'll see less of his ilk.

Them: Weren't they supposed to be in-form or something? Their manager wanted to meet TE because of something TE said about him being sacked. Oops. They started off well for about, ooh, 10 minutes, then normality ensued. In fact, when we went up a gear we just sliced them apart. They had a Celtic style huddle which was no doubt there to show the world of their us-against-the-world mentality, and how together they were strong and mighty and how solidarity can conquer all that is thrown at them. Shame it looked crap. Oh, and their kit looked like a mass order from the bargain section of the Great Universal catalogue

Crowd Control: There didn't seem to be much obvious aggro about TEGate, in fact apart from the occasional booing when Ivor was on the pitch (and somebody saying something negative about Erik while he walked past), which TBH I do expect, the atmosphere was calm on that score and I think people just simply want to move on. There was no obvious sighting of a vaunted petition, and the only handouts was TE's statement on WISA, which I think helped soften the mood further. While the depth of feeling in some quarters is still strong, and AFCW would be totally suicidal to ignore it or handle it without due care, I would hope the worst is over. I also wonder if the bad mood at the Sandhurst/Colne games was directly attributed to TEGate? I think TE's departure is like when Black Sabbath fired Ozzy Osbourne, and NE has become our Ronnie James Dio. I expect the TE/AFCW reunion in 2025.

Blame it on the weatherman: Yes, I know I always say it's cold at games (I think I have crap circulation) but so was everyone else. Actually, I wasn't shivering which I put down to my hardcore Athletics End upbringing. Obviously, the West Bank sages couldn't cope one bit, but I don't think they can cope with anywhere that doesn't have a roof.

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Your humble and esteemed editor entered the ground with a grand total of £3.01 (plus a fiver borrowed from an SW19 reader, will be reimbursed Weds sir) due to his local cashpoint not working. I think AFCW should forget minor, trivial stuff like a ground and managers and go for the real things that matter, namely a working ATM. I am sure the money will find its way back into AFCW coffers somehow. (2) Turning down a pint of Guinness. OK, so the KM Guinness tastes like it's been fermenting in a pigs trough for 2 years, but still.... (3) Hearing Steps' "5-6-7-8" on the PA. I know it's supposed to be fun, but AFAIAC playing such cheesy records could do lasting hearing and psychological damage.

Franchise watch: And if the goings on at AFCW are bringing you down, just look 70 miles northwards and cheer yourself up. Losing 3-0 to Coventry, something like 16 points away from safety and 5900 in the ground. This despite a Kids For £1 promotion that Koppout didn't want to do at SP. Hmm. I even heard that they closed off one stand in Frenzyville. And one of their players got sent off as well : they seem to have one sent off each game, I hope the FA show some spine for once (yeah, right) and fine them £1m for their vicious tactics. Though knowing the FA, they'll probably change the rules so that they can't get relegated and instead fine the other team for cheating the Frenzies out of their birthright.

Anything else? Yeah, I was standing next to Ginge and Matt Martin (who I didn't recognise) in the second half. Friend of the stars, you see....

So, was it worth it? Probably

In a nutshell: The king is dead....

18 February 2004

There's only one subject worth talking about tonight, and I don't mean the 5-0 stuffing of Vile either (might do a report on it tomorrow, though in truth I probably won't).

If you haven't read the Official Site, I suggest you do so before you come back here. Done that? Good.

OK, these are my initial thoughts which may change later : this is without doubt the strongest statement I have EVER heard, certainly at AFCW. I'm not going to comment on the statement(s) themselves, you can read them for yourself. However, as I've been saying on the site guestbook (what? You mean you don't read it?) the club *MUST* have got this correct. Saying phrases like "intentionally told clear and direct untruths" in a statement is something that must be legally watertight. In fact, I will go so far as to say that this has to outdo any legal statement in its watertightness than ever before. Because if it isn't, if AFCW have misjudged this, TE is bound to sue under defamation of character. And that could be costly to the club.

