Game Forty - Hereford Home

28 December 2008

The final game of a crazy year in the world of LCFC and a chance to finish off the year by passing the 50 points mark and taking us one step closer to our aim of promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.

The day started in the usual way for a home game with a long lie in and slow start to the day, heading off in decent time and in no massive rush to get anywhere - the way it should be! Met up with Helen and her mum outside the stadium and exchanged christmas presents seeing as we hadn't managed to before 'the big day.'

The game kicked off at a decent pace with a few chances being created early on with Fryatt and Oakley both having shots blocked, the latter arguably could have done better after a shot was blocked into his path but couldn't adjust his body quick enough to volley the loose ball with any power. It didn't take long for the first goal to find it's way in though as Fryatt knocked the ball into Davies he layed it off sweetly for Howard to smash home. A very neat, tidy goal and one that released any tension that was felt.

Within seconds of the restart, Davies nearly made it two, as he weaved his way through the defence with pace and skill before knocking it just wide of the post. The loan signing is looking like a real prospect and although I'd love to see him stay at the club, I can see Wolves calling him back to the club for the busy run in.

Some further quality build up saw the Hereford keeper produce a wondersave from a close range Fryatt shot and it was all Leicester as long range shot after shot missed the target or was turned away by the man between the sticks.

Hereford were restricted to long range efforts that rarely tested Martin and it seemed that the visitor's lack of prominence in front of goal away from home would continue for at least another game.

At half time, and with the score remaining at one nil, I made my usual trip down to the concourse to catch up with Katy and put the world to rights in the round about way that only we can.

The second half started with the one change with the injured Fryatt being replaced by Paul Dickov. We can only hope that Fryatt's injury isn't serious and that he'll be back soon as we can't afford to wait for Howard to strike up a partnership with another strike man if we want to stay ahead of the chasing pack.

The first real chance of what turned into a rather dull second half was an Oakley free kick that was fired straight down the throat of the keeper.

Lloyd Dyer and another free kick, this time from Andy King tested the keeper but he was up to the job. At the other end, Hereford had their first real chance as Guinan broke free but fired straight at Martin under pressure from the chasing Morrison. Hereford were starting to come back into the game though and an appalling attempt at a punch from Martin nearly gifted the equaliser but a lack of composure in front of goal ensured that we stayed ahead.

In the 71st minute though, we got the second goal that was so badly needed and it was that man again: Andy King. A corner was only half cleared and Gilbert swung it back into the box, Oakley played it down and King placed a tidy shot past the keeper. Very neat goal and we assumed put the game beyond doubt.

With little over 10 minutes to go, Hereford were right back in it when a free kick was easily headed in from a few yards. Where the defence had gone is still a mystery. From then on it was a very tight affair and Hereford came with inches of snatching an undeserved equaliser when a free kick from Kris Taylor just drifted wide of the post with Martin well beaten. The final whistle was greeted with cheers, one because we'd won and two because we could finally leave after a very dull affair. Nothing on the pitch or in the stands seemed to click... and we still won. Sign of champions I think!

So that's 2008 done in terms of football. 63 matches done in the calendar year, a record for me and I don't expect I'll be able to top on that in 2009. We've had the highs and we've had some very severe lows. Some memorable away trips, and some forgettable performances on the pitch. Loads of new friends met, and loads of new grounds racked up. Apart from that miserable day in May, and the home game against Sheffield Wednesday the week before which left me feeling as low as I ever have before, it's been a fun time to be football fan. True the football has left a lot to be desired and for the first part of the year we wern't getting the results but the away days were as memorable as anything else I've done in my life at times. Says a lot when you can see your team get battered all round the country and still think fondly of the day as a whole. May the good times continue into the new year. Whatever you do, whoever you support, I hope 2009 is a great one for you. See you in the new year!

63 games

Game Thirty Nine - Leeds United away

26th December 2008

Boxing day fixtures. Second only to FA Cup third round weekend in my opinion as it's great to see virtually every team in the country having games on the same day with the majority of teams kicking off at the same time. The motorways were full of football fans travelling to the grounds, their colours proudly on display and many feeling slightly worse for wear after all the Turkey the day before.

Many had billed this game away at Leeds as the biggest of the season but due to the current position that the hosts found themselves in, it didn't seem as important as the previous game at home to Peterborough. Now Elland Road is never the easiest place to go and get a result, even after Leeds had suffered five straight defeats, but with a new manager on board in the shape of Simon Grayson, we knew that three points was not guarenteed and a draw could be considered a good result.

