Luton Hoo-doo Continues

No early morning rush for me today as I accompanied Liz into town - her plans to meet fellow London Millers was nearly derailed by a signal problem at King's Cross but as things turned out she got there with time to spare and after a quick chat with Jenny and Chris, I left them to their train.

I popped up the Euston Road to meet John Wilson and then we both headed to a newly discovered breakfast venue, hidden away behind St Pancras church on a little pedestrian street, the Sorrento Snack Bar.

John and I had tried to eat here once before but it doesn't open early but no such problems today and when we arrived there were a few tables spare.

The place seems to be run by three elderly ladies - presumably of Italian descent - who run it in a very precise but friendly way. Every customer is "My darling" to the one in charge. I have a side order of black pudding so I can make a full appraisal of their wares.

The breakfast turns out to be one of the better ones we've had for a while - very well cooked chips and bacon, moist black pud, strong tea and excellent toast - the only minus points would be awarded for the less than inspiring catering sausage. Recommended nonetheless for both the food and the friendly reception.

We wander along to St Pancras - having a quick look at the beers in the Sourced market - before meeting Steve Duffy and catching the train to Luton.

(left) Ian Miller makes a timely tackle on Luton new boy Fleetwood

We had timed our train so we wouldn't be too early since the Bricklayers Arms didn't open until noon.

However we had a smug text from John Bell - who'd caught an earlier train - that the pub was already open as it was showing the rugby world cup game. Damn - rugger bugger types in the pub!

Thankfully by the time we got there the game was over and things were not too bad. A decent selection at the bar - JHB and Inferno from Oakham, Azzaskunk and Lemon & Ginger from Nethergate, St Peter's Organic Best and regular beer Bateman's XB.

I restricted myself to both Oakham beers - not very adventurous but you simply can't go wrong with these two - and the sips of the Nethergate beers I had convinced me I made the right choice. In fact they were going down rather too well.

We left in time for a leisurely walk to the ground - I picked up my pass from the ticket office and went off to collect my bib. Like last season I positioned myself at the front of the unused away section which offers a decent view.

Making his debut today was recent signing, Sanchez-Munoz, who was playing at left-back. He certainly looked a big lad and some of his early touches were impressive.

However Darlo were on the back foot for most of the first half - not helped by a seemingly voice-activated ref who gave a foul virtually every time a Luton player flung themselves to the ground. Very frustrating.

Not content with this the referee must have got a new notebook as he was certainly keen to take down a few names - Darlo players only though. Do I sound bitter?

Luton had their new £75,000 striker on display - Stuart Fleetwood - and he was out to show exactly why they'd paid all that money. He was a threat and gave the central defenders a hard time.

As it was, Luton eventually scored after Fleetwood set up Danny Crow to slip the ball past Russell.

The Luton defence had an easier time of it with Walshaw and Hatch struggling to make inroads. Walshaw was subbed after just half an hour when he got a kick to the leg and he hobbled off to be replaced by Bowman.

(right) Darlo debut boy Sanchez-Munoz takes a freekick

Just before the break, Darlo's task was made doubly difficult when Lee received a second booking for what seemed a very innocuous challenge and off he went for an early bath.

With only ten men in the second half, it was very hard for Darlo to get any prolonged passages of possession as Luton tried for a killer second goal. it eventually came from debut boy Fleetwood when he headed home past Russell.

There was no way back now and it was all Darlo could do to stop Luton from scoring a third goal.

The final whistle blew and we were spared further embarrassment - the Darlo fans trooped out disconsolately and headed back to the station.

Back in London, we all headed for some more beers at the Euston Tap. It was a nice warm evening so there was plenty of room inside and Bev was not far behind in joining us there.

After carrying my bag round all day I was a bit sweaty so on the train back from Luton I'd changed into my Killing Joke t-shirt. The shirt has caught the attention of a few fellow fans in the past and today was no exception as it caught that of a less-than-sober Donny Fan who'd been on the lash in the capital with his mates rather than go to see his team in Cardiff.

