As the Logica squad to face Sportobello on Sunday was announced today, there was a huge, glaring ommision. As eager fans read down the list, the name of a certain Geordie legend was nowhere to be found. Had Sidaway been axed?

The obvious conclusion was that the experienced goal machine had been dropped and made a scapegoat for the poor team performance against St Anselms. But when quizzed, Logica chief Jeff Hatton remained tight-lipped. And considered reflection would tend not to back this explanation. Sidaway has given 110% in the last two games playing in the unaccustomed position of left wing-back. Indeed, Sidaway was one the few Logica players to emerge from last Sunday's match with any credit.

As frantic efforts to contact the missing maestro drew a blank, media speculation reached a frenzy. One hypothesis was a bust-up with ailing goal-poacher Mark Abbott. Sidaway has been quite forthright in his opinions on the sleak-haired striker's disasterous start to the season, sometimes verging on the humourous. And with Abbott taking charge of the side in the absence of Fleming and Hatton, it was feared that the stand-in Supremo was exacting ruthless revenge. But Abbott was quick to protest his innocence. "Much as I find his jests in poor taste, I am a professional. Sidaway is a competent player, and I would not make the team suffer just because of a personal feud."

Another theory had Sidaway making a dramatic retirement from the game to take up a career in punditry. This seems hopeful at best, and the rumoured multi-million pound contract with a certain football web giant is yet to yield a word in print.

And so Sidaway's exclusion remained a mystery, although perhaps the only clue to solving it lies in recent press reports. A recent article "alleged" that Sidaway was the subject of a mammoth fraud investigation being undertaken by the Inland Revenue relating to a 'Testimonial Scam'. If true, these allegations would certainly explain Sidaway being axed from the Logica side, as well as his sudden and puzzling disappearance.