With the lack of public transport on offer on boxing day, the cost of Fox Travel was slashed for season ticket holders and so 16 coaches were lined up at the Walkers ready for the fairly short journey up to Yorkshire. What with family up in that area, if there was one game that I wanted to get the train for and have the freedom to do what I wanted, it was this one but sods law meant it would be on boxing day and leave me restricted to the coaches. For this game I was with Jodie though as other people I get the travel with normally were making their own way there.

We had some random chatter about nothing in particular and had a go at the football name game not seen since the Johnstones Paint Trophy match against Hartlepool. She proved no match though and a thumping 6-1 win, combined with the lack of bookies anywhere along the way, meant she wasn't in the best mood when we made the stop at the services.

Quick KFC, and Jodies quest for salt and we were back into the cold to get back on the coaches. NSLL was there too and cheeky photo to prove that he does exist....

Back on the journey and it seemed that the stop had hardly been worth while as before long the signs for Elland Road loomed and we were pretty much there and in good time.... although there didn't seem much to do.

The main stand is quite an impressive sight as you pull off the motorway and for the first time of the day, the nerves of what lay ahead started to kick in.

My cousin works as one of the camera men at Elland Road, and we were hoping to meet up before the game but due to the high status of this game, and the fact it was Simon Grayson's first game in charge, he wasn't able to get away so I had a bit of time on my hands outside the ground while we waited to go in.

The leeds fans looked a cheerful bunch and so pleased to see us all.....

Katy arrived not long after us and came over for a natter inbetween coughing fits and after 10 minutes of random nattering outside the main stand, we decided to head in. Met up with Stez and some of the others at the queue for the turnstiles. Angry Dad was on form again though as wherever he stood, people used that as a point to pass through us all. From the looks of things JoeyB appeared to have taken a shine to Jodie too.... as for the random goon... he was just passing by Angry Dad!

Inside the concourse, was rather bizarre as it was more of a square structure leading off to random different areas including higher and lower tiers.... this made for a very cramped space though I did bump into a few faces I knew including Dan "Big Car" Carr from the office along with Lisa and Carl. The random signs around the place made me chuckle to myself.... especially point two: "Be respectful and sporting to the visiting team and their supporters." Im assuming that this sign is throughout the stadium but can sets of supporters be "sporting" to one another?

After three attempts at finding the right entrance to our area, we made our way out in the seats with limited leg room making if fun to pass through the rows. It really wasn't an impressive place to be an away fan and I was just expecting more from what claims to be a massive club, especially when looking round at the more modern areas of the ground. The stand to our right though looked very impressive and houses the majority of the 30,000 or so Leeds fans who had come to watch Leicester. I was to make a few friends among the home supporters throughout the game....

We watched the teams warm up and was dismayed to hear that Beckford was back for this game. As one of the best strikers in this league, we knew all about him and the threat that he would cause.... just had to hope Tunchev was up for the challenge.

The travelling Leicester fans were in good voice though. 3000 of us had made the trip and the worry that the part timers ruining the atmosphere like at previous bigger crowds were soon put to rest as songs rang around the corner and area behind the goal that we'd been provided with.

As the players emerged from the tunnel, the Leeds fans found their voices... only to lose them as soon as the first ball was kicked and not regain them for the next 87 minutes. I don't know what I was expecting but I thought that the 30,000 fans there would cause some intimidation and raise the temperature.... but that was not the case.

The game started at quite an impressive pace but with very little skill on offer and it was soon clear that this game would be one that would be dominated by the midfield and there would be very few chances for either team.

The first real chance fell for Leeds after 15 minutes or so as a cross into the box was spilled by David Martin right to the feet of Becchio who struck the post with the goal at his mercy. A real let off and just showed the need that we have for a reliable keeper between the posts. Andy King had a long range effort just wide, but midway through the first half, City took the lead. Fryatt picked up the ball, shook off three defenders and threaded the ball through to Oakley who hit it sweetly first time with the outside of the foot past the stranded Ankerman. The celebrations were as joyous as ever and included the winding up of the nearby fans who seemed insistant in sticking two fingers up to us... how unsporting!

We dominated the game for the remainder of the first time without ever really testing the keeper and it was Leeds who came closest to scoring when Martin turned an effort from Richardson round the post.

