A VIEW FROM THE GALLOWGATE

As anyone who knows me will attest, I am to IT what Gordon Ramsey is to whispering and subtlety, I’m a Carrier Pigeon in an e.mail world.

Last week for example, while deleting some photos that had duplicated themselves by witchcraft on my laptop, the device took it upon itself to delete every single photo folder I have. Before doing what all IT novices do and scream at the screen to “STOP”, I stared dumbly as my holiday history disappeared into the ether.

That stunned look is the exact same one I use when viewing some of our results and performances, because they make the same sense to me as modern technology.

An excellent result at fortress Villa Park followed by an Indiana Jones-like rescue at home to Luton, then a fine result at Nottingham Forest who beat us handsomely at home a couple of months ago.

If football where a logical game, or followed the outpourings of tedious statisticians and their unfathomable hieroglyphics, then there would be little point Bournemouth turning up on Saturday, but I for one am not 100% confident.

The problem as ever is that we no sooner get one out of the sick bay than he’s immediately replaced. That being the case I don’t see a run on the top four or five, we’re just conceding too many and cannot rely on scoring three or four every time to give ourselves a chance.

It does appear that we have recognised the injury situation and are going to address it at the end of the season, they simply aren’t all down to bad luck, every time one of us hits the floor my immediate reaction is “Ah well, see you in 6 weeks”.

That’s for the summer though, and we can just enjoy the little pleasures when they come along even if it means going through purgatory between first and last whistle.