London Bus Syndrome

Barely hours after we experienced the once-a-generation sight of a Poppies manager doing so well that another club prised him away from our agitated clutches, comes an even rarer Poppies-occurrence.

Another club liked the look of one our players so much they put actual coin of the realm on the table to acquire his services.  Seriously!  We've become so blasé about players coming and going, or leaving after 7-day approaches, that being involved in a bone-fide cash transfer seems like some kind of half-remembered, faintly archaic ceremony.  Like writing with a fountain pen.  Or casting runes.

Genuinely, can anyone recall the last player we sold for money to another club?  Please God, don't tell me it was Andy Hunt?!

We're going to miss Powell for sure.  For every time he held onto the ball too long, or looked a bit stroppy when things went against him he produced far more moments of real quality and penetration.  Such was his skill he has been one of the few players to tame the infamous Latimer Park surface.  The Gold-Standard when it comes to judging a footballer's quality.  His are going to be very big, but also very small boots to fill.

Powell's departure couldn't contrast more starkly with that of his former gaffer.  Cox cunningly wheedled away behind the scenes to sort out the move to Boston with his coaching staff before dropping us like a shitty stick 24 hours before a match.  No goodbye message.  No interview with Jon Dunham.  No "Thank You" for the opportunity of resurrecting his coaching career.  Cox and his cronies did the dirty on us and scuttled across to Lincolnshire like a gang of desperadoes doing a midnight flit.

As far as anyone can tell, Southend approached the club in the correct way about Powell.  The Clubs agreed a fee and Callum took to social media to thank us for his time at the Poppies, even going as far as to be at the Kidderminster game to make the half-time draw.  Disappointing to report that he didn't pick my ticket, but he's hardly alone in this failing....

I think, if we're being honest, we could all see something in Powell which suggested bigger things lay in store for him.  Other than a short stint at Wrexham, prior to joining us he'd done the usual Midlands tour of Rugby, Tamworth, Stourbridge, Stratford etc.  For all I know we've jeered him at every single one of those clubs!  Hopefully his career can only move in a positive direction and soon we might see him over-dribbling on the Football League show and claiming him as one of our "old boys" ahead of the dozens of former loanees we tenuously claim as our own!

I think I've pulled a muscle simply by copying and pasting this image!