Valley Pilgrimage

Just back from a couple of days solid graft in Cambridge. All very nice but starved of information on what's happening at the Valley.


As the expectation grows about tomorrow's game, I understand that Chris Powell may be lining up Alex Dyer as his assistant. If there's any truth in that, I hope Dyer proves to be a better manager than he was a player. Harsh, maybe, but true.


Tomorrow's game could be critical if we fail to win. The gap on the top sides will surely increase and we will begin to look distinctly mid-table. Ordinarily I would expect us to win this match but Peter Reid has got his feet under the table and Argyle got a very good three points at MK Dons in the week. They also have form for ruining the party at the Valley and we will need to play much better than we have managed at the Valley in the last few months if we are to beat them.


The increase on the normal gate will be interesting and may give us a clue to just how permanent our loss of fans has been since successive relegations. History is whispering to me that with a bigger-than-expected gate and many lapsed fans returning, we will, once again, fall flat on our faces sending them all home swearing they won't fall for it next time.


The big plus, of course, could be Chris Powell and his ability to motivate the players and light up the stands. If we can get some momentum going we can win this game and take a small step in the rehabilitation process. I'm going to cross my fingers, hope we get the rub of the green and that Powell gets to do his Tunnel Jumps once again.