Let's get a few things straight about that 9-0 win

Like so many other people all over the world, I was heartened by the Casuals' 9-0 victory a fortnight ago. Some people say that I'm the sort of person who, if I'm not playing in the team, actually wants the Casuals to lose because if they do, it somehow proves that the team plays better when I'm around.

Nothing could be further from the truth. To say that my spirits sank when Sankey e-mailed me the gloating news of his hat-trick and the other six goals would be a slur against me and all that I stand for. To suggest that it put me in a foul temper for the rest of the day and that I sat around by the phone, hoping for news that at least someone had got injured during the game, would be a libel of monstrous proportions.

No. I was pleased for my fellow Casuals. Very pleased. It's just that I wonder how many more goals could have been scored had I been present on the Hawker Centre's lush turf two weeks back. Just think: with my proven net-finding talent, combined with the rich vein of form that I'm currently enjoying, the Casuals might even have pushed their score into double figures.