Cod Almighty | Diary

Chaotic neutral

23 August 2018

When Town were beaten by Braintree in the first leg of the play-offs the other year, a lot of people – at the same time as they lambasted Paul Hurst – lauded this plucky PE teacher doing wonders with a part-time team of taxi drivers.

Fast forward three seasons and Mr Cowley is now one of the most sought-after managers in the leagues with one of the most fancied teams for promotion. Apparently, when Paul was making eyes at and taming the Shrews, we could have had the Cowleys with minimum compensation and potential domination of football at our feet.

At the time I may have been swayed, but not now. For me, football is a simple, beautiful game. If played well, on the floor with competitive but fair players, there is no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The Cowleys may be successful but there are a number of factors that make me glad we are not managed by them. One – the style of play. 'Effective' may be one way of describing it but percentage football, played mainly in the air, dominated by physical players, is not for me. It's better than Sladeball but the sheer brutality of it makes me wince.

Second, and more importantly, is the 'professionalism'. I've mentioned the physicality of these players. The amount of time they spend falling over with the slightest of touches is galling and unfair. By all means be big and strong but don't hit the ground so easily. This, when coupled with the constant berating of officials and decisions on the sidelines, makes the Cowley effect even more unpalatable.

Last Saturday Thunderdiary saw my team try and play football and win a game fairly, with skill and with tactical nous. They allowed Lincoln space and then pressed when needed. The triangles under the Police Box were very 1990. They battled without falling over, supported rather than berated, and had an honesty and compassion that is beginning if not to win games then to win fans over.

People may point to the off-field success at Lincoln and I would agree that their 'football fortune' has been capitalised on. If Town could match their marketing ideas as well as we matched them on the pitch last Saturday, we'd have half-time chips, access to bars and a club shop worth visiting.

But the football? Not for me. Give me honesty and energy and a will to play the game in the right manner. If it means losing games then so be it. If it leads to playing Braintree again, never mind. Because the beautiful game should be just that.