The reasoning is "gross misconduct", which obviously isn't something to be taken lightly. The reasons as listed in the OS statement seem to tie up with Anne Eames' postings (again, check the SW19 guestbook), though naturally enough different sides are taken. Obviously, I can't comment on what he did do, or didn't do, and my own personal feelings at this time is that lessons must be learnt. Not in a hand wringing way either, but seriously MUST be learnt. It seems that internal communications within the club could and should be better, if a similar situation happens again then I don't think it will be quite so easy. And as unrealistic as this may be, I will hope that a line is drawn underneath this and we can somehow move on under Nicky English.

Now, the reactions before the game (when I heard he'd gone) and after are interesting. Rumours abounded that TE was sacked by telephone, which made some people VERY angry. The club (read: Kris) did go on the PA afterwards and read out the OS statement. The crowd started off with some boos of Kris, with a few "fuck offs" aimed as well, presumably at the booers. At the end of the statement, there was some polite applause but I think it was mostly stunned silence. Serious stunned silence. As I went into the Main Stand to relieve myself, there was a very angry sounding woman, along with two gents speaking, the word "power struggle" being mentioned. It will be interesting to note the reactions from now until Saturday, there will be kneejerk reactions, and I get the impression that the sacking is not universally popular.

So what now? I really think we have to wait and see over this. A couple of wins on the pitch (starting Saturday) will lessen a significant amount of the blow, and put Nicky English on a far better footing. This might turn out for the best, though I personally support TE as I do with the vast majority of our managers (including NE). Obviously, if TE decides to follow this up then it will drag on, and serious questions will be asked of the board. These are, as they say, interesting times

One more thing, hello to the guy I was speaking to in the car park after the game. You weren't the only one asking for me to write up something tonight :)

14 February 2004

Love is in the air Dare I use the cliche Valentine's Day massacre? Too late. It was certainly a bloodfest on the pitch and it wasn't the most comfortable off the pitch either. More on TE in a minute, but Chess 0 Draughts 9 was the backlash to end all backlashes. Basically, we scored and you feel the relief. Then we scored again through KC and made it 3-0 thanks to JS and their goalie fumbling. 4-0 through Ryan Gray, 5-0 thanks to JS (and three others being left alone in the box) and 6-0 by KC again. Their defence wasn't very good. I missed it being 7-0 but it was Matt E with his trademark corner header. Nice shot by Bolger to make it 8-0 and the coup de gras was KC once more. 9-0. Shame it wasn't 10.

I wonder about the minds of our players, whether the last 24 hours has pissed them off or not I don't know, it'll be interesting to see if they "did it for Terry". But they were focused.

Now, the TE situation. As the game started, Kris and Ivor were getting some IMMENSE stick, and not from the so-called usual suspects but a couple of people I didn't recognise either. Phrases like "tell us the truth" were being yelled, and I did honestly think it would turn a bit more nasty. One bone of contention seems to be the old "Fans Club" mantra of not telling the owners of the club what's going on, which is an argument I'm starting to hear more and more of. The thing is, although we have no idea what this "disciplinary" is about, enough people don't seem to be convinced of the reasons given. And as said yesterday, when you're getting ordinary fans starting to distrust what the top brass are saying, we will get (as also yelled today) another Hammam/Koppel situation.

The main reason behind the deep feeling of TE "suspension" is that unlike stuff like constitutions, elections etc, team matters really do matter to everyone. The chants at the end of "Terry Eames' Yellow/Blue Army" said it all - TE is highly regarded by just about everyone, we're doing great guns and judging by the mood of many (the rest were taking the line of "wait and see") there is no reason to turn against TE. Christ, if the "disciplinary" showed he caused GBH on the Colne manager he'd be more of a hero to the average Womble than before. The apparent reactions of some people being told that he'd been "suspended" on entrance today didn't seem to signify the most popular move in AFCW's history. If I was Kris, or Ivor, or Erik, I would expect a couple more rough rides from people in future. It may not be "right" in the eyes of some but it's not going to go away until it's fully settled. Might be wise to start investing in some decent and proper PR at this rate.

Anyway, onwards...

