Saturday, September 20

I’VE HAD a lot of fun knocking over obstacles to women in football but it doesn’t make me immune to unfairness towards us. Today, at a bankrupt performance by Blues, there was a good deal of prejudice aimed at woman assistant referee Amy Rayner.

I even heard a director’s guest exclaim “she’s only here because her husband couldn’t make it!”

It just goes to show that men are all alike. All mouth and trousers, and in this game not even trousers. This makes me wonder whether the fans at the Watford-Reading game shouted “bloody man” or “his wife couldn’t make it” at the assistant ref who waved for a goal that was yards outside the post?

Sunday, September 21

ACCORDING to a friend at the Chelsea-Man U match, frustrated Stamford Bridge fans sang “you ate my Labrador” after Korean Park Ji Sung scored United’s goal. This is racism and about as funny as a sick dog.

Monday, September 22

EARLY for an appointment, I decide to take up my time with a leg wax at a top London hotel. I’m waiting my turn when out of the spa area pops a League chairman, who I almost didn’t recognise without his clothes on. Hmm. What’s all that about?

“He asked for a wax on his back, sack and crack. It’s very messy,” says the waxer. Eek. Who would have thought it! I insist she changes the spatula.

Tuesday, September 23

ARSENAL’S lads cut down Sheffield United 6-0 at the Emirates. One of the team was on my list of ‘players to borrow from Arsenal’ last summer.

It’s so important to English football that Arsene Wenger brings on a few home-grown boys because his kind of football is the future.

Arsenal must be aware of the huge debt they owe to my friend David Dein who alighted on Wenger as the man to change the club’s image of dour football.

Coincidentally, Mark Hughes has the same job of image remoulding to do at Manchester City, 6-0 winners on Sunday. City also have a remarkably successful academy.

Wednesday, September 24

THOSE Geordies anxious about the fate of Newcastle should be reassured their club are not going to become a wallflower waiting endlessly for some nice rich man to come along. Not at all.

Keith Harris, former League chairman and partner in football club brokers Seymour Pierce, drops in for a chat and tells me that they are inundated with offers for Mike Ashley’s club.

There are stories around football that most of the Abu Dhabi royal family thought they were buying Manchester United and not neighbours City and that when they realised the mistake it was a point of honour to keep their word. After all, what’s spending half-a-billion against losing face. Harris, of course, cannot possibly comment.

Thursday, September 25

PREMIER LEAGUE chief exec Richard Scudamore is under fire over the Tevez affair. I liked him from the moment he turned up at the Football League conference and asked why football chairman share their problems, saying: “Half of the people you tell are not interested. And the other half are glad.” How true.

Friday, September 26

LOOKING forward to the match tomorrow. I hope things pass by smoothly on and off the pitch. Strange things happen when we play Cardiff.

Last time they came to Birmingham a used condom was found in the boardroom toilet. I am not making any accusations, just stating a fact.

A kindly lady guest was in the washroom with me and said “I saw you looking at that”. I was looking all right. I never got to the bottom of it, hardly appropriate to run around the boardroom shouting “Who has been having sex in the loo?”

Despite searching for leeks I’ve found none, so it remains an unsolved mystery!