The price is right

FLIPPANT question first: Which skinflint took advantage of the ‘pay what you like’ offer to watch Mansfield play Gateshead in the Blue Square Premier on Saturday by shelling out three pence to get in? Shame on you.

OK, now the more serious stuff: Praise to the others in a crowd of 7,261 – more than double the average at Field Mill these days – who gave a clear demonstration of their support for their local team.

Last on MOTD: Nicky Shorey vs FIFA

AND now, it’s time for the latest gripping episode of our new football soap Emergency Loans. In this week’s episode, Nicky is on a collision course with Sepp after turning out for one club too many.

If

IT would be completely understandable if Ian Holloway was still sore about his six-month spell in charge at Leicester. And it would be just as understandable if he was a little annoyed at the direction in which Blackpool’s season has gone since the turn of the year.

Last on MOTD: Motty’s hat-trick

HE’S still plugging away, is Motty. There he was yesterday, chirruping away at Upton Park as West Ham and Blackburn battled to a goalless draw that even he might struggle to recall come the end of the season. (A Motty fact for you here: His first game on Match of the Day was also a goalless draw, between Liverpool and Chelsea on October 9, 1971. I feel this comment should be followed by a mildly sarcastic comment from Mark Lawrenson.)

With all due respect

AH, the Respect campaign. You remember the Respect campaign? The one launched with a huge fanfare on Sky Sports News the summer before last, as Eamonn Holmes spent a large chunk of the afternoon discussing footballer behaviour with John Terry. (John Terry! Whatever happened to him?)

Well, the Respect campaign was the centre of attention again last night as Leicester City faced Newcastle United. Or at least, it was supposed to be.

Last on MOTD: Web and Webber

AS I write this, it seems to be up and running again, but Portsmouth’s official website shut down for a few hours today – another instalment in the saga of their financial crisis.

The Robinho question

IT took ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke three attempts to get Roberto Mancini to answer the question: “Will Robinho stay at Manchester City?” Mancini responded with a yes, just as Mark Hughes always used to. And yet most observers are still waiting for the Brazilian to move on.

Gareth Bale’s Tottenham curse: The update

THERE always seems to be a surge of traffic on this blog when Gareth Bale plays in a Premier League game for Tottenham. I know this because WordPress gives me a breakdown of how many hits each blog post gets per day, and of the terms people are typing into search engines to get here.

Face the future

HOWEVER the players of Manchester City and Manchester United make public their thoughts on next week’s Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Old Trafford, they won’t be doing it on Facebook. Both clubs have advised their players not to use the social networking site.

Last on MOTD: Saturday night Motson

JOHN Motson’s autobiography came out not so long ago. While most reviewers focused on Motty’s long-running rivalry with Barry Davies (why didn’t the BBC just let them do 45 minutes each at the World Cup final?), I was more interested in the book’s fleeting insight into the personality of Noel Edmonds.