At half time we headed down to the concourse and saw Lil' Dave and Andy SUAS, before exchanging texts with Katy and some people I knew in the Leeds end to see their thoughts on the game.... they wern't enjoying it for some reason.

As with the first half, City controlled the opening exchanges of the second period but without forcing the keeper into any real scares. A few corners and a free kick fired straight at the wall were all that we had to show for ourselves as the clock wore on and Leeds realised that they were still in the game.



A few meaty challenges were starting to thrown in in the midfield and yet neither side seemed to give or take an inch and the turning point soon came with five minutes to go. Fryatt took his leave to be replaced by Dickov and the chasing of the ball soon stopped... Leeds defence had no pressure for the first time and could advance with the ball rather than hoofing it skywards. This started to get the Leeds fans to wake up and they roared their team on for the final few minutes and it was only a matter of time before they got their goal.

A deep cross was swung in and Snodgrass appeared from nowhere at the back post to place the ball past Martin and give Leeds the point they so badly needed. This was their cup final in many respects and they hadn't lost.... but we took great happiness in reminding them who was top as they celebrated like it was a Champions League semi-final.... or is that a sore point?

As the final whistle blew, the players were clearly disappointed not to have taken three points but to be honest, a point apiece was fair and we left the stadium not feeling to glum about the late goal and piled onto the coaches for the journey home.



Got back to the walkers in good time, less than 2 hours of travelling through the busy motorway and was left to reflect on our position.... Top two was guarenteed now going into the new year and we'd survived what was likely to be the trickiest of games in the league this season and hadn't lost. It's a good time to be a Leicester fan.

Next up on the tour is the final game of 2008 and the visit of Hereford, a team who a few years ago were a non-league outfit who gave us a torrid time in the FA Cup when we were in the Premiership, and now here we were in a league game.... funny old game!

Game Thirty Eight - Peterborough Home

20 December 2008

The christmas run. Games come thick and fast and it's a great way to shape a season. With so many games in a short space of time, you can find yourself going from top to the play offs in the space of a week so it's vital that we hit the ground running, starting with what some have christened: "The A47 derby". For me though, this had nothing to do with bragging rights and was all about creating a larger gap for ourselves ahead of the team in 4th place who were apparentley unbeaten since August. I can't say I was very optimistic though as we headed into town on what was the busiest day Leicester City centre has seen in a while. Final weekend before christmas and both the Tigers and City playing at home. Good luck with the parking!!

A lot had been made about the front pairing of McLean and Mackail-Smith that we would be facing today and we knew that we'd be playing with fire trying to deal with those two's pace and power. Maybe it was a sign then that this guy was juggling flaming torches to entertain the shoppers. If he can play with fire and not get burnt then maybe so could we!!

10 minutes around the city centre though and I was getting really frustrated with people getting in the way so I gave up on the chance to do any last minute shopping and headed over to the stadium in good time to chill out.

Katy arrived about 20 mins before kick off and we had our normal random natter - this time though she was slighty tipsy (although Im sure she'd try and deny that!) Hugs a plenty, and the exchanging of cards and we headed off our seperate ways to see what the Walkers had in store for us today!

Posh seemed quite up for this and their 3000 strong away seemed intent of enjoying their day out at the Walkers as I'm sure we'll do when we head over to their place later this season. The players responded to their efforts and for the first few minutes, we never left our half as Peterborough forced a succession of corners which Martin resorted to flapping at and were scrambled away. Less than convincing!!

However after 6 minutes, we took the lead in bizarre circumstances. A lost ball was chased down by Fryatt, who then managed to bamboozle the defender and swing in a cross which was mis-kicked into his own net by Craig Morgan. A freakish attempt at a clearance spinning back behind him and past Joe Lewis.... an early christmas present gratefully received!

Oakley fired an effort just over after cutting in from the right and Steve Howard drilled a shot just wide as City looked to increase their dominant position over the game. Posh were restricted to a couple of long range efforts, all of which went straight down Martins throat but then on the half hour, they nearly got back into the game against the run of play. George Boyd had an effort that deflected onto a post, the rebound fell to Mackail-Smith who smashed against the bar with an open goal in front of him and that rebound was headed over by McLean with the goal gaping! A real let off and it felt like we'd just gone two goals to the good.

Fryatt missed a good chance just a couple of minutes later when he was played through but forced wide by the defender and eventually had his shot blocked.

