Tour de Owls

I wasn't living in the South West at the time, and imagine I was probably visiting relatives for a week in the Summer. I've a hazy recollection of getting along to Priory Park, Bodmin for the first one, but wouldn't swear to being able to attend the subsequent games at Argyle or Exeter. Just as 'Colin' always seemed to bring his teams down to the South West in the Summer (mainly because that suited him), I suspect that Plymouth lad Trevor Francis, who was Wednesday's manager in '93, also planned pre season that year so that he could spend some time with old friends and relations down in this neck of the woods.

He'd had plenty of time to enjoy Summers with his mates while in Italy and other places, and now it was time to spend Summer evenings enjoying an ice cream while having a quiet stroll around Dawlish.

As for scorelines ? I'm afraid I struggle to recall results from league games last season, let alone friendlies from the 1990's, but it seems that the preparation down here didn't do Wednesday a lot of harm as they finished a creditable 7th in the Premier League (1993/94), 4 points ahead of 8th placed Liverpool.

All a long time ago, which is underlined by the fact that Trevor celebrated his 60th Birthday a few months ago.

Good evening, AJ. Good evening, Devon.

Yes, I was at BDTBL for the Preston cup game and had just texted "Bring On The Scum" to my son and heir when Preston popped three quick goals into the net. Sadly, the Blades were either too knackered to compete or just simply off form because PNE could quite easily have won 6-1, and they had just gone 7 matches without winning at all.

The takeover at Hillsborough has the Star forgetting all about United again and talking up the new era for the Owls. Buying a player named Bus was a good start but it's a shame he is not a central defender. Signing up a lad named Parkin to play alongside him would have been fun. Wednesday have had a strange season, winning at Middlesbrough in a canter but losing at home with regularity. There's a lad named Stevie May at centre forward whose hair keeps flopping into his eyes just before he shoots, causing him to miss the target. Player of the season seems to have been goalie Kieran Westwood who will no doubt be hoping the new owners buy him some decent defenders so he can have a rest now and then. I suppose tradition suggests that manager Stuart Gray will be on his bike soon; he hasn't done a bad job at all but new proprietors do like to bring in big name bosses, don't they? Harry Redknapp for Hillsborough, anyone?

Over at t'Lane, the Blades board must have found some cash down the back of the sofa since they reportedly paid Cardiff £1.5 million for John Brayford and another wedge on Paul Coutts of Derby and Rochdale's Matty Done. While fans love Brayford, who was on loan during last season's epic Cup run, the fact that United sorely lack a decent centre-forward and Cardiff went out and spent half the Brayford fee on Chesterfield's goalscoring genius Eoin Doyle left some fans scratching their heads.

Interested to see Paul McCullum pick up a 7 match ban this week. Last autumn he was a shining light at Gigg Lane when the Gulls won 3-1 and left Bury looking far more likely relegation candidates. Watching the Football League Show these days is like Old Boys Day at Torquay Grammar, with last season's loan men regularly popping into view. For some reason Shamir Goodwin is now Shamir Fenelon and has been playing for Rochdale but he hasn't scored any goals for them like the cracker at the Proact Stadium last March. Speaking of which, even the Biter has turned up, in midfield for the Daggers. I'm sure the Gulls would have had a much better chance of staying in the League last season without that terrible disciplinary record which had men being suspended week after week, and the Biter was the biggest culprit of the lot. They should name the bogs at Plainmoor after him; The Joss Labadie Shithouse has quite a ring to it.

Spanking new million pound pitch being laid over the Summer, and the Chairman's name emblazoned across the front of the new shirt. What more could you want ?

Why didn't we think of having 'THEA' written across the front of Torquay's home shirts .  

A couple of nice big owls on those white socks, and all in all I reckon it's rather smart.