Preparations

Having finished training nice and early last night I started my pre-match day preparations in earnest.

Last week's little excursion to a very muddy field had left my boots and flags in a very sorry state. I also needed to get my undershirt, support short and Skins socks washed as well after wearing them for training.

So I spent almost an hour scrubbing away (insert your own jokes) in the sink to get that little lot cleaned up and then strategically placing them on various radiators around the house. Everything was ready for the game!

The preparations had actually started on Monday when I chased the appointment, with my original game falling victim to a postponement caused by a cup game which took priority. I'd done my homework (checking out league positions, asking Fat Lad for his thoughts as he'd refereed the away team earlier in the season, etc.), gotten my directions to the ground and programmed the satnav.

All that was left was to pack the bag and as usual I stood in the middle of the street checking and re-checking that I had everything before setting off in sufficient time to arrive 50 minutes before kick off (more than enough when I'm on my own!).