I couldn't start this column without talking about Tino Asprilla.

Without doubt he is an unbelievable player and it could be a great thing for the North-East and the Third Division for him to play for Darlington - but whether he will fancy playing at Lincoln or Boston on a cold winter's night in December is another matter!

It is part of football these days that you get world class, international players dropping down the Leagues and it is now filtering down to our level which can only be an exciting thing for the Third Division.

If it all goes ahead I could be marking him at Victoria Park in the derby on September 14.

A few years back we had Peter Beardsley join us at Hartlepool and it was a tremendous honour to play alongside a player like that.

One thing I can always say is that I was captain of a team with Beardsley as part of it!

There was also Chris Waddle at Torquay around the same time and wherever we went with Beardsley in the team there was a lot of extra interest from supporters and the press.

It certainly helped raise the profile of our club and Asprilla is going to do the same with Darlington.

This weekend we have had a long journey to Torquay and back and when you realise that we had to play Hull at home yesterday as well you have to question if a regionalised division would help clubs at our level in the current financial climate.

It would save money for the clubs, but I think the real fans - those who go to the likes of Torquay and Swansea to support us - enjoy the trips, especially if the team plays well.

Maybe it would help if we could play another team, someone like Exeter if we have to go to Torquay on a Bank Holiday weekend, but the fixtures just never seem to work out like that.

Possibly it is something for the fixture organisers to look at.

Speaking of travelling and I would like to thank all our fans who went to Torquay on Saturday. I know some set off at 3.30 in the morning and I want them to know how much the players and staff appreciate it.

I hope they were rewarded with yesterday's performance and result against Hull.

I know my mate and captain at Darlington Craig Liddle is also writing a column for The Northern Echo and I'll be writing this from a Third Division footballer's perspective and will try to share with you the thoughts of our squad as we try and win promotion this season.

Published: 27/08/2002