Cod Almighty | Diary
Anything is possible if you focus
5 February 2020
Miss Guest Diary writes: Ian Holloway has been with Town for just over a month and the Grimsby Telegraph has taken the opportunity to remind us of some of his "best quotes". You know, the ones about ice cream and litter and bouncy castles. Pretty tame compared to some of those from his times with other clubs, which you can find with a quick Google.
My other half has taken to referring to Ollie as the Pied Piper because he sees him leading us all a merry dance with the relentless emphasis on being positive. But I don't think that quite fits. You may recall that the piper was hired by the Mayor of Hamelin to charm away a plague of rats. When he'd done the job the Mayor refused to pay up, so he charmed away all the children, who never returned. I think we can all see that John Fenty is the Mayor and Ollie the piper in this scenario, but who are the rats? And who are the children?
Maybe the tale of the emperor's new clothes is more apposite. The emperor is sold an 'invisible' suit which the tailor tells him only clever people can see. No-one wants to admit they can't see it and be labelled stupid until an innocent child breaks the spell. Obviously Ollie is the tailor and Fenty the emperor in this scenario and I guess we must wait a bit longer to see whether the 'suit' really exists.
Or maybe Ollie is the real thing. He has managed quite a few clubs, some more successfully than others, achieving promotions at QPR, Blackpool and Crystal Palace. Town's form since his arrival has certainly improved – a 33 per cent win ratio compared to 28 per cent before he took over. The number of goals per game has also increased – up from an average of less than one per game to nine goals in the last six games.
Listening to his motivational talk to the under-19s futsal team, I felt I was seeing the real Ian Holloway. Yes, there were some clunky metaphors in there, but gone was the flamboyant 'character' he presents to the media. Instead he engaged a roomful of nervous teenagers with some simple advice about what it takes to succeed in football. And there was just a hint of steel there too – I wouldn't want to find myself on his wrong side.
In other words, an old-fashioned football manager using the 3Ms method: motivation, motivation, motivation.
News just in of the recent death of former Town keeper Tom Daley, who made his debut at the age of 17 under Bill Shankly. Read about this in Neville Butt's account of Town goalkeepers of the 1950s.
And finally, a big get well soon to the Mariners Trust treasurer, Ian Townsend, who was seriously injured after the match on Saturday when he was knocked down by a car in Lestrange Street. Despite what Bill Shankly said, there are some things more serious than football. UTMM