TWISTS AND TURNS..

...and a blessing in disguise?

Life is full of twists and turns and football is no exception.   The image you see below is Plymouth Argyle`s mascot - dressed up to vaguely resemble a Pilgrim Father, as the football club are known as `The Pilgrims.`  I can only imagine that there are a couple of sound reasons for this nom-de-plume;  the first being Plymouth`s relatively remote location in the south west which means that most of their away matches represent something of a pilgrimage. 

The second is a little more speculative.  It is widely assumed that Plymouth was the point of departure when the Pilgrim Fathers left on the Mayflower to seek a new life in the New World.   However, the truth is that the Pilgrim Fathers left Southampton (where Mayflower Park marks their real point of departure) and only called in to Plymouth after some problems were discovered with the ship.   No matter, for Plymouth need all the help they can get. 

Now, Plymouth Argyle are having a bad time - relegated from the Championship last season, now in administration, frantically seeking a rich, new investor, already deducted ten points for going into administration resulting in them being bottom of League One and desperately struggling to avoid yet another relegation.   So they don`t want me being critical of their misfortune.... and I won`t be.

But there is a curious situation concerning the game they were due to play this coming Saturday against - you`ve guessed it - the Saints of Southampton.   However, that game has been postponed because, under FIFA rules, if a club has three players or more called up for international duty, then the club is entitled to ask for the postponement.   In this case, Plymouth `s three `international` players, called up for service to represent their respective countries this weekend are - 

Onismor Bhasera, called up by Zimbabwe but now out injured, possibly for the rest of the season;

Rory Fallon, called up for New Zealand`s game against China, but now suffering a groin injury which led to Plymouth manager and ex-Saint, Peter Reid, `pulling him out;` and

Joe Mason, drafted in to the Republic of Ireland under 21s squad, but now out with an ankle injury.

So, a game which on Saturday would have brought Argyle some much needed matchday revenue and keep the momentum of Saints promotion push going, won`t go ahead despite the fact that all three of Argyle`s international players won`t now be on international duty.   Not sure you could make it up.

And there`s another twist too.   My squeaky bum evening on Tuesday ended with Saints and Charlton drawing 1-1 at The Valley - a `nice,` peacekeeping kind of result for the divided loyalties in Snopper Street.   Saints were ahead until a late strike by another former Saint - Bradley Wright-Phillips - secured the point for Charlton.   It always happens, of course, that former strikers score against their former clubs.

One problem for Saints is that both of their very own pacy flankers, Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, had to be helped off the pitch with worrying injuries, the extent of which are yet unconfirmed  but which would have kept them out of the game at Plymouth on Saturday, had it gone ahead.   They now have ten days to recover before Saints` next game  and so, whilst the shambles surrounding the postponement might be a blessing in disguise after all, the week has demonstrated yet again that football, like life, is full of twists and turns.