FOOTBALL is a wicked mistress. Having toyed with my emotions throughout last season, she appeared to have weakened her grip on my heart strings this year.

Feeling fairly chuffed with my footballing lot, I foolishly allowed her to infiltrate my head with dreams of far off lands (play-offs/League 1) and just as my shields of pessimism were dropped ....bang Rochdale and the MK Dons!

The game against Rochdale had everything.if you were a Rochdale fan!

The away fans must have felt pretty fed up at half-time as the rain teamed down on their uncovered end. They had just witnessed a stupid two-footed challenge from Perkins that had seen him deservedly receive a straight red and then Ian Craney (pictured) scored a scorcher of a free kick to leave them 1-0 down and with only 10 men.

All good for the Reds then?

The majority of the home side played the next 45 minutes as if they had just met each other. Yes, one or two of them gave it their all as they always do (no names to protect the innocent), but the overall performance was shocking.

The trip to Franchise FC was always going to be hard, and with an injury to the ever present Mullin it became even harder.

The cad Mr Ince was bound to be after revenge for last season, and the whole failed trip thing as well as the 3-2 defeat at the Fraser Eagle Stadium.

His team completed a miserable week for Stanley fans with a 5-0 drubbing of the previously imperious travelling Reds.

So what of the old mistress?

Well, 19 games into the season and still above Bradford and Lincoln, we only dropped two places this week, and if we can keep around 14th in the league over the Christmas period then I may just forgive her and allow her to fill my head with a new year, a new start, and new dreams.