Fantasy Football

I didn't go to the Bradford game last Saturday and few (if any) of the rest of our gang made it - a case of can't-be-arsed-ness on my part I'm afraid.

Given the result, I think all that I missed out on was some of the usual good beers that the Fighting Cock offers.

Instead I went to an early morning preview screening of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland in Leicester Square. In 3D too.

Now I know I'm biased but it is a really good take on both of the Lewis Caroll novels - it has all the usual Burtonesque flourishes with some great effects and the 3D aspect is not overly in your face. I really enjoyed it and can thoroughly recommend it - and it's not just for kiddies.

In view of the lack of a weekend report I've uploaded another ITV Digital clip for you all to see.

If I remember correctly this was from their 3rd Division programme and in this episode they visit Darlo when we're still at Feethams and includes an interview with our own fantasist, George Reynolds, plus footage of wife Susan as she had made her famous comment at a fans forum which led to the players walking out.

And at the end of the clip, Ned Boulting interviews some hairy person at Feethams. Enjoy.

Happy New Year?

And so we say reach 2010 with news that our fourth game in a row has been postponed due to the inclement weather.

At least we can be thankful the club had arranged for an inspection 24 hours earlier than usual which means that Martin and I have been spared starting our journey north. Well done DFC and the Football League - it's not often I get to say that!

It remains to be seen whether all these postponements will give Steve Staunton the time to bring in a few new faces for our trip to Bury next week - assuming the weather improves by then of course!

In order to keep you entertained during this period of inactivity, for your delight and delectation I'm presenting a section from On The Road, a programme produced by ITV Digital as part of their offering when they had the franchise to cover football (and after they'd renamed themselves from On Digital).

This programme was all about travelling to different grounds and in the episode that this is taken from, the presenters were also visiting the likes of Scunthorpe, Hull and Grimsby. How very grim. I dare say they were quite pleased to get to Darlo after that lot.

Neil, Tony, Steve and I were filmed in the market square outlining how to get to the ground, where the good pubs are and what DAFTS are all about.

There's also an interview with Doug Embleton (representing the embryonic Supporters' Trust) and Peter Thorns (then secretary of the Supporters' Club) as they're asked for their views on our forthcoming move to the Arena. There's also a few vox pops and of course, a few words (and more) from George Reynolds.

I suspect that few of you will have seen this as I suspect Liz and I were one of the very few to subscribe to On Digital. Enjoy...

London Bridge Calling

There was a small but perfectly formed batch of Darlo-ness in London Bridge last night when a few of the capital's DAFTS got together for a few beers.

The venue was the Wheatsheaf - the new version of the pub of the same name just round the corner by Borough Market - the original is now closed so that work can be done to try and eradicate the rail bottleneck between Charing Cross and London Bridge stations. I'll believe that when I see it.

The new place is a basement pub - what used to be a Davy's Wine Bar apparently - which lies under the impressive Hop Exchange. It's quite a decent place - stone floors, plenty of seating, Sky TV (but not intrusive), not too noisy and decorated with black and white photos of the original Wheatsheaf's regulars (including a couple of topless ladies who I don't remember seeing in the old place unfortunately).

The place still appears to be a Young's pub and has two of their beers but there were about 4 or 5 interesting guest beers on. Howard and I arrived together and both opted for the Elgood's Golden Newt - as the name suggests it's a golden ale - slightly flowery and not too hoppy - easy drinking.

We were soon joined by Christopher - due to be back in the capital on a permanent basis before too long - who was just in time to get the drinks before John turned up and we got into the thick of things Darlo-wise.

The consensus of opinion is that we're very happy to still have a team in the league next season but obviously wary of how things will go - not so much on the pitch but in terms of the long-term stability of the club.

(left) The Wheatsheaf

The chairman has not made any friends and it's fair to say that the spotlight will be on him throughout the coming months.

Next season will undoubtedly be a slog - a reduced budget will gives us a much smaller squad which won't match the quality we seen in the past ten months - I'm sure we'll get the more traditional type of Darlo performances and will sap our reserves of optimism - new manager Colin Todd has his work cut-out.

But it's a situation like this that means the DAFTS way of approaching things - have a good time in the pub before the game so the day isn't a total waste - will come into it's own. We're an optimistic bunch - why else do we turn up? - so I'm sure we'll have some fun along the way.

As ever there's been a lot of hot air on Darlo messageboards - a few fans seem set to boycott home games so as not to line the pockets of George Houghton (as if) - I think we all know where they're coming from but actions like this are ultimately self-defeating.

So I'll be renewing my season ticket and my player sponsorship - the club needs our money and support - but that doesn't mean I condone or forgive George Houghton for his actions of recent months.

All this bluster was thirsty work and so time for more beers - this time I tried the Loddon Hullabaloo - slightly darker and maltier than the Golden Newt but a nice drop all the same.

It was all too much for Howard though - his elderly bladder called time on his night out - and then Chris (and other half Susie who had also joined us) went off in search of some food.

John and I stayed for another couple before wandering over to the nearby Rake - we tried each of the two beers on handpump, one of which was a wheat beer from Springhead which was OK but slightly dull. I forget what John had.

We decided we'd also have a taste of the 10% porter from Stone - which is where the third of a pint glass comes into it's own. The porter was a very full-on affair, extremely liqouricey, and a half would have been too much for us at that stage - nevertheless a very good one-for-the-road beer. And it was then time to hit the road...