Taking advantage of a cheap £8 fare from Euston (and the same back), I was on the 11.40 Virgin special, a later service than I would have liked but that's what was available when I booked the fare.
Still in at a decent time two hours later, could this time make sure I had a quick pint in the award winning Arden Arms which I missed last season.
However, we reached the first stop Crewe 15 minutes late, and never got the time back.
Reason, and this is great, we were too fast out of London so the driver slowed down so we wouldn't be early but got caught behind another service and had to actually stop!
So it was now nearly 13.50 when we got to a windy Stockport and the Arms, on the other side of the track, had to wait until after the game as I had some time to kill before the 18.23.
With so many pubs down Castle Street I decided to do a mini pub crawl down there with the floodlights clearly in view from wherever I was drinking.
Robertson's beer dominated the area and the first hostelry in view was The Grapes. A small but welcoming establishment with a pool table where several yellow shirts could be seen having a game or just watching.
Not my favourite brewery but I ordered a Unicorn, 4.4% and a credit crunching price of £2.12, and it went down well enough.
The it all started going horribly wrong.
The Jolly Crofter sounded good, if you liked fizzy lager and Guinness, or worse, John Smith's.
Didn't hang around long enough to order.
Two minutes later, The Robert Peel; same again, same result.
The Pineapple: Dress code not compulsory
Two minutes after that, The Pineapple; even worse, no decent beer and a bloke sitting at the small bar in his vest! Out quicker than the other two.
The Royal Oak: Nothing illegal sold except lager and lime
This was not good, and I was even concerned about my recommended choice, the Royal Oak at the far end.
Under new owners since last season there were reports of a drop in standards and illegal substances being freely available, though Carling isn't that bad.
Those fears seemed unjustified, well on a Saturday before a game anyway, as the pub was packed with fans old and young alike.
There was even Holts still on offer at an incredible £1.80, and the good thing about missing all the others was I had time for a couple of those and a short conversation with that old sage Stuart who confessed to a liking for FC Bruges, and why not, beats Chelsea as a second team!
Up the open end this time, thanks lads but the elements were holding off, bar a very bright sun that made watching impossible at times. And it did mean the stewards could behave.
The game itself is far better described here:
www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=466633
and in fact you can catch the highlights here:
www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadsngl.asp?cid=EDY4&id=466790
www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadsngl.asp?cid=EDY4&id=466790
However, the Francis Laurent show was a joy to behold, er, who said he wasn't a right winger, Stuart before the game, agreeing with me!
I will discuss my point another day, it would be churlish for now just to applaud the tall Frenchman for an exciting performance that left the poor
County left-back Raynes a complete mess by the end of the game.
We all knew he had it him, al la Leeds last term, but we weren't seeing it.
There were clues at the start of the Huddersfield game, before he was unceremoniously hacked from behind, Raynes wasn't even good enough to do that, that saw him leave the field of play and the early part of the season.
It was great to see him go up to some French Shrimpers at the end of the game, who had been waving their tricolour throughout, and shake their hand pushing a stroppy steward out of the way. Viva la Francis.
A word for the good Lord as well. After calling him 'very hot' before the
Oldham game he'd been mainly anonymous for a couple of matches, though always working hard, as the teams Tilly picked gave him no service at all.
Barny got his reward here, a definite penalty well-taken and some well-deserved luck as the ball returned off the crossbar straight to his feet and a second.
It was sad to hear the increasingly feral behaviour of the home support against him. The boy's just doing his job and he does it rather well.
The team all worked hard and found the space well when having the man advantage, not always easy, Laurent out wide helped that.
Only one query, why Francis? I accept Herd was tirering against Leeds and then got himself injured but George is no Harding, is only less than two years older than Johnny anyway, and doesn't posses such a good long throw.
The Arden Arms: It does exist but not in EEB's world
With over an hour left before my train the hunt for the Arden Arms was on, nothing would stop me in my hunt for the Greater Manchester Regional Pub of the Year 2008-09.
Except I couldn't find it.
The clock was approaching six, I'd passed around eight pubs including the local Weatherspoons but map or not 23 Millgate and the Arms was no where too be seen!
Best to get nearer the station and The Unity for a celebration pint of Unicorn and the football results on Sky.
No trouble on the way back as we only stopped only at Stoke and Milton Keynes, too early to wait for Tuesday's game, and home by 21.10 happy to be back on the winning track after the penalty decisions went for us this time around.