ZZ waves to the crowd after the Stockport game
There was a period, I think it was in the first half of 2006, when practically every match Charlton played in ended 0-0. We supporters would obviously have preferred 5-0, of course, but nonetheless achieving (or "grinding out" as the BBC Football Page calls it) these draws, many of them away at such places as Manchester City and even that hallowed and sacred shrine of football greatness, Newcastle United, gave us some satisfaction. "We might not have much of an attack, but the defence is as solid as a rock", we thought. Hmm.
But now, in just two games, Charlton have scored 7. And let in 5, but at least both games were won. But we were expecting this. Nine or so days ago I wondered, echoing Wyn Grant, how we were going to manage against Sheffield Wednesday without a right back. And in the end we had to manage without a left back as well. But manage we did. And then came the Stockport escapade. 2-0 up leading eventually to 2-3 down and thence to 4-3 by the end. At home. To a lower-league side.
So with the big South London derby, quite a grudge match, at Crystal Palace later today, and our regular backs still likely to be out for a bit, it came as good news that Danny Mills was coming back. He played for Charlton at the end of the last century and was then sold to that wealthy galactic outfit, Leeds United. He joins Charlton on loan from Manchester City until the end of the year. News then came through of the loan signing, for the whole season, of Steve Sodje from Reading. Mills will be in the squad this afternoon at Selhurst, but Sodje won't.
The news of these arrivals has rather overshadowed the news of two departures: Marcus Bent going to Wigan on loan for the rest of the season, and Amdy Faye to Glasgow Rangers on the same conditions.
Here is an old joke.
Two proctors [enforcers of student discipline, just imagine] at Cambridge in the old days hit upon the idea of watching a certain house of ill-repute to see if any of the undergraduates were using it, which was of course strictly forbidden.
By about ten p.m. a total of four young men had entered, and the proctors settled down across the road to wait.
After three quarters of an hour the first young man emerged. The proctors stepped forward. "Your name and college sir?" they asked. "Cole, of Emmanuel", was the reply. The proctors cautioned him and Cole went away, and the proctors continued to wait.
Just after eleven o'clock another of the young men came out and was asked the same question. "Robinson of Jesus", was the answer. Again he was cautioned and the proctors continued their vigil.
At about midnight the temperature had fallen to just above freezing, but the brave proctors continued to stand and wait in the name of duty. Ten minutes later, a third boy stepped out of the doorway. Shivering slightly, the proctors accosted him and requested his name and college. "Muir of Christ's", he replied. And was cautioned as before.
It grew colder and by about 1.15 light snow had begun to fall. The proctors were undaunted and took shelter under a nearby elm. By 2.15 the snow had turned to sleet, and the proctors were starting to turn blue. It was almost three o'clock when the door silently opened and the last of the students appeared.
"Your name and..." began the first proctor. But the second interrupted. "You don't need to tell us", he said. "You're Mills of God".
Now, I am quite prepared to bet that many of you won't get it. I didn't when I first encountered it, in the Manchester University Students' Rag Magazine in the early spring of my first year there, though my friend Harry, still a friend and a reader of this blog, standing nearby, was able to explain it. It is a reference to
this, though the linked page does not explain that Longfellow was in fact translating it from the German.
I include it because the implication of the lines is thoroughness, and this is what I sort of remember about Danny Mills. The joke I tracked down by Googling, but it was in a very basic, semi-literate state, so I have extensively re-written it to highlight the fact that it depends on the fact that many Cambridge colleges are named for religious figures, and the names given to the young men are totally random, by the way.
So, Danny, grind them exceeding small for us this afternoon, mate.