The Jonathan Jackson Column

Saturday 28 June, 2003

Six Weeks, Five Hours and 12 Minutes

Yep, that's all it is to the new footie season. Come the end of May, the second week in August always seems so far away, but once pre season starts the grip of anticipation hits like 10 pints of Tetley's and a Sheesh Mahal chicken masala rumbling away in the gut until it finally finds its chosen escape route.

And what are we to make of the coming joy? Well if you listen to the national bookies we will be playing division two football in August 2004. Seems that one of them saw a list of our discarded players in April and made a wild assumption that we couldn't live without the deadwood. The rest have followed like lemmings.

Do yourselves a favour BfB readers, visit the office of one of these esteemed companies and put some dosh on us staying up.

Nicky (how can a grown man with a shaved head be called that) promised that he would be busy and so he has, and I for one am relishing the sight of a "big black forrad". Nothing is better in football than a striker with attitude and pace, and finding out Lucas Cornwall was black made my day.

We have waited 25 years to replace Joe Cooke (a god in my book) Lets hope in young Lucas we have found our own David Johnson or Marlon Harewood, rather than the next Isaiah Rankin. Most people know I am deluded and would always play a fit Ashley Ward, but now I can finally stop having my yearly wager on Ash to score 10 by Christmas and say adios to his £18k a week.

As for the others, who knows?, but if they are half as good as Simon Francis then we are in for a treat.

Getting Atherton to sign, getting Deano to come back are master strokes by the Lawmeister. Atherton will add steel, resolve and guidance to the toddlers. Deano is fun and we all need a bit of fun in our footie.

So who knows, a top ten finish is a genuine possibility, and whisper it quietly we could be in sniffing distance of the playoffs.

Get out there and make William Hills & Ladbrooks pay through their teeth (and whilst your at it get some on O'Dreary to be out of a job by Easter. )

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