Stanley despair repaired with victory at Valley Parade

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What a difference a day makes! (well, two days actually).

An off-colour performance on Saturday against a spirited Accrington side resulted in a disappointing 1-0 reverse.

It was difficult to put a finger on the exact reasons behind the defeat, coming after two encouraging performances, but allowing your opponents' goalkeeper an untroubled afternoon for 75 minutes didnâÂÂt help.

My onwards journey from the game to Liverpool to see friends and relatives wasnâÂÂt helped as I listened on the radio to ArsenalâÂÂs dismantling of my team, Everton.


"Cheers Everton..." 

I definitely didnâÂÂt need that as I approached the end of the M62 with my phone buzzing and a Liverpool-supporting family in no mood to be sympathetic.

Sample joke: âÂÂWhatâÂÂs the difference between a black cab and Everton? A black cab only lets in 5!âÂÂ

TheyâÂÂve had a difficult start to the season, failing to score a single goal in three games, and despite my sympathies with their manager, and erstwhile former team-mate at Sheffield United Stuart McCall, we had to get our season back on track and bounce back from the Accrington loss.

But after a few words at half-time and an enforced sub, we belatedly sprang into life.

I didn't go with Matt the kit-man, aka Mourinho. The moniker is nothing to do with looks, charisma etc... just a reflection of the footballing sage of his own imagination.

So instead I was accompanied by first-team coach Simon Clark, aka LondonâÂÂs Best-Looking Footballer, GMTV circa 1999.

Quite a collection of characters at the mighty Imps, I hear you say, and youâÂÂd be right.

And thatâÂÂs only the staff, whose state secrets revealed over a few beers I canâÂÂt possibly divulge... yet!

The players though, thatâÂÂs different. IâÂÂll sing like the proverbial canary. They are, with a few exceptions (Rene Howe), a quiet-ish bunch.

However, itâÂÂs always best to be vigilant. It probably wouldnâÂÂt take them long to turn the club into a Lord of the Flies scenario if given a free rein.

Never let the inmates run the asylum I say, IâÂÂll be chronicling them a little more closely in the weeks to come.


Kovacs: "No, please, not the one about the time I..." 

Now managed by another former team-mate, Paul Peschisolido, theyâÂÂve had a mixed start to life in League 2, winning one and losing two.

I saw them in a pre-season game, and the reports weâÂÂve had is that theyâÂÂre a hard-working side who are capable of scoring goals.

So we need to be on our game, and hopefully buoyed by the Bradford result we can make it three wins out of four. 

After our opening three games last season we hadnâÂÂt registered a single point, so put in perspective things are certainly looking up.

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