Cod Almighty | Article

by Michael Shelton

28 July 2006

For a Grimsby fan it never rains but it pours. So who better to borrow than a McIntosh? Martin McIntosh was born in East Kilbride, Scotland, way back in 1971. Having entered the game as a trainee at Tottenham, McIntosh played for St Mirren before making his name at Clydebank and Hamilton. In 1997 Stockport bought him for £80,000, then sold him for £250,000 to Hibernian in 2000. And then, via Rotherham and Huddersfield, he ended up on loan at Town.

Macca the second is tall, six feet and three inches so, and looks even taller. He's slim, strong, and has short dark brown hair. In essence he looks every bit the professional footballer he's been for the last 18 years.

On his debut against Mansfield he started at centre-back with Justin Whittle, and was one of Town's better players. He looked good defensively, more mobile than Futcher, more comfortable on the ball than Whittle, and was the target of Beagrie's pinpoint set pieces due to the fact that he's really rather good in the air. He's not frighteningly fast, but at 35 that isn't particularly surprising.

Will he bring defensive cover to the squad? Yes. Is he a long-term prospect? No. Would I like him to sign for the rest of the season? Yes. He improves what we have available at the moment, and is a useful asset both defensively and for attacking set plays. If he was to sign, I should think he'd be a regular in defence, and would probably score five or so goals.

Until we see know whether Rodger sees McIntosh as the solution to his defensive difficulties or simply cover for the interim period while he finds the genuine solution it is difficult to say anymore. But Town's defence this season have been poor, and something must be done. Let's face it, if Rodger wants his defence watertight who better than McIntosh? One thing is for sure, the Grimsby Telegraph will want him to sign permanently. Just think of all those bad pun headlines.