Plus points: 0-9 do you?

Minus points: I was going to question about how iffy our defence looked at 7-0 up. But somebody at the end of the game advised me to put it in, so in true SW19 style I won't mention it.

The referee's a......: Actually, he wasn't too bad. Managed to only book Ryan Gray after he blatantly upended one of their players off the ball and in front of the linesman.

Them: Crap. Embarassingly crap. Their goalie took it all in good humour though at 9-0 down, either that or it was hysteria.

Spotted: Peter Miller. TE. Dobo Snr. Reportedly AE turned up as well. Some reported goings on in the bar afterwards.....

Point to ponder: Do you think that this was the game where all of the shit that has built up came out in one foul swoop? It was obvious that a game like this was bound to happen one of these days. And be honest, how badly did you want it to be 10-0?

Truth is stranger than fiction: Funny feeling around today, had a touch of the MK season about it.

Anything else? Yeah, why the hell do we seem to play at Leatherhead every 6 months? This almost felt like a KM game, namely timing my journey exactly, knowing where to park, where the tea bar was etc etc. If Khosla finds some loophole in the KM buyout and turfs us out, I bet I know where we'll be sharing......

So, was it worth it? Yup

In a nutshell: Can't wait until Wednesday.

13 February 2004

It would all have to happen on Friday the 13th. TE has been "suspended" (according to the OS) "pending a formal disciplinary meeting", and don't expect any further comments until after the meeting is held. Nicky English is taking over for now, pending this suspension.

The big question is why? Well, it depends what this "disciplinary" is. The only thing I can think of is the Colne fiasco which might have indited TE in a massive way, though unless AFCW have had an official preview of what the FA said about it, the timing is rather odd. If it's for any other reason, I will start to wonder just what the hell is going on behind the AFCW scenes.

More questions are coming out. Was TE really suspended or is it a smokescreen for being pushed? If you've been paying attention, there have been some incidents lately that have suggested that all wasn't hunky dory at das Volkstadion. Anne Eames' DT election-then-stepping-down might start making a bit more sense now, and remember TE's broadside at W&WW? Coincidence? We'll obviously have to wait and see when the truth will out, assuming it ever does come out.

Interestingly, it appears Anne Eames has gone and claimed that TE was in fact sacked, which if true would totally undermine the OS statement. And that would spell bad news for the board, whose credibility would be shattered - TE is/was one of the most popular people at AFCW, his record on the pitch (which is where it matters most) was pretty good, especially this season. It's fair to say he's probably the most all-round liked manager of Wimbledon for a long time, certainly since Harry Bassett. Managers at Wimbledon generally tend to get the support and benefits of the doubt more than anyone else. A sacking would then show that the board issued the statement to cover its own arse, or if you prefer try and deflect attention away from a dismissal. And we all know what happens to supporters of our club who feel the board lie to them don't we?

Couple of other things. On past form TE is not the sort of person to hold back what he thinks, even when he was the manager, and if he feels he's been wronged, he won't keep quiet for long. Unless part of his suspension involves a gagging order, although gagging orders don't usually last forever. Especially not with him.

AE's comments about sacking could ensure that TE doesn't come back anyway : god knows where this will end up, but either AE has made a hasty, ill judged comment or things are that strained between the Eames and the top brass at AFCW. The club say they can't make comments about it under employment law - and being a legal lightweight I can appreciate that - though their hand might be forced in all of this

The only other thing I've heard is that it's about money : getting rid of some staff without telling the board in order to boost up the squad, or something like that anyway. Sounds trivial, though having been through a similar situation myself once it does put a massive wedge between you and your bosses when you do that. But is that worthy of a suspension?

The concensus from just about everyone is "wait for the facts", and before the over-sensitive brigade get on my back about what I've written above, it is pure speculation at this point. And yes, I know I shouldn't speculate but you come here for me to pontificate :) But it does show that all is not well at AFCW, and the euphoria and honeymoon period of AFCW is well and truly over. We have, in a nutshell, now succumbed to the inevitable and become another football club. Lovely feeling isn't it?

