Alright, so Belper have games in hand which, should they win them all, would put them ahead of us.

But mark my words, they won't.

Just like Sheffield (second oldest club in the world, apparently) didn't last season.

It just goes to show how good we can be, given a full squad to pick from, and a decent playing surface.

Many theories have been bandied around for the differences in performances home and away.

Do clubs raise their game at Cannon Park?
Are we more at ease counter-attacking teams on their own pitch?
Or is it just that our own pitch just doesn't let us play the game we want to?

A quick look at the official site shows that Retford United FC currently runs over 30 youth teams, of varying ages.

Some of those teams play on Cannon Park.

Often times two or three games in one weekend, on a pitch that is notoriously susceptible to the elements.

No one can doubt the role played by the club in promoting football throughout the community.

We have one of the healthiest kids' programmes this writer knows of.

But as a paying spectator, I want to see the First Team perform to the best of their abilities, and using the pitch for extraneous games does not make this possible.

Especially in this weather.

I'm pretty sure that no other teams at the level our youth teams play at make use of much more than council pitches and ramshackle facilities.

So why on earth should Retford be any different?

The argument that gets thrown back is that the youth section does a great deal for the First team.

Well, as First Team fan, i don't see it. I don't see Cannon Park buzzing with youth team players on a match day.

I don't see parents being "infected" with the Retford bug because their sons and daughters are part of the club. And I certainly don't see the products of this youth system feeding into the first team.

I want Retford United FC to play an even bigger part in the community. I want the club to be something that everyone feels a part of, and everyone is proud of.

And I also want to see the team that I support play as well as I know they can, in front of a partisan and passionate crowd.

But most of all, above everything else, I want a successful team.

And that requires a much better playing surface than the one Duffield's men currently have to endure.