Cornered By Keith!

Tuesday, October 8: Interesting – and painful – to reflect on Keith Andrews’s recent career path after he was seen in the home dug-out during Brentford’s 5-3 victory over Wolves on Saturday. His summer appointment to Thomas Frank’s backroom team as set-piece coach came after he left Sheffield United in the wake of their 2023-24 Premier League nightmare but we could well have done without seeing evidence so close up of the former Molineux midfielder’s good tactical work.

Friday, October 11: Good to see James Henry still having a major impact on games. Following his departure from promoted Oxford in the summer after 250-plus games for them, he has linked up with Aldershot and won the National League player of the month award in August as reward for his five goals. He now has six for the season at the rate of better than one in every three games – very respectable for a midfielder.

Thursday, October 17: Attended the funeral of long-time Sporting Star editor and octogenerian Jim Wilson this lunchtime and had a catch-up with many Express & Star friends at Telford Crematorium and then at Shifnal Cricket Club afterwards. I didn’t agree with all of Jim’s views – nor his headlines! – but he was good fun to work with for the last 20 years of his many decades at the paper and unfailingly supportive.

Friday, October 18: A second emotional send-off in less than 24 hours, this time for the amazing Steve Plant. The service was very much ‘him’ and was packed to the rafters, with dozens and dozens outside Stourbride Crem. We can only begin to wonder how many would have been there had the family not made it clear it was for close friends and invited guests only.

Sunday, October 20: Saw Lee Naylor, David Kelly and Andy Thompson in the media room at the game against Manchester City this afternoon – all presumably encouraged by Wolves’ performance in their sickening last-gasp defeat. Nicky Weaver was also among us, working for BBC Manchester, and Clinton Morrison, summarising for BBC 5Live, was adamant afterwards that this level of performance would soon result in a significant climb up the table given the kinder run of fixtures just around the corner. As if that little lot weren’t enough, we even had the pleasure of chaperoning Bob Hazell for the afternoon.

Friday, October 25: Mark Kennedy, having had a brief spell as manager of Lincoln last season, has now been sacked by Swindon, with them one place and three points above the League Two relegation zone. It’s not easy trying to get established on the management ladder. Ian Holloway was promptly named in place of the first goal hero in the 2003 play-off final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Monday, October 28: Brilliant to see coverage on both BBC Midlands Today and Central TV this teatime of the unveiling of the John Rudge statue outside Port Vale’s ground. Having visited the Wolverhampton-born Potteries legend’s home twice this year and chatted at length to him, I had hoped to be present among the crowd at the ceremony but now plan to go for a look instead on an imminent business trip to the area.

Saturday, November 2: Kept my word by visiting the aforementioned statue in the hours leading up to Wolves v Crystal Palace today and made an astonishing discovery about cricketer Jack Russell during a stop-off elsewhere in the Potteries. The former England wicketkeeper was visiting Trent Art Gallery in Newcastle-under-Lyme and, on hearing I was heading for Molineux later, said his dad had grown up in the 1950s as a Wolves fan, with someone in the family way back having run a pub near Wolverhampton railway station.