Oh hai Barry (plus other striker issues)

Corr: We don't like him when he's angry

Barry Corr is doing his best to make me not hate him. First he sticks £400 into the Pitch In campaign (probably a publicity stunt, but a welcome one nonetheless) and then he goes and gets a hat-trick for the reserves. And we haven't even mentioned his delightful little chip to send Richard Logan clear for the equaliser at Wycombe.

All this after we loudly and brashly declared that Three Reds Corr should never play for the club again. Well, we're still not his greatest fans. But perhaps the reaction to his third red has woken Bazza up. Perhaps, finally, we may see the player we hoped we'd signed. And, please, dear God of football, please, don't let him get another red card. At that stage, we'd happily drive him to wherever his next club may be, even if that's Australia.

Still, at least Three Reds scores goals, and has the potential to fire us to safety. Unlike Stuart Fleetwood, who is complaining he's been left out of the side and he's not sure why.

Here's a clue Stuart: You're meant to be the star striker, yet you've scored three goals all season and missed countless others. There's still probably a player in there, but you probably need to set up your entire system around him. Given that a) he's only on loan and b) Stanno's probably better, that isn't going to happen.

And, in all honesty, Logie, Stanno an, after his hat-trick, *coughyeahwellhumblepie* Corr are all probably ahead of him, not to mention pressure from Jimmy Norwood and Ben Watson, Fleetwood can't guarantee a spot on the bench, given his form this season.

We hoped he'd prove his critics wrong and score lots of goals. Sadly that's not happened, but it's advice Barry Corr seems to be taking. Now we're off to the bookie to bet on Bazza firing City to safety. Yeah, excess optimism and fickle fandom all the way!

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Wycombe: It's Logan time

Funny how these things can turn around. A couple of weeks ago, we hadn't won since January, now we're on a three game unbeaten streak. Although two of those are draws. But we're still unbeaten and staying within a point of safety. This was never going to be an easy mid-table season was it?

So, yes, Wycombe, a side rooted around the bottom of the table after making the mistake of employing Peter Taylor as manager. They've now got Gary Waddock, who I do rate, in charge, and, frankly, when the Chairboys moved into a two goal lead, that was it, game over, back to fretting about where our next point would come from.

And then... and then Liam Sercombe took control and unleashed a thunderbolt to pull one back. And when Barry "Three Reds" Corr sent Richard Logan scampering past the defence there was only ever one outcome. Logie doesn't miss chances like that. Well, actually, he probably does and has but that wouldn't fit with this blog's biased tone of Logan-worship.

This result is an unusual one for City. We're normally more likely to concede late equalisers than score them at the moment, and combined with a late winner against Bristol and a battling display against Southend, we're suddenly looking like a team that believes again - a state of mind that couldn't come any sooner.

It's also fantastic to see Liam Sercombe coming off age in the centre of the park, and he's undoubtedly comfortable playing with Dunne and Harley. We were critical of Sercs earlier this season, sadly noting that he wasn't fulfilling his potential.

Well that's definitely changed, and we'd like to say we always had belief Liam would come good, we just thought he made need a loan move to regain his confidence.

As it is, he's getting stronger in the centre of the park, shooting from distance and doing a lot of the dirty work that isn't always appreciated. In short, come next season we could have a cracking little player on our hands.

That said, we've probably gone and cursed him. After praising James Dunne last week, he went and gave away Wycombe's first goal on Saturday.

But, also, it's great to see Logie on the scoresheet, and nice to see Tis praising him as well. Hopefully that'll mean he'll get a new deal. I may be blinded by fandom, but I maintain that, when in the mood, Logie is one of the most naturally talented players at the club. Play him and he will score.

And, despite our known dislike for "Three Reds" Corr, it's good to see he can play football and not get sent off. The through ball for Logie was sublime. Hopefully Bazza will be motivated enough to fire us to safety. And if he does that, we'll happily be the first ones calling for a new deal for him. Because we're football fans and football fans are fickle.

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We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

This blog would like to go on the record to say two things. Firstly, we're very sorry for our absence. Secondly, James Dunne is now a minor deity.

As it's been a while, we won't bother with all the news, but suffice to say this time last week, HaL was getting ready to pack away the League One party kit and prepare for a more sombre life in League Two again next season. Today, HaL has got out the red and white megaphone and is prepared to join the boys as we fight to the death to stay up.

We may be going down, but we're not going quietly.

Southend was a turning point of sorts. After a quick game of mini golf and fish and chips on the beach (us, not Tis and the boys), Roots Hall and a potentially depressing defeat beckoned. Lose on the Essex coast and that was it for the season. A draw didn't seem enough.

But, somehow, a 0-0 did it. We weren't great, Southend were worse, down on confidence from their awful run. And although we couldn't pick a way through the defence - including a horrible first touch by Fleetwood, a stunning narrow-miss from Sercombe, and a disallowed (rightly) goal from Stanno - we did, for the first time in ages, look like a solid, coherent team.

And in the centre of that was James Dunne. He produced the kind of all action box-to-box performance that hasn't been seen since possibly Glenn Cronin in his prime. Wherever the ball went, Dunne was there. It's taken time, but suddenly he's clicked into the City way of thinking, has found some form and suddenly looks like the man to take us by the scruff of the neck and drag us kicking and screaming out of the relegation zone.

Which, frankly, we've all been crying out for.

This was followed by a lovely 90th minute near-post header at the end of an "uninspiring game" (the Sky Sports reporter's words, not mine) to score our first goal since January from open play, consign Bristol Rovers to a 1-0 defeat and leave us deliciously close to safety. One point to be precise.

And there we stand. A win away at Wycombe could take us out of the drop zone. A draw keeps us in touch. Every game is a mustn't-lose and occasionally must-win. It won't be easy but this is Exeter City, what did you expect.

After the Leeds victory, we said this win would count for nothing unless we pushed on. The same can be said of last night's win. We can't slip back into old habits and let's hope a good Southend performance plus a last-minute winner has given the boys confidence. Because, with just over a month to go now, that's what we badly need.

(If you're asking where we've been, sulking mostly. And contending with a dead laptop. Sorry about that.)

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