Six Points Clear

Have to drive in today because there's a match tonight. Derby are torturing Burnley. The traffic has been so bad that I decided to change my route and go through Ilkeston. It wasn't too bad that way.

The biggest match of the night is most probably the relegation six pointer between Hull and Leeds. I’ll certainly have half an eye on that via the BBC Wap site. After all I need something to keep me occupied while Billy shuffles his chess pieces for the first hour of Derby's game as he waits for the end game to come around.

I keep thinking that one week we’ll put four or five goals past someone because the team are capable of it but think I’m deluding myself.

Back at home, someone has dragged all the covers off the bed. Tell L I'm sorry about that but I just fancied a quickie and she wasn't there. The things I do to protect that collie. Hope L was convinced.

Sad news, L informs me that our neighbour Dennis died yesterday.

At the match Derby score after only three minutes. Bugger. That's not in the script we only ever score late in the game. For a while Derby play some wonderful football and I wonder whether my dream of a four or five goal score line might come true but as time passes it becomes more and more obvious that this isn't going to happen. Yep it finishes 1-0 again. Amazingly Birmingham and Preston both lose and so Derby go six points clear at the top.

Of course the star of the show was whistle-happy referee Mike Riley. He did his best to get noticed by stopping the game as often as possible and in the process managed to anger most of the people in the ground. Premiership officials often appear to be out of their depth when they drop down from the sterile Premiership to take charge of the more passionate lower leagues. For the second time in four days there was an unfair sending off at Pride Park because the second yellow card shown to Eric Djemba-Djemba was clearly not warranted. In all Riley showed seven yellow cards and sent off three, which included a rare double of sending off the managers from both sides.

Leeds win the 'match of the day' at Hull, yet still slip to the bottom on goal difference as Southend win by more goals at Birmingham.

After the match I go for a couple of pints of Bass with my parents. Then home to L. L's was not impressed with her night out with two friends of hers. Apparently she couldn't get a word in edgeways.

Daughter's been out running again.