He seems to have missed more games through injury in a couple of months than Matt Woods missed in about 6 seasons here. What do they make centre halves out of these days ?

I remember that game really well. We looked a class act that day against a good 'Boro team. That was the moment I started to think " we're going up this season " ! Stuart Ripley and Alan Wright had a ding dong battle out on our left wing until Ripley decided to try his luck against Richard Brown on the other wing. I said to my pal as we were coming off the ground - " I like the look of that blonde winger, he's real handful. "

" Private Eye " had a good cartoon for the recent World Cup in Brazil. It had the England players coming down the steps off the plane. The pilot had the cockpit window open and he's saying to the players - " Shall I leave the engines running lads ? " They weren't far wrong either !

Yes I missed that one the first time around. " Leeds United " about a garment workers dispute was good last week. I saw that back in the day.

I see they've started repeating some of the old " Play For Today ". Tonight it's " The Black Stuff ". The stand alone play that started off the fantastic " The Boys From The Black Stuff " mini series.

When you look at the players who were knocking on the door when we actually won the World Cup Southgate wouldn't have got anywhere near the squad then. When you consider someone like Howard Kendall never got a smell of a full cap and Norman Hunter only played when Bobby Moore was unavailable it tells you how difficult it was to make the grade then. There's been some right old rubbish playing for England over the last few decades. Comparing England caps now with back then is like dog years.

Whoever thought he wasn't good enough needed firing. The lad was a terrific player right from day one, as was Tommy Hutchinson. Regarding the City FA Cup game I was behind the goals in the Blackburn End, it was pretty scary. I took my first wife to the game and she refused to go to Rovers again after that.

Kenny was starting to have an influence by then . Our passing and movement was starting to look top class.

I don't need to. The next World Cup winning manager is out there, that's a fact. We just have to find him before anyone else does. All I know is as long as Southgate is there we'll just be treading water.

I got lucky with that Mike. It was caught in time and I'm ok now. Some blokes are too squeamish and leave it until it's too late. My next door neighbour was one and it spread to his spine. He died on Boxing Day 2 years ago. Any blokes over 45 reading this - get tested !

Thanks, I just edited my original post to put in a little bit more detail.

I feel like that as well. I can't put my finger on it but he just doesn't set the pulse racing. He's a bit " colourless ". The stats that Chaddy quoted are very impressive but for me he doesn't hold a candle to Shearer in his prime in the excitement stakes.

He was miles better than anything we have today. Anybody remember that episode of a programme called " The Big Time " ? It was about a scouse amateur footballer who got to play a half in Tommy Smith's testimonial at Anfield. The other players contrived to win a penalty in front of the Kop for the lad to take. Clemence was in goal and he rained on the lads parade by saving the pen. I thought that was a bit un necessary, it would have been easy to dive out of the way of the ball. I think it was the series were Sheena Easton was discovered as a singer.

Well Southgate won't, you can put your house on that. If by some chance Mowbray got knocked down by the proverbial red No17 bus and I read that we'd appointed Southgate in his place I wouldn't be doing handstands about it. That says it all for me.

Me too. Nobody ever questioned Speedie's commitment to the cause.

You could be right Stuart, managers date pretty quickly these days. I still think he should have enough about him to keep them up though.

Having Dack putting goals on plates helped somewhat. A comment and reply ^ They got that arse about tit, it was DG who used to set Dack up more as I recall? I suspected it might have been " a season too far " for him when he went to Sunderland. Just like when we signed Whittingham.

Very sad. He seemed a genuinely nice bloke. He was the compere when Buddy Holly toured the UK.

What wouldn't you give for a Speedie and a Sellars today ? A great bit of play from Sellars for the first goal and a lovely little inside ball to set up play for the second. A terrific leap from Speedie to hit the bar with a header at the end. He could give Gallagher and Brererton a 10 inches start and still out jump them !

I wonder wether Rhodes will get a game now Pulis is there. I could be wrong but I think not.

More to the point, what time does it finish ? Regarding wether the Sheff Wed players will suit Pulis - they either will or they won't be playing for the club for long.

That'd be the season they lost 3-0 at home in the old Div 4 to the mighty Rochdale in front of an enormous crowd of - 4,217.

Something tells me you won't be long for this world.

Who were they ? Are we talking boy bands here ? Did they have any hits ?

Hard to believe when you look where Southend are now. That was a real bad day at the office.