Cod Almighty | Diary

All this team needs is Richard Brodie

6 October 2021

Daubney Diary here to distract you Top Towners while we wait for the CA's ace match reporter to file his copy from last night's 3-2 victory at Altrincham. I didn't go to the game Burnsy, but I can tell you that we sounded bloody good on the radio and in the dispatches from those who did go. No fannying about and attempting to grind out a result, just going out with an attitude of "this lot are good but we are better". An attitude epitomised by the Sousa Three Point, when Paul Hurst brought on a fresh attacker despite being down to ten men. Be honest, you were expecting Shaun Pearson, weren't you.  

Feelings in the CA camp this morning borrowed from vibes of the good start of the successful 1990-91 season and threw in concerns that we're peaking too soon. Only natural for Grimbarians to find hitting the top with a mere 36 games to play as being problematic but ask yourself, would you swap with anyone else right now? No chance.

The lofty position had us trawling the CA results database to check the last time we were top after a significant number of games. Shorty and Shouty had us there for a couple of months during the 2012-13 season, a spell that ended when we reached the FA Trophy Final. While it's easy to blame the distraction of Wembley's £8 fizzy beers for the slump, looking back highlights that a sizeable slice of luck is required to win a league. 

That season, Mansfield gave weight to the "don't peak to soon" theory. They went on a late title surge and won something impossible like 49 of their last 24 games. The gits. But surely we could have done something to counter that? Well, when we were top we signed *exactly* the type of striker we always crave: proven at this level with a record of getting clubs promoted. Step forward Town legend, Richard Brodie.

What are you getting at, Daubney? There so many variables we can't control; rubbish refs (the dude last night was the same one who disallowed McAtee's fine effort at Stockport), signings who might be Amond or Brodie, loan signings who might be Mendonca or Tomlinson, dodgy pitches, random injuries, megabucks conference teams with seven fans who sign Gary Goals Jnr.

Get yourself to Woking and embrace what you can control. Enjoy that it feels different to 2013 when fan expectation at the start of every season, whether realistic or not, was to win the league. This season's expectations were more grounded but now we're top of the league, sing yourself stupid trying to keep us there. UTM.