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Diary - Wednesday 3 September 2008

3 September 2008

Yesterday wasn't that long ago, and it was only yesterday your Idle Diarist hoped finishing off with Alan Buckley's explanation for Martin Butler's absence on Saturday would see a line drawn under the recent rumours that the player would be leaving Town. A couple of hours later, John Fenty is revealing last week Butler submitted another transfer request.

There's an elongated version in today's paper, where Fenty understates the affair somewhat - "it hasn't worked out as well as we would have liked" - before pointedly narrowing down any resolution (or "not cutting our losses" or "find a way forward"): "Martin is obligated to turn up for at least two training sessions per week, subject to the manager's request, and he is finding this difficult to do... If Martin isn't prepared to stop over in between training sessions then it makes the situation almost impossible to resolve." The writing seems to be on the wall in big fat permanent marker, but, frankly, everyone involved in Butlergate is looking like a prized dickhead. In what seems an attempt to turn the knives on the player, Fenty publicly mulls over paying up Butler's contract. Whatever, eh, John; someone at the club had to agree to Butler commuting from Worcester.

Incidentally, if you pay close attention to the end of the Telegraph piece you'll see that Fenty sanctioned a move for Southend striker Matt Harrold, but the ex-Town loanee opted to join Peter Taylor's Wycombe revolution. "If anyone thinks we haven't been trying hard to get people in then they would be way off the mark," Fenty pleaded. Still, the ever-improving Nathan Jarman, who waited most of last season before taking his chance, can get a regular go in the team, so that's cool by me.

Talking of goes in the team, there was hope for a mini-factfile for tonight's game, but I got emailing some mates this morning about Peter Bore and his move for regular first team football at York City (apparently he played quite decently last night) and the next thing you know, it's nearly lunchtime. So, sorry for that: you'll go in to tonight's first round Paint Pot tie at Chesterfield tonight woefully underprepared, but - hey! - isn't Martin Butler as well, Ithankyou. Not much teams news really. The side which satisfied Alan Buckley drawing with an improbably rubbish Lincoln site on Saturday is likely to continue. Jack Lester could make his first appearance against Town as an employee of Chesterfield as the Spirerites look to avoid a third consecutive defeat.

Let's take a break from football. Now my injured leg is all reet I've been biking into work this week. 7.4 miles in, the same distance back, and a steep hill to pedal up finishing me off whichever way I go. An unexpected bonus is I've lost five pounds of weight in two days. No, that's not a hint Danny North (although, it wouldn't hurt, lad), but the bike next to my desk reminds me of the Bike to the Bank at the weekend. If we heard the excellent chap with the mic at half time on Saturday correctly, the boys and girls who biked from Blundell Park to Sincil Bank raised seven-and-a-half grand for local charities. Excellent work, all of you. But do tell me: with such a distance involved did you train just twice a week?