THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE...

After weeks of speculation it has now been revealed that our street`s local hero - pacy flanker Scott ("Buzzin` six-pack") Wagstaff, 26, has returned to home territory.   Having seen out his contract at Bristol City, he was keen to find a club which valued his qualities and which would benefit from his regular outings in the occasional goal scoring, deep crossing, pacy flanking department.

And so, despite overtures from a number of other clubs, he has now signed a two year deal with our near neighbours Gillingham.   Apart from his footballing credentials he brings the added bonuses of a quite spectacular beard and, of course, his renowned goal celebration, `The Brick.`   This extraordinary contortion has become something of a trademark celebration and consists of him lying flat on his back whilst waiting for fellow team mates to arrive and lay on top of him.   Here`s an example:-

Now those kind of antics might have gone down a storm in the backwaters of Ashton Gate but I await with interest to see the reaction it brings to the aficionados of Gillingham`s Rainham End which has among their ranks none other than my good friend and neighbour Mr. Slightly, proud owner of a Gillingham season ticket.

So, welcome home Scott and I hope your return to the depths of Kent will be a happy and successful one.  I end by repeating the quote that Scott gave to the waiting media when he arrived at the Priestfield Stadium the other day.  He is alleged to have said, "The Gills are a sleeping giant with great fans, a great stadium and a state of the art training facility so when I heard that they were interested I knew that they were the club for me and I didn`t want to go anywhere else."  Now admittedly he may have strayed marginally from the strict teachings of the Professional Footballers Association Manual of Cliches, but I`m sure the message brought added comfort to the Priestfield faithful.  To be fair.