Day 71

After yesterday's injury news, club physio Kevin Oxby thought it prudent to report on our current squad fitness. Of the names on the injured list, Laurent and Olembé are most notable. Olembé, of course, because he's our star player; Laurent because he's supposedly a very good right-sided forward, who I imagine could take some pressure off Shuker.

As for the others, Watson and Kanouté are talented young defenders, both of whom I expect to make a run for the first team in the second half of the season. Kanouté especially, since he's already been earmarked for a starting berth—he was even set to start in the next match before the injury.

Smith is being missed for the little something different he brings to our attack. A big, strong player, he offers a target for his teammates to aim at. None of Koroma, Barnes-Homer, or Shuker have the physique to do anything similar.

I took a look at the league injury table. We're sixth, with five injuries. All of the teams above us have six injuries. With four players suffering from long-term injuries and one soon to recover from a long-term injury, we're in the worst shape of all Conference teams—the other big physio room victims have two or three minor injuries and only one or two serious injuries among their ranks.