It seems that he was indeed a KJ fan and proceeded to ask me to take the back of his shirt up ("not in a gay way, ya knows" he added) so that he could show me all his KJ tattoos. Errr, very nice!

And as we got chatting he suddenly decides to quiz us on Number One hits beginning with the letter V! Where's Gavin when you need him? Quite a surreal ending to the day...

Luton By Night

After the postponement last Saturday, the thought of seeing a game was quite exciting even if it did mean an evening trip to Luton.

I was offered a lift by Howard - he being retired now and having time on his hands - and so I left work early so he could pick me up at Bromley-by-Bow tube.

I always find travelling by car much more frustrating than the train as it just seems so slow and seems to eat into drinking time but I was grateful for the lift. But just getting to the M1 turn-off on the M25 was bad enough.

And then trying to find somewhere to park was frustrating as it seems that every street around the ground requires a residents permit.

(left) Liam Hatch battles

After driving around for what seemed like ages but was probably only ten minutes we found ourselves in the vicinity of the railway station and decided to use their car park. It cost £4 but it had the distinct advantage of being just a few hundred yards from the Bricklayers Arms.

We've been coming here as long as we've been visiting Kenilworth Road as it is still the best pub in town with only the nearby English Rose offering any real competition.

John Wilson was at the bar awaiting our arrival as we walked through the door - we DAFTS are obviously finely-tuned to each other - and we had a decent choice of beers: Crystal Rock Harvest Pale and Black Gold, Oakham Tera plus one from Hadrian and Border.

The pub is a meeting point for many Luton fans but it didn't get too busy tonight - certainly not as busy the last time I was here - but we didn't see any other Darlo fans that we knew.

We set off for the ground in good time as I needed to pick up my photographers pass. Due to the limited room round the edge of the pitch I was given the choice of sitting in front of the main stand and the mass ranks of Hatters fans or stand in part of the away end that wasn't being used by the Darlo faithful.

I opted for the away end as I didn't want to have the Luton fans behind me - plus this meant I would be closer to the toilets with fewer people queuing.

In the first-half Luton were kicking towards the away fans and it didn't take that long before they started to put our defence under serious pressure. They had a succession of corners and they went close with a lot of headers but luckily for Darlo their finishing was woeful.

One header came whizzing past me - I calmly watched it sail past and then got thumped on the back of the head as it came back off the first row of seats. Sad to say this only brought a small cheer.

Darlo didn't offer much at the other end and it was hard going for the 77 paying Darlo fans - like me, I'm sure they were all pleased to see us get to half-time without conceding. Hopefully Mark Cooper would get them sorted during the break.

(right) Debutant John Campbell with Luton keeper Tyler

And so it seemed as the second half started brightly for the Quakers with more joined-up play and some penetration into the Luton box with Hatch battling hard.

Debutant striker John Campbell made a positive debut, always looking to make space for himself and get on the ball but he was just off the pace.

Luton started to gain the upper-hand again and with twenty minutes to go, they took the lead when Gnakpa shot past Sam Russell from just inside the box after getting away from Quinn far too easily.

This spurred Luton on and they wasted a couple of good chances before Owusu found plenty of space to fire past Russell. The same striker scored his second a few minutes later with a header.

The misery was complete when Luton scored a fourth in added time and the game just couldn't finish soon enough.

This was a poor performance all round with the debut of Campbell the one and only encouragement that we could take from the game.

We trudged back to the railway station where John managed to catch a fast train to Luton with seconds to spare whilst Howard was kind enough to drive me back home.

Bricking It

I've never been keen on Cheltenham - in theory it's a nice enough town, quite genteel, but it just doesn't feel like a football town. And from the station it's a real hike to the town and the football ground. The pubs are, barring one notable exception, not too exciting either.

So with all that in mind I jumped at the chance of joining Steve for the Fulham -v- Villa game when he offered me a ticket.

