Douglas has melted

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Wolverhampton Wanderers missed out on the playoffs by a mere one goal difference..... on a more serious

note Douglas from the Lurpak advert has melted!!!!"

My brother called from Australia this morning and woke me up with that little ditty.

He hasn't stopped chuckling since it appeared on the 606 message boards.

Had he not called when he did, perhaps I would still be sleeping now.

It had been a late night.

I was at the Football Writers' dinner. In Dorridge. Never been there before. Seven stops from Moor Street Station. I counted every one there. But the journey back is a little hazy.

Most of the big name bosses were there: Martin O'Neill who delighted in telling the room that a certain national

newspaper reporter had had his advancesn well and trully rejected by his daughter whilst they were at college together.

I have a feeling he was getting his own back for some rather wayward reporting.

O'Neill, John Robertson and Steve Walford all still managed to make the reserves play-off at Anfield later that night.

Tony Mowbray was there. Or "Moaney Towbray" as I'm sure I heard him introduced by the Daily Mail's Neil Moxley. I guess it was a slip.

Yet more chocolates were presented to Albion's best manager since Johnny Giles- as I later called him.

"What about Ron Atkinson?", he asked. "He inherited that side", I said.

I did not relate this tale to the said Mr Atkinson when I said hello just moments later. I probably said
something like: "Ron, you were the best manager Albion had since Johnny Giles". Perhaps. Not that two years is much to sniff about.

Trevor Francis was there. I told him that the last time we spoke was after a Blues win at Barnsley, as I recall. "A couple of days later you were sacked", I said.

Diplomacy has always been my high point.

Alex McLeish was there and in relaxed mood too, which was great to see especially considering relegation is looming large on the horizon.

Bored him half to death by telling him I used to live in John Street, Aberdeen. A flat above a pub, as it happens. Messy.

Graham Turner of Hereford United was there....and looks every bit the same bloke on the Panini stickers in the 1980s. Paul Jewell was there, laughing off a merciless ribbing about his aims of reaching the "magical 15 points" next season.

Adam Pearson, his chairman, also showed. It would have been easy to give it a wide birth after such a sorry season.

Fair play to 'Mox'. He'd organised the bash and put on a cracking event. "Getting 40 journalists and 20 football folk into one room can be somewhat taxing", he admitted. Or words to that effect.

Andy and Graham were there. The best two journalists on the patch. Jolly good blokes they are too. (both revealed that they liked reading my blog. I think they also still read Viz magazine and the Beano).

As for poor Douglas.. I have no idea whether he melted or not. Perhaps he had stayed out in the sun too long waiting for the Baggies' open top bus?