It may, perversely, have taken a day off last Saturday but this week it is back with a vengeance. The "availability" problem that many thought had been consigned to the darker days of February has reared its ugly head again this week, to the extent that 12 players from the first and second team squads are not available for selection this weekend.

Yes, you did read that right. 12 players!!! That is a whole team, plus a substitute. That is as many players as the seconds were able to take with them to fulfil the Division Two fixture against AC Olympia a fortnight ago. Again perversely, it is a situation which shows the club’s membership in both a poor and a creditable light, all at the same time. With injuries only claiming a minority of the missing masses this weekend, it seems bizarre that the club’s membership would believe it likely that the club can be successful when so many of its personnel apparently think little of absenting themselves for varying periods during the football season. Having said that, it is enormously to the club’s credit that, even in such circumstances, each team has been able to name 14 individuals this weekend and all three sides will approach their fixtures on Saturday strong enough to expect to win them.

The first team make the short trip to Gloucester to take on Longlevens and will retain the services of Mark Hallett, following an excellent performance last weekend. True, he wasn’t called upon to do a lot but that which he did do, he did with a calm authority that was to the benefit of the whole side. Garry Lozynsky will scarcely be less effective this week, when he is one of the unavailable 12, than he was last, when he took to the field only 8 hours after going to bed following a night out with Paul Dean, amongst others. The extreme tardiness of their retirement to their slumbers was apparently caused by Paul’s irresistible urge, during the small hours of Saturday morning, to impersonate Boris Karloff with the help of the local A&E department, although he obviously wasn’t that impressed with their efforts as he spent most of the first half last weekend swathing his head in bandages. To provide left sided cover, James Gowing deservedly earns himself a recall following a string of impressive displays in the Reserves and James Mole is also recalled in the absence of Simon Delaney. The most noteworthy inclusion this week, though, is First Team Joint Manager Andy Herbert, who has not appeared regularly for the club for 18 months since damaging his knee against Charfield at the beginning of last season

The Reserves themselves play a second successive home game and, this week, come up against the only side that they have played but haven’t scored against this season. Gala Wilton Reserves earned themselves an excellent 2-0 victory back in November that raised a few eyebrows at the time and which can be regarded as even more of a surprise from our perspective with the benefit of hindsight. That defeat represents the only League reverse the side has suffered since September and was sandwiched in between excellent performances which both preceded and succeeded it. Indeed, a week after the disappointment of losing to Gala, the seconds returned home to take all three points off Whaddon United with an excellent 3-0 win. Unfortunately for this weekend’s visitors, they have not been able to build substantially on their victory from 4 months ago and still occupy a position that is just below half way in the Division Two table. With Mark Hallett in the first team, Matt Hall will continue in goal following his clean sheet last weekend and the side will be welcoming back Mark Taylor, following injury, and John Marchant, whose goal scoring record for the side is excellent this season, to partner leading scorer Jamie Roberts up front.

The third team will make the short trip to Cleevonians looking to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions as they return to the location that acted as the sides home venue during the 2003-04 season. The side has an excellent record against the perennial Division Five strugglers and will be keen to maintain this record with a side that is likely to include Kieran Bermingham and Martin Reid as its spearhead. If these players, and other forwards such as Chris Clarke, Nick Darke and Pete Marshall do fail to fire on all cylinders this weekend, however, they will be able to comfort themselves with the knowledge that, as far as goalscoring is concerned, one half of the side’s Player-Manager duo is on fire in front of goal at the moment. Two goals in the last two games represents the goal getting form of his life for Mark Elliot, who has gone whole decades without registering the number of goals he has scored in the last two weeks.