We don't all look to the Sky for the best TV

But, with the club giving us some cautious reasons for optimism after several torrid seasons, you can rely on glass-half-empty terrace folk to still find something worth moaning about.

Before you could say Kenny Jackett is a tactical genius, there were a dozen of us all chipping in.

The topic? Is it worth paying for satellite TV in these cash-strapped times, or does the ever expanding Freeview give you everything you need these days?

Big John (that's what his mates call him . . . he's very tall) started things off. "I've stopped Sky," he proclaimed. "It was costing me over £40 a month. You don't even get all the live Premier League games on Sky Sports any more, and half the time when they are on, the missus wants The Voice, Britain's Got Talent or the soaps instead. We just watch freeview through the dish and I listen to the footie on the radio."

"Hang on," replied small Bob (I've made that one up, but he's only about 5' 6''). "I never knew you could do that. Don't the Sky dishes stop working if you cancel your monthly subscription?"

It went back, forward, and back again. Everyone offered their two penn'orth, and it turned out no-one was entirely sure they were on the best value package.

So, in the spirit of Stan Cullis Stand community service, I decided to do a bit of digging.

First off, yes, you definitely can still watch multiple channels through a satellite and Sky box after ending your subscription. But it's not the same . . .

Freeview, the digital TV system that communicates with rooftop aerials through hilltop transmitters, runs separately to the satellite-to-dish service.

The boffins at UK Free TV (www.ukfree.tv/helpme) explain: "Free-to-view is a term for satellite channels that need a viewing card to watch, but not to collect a subscription. Free-to-air channels are ones that can be received without needing a viewing card or subscription.

"The free-to-air satellite service backed by the BBC and ITV is called Freesat. The free-to-view service operated by Sky is called Freesat from Sky."

But that's the techie bit. This is the most important point.

As long as you've been with them for at least a year, you can leave Sky when you want without penalty, and still be able to watch 100-plus free-to-air channels. It just won't be exactly the same choice as you'd get from a Freeview box.

Freeview offers up to 50 TV channels, but that pales into insignificance against Freesat's mighty offering of more than 110. The likes of Sky News and Dave, for example, are available on Freeview but not on Freesat.

Still with me? Phew! Not sure the half time interval is going to be long enough when we next reconvene, for the final game of the season.