Back to the future, part 2

Not content with having Kevin Gall and Paul Terry on trial in the summer as well as signing Andy Lindegaard for a month, Skivo's attempt to recreate the Yeovil side of 3-4 years ago continues apace with the news that Jean-Paul Kalala has now arrived at Huish Park on trial.

Kalala was one of Russell Slade's first signings, following the bald-headed boss down south from Grimsby. He only played one season for us, appearing in a total of 42 matches and starting 35 times. Despite him following Slade to Somerset and playing a decent number of games, I for one never felt he had Slade's complete confidence and to me it was no real surprise that he left us after only one season, going back up north to Oldham. He's had a mixed time at Boundary Park since, only making a total of 26 appearances for the Latics in two years, and he spent a fair chunk of last season on loan, back at struggling Grimsby. He was released by Oldham in the summer and hasn't been able to find a club since. He's an out-and-out defensive midfielder by trade and inclination, at his best sitting in front of the back four and rarely venturing very far beyond the halfway line.

I have two reactions to this news: One - I'm pleased that Skivo has recognised the need for a defensive midfielder. Two - I'm not so sure Kalala's the answer. One would have thought that with more professional footballers than ever before looking for clubs at the moment that there would be someone out there somewhere who could do a job for us with a better pedigree than J-P, but there again perhaps it's a case of the devil you know. Whatever, if Skivo decides that Kalala's worth a short or long-term contract then the best of British (or French) luck to him and let's hope he is the answer.

We managed to scrape a point away at Exeter on Tuesday night though by all accounts we were completely battered in the first half and were fortunate not to be more than 1-0 down at half-time. The second half did bring an improvement with Ryan Mason notching his second goal in two games to force a 1-1 draw. That's four points from a possible nine so far this season, carry on like that and we'll be safe by Easter. Well, we can but hope. I was interested to see that Skivo did make some changes for the Exeter game along the lines I had suggested, though he stopped short of playing 5 in the middle and 1 up front as a starting line-up at least, sticking with the traditional 4-4-2, with 2 forwards up front.

With a home game coming up tomorrow against Leyton Orient I don't expect the gaffer to deviate away from his preferred 4-4-2, and why should he when that formation worked well against Tranmere in our only previous home league game? I wouldn't be surprised to see some more changes in personnel however, aside from the enforced injury change which will see Terrell Forbes replace Stefan Stam at the back.

My team would be as follows:

Alex McCarthy
Craig Alcock, Steven Caulker, Terrell Forbes, Nathan Smith
Scott Murray, Kieran Murtagh, George O'Callaghan, Danny Schofield
Ryan Mason
Jon Obika

A 4-4-1-1 formation, with Mason playing behind Obika 'in the hole'. Unlucky again on the likes of Gavin Tomlin and Sam Williams, but the need to play the extra midfielder in my opinion means that having two out-and-out forwards is a luxury we can't really afford, even at home. Those paying attention will note that I've dropped Andy Welsh, and I feel that Skivo may do that in the real thing as well. To me Welsh has been very disappointing so far this season and I just wonder if his first half substitution at Exeter on Tuesday is a sign that the gaffer has run out of patience with the left-winger.

As I say, that's how I would line-up tomorrow. In real life I would think Skivo will stay with a traditional 4-4-2, which means one of my midfielders, probably Murtagh, will miss out, Mason resuming his partnership with O'Callaghan. Obika will almost certainly start, alongside either Williams or Tomlin. I would prefer Williams, I get the feeling Skivo will pick Tomlin. We'll see tomorrow.

Gambling corner: The bookies have a Glovers win at 11/8, the draw at 23/10, and an Orient win at 19/10. How can I bet on anything other than a home win? I can't, so that's where my fiver's going, returning a less-than-impressive £6.88p. I'm never going to get rich at this rate. Running total: -£2.50.

Just read: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. Or should I say, just re-read, about 30 years after I first picked it up. And it's as good now as it was then. Easily one of Heinlein's best books and full of his libertarian propaganda, but none the worse for that unlike some of his later novels. It's the story of a revolt on an inhabited Moon and the struggle for it's independence, but really the setting is incidental. It's a fast-paced adventure story for boys (and girls) of all ages and I'd recommend it to anyone.