And since I didn't need to leave home until late, I finally got the chance to try out one of our local greasy spoons, Ken's Cafe on Green Street, which is just done from the Boleyn Ground and highly regarded by Hammers' fans.

(left) House of Hammers

Phill Jupitus is apparently a regular and he looks like he knows where to get a good meal.

The big breakfast is excellent value - egg, bacon, two sausages, chips, beans, fried slice, bread and a cup of rosy lee for a fiver - and fairly decent quality. I was the first customer of the day but it soon started to fill up as West Ham were at home to Blackburn later in the day.

Despite engineering work on the middle part of the District line, I was able to get to Putney without any great hassle - a very pleasant walk across Putney Bridge and onto the Bricklayers Arms.

Although not officially opening until noon, there were a few people already in the pub, Steve being one of them, so he got the beers in.

The Bricklayers is an independent pub but does more or less the full Tim Taylors range as well as a few guest beers. Today the guest were all from Itchen Valley.

I've been here on numerous occasions over the past few years and I always go straight for the Ram Tam - Steve opting instead for Itchen's IVB.

I was quite surprised to find they were using plastic glasses - I know that it's a match day but we're a good schlep from Craven Cottage and it's not likely to have any bother as we cask ale types tend to be quite peaceable.

The Ram Tam was wonderful stuff regardless - it's quite hard to find outside Yorkshire but it's a lovely beer for a cold day.

It wasn't long before we were joined by Neil and Sam, Villa fans and residents of Cardiff just like Steve, despite both of them being Scots and having Scottish teams to support as well (Hearts and Falkirk respectively).

Not surprising the talk was all of Carling Cup final tickets and who'd managed to get one. Steve and Neil have season tickets so they're all right (jack). For the others it looks like it'll be the TV.

(right) Unlikely Lads

Eastbourne-based Villa fan Pat was next to join us followed by Rhodri, Steve's mate from BBC Wales.

It soon became apparent that all was not well elsewhere. John Bell sent a text saying there was a pitch inspection at Cheltenham - his next text was to say the game was postponed (or "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" as he put it ever so elegantly).

I felt slightly vindicated in giving the game a miss - though Neil and Sam are now suggesting we all make an afternoon of it in Cheltenham for the rearranged fixture.

Likewise we hear from Liz that the game between Rotherham and Macclesfield has also bit the dust - she and the other London Millers instead finding refuge in the Fat Cat. It's a hard life...

The Ram Tam failed to last the lunchtime session and we moved onto a double round of Golden Best - not surprisingly it was a bit watery in comparison - before heading off to the Cottage. The journey is as pleasant as they come - walk over the Thames and then through Fulham Palace Gardens and Bishops Park.

In previous seasons we've been in the away end proper but today we're in the neutral section of the Putney End. The tickets are a bit dear at £40 but we're in row E right behind the goal.

The game started off slowly with no side really putting the keepers to hard work. Villa looked the slightly brighter of the two teams as the half progressed but it looked like going into half-time goalless until Agbonlahor got a brace in the last five minutes - a header which sneaked over the line and then a very tidy lob over Schwarzer.

(above) Villa keeper Brad Friedel beats Zamora to the ball

In the second half Villa sat back somewhat, probably expecting Fulham to pile on some pressure but it was all a bit half-hearted. Gera got the ball in the net but was off-side and the game slowly ran down to it's inevitable conclusion.

After the game we headed back to the Bricklayers to meet Cath who'd been busy shopping at the Dr Martens shop. It was heaving with Fulham and Villa fans so after a quick beer we headed to Aldgate East and a pint in the Pride of Spitalfields.

The pub was equally heaving with a mixture of locals and Hoxton-types so we just had a quick pint of Mighty Oak's Maldon Gold and left for some grub.

It's a long time since I'd had a curry down in Brick Lane - these days there are touts outside most restaurants trying to tempt you in with a variety of offers ("35% off the bill, sir?") who get very annoying.