Speaking of other football clubs, and further guaranteed to ruin your day, appears that Franchise, or rather Asda, have got the permission from Prescott to build their ~~giant megastore with petrol station, cafeteria, clothing section and recycling facilities~~ football stadium. I would like to say I'm shocked and saddened, but the thing is, I'm not. The way this whole thing has gone, it's been one sneaky little stitch up after another. Firstly the way that Koppout was allowed to go all the way up to the 3-man commission without calling an FL EGM. Then 28/5/02. Then those shifty little jism guzzlers at MK Council. And now, a fat cunt with more Jags and homes than your average football club chairman, who in true New Labour style rolls over and allows his bollocks to be tickled at the first sniff of money. I would like to offer a sarcastic, sophisticated response to that, but I'd rather call them all wankers and hope that it burns down, and they all get HIV or something and die a horrible and painful death. Preferably on video so I can tape it and have a good laugh.

Thank god I'm unattached, Valentine's Day tomorrow would otherwise be more hell than usual for some poor bird.....

8 February 2004

Well, Wimbledon 2 Washout 0 is one game that is going to be talked about for years to come. With very few daring to predict a clean sheet, it seemed everyone was expecting an eventful match. I could go on about how Harvey and Gray are combining with nifty overlap play on the left better and better with each passing match, or the number of times Sheerin and Scott put it wide, but that isn't what this match is going to be remembered for.
2800-odd wombles, Ash fans (mad and otherwise) and Norwich franchise-haters came to Kingsmeadow to witness why Wimbledon really should get out of this league as soon as possible.

We were treated to a cool penalty taken by Gray, awarded after he was pulled down in the box at around the half-hour mark, and then with 5 minutes of the first half to go, there was a bit of drama at the west bank followed by the ref tottering off to have a brief conference with the lino, and next thing we know, Carroll is handing his jersey (as I understand one has to call the keeper's shirt) to Oakins, and exiting stage left. Apologies for being unable to report exactly what Carroll was guilty of, no doubt a more reputable match report will be able to fill in the details for you.

Now, most groups of supporters tend to go through the more negative range of emotions upon losing their only available keeper. Being unlike most groups of supporters however, the Dons faithful remained cheerful and upbeat, and appeared to relish the prospect of the second half instead of dreading a first league defeat. This is some indication of the level of confidence we have in our team despite a few recent shaky results, and can only be a Good Thing.

The second half lurched merrily on, with Wimbledon stamping their authority on the game and keeping it stamped. Did Ash just not notice we were down to 10 men with a diminutive outfield player in goal? If they did, they certainly showed no sign of wanting to take advantage of it. Time after time the Dons out-hassled, out-passed and generally out-moved the opposition and created several chances, most of which went begging, but it was the perennial Everard who rose in classic style to make the match safe - mind you, it was pretty safe anyway, with Oakins barely tested at the other end, though he did pull off a couple of convincing saves.

Anyway, I'm told that nobody reads the report bit in SW19 match reports, so sliding swiftly on to.

Plus points: If we can beat one of the better sides in this league (and keep a clean sheet) without a keeper I think we stand a good chance of doing pretty well wherever we find ourselves next season.

Minus points: We could have scored many more, but that's just unfair to bring up, isn't it?

The referee's a ... : I really don't know. Despite a penalty and a potentially controversial sending off, he didn't seem that remarkable.

Them: We thought you were good, we were wrong, boy were we ever wrong.

Wallingford watch: Down 1-0 at half time, came back to beat Southall 3-1. Bah.

Franchise watch: We're going up, they're going down. Do we really need to say more? Well, they only lost 1-0 to the top team, and had their keeper sent off too. What are the odds?

Truth is stranger than fiction: A number of Wimbledon "top boys" (ahem) with furrowed brows engaged in various board games in the bar after the match. No, really.

In a nutshell: Danny Oakins is our mate.

