Cod Almighty | Diary

Roll on

19 May 2020

It's not often Casual Diary congratulates the board of Grimsby Town but today will be one of those times. I was pleased - no proud - to read that the club had voted against there being no relegation from Division Four this season. It is of course debatable, had we not spent six seasons outside the League recently, that our position would have been so praiseworthy but let's not be cynical. At least on this occasion. That our new chairman also managed to state our position so eloquently is also worthy of merit. If the power behind the throne has not changed, the ability to communicate it's positions certainly has.

Going back to Philip Day's previous utterings on the new stadium, Tom Shutes and his consortium have complied with his wishes, and not negotiated via the media. The lack of response to the questions posed in the chairman's article in the Telegraph leaves doubt lingering.

If the intention of the prospective buyers is to restart negotiation in private and attempt to buy the club that's fine. I will however offer them a few words of advice: I'm sure they are avid readers of Cod Almighty. Should their intention be to engineer a hostile takeover and battle for our club they'd best make sure any victory is not at the expense of the club's on-field performance. The majority of Town's support don't give a toss who is in the boardroom just as long as on the pitch we are winners. A takeover victory during a playing slump would be a very pyrrhic one indeed. We'll leave it there.

So the season is over. It's been a very odd one. The hope of early August and September culminated in our best away display of the season at Exeter, only to be followed by the bitter winter of defeats. Then the arrival of Ian Holloway and the bounce and optimism of spring and our last-match victory over our closest rivals geographically. I had not given up hope on promotion via the play-offs as unlikely as it would have been.

There has not been the usual end-of-season speculation over which players will be retained. I still hurt at the release of Matt Tees, Podge Amond and Carl Magnay but we shouldn't dwell. Players come and go. While Tees had Grimsby Town written in his heart, the other two were fleeting pleasures.

That a glimpse at either Podge or Magnay's footballing CV prior to signing would have not made anyone salivate at the prospect of them pulling on the famous stripes is a caution to those too ready to dismiss a signing. Football isn't just about ability: its about confidence and being settled too. A player out of favour, scratching about for the odd game, is never going to produce his best. A run of games and feeling wanted at a new club can be transformative.

I am looking forward to is seeing the team take on a distinctive Ian Holloway shape. It took our last successful manager three seasons to build his first truly competitive side and Alan Buckley a season and a half. It wasn't until after Christmas in the 1989-90 season that we truly began to look like a side of contenders. On that basis I would say anything more than a post-Christmas tilt at the play-offs is rapid progress.

But even as I type it I know I'm lying to myself. My unrealistic, football fan self expects or more desires nothing less than a McMenemy-esque drive to the title and an end to 15 seasons of hurt in the basement division, and worse. You just can't help it. That the man in charge has all the PR qualities of the big Geordie, the football credibility to attract good players and - most importantly based on his signings so far - the nous to know who the good ones are only increases the level of expectation. Let's hope it's not misplaced.

Roll on September.