Last year I spent god knows how many hours in a car getting up to Darlington. Rovers played quite well, but conceded a goal from the hairless Barry Conlon and then were thwarted by Andy Collett and the wordwork, when Alvin Bubb's header almost saved the game late on. Result: a 1-0 defeat. That's why my heart went out to those loyal few who actually managed to repeat the trip a second time last weekend, as it must have been like Groundhog Day for them. This time Rovers played quite well, but conceded a goal from the hairless Barry Conlon and then were thwarted by Andy Collett, who made a great save to deny Grazioli, and subsequently the wordwork, when Rob Quinn struck the post. Result: a 1-0 defeat. I hate missing games for whatever reason, but on this occasion I was glad I wasn't cooped up in a car for hours on end all Saturday evening. The commentary on the radio seemed quite downcast, and perhaps in the frustration of it all the voices from Feethams made it sound worse than it actually was. My assumption was that Rovers had turned in another drab Macclesfield-style performance, but the interviews afterwards painted a rosier image of an encouraging effort from the lads. But there was one interview in particular that had me glued to the hi-fi speakers. When Ray Graydon came on air, you could picture his face - he was steaming with rage. Paul Tait was understandably the victim of his wrath, for a silly head-butt while we were in the process of taking a corner. But I had never heard anything like it. There were threats that implied Tait was going to be sacked and at one point Graydon even wanted to seize his house! Quite rightly, Ray restrained himself from saying anything further in the heat of the moment, but he well and truly got his message across, that's for sure. Later in the week Paul Tait managed to escape with a hefty fine and severely bruised pride, and I think he would be crazy to consider squaring up again in the future. This is not the first time Graydon has thrown the kitchen sink at one of his players, and Tait should have known what his reaction would be. Whilst in charge at Walsall, Ray transfer-listed Jason Brissett after the winger was stupidly sent-off in a reserve game, and soon he was shipped off to Leyton Orient on a free. Then later in his reign the talented midfielder Gabor Bukran, who had forced his way into the Hungary team whilst at the Bescot Stadium, was red carded for striking out at a player in a game against Bury and he too was put on the list. He only made five more starts for the Saddlers before being carted off to fester in Wigan's reserves. I am glad that Tait has avoided the chop because he has done really well recently to boost his reputation on the terraces. It always helps when you score in every home match, but maybe if Graydon were in a more affluent situation in terms of funds, the striker could well have been axed. His forthcoming suspension will at least give a chance to one of our eager reserve strikers; Justin Richards has had most of the action so far from the bench but Dave Gilroy needs to stake a claim fast because he is already midway through his six-month contract. Finally there is Kevin Gall, who arrived as a goalscorer but has since been mucked about in midfield to his detriment. However, none of them offer the same qualities as Tait, and there may need to be a change in playing style to suit his replacement. © Chris Chappell - Friday 11th October 2002 Back to Index