Cod Almighty | Diary

August is a long way away

14 May 2018

Trentside Diary writes: John Shelton Fenty has left the building... OK, I'm kidding. But I'm into that post-season malaise where the release of next season's fixtures is the only positive on the horizon.

Yes, I'll be watching avidly to see if we manage to sign anyone decent. But assuming there is little in the way of transfer money, the list of players out of contract elsewhere doesn't inspire me; I haven't heard of most of them. And if they are available, would they be interested in coming to Grimsby? I like to think that players include the feel of a club and the vision of the manager when making decisions, so let's hope the buzz created by Michael Jolley will persuade a goal poacher to the end of the A180.

Looking for a football fix, I'm watching various play-off matches and wishing Paul Hurst well in the third division play-offs. I know he is still Marmite for some fans but I believe he learnt much of his craft at Blundell Park, and look what can happen with backing from the club: a play-off final in your first full season. He is respected by players and can create the kind of atmosphere where they feel that they are part of something special and know that as a group they are stronger.

As a Town fan, Operation Promotion brought me closer to the club than I've been in many years. The last time we made that much difference was the bucket collections to keep Bonetti. The self-righteous little twerp at the fans' forum who smugly told us we didn't pay for Omar Bogle has no idea how to engage with fans. He really shouldn't be part of our club if he thinks he can dismiss what was an amazing achievement irrespective of how the money was spent. If he has some hidden talent that the club cannot manage without (I'm struggling) then he should stay discreetly out of the public eye and keep our publicity-hungry non-chairman with him.

There are many football clubs where the owners enjoy the matches and the glad-handing but don't feel the need to release badly written apologies for their poor stewardship of the club. I have one message for John Shelton Fenty: I will never like you. I will never forgive you for taking the club from the second division to non-League football. I have no sympathy if you venture on to social media and then don't like what we tell you. No, I won't write abuse but not for a minute do I believe that you 'saved' Town. When other clubs lost the ITV Digital money, they addressed their financial position in a more measured way. Yes, it took them longer to pay off their debts but hey, look what happened with your financial management.

So let Jolley do the talking. Let him inspire us with his plans for the team and give us something to look forward to next season.