PACY FLANKER STRIKES AGAIN...

This is Scott Wagstaff, who lives a few doors down the street and it`s fair to say that most of us living in this quiet backwater follow Scott`s progress with a kind of benign avuncular interest, as we`ve watched him grow up and establish himself with Charlton Athletic FC.

Last Saturday, he made another in what now seem to be regular starts for the Addicks as they took on the Hatters of Stockport County at the Cheshire club`s Edgeley Park ground. Charlton`s official website variously describe Scott as a `starlet` and even a `pacy flanker,`which is something I imagine he thought he would never be called.

Now late on Saturday evenings the BBC devote at least an hour to highlight the games played in the Football League that afternoon. The programme follows March of the Day which is, of course, exclusively concerned with the Barclays Premier League. By the time that`s finished, the wee small hours are approaching, so I normally record the Football League show and catch up with it at a more leisurely time. Of course, I watched it to see the highlights of the Saints` game and I enjoyed seeing Rickie Lambert Southampton`s Goal Machine (RLSGM) smashing home a penalty and a 30-yard free kick which, along with Dan Harding`s pile driver, completed the 3-0 win over Tranmere.

But I was also able to catch up on the highlights of the Stockport-Charlton encounter, in which Scott Wagstaff featured heavily in a few `incidents.` The first was when he was put clean through on goal only to forget all he had been taught about striking bovine derrieres with banjos. The second was when he redeemed himself by scoring Charlton`s second goal, which turned out to be the winner, as the home team came back into it late on to make the final score 2-1. Being a pacy flanker, Scott found himself with time and space out on the left to receive a measured pass from a colleague. He then cut inside the full back and curled an incisive strike to nestle the ball in the far corner of the net well beyond the despairing clutches of the opposing custodian.

Now, we have been encouraging Scott to get his celebtaion act together and, as this was his fourth goal of the season, the matter of his goal celebration is becoming more pressing. On Saturday, clearly bereft of any preconceived celebratory antics, he simply seemed to wander up to a random member of the crowd, smile engagingly and back off whilst the going was good, which was a pity really, as it took a bit of the shine off an otherwise impressive afternoon`s work.

Don`t get it wrong, Scotty - the street is still right behind you, but it`s no good being a goalscoring pacy flanker with a good engine and an eye for a pass if you can`t round it off with something better than random crowd wandering. Something to work on possibly ?