Daisy to make her Grecians debut at North London clash
As if there weren't enough reasons to cheer promotion at Wembley — the completion of stage two of 'The Grand Exeter City Revival Plan', the greatest Sunday night party ever, the carnal favours bestowed on us by carefree Devon maids swept up in the heady emotion of it all — we London Grecians were also rejoicing at the prospect of three League games in England's second city (Exeter is, of course, the true Capital).
For me, Barnet is the most local of the three. It's a mere 90p bus ride from the end of my road, although I've seen more Tiverton Town shirts than Barnet shirts in the seven years I've lived in East Finchley.
With the game on my family's doorstep, this afternoon will see another lucky little girl — Supporters Trust membership number 5394 — join the ranks of Exeter City supporters.
At the tender age of eight months and twelve days, Daisy Crockford will for the first time add her (not inconsiderable) vocal power to Devon's Red Army.
And, if the sudden surge in her appetite is anything to go by, she's building herself up for the big day.
While Daisy's big sister delights in the name Eleanor Charlotte Florence Crockford and is very proud of her ECFC initials, our Daisy's name-related connection with Exeter City is a little more subtle. But the connection is there.
If you want to name a little girl after an Exeter City great, the options are pretty limited.
I suppose we could have gone for Lisa in honour of Mr Stansfield, but I'm not a great fan of that nickname.
If we want to name players after female vocalists, why not Paul 'Grace' Jones, Matt 'Koko' Taylor, Marcus 'Ami' Stewart or, heaven forefend, Paul 'Ashley' Tisdale?
However, there is one undoubted Exeter City great who was known to Grecians everywhere by a girl's name. And that man is Jim 'Daisy' Bell.
He signed for City 100 years ago, and was the first star of the professional era when City moved up from the Plymouth & District League to the much more significant Southern League. This was in a time when the Football League consisted of just Divisions One and Two, so it was massive step forward for the four-year-old Exeter City.
Daisy Bell joined City from Barrow in 1908, having previously played a handful of League games for his hometown club, Middlesbrough.
On Daisy's City debut, he scored both our goals in a 2-2 draw at Millwall. The home side had been two up with 10 minutes to go, but Daisy's brace earned an admirable point.
To show the quality of the sides we were up against, Daisy's 22 league goals that season also included strikes against Norwich, Crystal Palace, Luton, Portsmouth, Brighton, Southend, Brentford, Watford, QPR and Reading.
As if that wasn't enough, Daisy went goal crazy in the FA Cup. He scored six goals in a qualifying round tie against Weymouth and then two more against Longfleet St Mary and his ninth in the competition against Barnet Albion.
In his three seasons at City, Daisy Bell netted 63 times in 119 games. Quite some record and, for reasons which will become clear, you'll have to wait a couple of weeks before I tell you about Daisy's finest hour in the green and white (yes, I know) of Exeter City.
So, however proud I am of our supporter-led club and our remarkable achievements over the past five-and-a-half years, I'm even more proud of my own little ECFC and the latest Daisy to join the Grecians.
Whatever the result today, everyone in our family — except possibly Daisy herself — will remember the game for a long, long time.
I'm happy for us all just to be there together, but a win would make a special day even more wonderful. Geddon City.
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