Who’ll Fill A Place At On Top Table?

I WAS invited to my old club Hitchin Town’s ‘Dinner with the Legends’ ahead of their friendly with Luton on Tuesday.

I’m not quite sure my role in the 2005-06 Southern League Cup win puts me in the Canaries’ hall of fame, and I was definitely the least deserving ex-player on a table featuring Hatters favourites Kingsley Black, Marvin Johnson, Richard Harvey and my old gaffer and assistant, Darren Salton and Ken Gillard.

It was a privilege to be in such esteemed company however, and to see how two relatively new club managers are rebuilding their squads.

Mark Burke is truly a Top Field legend, having played his part in FA Cup runs and promotions over 20 years as a Hitchin player, coach and committee member.

He deserves the chance to succeed Charlie Williams as the main man this summer and his new-look team played some good football as life without ace goalscorer John Frendo kicked off.

Ex-Nuneaton Town prospect Robbie Burns linked play well off the front man, ex-Hatter Ryan Charles, and Hitchin should have been in front before John Still’s men took advantage of the substitution of my immense former team-mate Ryan Frater’s second-half substitution to rattle in four late goals.

Still’s new signing from Southport, Shaun Whalley, was the Hatters’ most impressive. But fellow new-boy Mark Cullen, as we saw at the end of last season on loan at Stockport, could be one of the Conference signings of the summer from Premier League new-boys Hull City.

Both Hitchin and Luton fans among the crowd of over 1,100 would have left with plenty of encouragement that some of those boys could make themselves real legends over the next ten months!