He wasn't to be denied though and from another ball played over the top, he outpaced the defender, flicked the ball past Lewis with his head and rolled it into the net.

A third goal before half time came close as Dyer fired just wide and Oakley's free kick forced Lewis into a fine save before the referee called a hault to the first half and the team left the field to a standing ovation.

Half time was spent in my seat for the first time in ages as I'd seen Katy earlier and decided grab something to eat having been on the move since 8am without stopping for food. Had been a busy day!

After the break, the game continued in much the same fashion as before. Peterborough had a couple of long range efforts, one that went narrowly wide, and City always looked dangerous going forward.

Crofts nearly found Posh a way back into the game on the hour mark as he fired a volley into the side netting which sparked furious celebrations amongst the visiting supporters as from their point of view, it looked like it had found the back of the net. You kind of had the feeling that this was going to be our day. Own goal, open goal missed and the away fans celebrating a goal that never was. It's all good!

King came close with a header from a corner as we looked to finish the game off once and for all.
Dyer also found himself clear but for once his pace proved his downfall as he almost sprinted past the ball and had to wait for it to arrive at his feet, allowing the defender to get back and get in the challenge.

The third goal soon came though and from a free kick on the edge of the area, King raced in and planted a bullet header past Lewis at the near post.... and for once, the timing of the photo was spot on as you can see the blur of the ball just crossing the line - sweet!

With that goal, a large chunk of the away fans left the ground and headed back to the station. We had three points and they would be home 20 minutes earlier than planned. In my eyes, that makes everyone a winner!!

There was one thing that we were willing though before the game was out and that was a goal for Steve Howard. He does a lot of the dirty work and doesn't get the luck in front of goal to show for it but today, he made his own luck. Picking the ball up just inside his own half, he headed goalwards and then placed a great effort into the corner from 25 yards. You can tell how much that goal meant to him and the players as they all came over to join in the celebrations with him. If anyone deserved to be on the scoresheet then it was him!

With not much time after that for anything else, the referee soon blew his whistle for the end of the game and we headed out of the stadium full of christmas joy! Santa is a Leicester fan!!

Headed round to the front of the megastore after leaving the stadium to meet Lovejoy from FT and bumped into Helen's folks outside too. With her old man a Spurs fan, he was keen to find our where we were sitting for our trip to White Hart Lane next month when I travel down to see them against Wigan.

Also bumped into Jobber and Helen as we headed back into town, and had a quick chat with them as well to wrap up what was a great day down Filbert Way. It's hard to ever really sum up a game but as days at the Walkers Stadium go, that was nearly perfection in every way.

I'll be back after christmas reporting on what looks set to be the biggest clash in League One this season. Leeds away, on boxing day! With over 30,000 fans already having secured tickets, this looks set to be the biggest attendance of the season and will probably be one of the biggest in the country that day. Will it be Leeds 6th straight defeat or give them the win they need to kick start their season? We shall soon see.

And with that, all that's left to do is to wish everyone who reads this blog a merry christmas and to hope Santa brings us what we all want - 3 points from Elland Road!

Game Thirty Seven - Carlisle away

13 December 2008

Well we knew that this day would come sooner or later. The day that we had to travel for the longest journey of the league one campaign to take on Carlisle at Brunton Park. A ground so far north that I was expected a half time haggis instead of a pie.

A stupidly early start was needed and it was little past 7am when Katy's car pulled into the drive to pick me up before heading off to the Walkers Stadium for another fun filled adverture on Fox Travel. Having used it on the mammoth journey to Plymouth last season, I was braced for the numb arse and lack of leg room for the majority of the 200 odd mile treck.

We set off a little late as is tradition with the coaches and in heavy rain, something that we would grow used to through the course of the day. Random chattage and tiredness started to set in and my eyes started to close for 30 seconds..... schoolboy error!

Like a panther, she pounced on her phone and got a pic of me in my traditional Fox Travel pose. From then on, I knew sleep wouldn't be an option on this trip! Cheeky Minx!!

As an "X-mas Special" all hot drinks were 'complimentary' for this trip so it would be rude to turn them down on a free cuppa to wake us up in the wee hours. That was to prove the second mistake and we hadn't even left Leicestershire yet. In a cup so small, you wouldn't expect them to keep the tea bag in it... but of they did as we found out 10 minutes later when we went to drink it. The tea was so strong a chisel was needed to remove the tea bag and a spoon was needed to drink it.