4 February 2004

Bugger Drat. Poo. Floppy Disks. We play probably some of our best football of the season, and it still ends up Bandstand 1 Banstead 2. Hmph. Presumably because Banstead are of a higher level than us, and **if** we go up we'll be playing teams like this week in week out, we were more up for it than perhaps even the Vase matches. Did somebody say "complacency"? Anyway, we deservedly went ahead through JS, but thanks to a subtle fusion of shit defending and Lee Carroll's impression of Simon Tracey it was 1-1 before HT. Second half, we kept pressing, though the longer it went on the more likely we weren't going to score. And true to form, just before the 90 min mark, they netted again thanks to Carroll. Cue stunned silence

What this has proven is that our current goalie and defence are clearly not going to propel us much beyond mid-table of Ryman div 1 (or restructure equivalent). Really, of our back line only Everard is the one capable of making the jump effortlessly, the rest? In all seriousness, if you're attached to the current playing staff, make the most of it, as I doubt if half of them will be there next season. That said, if TE's rebuilding over the last year is anything to go by I don't think we need to worry too much about things getting done.

Enough of that boring shit about football matters, here's the good stuff....

Plus points: Some really good passing. Getting in behind their defence. Could and should have won

Minus points: I HATE losing. Our finishing was a bit CCL level. Paul Scott.

The referee's a.......: Well, I dunno. Did you notice him? Did he piss many people off? I don't think so. I think he was quite all right.

Them: Apparently, they knew that they were very fortunate to win last night, which is a deffo sign of respect. Perhaps most annoyingly of all, I couldn't find much to slag them off about - there was hardly any niggly stuff that I saw, none of their players looked like an orangutan/Jesus/8 ft tall. If promotion ensures such anonymity amongst referees and opposition players is going to be de rigeur, SW19 reports could be very difficult to write next season.

Blame it on the weatherman: A steward (no, not my own personal designated one) commented that he hoped it didn't rain last night. Yup, you guessed what happened next. Thanks to the crazy weather this winter, I wasn't cold for the second game in a row. Cue fainting.

Meeja whore: Your humble and esteemed editor got interviewed by a ~~shaggable~~ nice and polite Nog bird for some Norwegian press agency. Forgot what I said, though she did blot her copybook by referring to Franchise as the "real" Wimbledon. Must be a Scandinavian cultural thing. With her was some photographer bloke, who kept stalking me...

Point to ponder: Something pointed out last night - are all Ryman division teams forced by law to wear shirts made by Kitz? OK, the Mitcham clothing firm's stuff seems all right - better than Tempest's crap anyway - but should we go up I think there is no point in negotiating with any other kit manufacturer....

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Finally risking the KM tea bar food for the first time this season. Actually very impressed by the burger, which tasted of meat. Not too convinced it's worth £2.50 though. Chips the usual quality, ie tasting like they've been cooked in rancid urine. (2) Being able to walk in front of the main stand unchallenged. I expect to be thrown out next game. (3) Feeling disappointment - real disappointment - after a game for the first time this season. And that's a good thing.

Franchise watch: It just gets worse and worse. For them anyway. Add Jobi "Come and have a go if you're Jobi" McAnuff to the list of departing players. Murdick is complaing that he only had 9 fit players reporting for training, only two older than 22 years old or something. We should show compassion towards them, but this is Franchise we're talking about, so victriolic abuse is perfectly acceptable. Coincidentally, when Murdick quits, what sort of job do you think he'll get? His previous employment suggests that he can accept anything, is prepared to work under self-inflicted shit conditions and is able to justify the unjustifiable with a straight face. Hmm. Wonder if Tony Blair needs a new spin doctor?

Anything else? Yeah, is the attendance of 1187 for a crap cup competition good or not?

So, was it worth it? Yes and no, it does prove that we can go up a level.

In a nutshell: League is most important thing. Always was.

And finally.....: SW19's Ash report will not be written by me, as I'll be in good old Ireland. In the Kingdom, if you must know. I would like to apologise in advance for any mentions of football in the Ash report, together with nice positive vibes about AFCW and human nature in general, coupled with a complete absence of boorishness. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Thank you.