[Lord Snooty]

November 9:


One of the players that David Wagner signed for the promotion season, Kasey Palmer has a birthday today. Born in Lewisham in 1996, he's 26 today. Having done the rounds of the Championship mid table clubs in Derby, Blackburn, Bristol City and Swansea, he's now playing for Coventry City at the Ricoh Coventry Building Society wherever it is they're playing these days.

Another birthday today is that of Kieran O'Regan, who was born in Cork in 1963 and is 59 today. He had five seasons with us and was joint top scorer in 1990/91 with 14 goals, the same as Iwan Roberts. Nine of his goals were penalties. Yes nine. Nine penalties in one season. We don't get that many in a decade now.

One of those penalties was scored against Bury at Leeds Road. Nowt unusual about that. But Kieran was wearing the goalkeeper's jersey at the time, having gone in goal after Lee Martin had gotten sent off.

On the field of play, thousands gladly cheer them on the way........ well a few hundred of us went to watch them in the Johnstone Paints Trophy away at Rotherham on this date in 2010. This one wasn't at the New York Stadium. It wasn't even at Millmoor, it was at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield. If you include Leeds Road and the John Smith's, I've seen Town play Rotherham on five different grounds.

This one was a great advert for the competition, with a superb performance by the lads in front of a crowd of 2,185. We were one up in the first minute when Jordan Rhodes scored. Rotherham equalised soon after, but then Jordan got his second, followed by Benik Afobe getting his first Town goal, making it 3-1 at half time.

Scott Arfield made it four and then young Benik got a fifth, before the Millers got a late consolation, finishing the game with a 5-2 Town win.

Back in 2003, Town were in the 4th tier of English football, having been through the traumas of relegation and administration and almost going out of existence. Ken Davy had secured a rescue package and had placed old favourite Peter Jackson in charge.

On this date, we had been chosen by the BBC to be on telly for the first round of the FA Cup, away at Conference Premier team, Accrington Stanley. They were in their first season in the Conference, having just won the Northern Premier League and with us being the "big club", the BBC commentary was ridiculously biased against us.

The bloody ref was biased as well. Young Jon Worthington, in his breakthrough season, cleared the ball from a corner and having cleared it, caught one of the Stanley players in his follow through. Unbelievably the ref gave a free kick on the edge of the area. Even more unbelievable, he pulled out the red card and sent young Worthy off.

An absolutely shocking decision and this was only in the 16th minute.

We played the rest of the match a man down and we were looking good for a replay when the game turned again in the 89th minute. Ian Gray, our goalkeeper received a career ending hand injury from an opponenet who went totally unpunished. Gray was replaced by Phil Senior.

He'd only been on the pitch for a minute when he was picking the ball out of the net after a wicked swerving shot from Andy Gouck went through his hands. And that was us out of the Cup. And how the BBC loved it. Tossers!

Tomorrow, we have drawn them in the Cup again in four years time. Does that make sense?