Same Old Story

Blimey, a Saturday where I don't have to get up at 6am. Bliss. We even manage to get to our local farm shop to stock up supplies.

I had intended to walk the dogs but it's chucking it down. Doggo has never liked the rain but I'm MD wouldn't care less what it's doing outside. I, however, have the casting vote, so we don't bother.

Depressingly it's the first day of the new football season and expectations have never been so low. Therefore, it's no surprise that it's the same old story at Derby, who lose 1-0 to freshly promoted Doncaster.

Spare a thought though, for the real business of the coming season where Luton, Rotherham and Bournemouth will surely share the two relegation places from the Football League between them. Rotherham and Bournemouth have both been deducted 17 points for breaking rules on exiting administration, while Luton will start next season on an unprecedented minus 30 points.

The Hatters were deducted 10 points by the FA for paying agents via a third party and a further 20 points for failing to satisfy the League's insolvency rules. All this gives Luton an extraordinarily difficult task in trying to avoid relegation for the third season in a row.

In the evening we head out to Scruffys, the nice one in the Lace Market, not the pink one on Derby Road. Where we have a meal with some friends. My mate says he doesn't intend driving, because he wants a few beers. I enthusiastically try and talk him into the bus. After all the bus does run from more or less outside his house and will drop him in the centre of Nottingham. All in about 30 minutes and for a couple of quid but naturally to no avail, he talks his partner into driving instead.

Afterwards they come home to visit MD, he's such a popular pup, sometimes.