[Phil Whalley]

Something else worth a mention is the way the lads closed the game down in the last ten minutes. We barely gave Orient a kick, especially in added time, when we just boxed them in their half. It's terrific to see such organisation, composure and confidence on the ball.

It's true that we are seeing all this on early season surfaces - Orient's looked like a bowling green - and we might have to adapt as the pitches get heavier, but it seems to me that Coley's philosophy this season is based on the old cliché of letting players enjoy their football. They are clearly not afraid to try and beat a man, and more often than not try to play out from the back. On the occasions this breaks down, the work-rate is there to get back behind the ball and stifle the oppo. I managed to have a word with Josh afterwards, he said that Jimmy had had 'a word' in the dressing room at half time after he had unsuccessfully tried to nutmeg his man in the Stanley half. Apparently nutmegs are only allowed in the opposition half. It's a million miles away from the dull pragmatism of the Beattie approach.

It was a close game. How Orient didn't score early on I'll never know, the rebound from the effort that hit the bar seemed to fall perfectly for their man running in, but once we got over that initial onslaught and found time on the ball, our football was excellent. Coneelly, Crooksy and Josh are a very well-balanced midfield trinity - one to sweep up and provide support, one an out-an-out attacker, and Crooksy doing something of both roles. With two lads coming through the centre, often feeding off Kee, another 100%-er happy to drop back in the hole, we are posing problems for defences even without bringing in the wide players. Odd how many of us saw Piero as the key player this season, but he has been a little overshadowed by the lads in centre-mid so far.

After sampling much of the real ale range on offer, I then had the pleasure of Peter Marsden's company on the tube journey home, in fact we were gabbing away so much about things that he missed his stop! I hope he got home OK. The takeover means that we are no longer an independent entity - and I know that this causes concerns for some, especially given the antics of businessmen-owners elsewhere in the football world. We are now part of a much bigger business operation, but one led by someone who, according to Peter, isn't going into this with wide-eyed naivety. Holt wants to run a tight ship, but sees the possibility of tapping a lot of unrealised potential with a relatively modest investment, generating income for other parts of his business while also stabilising Stanley and giving something back to the town.

Given where we have been these last few years - losing money, paying employees late, and keeping fingers crossed that the likes of Peter and Ilyas kept writing the cheques - could many of us say truthfully that in their position we wouldn't also have gladly taken this offer? Trust is a fragile commodity that easily fractures, and whilst we need no lessons on what can be lost when bonds loosen beyond repair, we should also consider what might be gained if we balance our tendency to doubt with a few grains of hope. Here endeth the sermon!

On Stanley On

Phil