The Diary

29 August 2003: Meggo And Tom Hold Forth At Shrine

As is usual on these occasions, we first had the ?warm-up man? to prime us regarding what was required of us in the way of cheering etc. I can?t be doing with stage-management of that nature myself, so I left that sort of thing to El Tel. As I said earlier, the place was packed, something that must have detracted considerably from the attendance at the Supporters? Club AGM also taking place at The Throstle Club in nearby Halford?s Lane. A shame both were scheduled at the same time, as Mike O?Leary and Mark Ashton were the guest speakers there, and I reckon that meeting would have been far more productive in terms of new information, but that?s the way the mop flops sometimes, unfortunately.

Back to Tom Ross?s event, then. After we?d ?performed? to Capital?s satisfaction, into the arena came the main man, to a predictable Nuremberg Rally-type reception from the audience. A brief intro from Tom about Gary?s footballing CV, and we were into full question-and-answer mode. There then followed a range of questions fired at our leader, who, being no mug himself, fielded them all quite well. These included the controversy surrounding Lee Marshall and Jason Roberts, Gary being quite forthright about their future and immediate prospects at the club. Tactics was another topic raised; a distillation of the question posed could be summed up thus: was long-ball the only way of creating success? Another subject that concerned supporters centred around whether we?d learned lessons from our recent experiences in the Premiership; another, in similar vein, but slightly naughty, asked of Gary what advice he?d be giving Wolves manager Dave Jones right now! Transfer matters also came to the fore insofar as if we did get ?P?, where would we be strengthening the most ? defence, midfield, or attack? Gary was also asked what he thought of womens? football, which was an interesting one, as Mr. Ross has, shall we say, certain opinions on this matter normally ? but not tonight, it would seem! Gary was also asked what role Brendon Batson played last season. There was even input from a bloke who first saw Albion train in 1938, and talking of training, yes, the question of the closure of the training-ground did come up, as I thought it might. All that, and much, much more ? and it?s being broadcast tomorrow night, so if you live in that catchment area of theirs, have a listen. Or, failing that, you should be able to get it via their website.

As it?s a mere 2 days before we visit Derby, here?s the service no other pre-match guide offers you, and that?s a potted history of the place. Derby began as a Roman fort, Deventio, and once they?d fled, there may have been a Saxon fort there, but Derby kicked off in earnest when the Danes invaded in the 9th century. The name derives from the Danish words ?deor by? which means deer settlement?. In the 10th century, the Saxons took it back, and it then became a place of trade, with a mint and a market. In the Domesday Book the population is given as 2,000. Later on, the wool trade flourished, and by the 14th century the population had grown to 3,000. The Plague caused the town a lot of suffering, but by the 17th century, brewing and clock-making were added to the town?s specialities. Bonnie Prince Charlie?s Barmy Army occupied the place for all of two days in 1745, and railway engine manufacture began in the 19th. In the early part of the 20th century, Rolls Royce started to manufacture their famous luxury cars, and the population now stands at 222,000. Oh ? and a German Zeppelin dropped bombs on the place in 1915, killing five people.

Famous Derby folkies? Believe it or not, lots of ?em, and here?s a small selection for your delectation. Henry Royce, of course. Then there?s good old Henry Cavendish. Who? The bloke who discovered hydrogen, that?s who! He also demonstrated water was a compound, not an element as most people thought then, and accurately calculated the mass of the earth. Not bad for the 1700?s. Then we have Florence Nightingale, the Lady Of The Lamp. ?Nuff said. And, before I finish, let?s not forget Samuel Plimsoll. No, he didn?t invent those rotten-smelling gym shoes you wore during school games lessons, but what he did come up with was something called the Plimsoll Line. You?ll see it on ships to this day, and what it does is represent the maximum water-level to which a ship can be loaded. If a vessel is overloaded, the water will rise over the line, and the owners will be in deep doo-doo. So now you know!

And finally?.. A couple of interesting missives concerning the Dingles game last night. One of my ?little moles? has a tame brain-dead at his disposal, and it appears that our nasty experience after our Old Trafford opener wasn?t an occurrence specifically reserved for us. Obviously, I don?t know how much was down to our ?friends? being their usual obnoxious selves, and how much was the fault of the home supporters, but according to this account, there was, after the final whistle ?some banter? outside, some Mancs started hitting out, the Dingles retaliated like Pavlov?s dogs, and finally, the rozzers moved in, somewhat belatedly, so I?m told. My informant poses the following question: do the Reds do this at every home game, or do they just reserve their energies for the supporters of newly-promoted clubs? Much more amusing, apparently, was the expectation of our gold-and-cack neighbours that leaving the Old Trafford area would be quite easy at that time of night; much moaning from their following, apparently!

My second tale concerns Dee, of Old Cross fame. She?s married to a Manc, and went to Old Trafford with him last night to watch the fun, accompanied by several Irish supporters who?d come over especially for the occasion. Before the game, they all trooped into The Trafford pub nearby; as they stood drinking, a woman in a Dingles shirt went by with, as Dee puts it: ?not a care in the world?. Upon seeing her, some bright spark amongst the many Mancs gathered there started singing: ?Small town in West Brom, you?re just a small town in West Brom?.? Result? Collapse, in hysterics, of Dee, plus oldest son??

 - Glynis Wright

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