Here comes yet another day, streaming through my window

You can just see the headlines in the press now can't you; Wacko Jacko, Thriller, Dangerous and possibly even Bad on an off day; rich material indeed for the Evening Post's back pages. So Michael Jackson is possibly the first of Nick Cusack's new arrivals at the Vetch since the long-awaited clearout earlier this week. Latest reports suggest a couple of weeks before anything is decided, but seemingly an offer has been made. No point in covering the outgoing players too much, as there were few, if any, surprises in the names released, and the whole issue has been discussed many times already. Possibly the only name that many would have expected to stay was Chris Todd. Numerous other available players have been linked to a move to Swansea, and no doubt speculation will continue apace for the coming weeks. Certainly if some of the players reputedly attracting Cusack's interest were to materialise west of the Tawe, then next season could hold a lot more hope than anyone would have thought when he was handed the full time player/coach appointment a few weeks ago. He has wasted little time, and exuded commitment and determination to make next season one to remember, rather than forget. We will all reserve judgement until the results start flying around, but I would imagine that a few of the early sceptics are having changed thoughts already.

Motion pictures on my TV screen

If anyone had fallen asleep on Sunday night, at about 10pm, watching BBC2, and woken up again at 7pm on Monday with the TV still on, they could have been forgiven for thinking that the same programme was on. There were as many Union Jack flags at Ninian Park on Monday night as there had been on the Hooligan's documentary the previous night. What was that all about? Several stories and incidents have been spoken of since Monday's clashes between the police and supporters in Cardiff, and the horrifying posting by Jackdad must have brought emotion to anyone who read it, with many reflecting on the mistakes made in the handling of events at Rotherham two years ago.

The Hooligan programme gave great focus to the fact that the 'firms' now operate to a far greater degree in the lower divisions than in the top flight. Those who were associated with the 80s operations, at West Ham and Chelsea particularly, would claim that the current wave of 'firms' is made up of a rather younger element of the football fan base than a few decades ago. They would also claim that the current wave in the lower divisions do not understand what it is all about, with it being a strategic battle as opposed to a straight forward ruck.

This week's instalment of Hooligans should be very interesting with the cameras firmly pointed at Sam Hamman and his close involvement with the Soul Crew.

I thought that the most poignant quote from last week's programme was when the Chelsea ex-hard man made it very clear that there was no place in a football ground for a family atmosphere. A very gladiatorial approach to sport in the 21st century I thought.

I wonder what became, or will become of the guy with the camera in his watch, who was capturing events around the country and Europe. I can't see him attending too many football matches in the future, unless he's become part of the witness protection scheme of course.

Hold me close

Well Monday's game saw us lose to a free kick, and end the season on a fairly high note in terms of performance. The £50K put into the coffers as a result could easily have been £100K had a few things gone our way, especially in the first half. It was the best football I had seen us play for months, probably since the QPR game, and some lovely one-twos in midfield proved to us all that we are better on the floor than the persistent high ball to nowhere. There were some good individual performances on the night, but for a few it was a case of too little too late, as Tuesday's announcements proved.

If anyone has any feedback to give me, I'd love to hear from you at pauly@scfc.co.uk