Cod Almighty | Diary
Cool, showers, wet; cool, showers, wet
9 August 2019
It’s been so long since the Mariners beat Bradford that the last time it happened Jim Dobbin turned out for us (if only as a late substitute). If you can cast your mind back to October 1998 then you may recall Alan Buckley's side beating the Premier League-bound Bantams 2-0 at Blundell Park thanks to goals from Lee "No Goals" Nogan and Paul Groves. Since then, we've been bang out of luck against City. Three draws and nine defeats, if you must know.
Because the world keeps turning and this concept of time keeps ticking away, there will now be a good proportion of Town's fan base that won't be able to remember Jim Dobbin, or indeed 1998. There will be some Town fans wondering what it must be like to watch a good crop of players playing good football in front of big crowds at Blundell Park, and wonder why we keep banging on about the 1990s. The same fans must wonder why your West Yorkshire Diary's jaw hit the ground the other day when I saw Brentford — nothing more than third division fodder in my addled brain — receive £20m for one of their players.
Brentford. Twenty million pounds. Let that sink in for a minute.
We have been — and likely always will be — operating on a different footballing stratum. That’s why I was delighted when we signed James Hanson because I actually knew who he was — and, crucially, that he was alright. I knew he'd been at Valley Parade for a good while but I didn't know that in his debut season with City he scored a goal against us. It came in one of those instantly forgettable 3-0 home defeats that seemed to be such a regular occurrence back in the dark days of 2009. Looking at the team sheet from that match, which included Nicky Featherstone and Jammal Shahin, I certainly have no memory of it. And, given Paul Linwood and Barry Conlon's inclusion, I'm pretty certain that none of the players will remember it either.
About five years ago, Wes Hoolahan, playing for Norwich City at the time, refused to celebrate when he scored for the Canaries against Villa — a side he'd never played for (but nearly signed for) — out of respect. And that was then misinterpreted by Villa fans as arrogance. So that's how to get non-celebrations wrong.
Now, Hanson has played for Bradford — and for a good while, too — so should he find the back of the net… actually, read Paul Thundercliffe’s latest musings on the topic first and then decide whether you agree or disagree with Hanson’s decision (or decide that you really don't care either way). The fact that he's considered the possibility of scoring is good enough for me. I'm just disappointed that he wasn't considerate enough to mute his celebrations back in 2009 when he scored against his future employers. But then, maybe he did. As we’ve established, no one can remember that game. Perhaps the excellent @OnThisGTFCDay Twitter account can help us out here.
Congratulations to Ellie Wilson, who became GTFC’s youngest ever player — and goalscorer — at just 16 years and 13 days. It beats Tony Ford’s record by 130 days, if my calculations aren't shambolic like they usually are, but I don’t know by how many days (or years) it beats our previous youngest ever goalscorer because I haven't had the time to find that out. Anyone know?
Tomorrow's crowd is going to be the sort that can only be described as bumper — in the same way the transfer window can only ever slam shut. Michael Jolley is still looking to add a couple of players to the squad, which we all know, and he's excited about this bumper attendance tomorrow, which we all are. But everyone knows we're shit when we get bumper crowds — and looking at the forecast, there will be several gits of bad weather across most of the sky. Some rain, but no more severe than soft porn. Hopefully it doesn't spoil what should be a decent game and a cracking atmosphere.
In summary, then... UTM!