Bolland gone

"He is interested in getting involved in [club name] in its own right but also with a view to raising awareness of and involvement in football globally. It certainly has the potential for a mutually beneficial and great partnership."

Although I'm not entirely sure what all that means, it's a grand statement of intent isn't it? So who do you think the club involved are? Real Madrid? Man Utd? Chelsea? No, it's our beloved village neighbours of course, announcing the imminent arrival of a new investor from overseas. I look forward to the new man using the Histon brand to raise awareness of the game globally, I'm sure all the kids in China will soon be swapping their Ronaldo posters for pin ups of Jamie Barker in no time.

I'm not too fussed that we're not making any attempts to re-build the British Empire, but it would be nice if we could flesh out our squad in the centre-back department. Following today's announcement that Bolly will be playing his football at the far edge of the known universe (Barrow) next season, we now have just Hatswell, Coulson, plus youngster Darryl Coakley, to cover at the back.

Chairman George had been making noises about offering Bolly a new contract recently, so there must be a bit of money there. However, I'm a bit worried the Brabinator may choose to spunk it on Darryl McMahon instead of a player we actually need.

"Daryl McMahon is a quality player and I think he showed he was the best player on the pitch," said our leader following Tuesday's win over Ely. "It just shows his attitude that he's desperate to come back and play for us."

An unemployed player desperate to get a job, who'd have thought it eh? I think McMahon is ok, and in an ideal world wouldn't mind having him in the squad as cover. But if we're going to challenge this year, we can't afford to go into the season with one senior centre back on the books. And while we're at it, we should probably be looking for a back-up keeper, and a left-winger if Courtney leaves, before we consider signing another average Conference central midfielder. We'd better hope the Brabinator gets his priorities right.

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Shhhhhhhhhhhh

Hello everybody, I'm back from my holidays, all refreshed and newly married.

It (the wedding) went very well, thankyou for asking, and I'd just like to thank Rev Stuart Wood for a couple of little United-related surprises which he organised to make the day a particularly memorable one for myself and the new Mrs Gooding.

As anyone who has planned a wedding will probably confirm, they tend to be all-consuming affairs, especially in the immediate run up to the big day, and as such I've not been keeping a close eye on events at the Abbey in the last week. However, a quick perusal of the official site would suggest that nothing much has gone on anyway.

You can tell it's quiet because the CEN are doing what they usually do when there's nothing happening, which is to interview someone - in this case Paul Carden - once, then chop it up into bite-size chunks to spread out through the week. Thus we have; REASON SET TO SIGN UP - CARDEN, CARDEN PLEDGES TO COMBINE PLAYING AND COACHING (a radical step for someone who is, afterall, a player/coach), and PROMOTION WELL WITHIN U'S REACH SAYS CARDEN. I can't wait for tomorrow's headline, which I predict will be something groundbreaking like FIXTURES OUT SOON - CARDEN or WE WILL PLAY SOME FRIENDLIES REVEALS CARDEN. Stay tuned news fans.

Anyway, it seems the Reason deal is all but done, which is obviously a positive step. Let's hope they're only keeping McMahon hanging around as a back plan, in case it all falls through at the last moment. If we're having a new, slimline, squad for next season I hardly think we need six central midfielders competing for two places.

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Stuff. That's happened. Today

Sorry, I know that's not the most imaginative of headlines, but it does what it says on the tin and all that.

So we have a new player, despite the fact that we definately don't have any money to sign any new players, oh no. Of course, given the boards recent record, it's entirely possible that this deal could be cancelled at any time, so I don't want to count my chickens.

And anyway, I've got mixed feelings about Daryl McMahon's arrival; on the one hand, I think we need some extra cover in midfield, but on the other his arrival will most likely limit the amount of minutes Ben Farrell gets on the pitch. The Brabinator obviously doesn't rate Farrell for whatever reason, but I hope he won't be on his way as, like many United fans, I think he has massive potential.

McMahon himself looks quite scary in his picture on the official site, which is always a good start, and the Stevenage fans seem to rate him quite highly, so we'll have to see how it works out. Welcome to Cambridge Daryl.

Meanwhile, we have been handed the chance of an, ahem, mouthwatering away tie at Lewes or Havant if we get through our re-arranged game against Crawley in the trophy. I think I speak for us all when I say I can't wait for that one.

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