[Dancingwilldoit]

That was some game. Goal in the first minute and we absolutely dominated. Barnet were no mugs and looked good on the ball but we were just in a different class.
Covalan was back in nets and made a couple of vital stops. He gives me kittens though with some of his positioning. They tried to lob him a couple of times but he got away with it. A sign of things to come though, at one of their corners, a Barnet player literally ran from the edge of the area and shoved him to the floor to wind him up.

We had a 10-15 . minute spell in the second half that was just superb. We were unplayable and if hadn't been for their keeper we could have had 5 or 6.

Great to see Kaby back on the score sheet and boy did he take it well.
3 great goals and 7000 happy Spireites. Just what you need to start the weekend. Roll on Monday.

[Devongone]

That's certainly more than I expected.

Having put in top performances against Wrexham and Notts County, playing Barnet, who were top at the time seemed like too big an ask to me. But we were good again. Let's hope we can keep it going.

Putting Covolan back in goal seems harsh to me as Fitzsimmons has looked more than decent. When he's good he can be very good, but Covolan unfortunately demonstrated he really can't be trusted didn't he? The thing is now, whenever he gets knocked about, he has to go down. They want him to retaliate. he has to do the opposite. Trying to shrug it off will tempt them to keep having a go. Personally though I think Covolan is the more talented, I'd pick Fitzsimmons, because sooner or later something evil this way comes.

[SaltergateBorn]

To my thinking, if we can keep playing like that and start to put away just half of the chances we`re creating we`re going to give one or two teams a real thumping: Alty on Monday would be a nice time to start, thank you very much.

As far as Covolan is concerned, I`m inclined to think he probably can be trusted now. I`m sure Cookie will have made it crystal clear that if there`s any repetition of Dorking he`ll be on his toes and away quicker than a rat up a drainpipe, so he knows he`s on a final warning. If that doesn`t concentrate his mind, he really does need help. The provocation is going to carry on for a while yet, I`ve no doubt, and it`s hard on Fitzsimons I know but personally I`d be inclined to persevere with him.

[Devongone]

The thing is Covolan may well be at Chesterfield because he ignored final warnings at Port Vale. If we at least put a keeper on the bench there's chance we can win when we get down to ten. But at his best Covolan is probably the best in our division.

I'm watching AC Milan v Bologna. Milan's strip is the worst I've ever seen. They look like refugees from It Ain't Half Hot Mum!

[SaltergateBorn]

If that was the reason he left Port Vale - and I`ve no idea whether it was or not - I would have thought that would it make it even more unlikely that he`ll transgress again. He must know that nobody is going to give him a third chance if he does. To be fair, all the comments coming from the management team say that apart from that one incident he`s been a model professional.

As far as the `keeper on the bench is concerned, you know my thoughts already; I agree 100%.

I hope Milan haven`t got Don Estelle in goal; if they have, I`d be pumping high balls into the box at a fair rate of knots.

[spireitematt]

National League need to get with the times and have 7 subs on the bench instead of 5.

I listened to the game on 1866 Sport on Friday night and it sounded like we completely dominated the game. Was very surprised that we scored after 2 minutes. I expected Barnet to make it difficult for us on the basis that they've started the season off very well and hadn't really conceeded many goals until we played them.

I hope we can keep this run going but we have to be realistic that we will lose a game at some point. I've said before this isn't an easy league, there's a lot of unpredictable teams but also a lot of variables which can affect a game like the officials or players having an off day.

[SaltergateBorn]

The idea of a National League referee having an `off` day really doesn`t bear thinking about, Matt. Truth is, I`ve rarely seen one have an `on` day.

[Devongone]

In Italy, where AC Milan dress as Gunner Graham and Windsor Davies manages the team, the entire squad is a potential sub, or so it seems. And I can't see what's wrong with that except you need a bigger bench.

If you limit the number of players who a team can bring on, the number managers have to choose from is largely irrelevant. 3 from 5, 3 from 7, 3 from 15, what's the differenc? It just means the manager is more likely to choose the wrong three.. It isn't really advantage to the bigger or richer clubs.

As for Covolan - well Port Vale paid a decent fee for him and their current keeper doesn't look all that much to me. I'm sure he's a decent bloke and a good pro' 99+% of the time, but rushes of blood and disastrous decisions happen outside of normal thought processes. On the other hand if everyone we play concentrates on winding him up, rather than playing their natural game, and Covolan laughs it off, it'll be hugely to our advantage.

I still think Dai Bradley in Kes ran Jordan Pickford close as a keeper. And of course Chesterfield's very own Brian Glover became the archetype for all PE Masters. Almost as unbearable as Chesterfield Grammar's own Gordon Jephcote, whose hairstyle would now actually be fashionable.

AC Milan's goalie should be France's first choice by the way, but I don't think he is.

[SaltergateBorn]

I`ve had a really pleasant day today. Lunch with the family, couple of pints with the lad, couple of hours in the park with the grandchildren, then settled down with a book in one hand and glass of Shiraz in the other with a purring cat on my lap, looking forward to the trip to Alty tomorrow and thinking that, just for a while at least, all`s well in my world..........then some bugger has to go and spoil it all by mentioning Alf. Bloody typical.

[Devongone]

My own cat is loving and affectionate, but is a rescue who was never nursed when young, so does not know it is even a possibility and does not appreciate being picked up. She does not realise I'd love it.

I never met anyone who expressed anything but dislike right through to downright hatred for Alf. Even my older brother, now passed, who didn't have a hating bone in his body couldn't stand Alf. Even my dad, one of the world's kindest men, who knew him through the local FA, as he ran a football team and Alf sometimes refereed, didn't like him ..... and didn't trust him either. Sorry for ruining your day. The good news is ALF IS DEAD and has been for a long time. But Alf was a spireite too .......

Life in Buxton sounds nicely bourgeoise. Do hope Alty don't ruin it all by doing something stupid.

Wish you could have seen Alf's face when Clarke, my house, beat his Bradley lot two years together in the Senior House Final. He always did his Harry Potter sorting hat act to recruit as many good footballers as he could into Bradley when they passed for Grammar. He'd got about half the 1st XI. We were mostly rugby players who could play football ........ Both games he stalked off before the end with a face like thunder. As if it mattered. Except because it did to him, it mattered to us, because he'd spent two years trying to kill rugby in the school and we kept it going on our own!