Under scrutiny

It is hard to imagine that two ex-Three Lions chiefs have ever run the rule over the Minstermen on successive evenings, but that was the scenario this week with Peter Taylor and Howard Wilkinson in attendance for the midweek first-team and reserve fixtures.

Taylor, whose one-match reign is best-remembered for the first in which David Beckham captained his country, was in the crowd during City's impressive 4-1 FA Trophy triumph at Grays Athletic on Tuesday night as part of a scouting mission in his latest role as manager of Blue Square Premier rivals Stevenage.

Twenty four hours later, Wilkinson was an observer in KitKat Crescent's Main Stand, interested in gauging whether the Minstermen would be a fitting club for his 20-year-old son Ben to further his football education having been made available for transfer by Hull City.

Midfielder Wilkinson, playing as a trialist, scored twice in the 2-1 reserve victory over Sheffield United and City boss Colin Walker later revealed he is good friends with the player's father, who briefly took charge of England twice following the departures of Hoddle and Kevin Keegan as national coach.

Walker said: "Howard was manager of Sheffield Wednesday and I went there on trial. He gave me a contract and I ended up playing a couple of games in the first division.

"That was down to Howard and he's the most organised man in football I have ever met. He drew up dossiers on every player you came up against, whether it be in reserve team football or the first team.

"He was somebody who made me think about coaching, that's for sure. He's had a good career since then as the FA's technical director, starting the academy system going.

"He's somebody I talk to from time to time for a little bit of advice and it's always good to have friends like Howard."

This afternoon's game, meanwhile, has obviously filled superstitious City supporters with a sense of foreboding.

On the back of a 12-match unbeaten start to Walker's managerial reign, there might be a fear for fans of a certain disposition that an unlucky fate awaits their team during today's bid for a 13th with the visit of table-topping Aldershot.

City chief Walker swears he is not the superstitious sort but has a few tales to tell of amusing pre-match rituals he has witnessed in the past.

The City chief said: "People might say I'm superstitious now because you tend to get into a routine and do the same thing time after time before each game. For instance, I always have scrambled eggs and beans on toast as my pre-match meal while the players are having their chicken.

"As a player, I also put my right boot on before my left until I had a stinker and then I'd do it the other way, but I didn't have one big ritual. We haven't got too many at the club either. In the past though, I encountered a lot. One of the funniest was Ian Evans, who is now Mick McCarthy's assistant at Wolves.

"He used to put some sort of cream on his face before every game and, one match, he didn't know where it was and, instead, he ended up putting Fiery Jack on his cheekbones by mistake at five to three.

"His face burned up like a flame and we were all still laughing as we were about to kick off.

"Another superstition at Barnsley came when Norman Hunter was manager. He used to put a bottle of whisky out in the changing room and you were encouraged to have a little swig before you went out. It was something he'd brought from Leeds United, I think.

"Your diet before games was not as scientific in the 1980s as it is now and I remember Mick McCarthy, who was a fantastic footballer, would always have a bacon sandwich before a game. Everybody would laugh at him for that now.

"I used to like poached eggs on toast, but there were other players that would eat a plate of steak and chips, not knowing that it wouldn't get digested for about five hours."

City ace Woolford leading from the front

MARTYN Woolford has taken a commanding lead in the Press Player of the Year contest.

The former Frickley Athletic winger has revelled in a new centre forward role during City's last two games and won back-to-back, man-of-the-match awards at Altrincham and Grays.

Those accolades meant he amassed six points to open up a ten-point gap on nearest rival David McGurk.

Manny Panther (two) and Nicky Wroe (one) were also rewarded for their efforts at Altrincham.

At Grays, Richard Brodie (two) and Wroe (one) picked up points as our second and third-highest rated players. Wroe, meanwhile, heads the January Player of the Month standings.

He shared the two bonus points on offer towards that competition from the 4-1 victory at Grays after receiving the same number of man-of-the-match readers' votes as Woolford from our internet site.

Woolford, though, was the unanimous winner of the internet poll for the 2-2 draw at Altrincham.

To be in with a chance of presenting this month's Player of the Month award, vote for your man-of-the-match for any of City's forthcoming games here>>