It’s with a bit of disappointment but very, very little surprise that I see Cambridge United sacked their Manager Gary Brabin this week.

I’ve had the chance over the meet Gary on quite a few occasions over the course of his tenure at the Us – one particular instance gave us a bit longer than we’d anticipated to talk. It was the day of Kidderminster’s FA Cup home meeting with United, and one of my jobs for the day was to put the questions to both he and Mark Yates for ITV Central’s post-match interviews.

Everything was set-up and good to go, so I fired my first few questions his way, only to be stopped by the camera man who said that the sound was not being picked up as well as he’d like, could we start again? So off we went again – this time we were stopped because he’d forgotten to actually begin recording. We had various other stoppages and its safe to say the interview combined with the waiting around left us there til the floodlights were off and even Matty the boot boy was buggering off!

Anyway, I’ve always found Gary to be an approachable guy who has always made my job easier by doing stuff when I’ve asked, even if not at the most convenient times for him. A very big man, his presence, I’m sure, intimidates a few, but you couldn’t ask to meet a nicer fella. Apparently differences between him and the U’s board led to his sacking – I just hope that after a superb first season in management, he gets another crack at it at least at BSP level.

As for Cambridge? Well, rumour has it Steve Evans is on his way there. Nuff said.

As any long-time readers of this humble blog will know, my trips to our national stadium, indeed the Mecca of stadia in this country, Wembley Stadium, have been frequent since its 2007 opening.

“Seriously, operator… did you see that elephant?”

My fifth visit in just over two years saw me take the journey down to London once more – this time to see Take That’s ‘Circus’ Tour live. With so much whizzing around in the weeks, days and even hours prior to our departure, I never really had too much time to look forward to it which in hindsight is a shame.

The quick train journey saw Christina and I brushing up on our lyrics and not to mention adding in some pretty nifty dance routines, to the fear of many passengers around us. Into the hotel for 4pm gave us enough time to check out an awesome view of Wembley, as well allowing me to shout out of the window at Gary Go, warm-up artist, who was doing a TV interview just yards away.

A slight miscommunication once inside saw me have to walk the entire ‘inner-circumference’ of Wembley, measuring around half a mile. My leg was hanging off! Took to my seat eventually and after a so-so performance by Gary Go, we were introduced to The Script – the main support act for Take That. Being a big fan of them myself, this was a massive bonus and they didn’t disappoint – their biggest hit ‘The Man who Can’t be Moved’ sent shivers down the spine and did the trick in getting us ready.

Wembley: Better as daylight fades…

I can’t so much offer a review of the Take That performance solely because, as I said at the time, I never really knew exactly what was going on at any one time, such was its extravagance. A hot air balloon plus scores more, clowns, rain, fire, pyros, giant elephants, ladders, facepaint, dancing, I could very much go on and on. There were more than a few of those hair-stands-on-back-of-neck moments – largely thanks to the fantastic atmosphere.

I’ve seen Wembley when it was completely empty – walked out of the players’ tunnel and surveyed the scene. I’ve seen it with 23,000 fans, 40,000 fans and 53,000 fans – but seeing it full to the night’s capacity of around 85,000 was truly something special. For all its problems, and a few still remain, it is a fantastic venue and getting a glimpse of it at night was something I won’t forget in a hurry, either.

85,000+ Special Sell-Out Night @ Wembley

I was never that much of a Take That fan back in the day. I was about eight for goodness sake. So when they re-formed, I didn’t really get the big deal on account of the fact I never knew exactly what was coming back. But Beautiful World and The Circus, two fantastic albums, have more than filled in the gaps. They’re naturally different now. One man down, for starters. I think it’s made them better. They’re older and wiser, too, the benefits of which were clearly seen on this night because it was a performance of real showmen. They have a ball hammering out the present-day hits. Great Day to open it up was super, as was Rule the World as a finale, accompanied by fireworks from Wembley’s roof. In between we had the likes of ‘Shine’ – my personal fave – and of course, a number of their biggest hits of old. Back For Good, Pray, and A Million Love Songs.. what’s odd is that I was, by the end of the night, as enamoured with the old stuff that I never used to car for as I am with what they’re dishing out now.

Moment of the night came with the hit ‘Never Forget’. A call of ‘let’s see all those hands in the air’ is universally cheesy and never usually convinces me to break into motion, but I just couldn’t help myself. I even found myself knowing all the words. Christ it was like I’d contracted some kind of bug – a sort of Take That Swine Flu! The sight of so many thousands of people all working in unison should be enough to impress anyone!

In short – Take That are cool, and I don’t care who knows it. Thankfully they’re showing no signs of going anywhere just yet, so there’s a chance the bug might just catch you yet!

Heading Home Happy: The Girls & I After Take That

PICS & VIDS: Thanks to Choppy & Bug. And thanks to TT for the Moosic, too!