Cod Almighty | Postbag

I've got writes, you know!

31 January 2016

This week you've written to us about your experiences on Friends Reunited and past players returning, while Andy Freeman's tribute to the Main Stand is still being read and conjuring up memories.

Main Stand memories

The Main Stand was where I first saw Town as a seven year old on Good Friday 1971. Except for big games when we couldn't get tickets my dad and I sat in the front row of the seats (so I could see) level with the edge of the Osmond penalty area. I got an excellent view as well of the first goal I can remember which was a Matt Tees header against Scunthorpe.

My first night match in May 1972 was of course Exeter City and we had to stand. Well, my dad stood but we boys were lifted over the picket fence and sat on the cinder track leaning against the fence. My only real memory of the game is a player taking a throw in and us having to part so he could stand back and take the throw. I do remember the celebrations after the game though as my dad lifted me onto his shoulders as we stood on the pitch so I could see the players in the old director's box.

Other big games when I stood in the early/mid 70s, in the Cup, included 1st Division Burnley and Preston when I stood with my chin resting on the picket fence. Against Preston I was close enough to see their manager Alan Ball Senior get sent off for kicking a bucket into the crowd.

My Main Stand days came to an end gloriously in 1979-80 when I was old enough to stand and we had moved to a spot underneath Charles Ekberg's commentary position. The League Cup quarter-final against Wolves was so tight I really couldn't move my arms from my sides for long periods, the crowd was so tightly packed.

After that it was seated and we first moved to the Barrett stand then the Findus standing area. I think though that as they say in Yorkshire, I was a "comer in" as I wasn't born (in a football sense) on that side of the pitch. I was from another place.

The only memory I have of the Main Stand that detracts from the rose-tinted view is at one match in the 70s when as I was leaving, the bar on one of the gates that was opened at full time was knocked by the crowd and fell on my head giving me a cut on my forehead. I would still like to thank the kind lady from Harrington Street who mopped up the blood and gave me a chocolate bar.

Keep up the good work.

from Steve Winn

Letters Ed responds: Thanks for sharing that Steve. Since we published the article many readers have been inspired to contribute their own recollections. So many of us got our first taste of Town in the Main Stand, in fact my first game was watched from there too. Memories of the Main Stand and Blundell Park too are often intertwined with thoughts of family members and Andy's writing has taken us back wonderfully.

Blundell Park is lush, ain't it?

I attended Grimsby Town v Altrincham the other week as part of a book on Britain's 'must see' football grounds. You can find out more about the project on Facebook. I’m glad I did as it’s a tremendous venue.

Reading your excellent fanzine site, I see there is a wealth of information and opinion relating to the ground. I’d be very keen to hear your own views on what makes Blundell Park special, thoughts on a possible relocation and the town of Grimsby in general, if you were open to this? I also read an excellent piece by Andy Freeman about the old Main Stand. I’d love to have a chat with Andy about his experiences. Would you be able to forward my details on to him?

Any questions, please ask.

from Mike Bayly

Letters Ed responds: We've put Mike in touch with Andy but if anyone else is interested in contributing then pay a visit to his facebook page and take a ganders. If there's one thing that readers of Cod Almighty and Town fans in general have opinions on then it's the new stadium proposals. I hope Mike's ready for that.

He shoots, he underscores

In case you haven't seen it, there's an interesting well-written full-page article in today's Independent by Gregor Robertson about the disadvantages of being a lower-league footballer.

from Antony Chapman

Letters Ed responds: Hi Antony, thanks for the heads-up. We'd seen Gregor's latest article but in case anyone hasn't, here's a link to the article Antony is referring to: Waiting for the phone to ring during January's window pain

Gregor has been studying sports journalism while playing for Town and you can read more of his writing at his website.

Hey Joe

The diary’s musing about Friends Reunited the other day led me to recall my own dabbling with the site in the early noughties. That’s noughties not naughties: not for me the pangs of a guilty conscience after reconnection with a lost sweetheart. It does have a footballing angle though.

I joined the site about the time I moved from Watford to Lincolnshire in 2002 and there followed a few desultory e-mail exchanges with schoolmates who all seemed to have become both mothers and teachers – neither of which was of much interest to me. Then I had a mail from a chap I had been at primary school with – let’s call him 'Joe'. Here I will confess that he happened to be the subject of my very first crush, so I did feel a little thrill at the prospect of meeting again. But as I was now in Lincolnshire and he lived in Hertfordshire this seemed unlikely to happen.

But we exchanged a couple of messages during which he said he had been intrigued because I mentioned in my profile that the move north was made to be near my partner’s football team. I admitted the team was Grimsby and he suggested that the next time they played down south we could meet up and go to the match. And so it happened in August 2003 that Town were playing Luton at Kenilworth Road and we (that is my partner and I) met up with 'Joe' at Baldock Services. As the last time we were together was as 11-year olds in the mid '60s, I was a little worried about how we would connect. I needn’t have been concerned – he strode straight up to me and said I hadn’t changed a bit! Regrettably he had, and there was not even a hint of romance.

But he’d had an interesting life in football terms, playing semi-pro football and also doing some scouting for Watford. However, we had to conclude he was no judge of a footballer when he declared Darren Barnard to be Town’s best player.

from Sue Firth

Letters Ed responds: Hi Sue, thanks for sharing this with us. I agree totally about Darren Barnard and therefore Joe too, I guess. I could probably name a whole starting XI better than Darren in the 2002-03 season and even the next year despite losing a few players I'm still not sure he would make the steps of the podium. 

For completeness I'm going to mention that we won the game against Luton that day, Barnard scoring both Iain Anderson and Mick Boulding scoring our goals as it ended 2-1.

More exes

I explored this (sort of) for the programme last season when Connell signed; think I got a bit excited... https://yearinthemariner.wordpress.com/2014/08/16/v-dover-160814/ P.S. I'd probably welcome Martin Paterson back with open arms. Also it would be fun to see Danny Butterfield again. Also, isn't Simon Francis captaining Bournemouth in the Prem now? He was fairly average in that month he was with us although 11 years ago, mind! (from Ali Mills) 

Tony Ford. I was so happy when he returned, it righted one of the wrongs of the Lyons era (from Peter Anderson)

Surely only one comeback to eclipse them all? Sir Matt Tees put 4000 on the gate & resurrected us last time we were piss-poor (from Baz Whittleton)

John Oster when back on loan in '03. Just brilliant. Bags of quality. (from Chris Kirk)

from Cod Almighty Twitter followers

Letters Ed responds: This is a selection of Twitter responses to the Friends Reunited diary about ex-players returning to Town. Thanks to all for joining in. I have to question Baz's suggestion though but not because Matt Tees wasn't great but because the 'last time we were piss-poor' was surely more recent than 1971 when Matt returned to Blundell Park! That's just nit-picking though, sorry.    

That's your lot until next time so get reading and then let us know what you think. Everything here is just our opinions rather than hard facts so tell us when we're right and when you think we're wrong – we can take it. You can also comment on Cod Almighty articles through our Twitter feed (@codalmighty) and Facebook page too. Its been a while since we received anything by carrier pigeon but feel free to give it a shot.