Cod Almighty | Diary

Late, and perhaps not better than nothing

11 October 2018

The Mariners Trust's latest newsletter is admirably frank. Yes, it has taken them an age to process and report back on the results, and a lot has changed in the meantime. And yes, not all the questions were well thought out and well expressed.

The survey responses overwhelmingly rejected the trust paying £30,000 a year for Jon Wood's place on the club board. Perhaps the trust has used that rejection as leverage to negotiate a more flexible deal with the club. The trust board's intentions are made very clear: they are going to work with the current club board, not against it.

Out-franking the trust is Nathan Arnold. A broken promise about being made assistant manager lies behind his decision to leave Boston. He has had offers but he is enjoying his freedom and is in no hurry to sign with a new club. Can Middle-Aged Diary quickly say both "Sign him up Jolleys. We're crying out for width" and "Why is everyone obsessed with ex-players. Time to move on" to save you the trouble of reading The Fishy.

Not that this guarantees you will never read it. Nowadays, what is meant to pass for sports journalism seems to consist of scraping up dregs from social media.

I'll do my bit of dredging now, but in a good cause: you'll have read that Mighty Mariner and his mascot-counterpart have been visiting all 92 Football League and Premier League clubs in 92 hours to raise money for the treatment of 11-year-old Demi Knight of Louth, who has an aggressive brain tumour. However, you haven't read it here yet, and it is not too late to donate.

And finally, last night I heard a story of the coach of Warrington's rugby league club stopping at a bus stop to offer a lift to a waiting supporter. It brings to mind Bill Brewster's tale of getting a lift home from a game in Lawrie McMenemy's Jaguar. And begs the question: who from Town would you most like to be offered a lift by, and what would you talk to them about?