We opted for one of my old haunts, the Sheba, which I patronised a lot in the 80s with various medic friends from the London Hospital. After waiting ten minutes to be seated we finally got to grips with the menu - a bit more expansive that I remember though old favourites such as bombay duck are no longer available. An acquired taste it has to be said.

The food was good standard fare - nothng outstanding but it hit the spot after having nothing solid since breakfast - and then it was back to ours for Match of the Day and relive the victory all over again...

Millers See Off Hatters

Some people might find it quite strange but I've always enjoyed my trips to Luton - true, the town itself is not very inspiring (he says diplomatically) but from a DAFTS perspective it has a couple of very decent pubs and a nice cosy ground in Kenilworth Road.

Having been there earlier in the season for our 2-1 win, I took the opportunity for another visit by joining the London Millers for their game there. Unless there is some sort of miracle this will be our last chance as they'll be playing in the Conference next season and who knows if they can get out of that?

I was the first one into town as I fully intended to visit the English Rose (left) which we never got round to trying in October. It's just a five minute walk from the station and is thankfully one of those pubs that stays open all afternoon.

It had a decent choice of beers - Hadrian & Border's Secret Kingdom, Exe Valley Devon Heaven (brewed to celebrate over one thousand years of Christian community work in Devon, don't you know!), Milestone's Maid Marian and what looks to be a regular, Brakspear Bitter.

I managed to try the first three - all good but nothing outstanding - before it was time to meet Liz at the Bricklayers Arms - a long-standing DAFTS favourite. Can't keep her waiting...

This pub has always been a Luton Town stronghold but one which has always remained away-fan friendly - tonight it seemed to be getting in full swing for Luton's forthcoming visit to Wembley to play Scunthorpe in the Johnstone's Paint Pot Trophy - t-shirts were being sold and there was even a beer, Wembley Wobble from Banks & Taylor, on sale in addition to the two Everards regulars (Beacon and Tiger) and a couple of other guests.

One of these guests was Little Miss Muffet from the Tring Brewery - a 4.5% light-coloured ale, very refreshing - and I stuck to this rather than play the field.

For once the pub was just nicely busy without being the usual jam-packed place it is on a Saturday - Luton fan and comic-poet John Hegley was in residence - I've been to see him a few times over the years and he has the dry, laconic wit worthy of a lower division football fan. If you ever get the chance, go see him.

(right) Bricklayers Arms earlier in the season

As time progressed various other London Millers joined us and soon it was time to go to the game.

Unlike most Darlo fans who had to pay £22 on the day, the London Millers had been forewarned and £20 advance tickets had been purchased - the game had kicked off as we made our way to our seats behind the goal and Liz went to put out the LM flag.

I know there's not much leg room in the away end and some of the columns get in the way but it makes a nice change to be really close to the action - the type of thing I miss from my seat up in the heady heights of block 11.

Luton did most of the attacking with the Millers keeping a tight-ish line and it was quite a surprise to most in the ground when they were 2-0 after about 35 mins. Cue some cocky chants of "Rotherham Reject" and more to Luton manager Mick Hardford - typically this sort of thing backfires on you and so it was as Luton pulled one back before the break - that'll learn 'em not to tempt fate.

However the highlight of the first half was the appearance of a bat who spent about 20 minutes hunting over the pitch under the full glare of the floodlights - fascinating stuff to watch (or maybe you had to be there to appreciate it).

The second half was more of the same - Luton applying the pressure but not making it tell whilst Rotherham scored two more, more or less on the break, and in the end won 4-2.

That's 11 goals I've seen Luton concede in three matches this season - and to be fair they've not been that bad - at least they like to attack which, in their position, I suppose they have to.

Once Liz had retrieved the flag we rushed back to the station and managed to catch a fast train back to St Pancras and time for a final pint of Betjeman Ale at the Betjeman Arms. Just a pity it's back to work tomorrow as I know I'll regret it in the morning...