I was relatively buoyant in December after Greg’s appointment and what appeared to be the beginning of a squad clearout. I have admired his decisiveness in this respect but the job is far from done. The four game run from Boxing day certainly gave us renewed hope of an outside stab at the play offs but I think that for the first time in ages we could be looking at a season with no drama at the end. In the current economic climate how will this affect the crowds? It’s not quite the same going into the last game to see if you’ll finish 10th or 11th. Saying that, it will be our friends from the New Den visiting who will bring a big following.

I write this with the January transfer window drawing to a close and for me the sooner the better. It’s a time where the big guns flex their muscles and usually get what they want and clubs like us know that our best players will look elsewhere. There is little player loyalty. The dust is still to settle on the proposed Hackney deal but I wonder how that came about only a few days after the manager said he was part of the future?

The train companies are doing fans no favours by hiking up their prices and reducing the selection of tickets. It really is a minefield with the same journey tickets ranging in price from one website to another and offers on with restrictions at other times. Credit goes to the smaller franchises who offer groupsave deals which tend to be the best way to proceed as flexibility of departure times is a real bonus. The last train trip saw a self imposed beer ban on the outward journey but don’t panic we were only helping a Branch member clear out some wine.

It’s a busy time on the Branch planning front. There has been loads of interest in the summer trip to Cologne and Mike Carruthers is doing a sterling job pulling this together, including confusing the tour operator and as a result getting a free hotel upgrade ! We have our end of season weekend that spans our sponsorship of the Millwall game and places at the Awards dinner. Both are proving to be very popular. There is also some advanced planning being done as to how we can best celebrate our 35th anniversary and the 250th issue of HTB, both of which will be during this year.

Has the romance in football gone? The football league must think so. Why else pitch Carlisle at Brighton on valentine's day? I can imagine a few Blues fans ending up in hot water over that one. Will it all be worth it? Be warned it is the worst view in the league and yet from a Branch perspective it is one of the best trips of the year. It is handy for most and has probably the best real ale pub of any trip. This year’s trip will be supplemented by a post match gathering at Tony Little’s place. Let’s hope it is not a question of going there just to dry out.

Simon Clarkson