Celebration & Speculation

Well here we are at the junction of the end-of-the-playing-season and the-start-of-the-speculation-season.

Depending on where you look, the same ardent fans will be saying their piece and stating their case, and frankly who can blame them, they are doing their bit to support their club, and quite rightly so.

This season more than any in our recent past, we seem to have used more players, some have been a success, while others have come and gone and hardly been noticed. Some have shown promise and some have just fell out with "you know who", and that it seems is quite easy to do.

We have a list of players who will now probably have to move on to pastures new as we prepare for next season, and another raft, although it will be smaller initially to come in probably before the Paolo-pre-season training, which is in itself a shock to the system according to many.

We have had much to celebrate this season, goals scored have often been spectacular, and goals not conceded, due to the hard work and steadfast defence and new blood in the goal keeping department, Wes, has been out standing. Speaking of goal keeping, let us never forget the magnificent effort by Phil Smith in "that" penalty shoot out, simply unbelievable yet magnificent.

Once we went top of the league we never looked back, until Drink-Gate, but then our crowning glory all became apparent in the final home game of the season, and those simply unbelievable five goals. We had won the league in a breath taking way, especially in the second half where Port Vale were just over whelmed by total football. The best we had played in any game through the season.

Paolo has just picked up League Manager of the Year for League Two, not bad for a rookie manager in his first year, full of success and even now more controversy . Typical of PDC , many may say, but would these events make headlines if it where anyone else, I suspect probably not, but it seems to go with the man and he deals with these events in his own way, but i ask why do they always take so long to surface, I'll let others be the judge of that.

In all, a blistering year at County Ground and no doubt, another in the offing very soon. Fresh faces, fond fare wells and some raised eyebrows and many asking , how did we sign him ? , all that to come, and of course the eternal guessing game of, who is he going to fall out with next and will he be here for next season ?
In his last season here we all became bored under Wilson, dis heartened under Hart, but it has certainly been a whirlwind under diCanio, and if he stays we will for sure be entertained, on and off the pitch.