Cod Almighty | Diary
Total immersion
28 November 2017
Casual Diary writes: Well, the big day has arrived and it is to be hoped that a fair number of the 'bullies', 'keyboard warriors' and 'glory-hunting fans' turn up at Blundell Park tonight to hold the club and our non-chairman to account.
There are those among the fanbase who believe that all ills are cured by the two recent victories and improved performances. That the void that had emerged between club and fans will suddenly be healed and everything in Grimsby Town world will once again be rosy.
I have to say this is wishful thinking.
At the risk of annoying the feline lovers among the fanbase, the two victories could amount to no more than dead cat bounce. In the same way as a decapitated chicken will continue to run about the farmyard manically before collapsing, the victories could prove a false dawn.
I hope not.
The Telegraph yesterday ran with an absolute non-story about how the plans for Fentydome II have not, in reality, moved one step closer. The cynic in me thinks the hastily arranged fans' forum has less to do with the wish to communicate better and more to do with avoiding unwanted questions following the meetings with North East Lincolnshire Council.
The stadium, the opinions of the executive officers of Extreme Leisure on what constitutes a 'proper fan', and indeed the process that led to their appointment, given the directors' history, could all make for an uncomfortable evening for the panel.
The stadium and its non-progress should not, however, steal the majority of the forum. The stadium will happen or it won't. I for one do not believe that the future of the club is nearly as dependent on that outcome as we are led to believe.
The excellent Andy Holt of Accrington has a firm grip on where a chairman and board stand in relation to the club. His admission that he is merely a custodian would be a lesson well learned by not only Mr Fenty but also others at the club, their business partners and some staff, judging by the last few weeks.
Again, it may be slightly cynical, but my own opinion is that the 'need' for a new stadium and in particular its location have significantly more to do with money being recouped and 'benign' loans repaid than the survival of the club.
As someone old enough to remember the trials and tribulations of the late 1960s and talk of the club collapsing financially, I can tell you the likelihood of the club disappearing into a Bradford Park Avenue-type abyss was far greater and more chilling than the prospects for the club today should the stadium not happen.
The club, as long as there are people like me and many others who would watch GTFC in a park league, will survive. The likes of Hereford, Stockport, Pompey and Exeter prove that when the chips are down fans will step up and be there – long after any custodian has departed and taken their benign loans with them.
So if you are going to the forum this evening let's make sure the club is held to account for its PR and for the non-defence of its fans, and that questions are asked about the playing side, the Woodhouse affair, Bignot, conditioning coaches, the club's culpability in letting the promotion high dissipate, the team disintegrate and the general opinion among many that at times the club has resembled Fred Karno's circus.
See you down there.