The journey was a good laugh with Katy though and we put the world to rights with random chatter and most topics must have been covered during the journey... some of the things she comes out with too - the girl has balls that's all I can say! The old game of 'shag, marry or avoid' also threw up a few erm... interesting results and made the time fly by as we got further and further north. She really is great fun to be with and made what was a massive journey seem like minutes rather than hours.

As we got through to the lake district and the peaks of Cumbria, the rain was still pouring but that didn't take away from the pretty amazing views of snow tipped summits as we sped on on our journey. Having been up here for a few days earlier in the year, I can't wait to go back again and explore more of the countryside and climb the mountains further.

It was around here though that the tiredness really started to set in though. Katy had done her makeup and straightened her hair on the coach (surely a first for Fox Travel!), her eyes started to droop and we curled up on the seats and nearly drifted off....

..... except for the fact that we had arrived.

With the rain still coming down, blue Santa hat firmly on head and tickets in our pockets, we headed off to explore in the bitter cold. We bumped into Jodie and her other half Sam outside the turnstiles and Foz with his old man also made an appearance (thankfully with his shirt still on - god bless the flu!). After that we decided to make our way around the ground to see if there was anything at all...... and there wasn't. We couldn't be bothered to head off in search of a pub so just made our way back round to the away entrance and into the ground... although Katy looked like she struggled to push the turnstile.

The concourse was pretty much a smaller version of those at the Walkers Stadium... except with a tiny portable TV placed on a temporary shelf and showing the snooker as you would at the football. The perfect pre-match ice breaker to get you into the mood.

But we had officially made it and another ground was ticked off the list - one that I never would have done had it not been with Leicester. It's the type of ground that I'm really loving at this level though and a proper traditional ground that seem to be disappearing as time passes by. A Peterborough style terrace behind one goal....

.... mixture of terracing and seating on the main stand opposite ours....

... and another open terrace for away fans behind the other goal. Sadly due to the northern position of the club and the whole league one thing, they don't get massive amounts of away fans making the trip so I'm assuming that this stand rarely gets used. Swindon-esque fun could have been had in here though!

A moment of quiet contemplation ahead of a tough game and overlooking the stadium and the bit screen placed on top of an Eddie Stobart lorry.... possibly the most random thing I've ever seen at a football stadium. Loved it!

The unreserved seating proved popular and we were soon joined by Lisa and Carl (complete with Bovril), who had opted to spend the weekend across the border rather than do the whole trip in a day - probably the sensible option! Why didn't we think of doing that?!?!

It wasn't long before the rest of the FoxesTalk lot arrived having travelled up through a variety of different travel methods. Turned into quite a collective of people as we headed over to join them. Bert, Maybes, LD3, C-Man, SUAS, Joe., Fez, Tommeh and others all joined the northern party! As per usual, LD3 stole any type of headwear that was going - this time my santa hat and ended up doing his best impression of a christmas elf. Very festive!

But not as festive as Jobber who donned his traditional santa outfit for the christmas games. The lack of beard was a disappointment but putting a pillow under his coat as padding was a nice touch.... (I may regret saying that!) Top effort from him and his mates though as a variety of Santa and Mrs Clause outfits were spotted around the away end.

With Katy grabbing pictures of anyone and everything, she took one of the two of us in the stand. Titch and Lanky at Carlisle!!

We'd been warned that we may be kept behind after the game and the police started to gather before the game, obviously concerned about a larger following coming to town. We'd heard from Carlisle fans in the build up that they didn't know how to handle football fans but to their credit, we didn't even notice them during or after the game - the way the policing should be at football. Played lads!

Random pic of the away fans from the Carlisle website. Pretty good following considering the distance and the fact that we're so close to christmas (some of us still havent done the christmas shopping yet - dammit!)
And so to the game itself. After all the fun of the journey and in the stands, I'd almost forgotten that we had a match to look forward too. Carlisle started strongly and looked keen to cause an upset from the off. As early as the second minute, Graham was clean through on goal but Kerrea Gilbert produced a brilliant last ditch tackle as he was about to pull the trigger - he's fast becoming a fans favourite with his quality interviews and on pitch performances.

Leicester offered little going forward and there were very few chances until the home side took the lead mid-way through the first half. A bit of head tennis ended up with Graham prodding the ball past Martin, then running round him and tapping it into the empty net. The celebrations in front of the Leicester fans by him and Michael Bridges raised the temperature as we realised we were really in a game here.

