Memories Down CUT THROAT LANE Afternoon all and a big welcome to the Cod Army from Fleetwood. Let’s hope that by the endof this afternoon’s proceedings they will have had their chips. As a recently departed footballing legend once famously said, football’s a funny old game. Inthe last fortnight we’ve been mauled at the Abbey by a bunch of pesky gargoyles from a cathedral city up north. We then proceed with our own Saturday afternoon raid amongst the naval dockyards of the south and dislodge the nose of one formerly presiding over said gargoyles. Play up, eh! Talking of the navy, a loose connection as our trip of sentimentality today takes us to the famous old army town of Aldershot whose side we hosted in a Conference fixture fourteen years ago today, in what was our third campaign in what I always refer to as the “blur”. To befair nothing too much to get sentimental about that evening although our opponents, having had a pretty mediocre start to the season, went on to clinch the title with 31 wins and a points haul of 101. Whilst mere mortals like us and Burton contested the playoffs. I wonder who Aldershot’s manager was at the time……(Gary?) The programme is chunky at 64 pages and is interesting mainly because of some of the recent matches featured. The previous Saturday saw us at Stevenage, a memorable game with a great atmosphere and as the report says, “we” sang from 2pm to past 5. I do remember being particularly hoarse on the train home that day. And one of the few occasions in our history when we donned black and amber stripes, with white shorts and socks. You are, I know, enriched for that! If you wanted to give yourself a little shudder then flick to the chairman’s page and say to yourself, “there but for the grace of God we could be Swindon Town.” Anyway the game ended 1-1, Scott Rendell opened the scoring in the first half( a Shot hero to- be down the line) but skipper Dave Winfield
equalised in the 87th minute to salvage a point for the visitors. In the meantime Oxford loanee Marvin Robinson had joined the fray as a sub, then proceeded to get two yellow cards after the equaliser and off he went! On this day in 1952 born in New York City to Barbara Pitney Lamb and Franklin D’Olier Reeve was American actor Christopher Reeve. Probably best known for his role as Clark Kent in ‘Superman’( 1978) and his horrific horseriding accident in 1995 which left him paralysed from the shoulders down. He died nine years later. On that sobering note enjoy the game this afternoon and don’t forget there’s another one coming on Tuesday. ■
Harry
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