Cod Almighty | Diary
Stick or bust
21 July 2014
Miss Guest Diary writes: I met up last week with a friend who knows nothing about sport and we had a short conversation which went something like this.
Friend: What are you doing with yourself now the football's finished?
Me: (feeling slightly puzzled) But the season finished weeks ago; the new season starts in about three weeks.
Friend: (saying nothing and now looking very puzzled)
Me: (the penny having dropped) Oh, you mean the World Cup. I thought you meant real football.
Because that's it, isn't it: when you support a club side, the World Cup and the European Championship are just something you watch on TV every other summer while waiting for the real thing to start again. And our real thing has started now, with pre-season friendlies coming thick and fast.
My first sight of Town came at Matlock on Friday evening: beautiful weather, idyllic setting, but shame about the formation. The Telegraph described it as "Hurst experimenting with his system, with Neilson playing behind the strikers in what appeared to be a 4-3-1-2 formation". My other half called it a diamond formation in the first half and 3-4-3 in the second. Whatever. All I know is there seemed to be masses of space for Matlock to run into and we deservedly lost 2-1.
As for the new signings: Carl Magnay looked soundly Doig-ish; Scott Brown didn't look as good as Scott Kerr; and the other two (Nsiala and Mackreth) only came on for half an hour and I can't remember anything that either of them did. Let's hope the latest recruit, Nathan Arnold, makes more of an impact against Doncaster Rovers at Blundell Park tomorrow.
And now I see in the Telegraph that Town will be making a sixth summer signing today. A signing that the Telegraph describes as a 'striker' and who those folks on Twitter (which we all know is the most reliable news source nowadays) claim will be Jon-Paul Pittman. Like Arnold, he is described as a striker/winger. What kind of 'formation' will the 'manager' need to accommodate these two, I wonder?
Meanwhile, the Mariners Trust has been busy organising an open day where fans can meet the players and watch them train. There is also a bouncy castle: now if we could see the players training on that then I might make the effort to attend. Anyway, it's at the club on Sunday 3 August between 10:30am and 2pm and is free entry.
The trust is also starting a new money-raising competition called "Pontoon" (what is it with all the inverted commas these days?). I would love to explain how it works but, quite frankly, the rules are as comprehensible as Town's formation at Matlock. So my advice is to pay your money and hope for the best. I suspect that's what Hurst might be doing this season too.