Aldershot Already?

And here we are again - first game of the season - something which looked highly unlikely several weeks ago but thankfully we've still got a club to support. Whether we'll actually have much to shout about remains to be seen but for the moment, we're just pleased to be here.

As ever, I met John at Waterloo for the ever predictable visit to Maries for the first pre-match breakfast of the season.


The No 7 and chips was as good as ever - just look at that plate of greasy goodness.

(left) Look away if your arteries are squeamish

Trevor popped along to join us there but clearly had already had his breakfast - he simply makes do with a cup of coffee as he watches us defile our bodies.

On the train to Aldershot, we bump into Quentin - an Aldershot fan we've made the acquaintance of during the past couple of seasons and a regular of the White Lion. He's trying to play down their chances today but he simply can't compete with our tales of woe.

Unlike last season's visits to Aldershot (for Darlo and Rotherham games), it isn't raining and we have a pleasant walk to the White Lion, which is the brewery tap for the Triple fff brewery.

Good to see that their full range of their beers are available today and even better the fact that my favourite, Moondance, is on special offer at £2 a pint. Result!

It isn't long before Millie, the pub terrier, has her little eyes on our group as prospective playmates.

She offers her tennis ball to us so it can be thrown and retrieved though she occasionally forgets to bring it back and then just looks at us forlornly. That's dogs for you.

(right) Millie wondering how many pints went into that?

Eventually Millie decides she's going to sit with me much to the bemusement of John and Trev though she occasionally jumps off to greet pub regulars as they come in.

We notice that one such regular bears a marked similarity to Paul Weller in his dodgy two-tone barnet phase - and so we're not totally surprised to later see him drive away in a van which suggests he's part of the Wellalive tribute act.

More DAFTS join us - John Bell and his mate Rod, Paul Brown and Iain Swalwell along with his son Robert on one of his rare visits to a Darlo game.

Quentin pops in too and during our conversation we discover that we're both keen Hawkwind fans (well I knew I was and he knew he was...) and that we're both off to see them for their 40th anniversary gig later in the month. How nice it is to find someone else with such taste. Cue a long chat on various space-rock nonsense not fit for you mere mortals.

Eventually it's time to leave for the big kick-off. We trudge up the slope to the away end through the trees and find one Darlo fan has collapsed before they've even got in - luckily St John Ambulance are in attendance.

There's a bit of a queue at the turnstile - only one of which is open - and by the time we get in they're halfway through the minute's applause for Bobby Robson.

By the time we've got ourselves settled on the paddock and checked out the many new faces in our squad, we're already a goal down. Damn and blast!

(left) Gavin on the bottle already

The first half doesn't improve and soon turns into a repeat of last season's visit when Aldershot put us under the cosh for long periods - the defence looks frail and new keeper Knight looks very unsure of himself (and not very tall from where we're stood).

In fact it's Knight's mistake in failing to gather the ball that leads to the Shots doubling their lead - the Darlo fans shake their heads, shuffle their feet and start to fear that a rout is in the offing.

Up front for Darlo, Thorpe wins quite a lot of headers but none of them go in the direction of Dean Windass who looks a bit lost. In midfield, it's Mark Convery who makes most of the forward running but we don't create any clear chances until almost half-time when one of the Smiths fires in smartly only for the ref to rule it out for a foul of a defender - looked very soft to us and we feel we're not getting the rub of the green from this ref.

If the disallowed goal suggested that we were getting back into the game, our hopes were dashed when Aldershot took a 3-0 lead just minutes after the restart. A breakaway on our right flank- where their player looked blatantly offside - lead to the ball rolling across our six-yard box before it was neatly slotted home past Knight.

A number of subs - Convery and Thorpe off, Dowson and Chandler on - come on in the hope that we can create some chances. We do look a bit busier - we soon get a free kick on the edge of their box - Windass takes it and forces a very good save out of their keeper.

We're still under the occasional bout of pressure and Knight makes one very good save to show us that he does have some talent, certainly as a shot-stopper.

(right) Trev can't watch

In addition Steve Foster was visibly tiring and getting left behind by the their nippy forwards. The only cure for this is more games under the belt.

Darlo then breakaway as a clearance from Miller reaches Windass who neatly flicks through the ball through for Dowson to smash home past their keeper - something positive for the 214 Darlo contingent to cheer even if it is a case of too little, too late.

It's clear that the team have a long way to go before they're playing as a unit and it is a waste of breath to be negative after this performance - things are going to be tough and I'm sure there'll be some more poor performances - however we're just going to have to hold our tongues and try and be positive (although I may not be able to stop myself having a go at the alice-band wearing Smith).

After leaving Trevor at Waterloo, John and I retire to the Wheatsheaf at London Bridge for some post-match chilling - a pint of something-or-other from Phoenix and then an excellent pint of Patrick's Porter from Brysons of Lancaster (even if John though it tasted like the bottom of an ash-tray!).

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...