The rest of the first half was mainly Leicester's but we were restricted to a few long range efforts that hardly troubled the defence at all meaning that for the first time in 7 games, we were behind at half time.

Half time left us scratching our heads over how we would get back into this game... although the main confusion was why Bert was wearing Dexter's pink hat.

The second half was a much different story though and Nigel Pearson must have unleashed both barrels at the boys in black as they were really fired up at the start of the second half. Matty Fryatt saw a shot well saved by the feet of the home keeper, and Oakley fired inches wide from the edge of the area with me ready to leap in the air as it seemed destined for the net.

Against the run of play, Carlisle nearly doubled their lead. A mistake at the back left Bridges clean through but Martin produced a brilliant save with his legs to keep us in the battle and this proved to be the real turning point. Some good play down the left by Howard and Dyer saw the ball pulled back to Andy King who placed a great effort into the top corner. The celebrations were immense as always although Katy suffered the brunt of it as a stray elbow from behind caught her in the back of the head as we all jumped and bounced around.

The win was in our sites and from a corner, the ball narrowly evaded everyone when a goal that would give us the lead looked certain.

It was from another corner though that the lead did come though. After a bit of a scramble, Bruno Berner prodded the ball in from three yards out and you'd have thought we'd won the cup from the way we reacted. I leaped the chairs down to the row in front and a mass huddle / rugby scrum of hugging and jumping saw many sore body parts in the excitement. Tommeh bore the worst this time as he took one for the team in the face. C-Mans coat also saw some damage thanks to a certain elf who shall remain nameless.

We continued to press and look for the goal that would seal the victory and the three points but it was not to come despite excess pressure on the Carlisle goalmouth.

Instead it was Carlisle who nearly snatched a final goal of the game but again Bridges fired wide with a volley from the corner of the area. With this miss, we knew that the three points were ours. The sounds of "We are top of the league" and "Jingle Bells" rung around the emptying stadium as the players headed over to applaud our efforts and we responded by raising the volume louder still.

Still buzzing from the thrill of the ride, we said our goodbyes and made our way out of the ground and back to the coaches ready to welcome the long drive back to the East Midlands. With the rain still falling and the lights around the stadium still on, it made for the chance for some artistic shots of the ground from the coach window.

Pretty funky even if I do say so myself - think the stewards must have wondered what we were messing around at though as a variety of different flashes lit up the dark coach.

And with that, we were back on the road with only 200 odd miles and 5 hours to go before we'd be back in the warmth of our homes reminiscing about the day. Katy though, bless her heart, was starting to feeling the effects of the bang on the head that she got during the celebrations and so took the opportunity to rest her eyes and try to get as comfortable as possible. By the time we reached Manchester, and after 652 different positions, I think she found the one that suited her. We were still awake though and going strong thanks to our good friend Mr R. Bull - in fact I think we must have descended into madness as one of the cans seemed to have been turned into an olympic torch for some reason....

As we trundled along the motorway, annoying others who were trying to sleep with our random laughter, the sound of voices could be heard from the back of the coach as Jobber and his friends decided that they wern't yet tired. Random songs such as how you wouldn't get asda mince pies in the championship were sung and Fox Travel coach two was just a good place to be at that time. Fun and games, three points, and with a great friend beside me giggling away.

Of course this win couldn't have been possible had it not been for the now famous "lucky scarfs" which have seen 6 wins from 6 since they were first both worn together. Lucky boxers? Nah! Rabbits foot? Ha! Scarfs is where it's at folks and long may the random run of good fortune continue!
We arrived back at the walkers stadium at about 9:30 after a quick stop and we all rushed off back to the cars and set off for home. Tired but happy after the days activities!

And so that was Carlisle. I said before the game that it had the potential to be either one of the best or one of the worst away days of the season. There would be no middle ground and I was proved right. For me it was right up there as one of the best I've done as from start to finish, the laughter never stopped and I got to spend a quality day with some quality people. That, for me, is what football away days should be about. Yes the three points on the pitch helped but in cases like Carlisle away, there is the potential for so much more. Memories are formed from days like this and whilst I'm in no hurry to take on the adventure to Brunton Park again in a hurry, the thought of the place will always cause a smile...

Next stop on the league one tour.... the posh boys come to town!