I took the call from Swansea that the game was off at 9.50am and immediately contacted the Away Travel Club who, by then, had reached Corley Services on the M6 which is some 80 miles away. I then took numerous calls from supporters en route in their cars, some of whom had travelled a lot further. Mark Johnson and Trevor Peer had even got as far as Cirencester! A letter has been sent to The Football League for their observations on this matter and I will inform you of their response.

By the time you read this, we will have hopefully finally settled the long overdue Billy Beall saga, as the tribunal was due to be held in London on Thursday. Historically as a Club we have not always done particularly well in tribunal cases, but have accepted the decisions made and paid or received the transfer fee accordingly. I trust Leyton Orient will have accepted the decision made and will not be following the course of action Aston Villa are currently taking. According to the press, they are refusing to pay an instalment due in respect of Gareth Barry's transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion and are understood to be prepared to challenge the outcome of their particular Football League Appeals Committee hearing as they feel the fee set was too high.

If the system is challenged it could have serious implications for lower Division Clubs, many of whom rely on transfer income. Premier League Clubs are now trawling the lower Division Clubs for promising teenagers within their Youth Development Schemes and are subsequently signing them for their own Clubs. Arsenal recently paid a fee of £2m for a fifteen year-old and there is apparently an under-16 player at Rotherham who has not trained with them this season as he is waiting for this season to end before signing for a Premier League Club. Rotherham will receive compensation for the development of this player, but talks are currently taking place between the F.A. Premier League and the Football League to decide set levels of compensation for young players developed by Clubs within their Youth set-up. This will be of particular importance to Clubs such as ourselves who have an excellent Youth Development Scheme as otherwise we will simply be developing promising youngsters for Premier League sides to come and take off us at 16 for next to nothing.

As is the case now with most weekends in the Premier League, there is always an incident which many say strengthens the case for technology and television replays to become a part of the game. The Charlton 'goal' being this week's incident, with another recent case being that of the sending off of the Aston Villa goalkeeper.

Prior to the Torquay game I had an interesting conversation with Referee Paul Danson, who had arrived early for our game and so popped in the office for a cup of tea. He was of the opinion that whilst it was a good idea and would help referees, the matter of where you draw the line for television replays would be the problem. For instance, there may be a decision similar to that of Charlton at the weekend, but the following matters would need to be clarified. How would you resume play? If there was a contentious decision earlier in the build-up, such as a throw-in or foul not given, then the team affected would want that decision clarified by a television replay. It could go on and on and clear instructions would need to be in place for such an idea to be a success. If technology did prevail over such decisions you would have little to argue about over your post-match pint and you wouldn't be able to blame the referee for your sides' defeat!

Whilst on the subject of referees, I also discussed with Mr. Danson the prospect of professional referees, Again this was something he was unsure about. It would have its plusses, such as them being able to prepare properly for the game, rather than having to do half a day or a full days work leading up to the game and having more time to maybe train with professional Clubs. However, for contentious decisions such as the one mentioned above, being a professional wouldn't make any difference whatsoever. Another good point he raised was whether referees would give up their present occupation for a one-year contract as a professional referee?

What will today's talking point be?