Tuesday Night Beckons .....

....as does the ubiquitous football trip.

There has been a bit of "fall out" after the shenanigans at Mossley on Saturday evening - and I have to pass on thanks for the many messages of support I have received via blog, message board, verbal and phone txt. No doubt the "faithful" will turn up for the vital game against Leek Town - the latest in a long series of "must win" games - and that's great. Mossley are a club that has been through thick and thin over the last 20 odd years, but the support has always been loyal and totally unswerving (I remember during one relegation year,the crowds actually went up !) - and I know it will remain so.

I hope Mossley win - I dearly do - for so long this season (especially since Christmas) I've tried to keep a positive spin on things, feeling that, despite the very close proximity of the relegation "trapdoor", the Lilywhites will somehow manage to avoid it. My overall view remains the same - there's plenty of points there to be won to ensure that the usual "42 or somewhere around there" points target is met .. as well as Leek game, Grantham (bottom and all but doomed) still have to appear at Seel Park - so there's six points straight off.

However principles are principles, and I'll not be attending. The complete and utter "descent into total anarchy" that followed Saturday's game against Marine has left me extremely depressed - regardless of football loyalties, it's often nice to feel wanted, to feel appreciated for the time, effort and money that you put into a club, be it just turning up to a home game, travelling to away games, or just attending a quiz night (you don't see Mrs Smiffy at the football club very often - and handing back the prize money too !!) - or going that step further by raising money through walks, buying raffle/golden goal tickets strange pools coupons (!) or jumping in to be an emergency programme editor (Sheffield last season during John's holiday). Don't get me wrong - I - and many others - do not expect a verbal "pat on the back" week in week out - we just do it because we do. But when you're turning up - and getting that uneasy feeling 'from above' that "You should be grateful that WE'RE here" - it does tend to stick in the craw.

A football club IS IT'S FANS - always has been, always will be - it's a fact that many supporters get a raw deal in the higher echelons of football in this country - that's why so many like-minded people as myself go for the non-league game - where words such as "family"and "community" are espoused. Unfortunately at Mossley the term "family" at Mossley has been replaced by the word "dynasty" (see Unibond press release - http://www.unibondleague.com/news.php?nid=3238) - and my dictionary defines that word as "powerful rulers" - read into that what you will..... I'd be tempted to replace it with the word "dysentry" - because to me it's all turned to s**t...

While Mossley have that important "six-pointer", tomorrow night - another one of the "Six Tame Sides" have a similar game i.e. Stalybridge Celtic v Leigh RMI - three points for Celtic should take a lot of pressure off them in the lower reaches of the Conference North.

So I'll be giving them a helping hand at 1945 later today - and hopefully, by the "magic of mobiles", keeping up-to-date with events 3 miles down the road at Seel Park.

Let's hope for six points in the "Six Tame Sides" region at 2130 tonight..