Cod Almighty | Diary

Having your cake and not eating it

11 January 2021

Miss Guest Diary writes: It would have been good to come here today to reflect on a win, or even a draw, at Port Vale to take us out of the relegation places. Alas it was not to be. There was a bit of misfortune in Town's defeat but it was mostly that the team simply isn't good enough. Yet.

As our match reporter continues to remind us: currently Hurst has only the same players as Hollloway had to work with. There seems no doubt they are trying their best but there are not enough league-standard players in the squad to perform at the level needed. Trying to get a convincing performance out of them is like trying to make a cake without eggs and butter: it will never rise properly and won't taste so good.

I am well aware that vegans do make cakes without eggs and butter but I've sampled a couple and concluded that it may be cake, but not as we know it.

In his interview with Matt Dean last week, I seem to recall Paul Hurst mentioned his aim to bring in seven or eight players this month. He made a start with the signing of Sam Habergham on Friday. Habergham came on at half time at Port Vale and was awarded five marks out of 10 by the Grimsby Telegraph, while Mr Butcher confined himself to commenting that he "looks like a man who hasn't run for a year". But at the weekend Hurst admitted that his plans could be hampered because players might not want to sign for Town given our current league position. He has apparently already lost out on one transfer target since Saturday's defeat.

So, Town can't get out of the relegation zone unless we attract new players but we can't attract new players because we're in the relegation zone. A sort of footballing catch-22.

In an excellent article previewing yesterday's FA Cup match at Marine, Frank Cottrell-Boyce describes a phenomenon in the lower leagues with which Town fans will be familiar: while attendances rise when a club is doing well, they rise a lot more when a club is facing relegation. We have rallied round and played our part many times in the last 20 years, with varying degrees of success. This year we can't fulfil our role as 12th man; we can do nothing but wait and see what happens.

Since the game at Scunthorpe 10 months ago it feels like we have done nothing but wait. Waiting in queues at supermarkets, to be released from lockdown, to be allowed back into stadiums, to be told who we can and can't meet or where we can and can't go. And, finally, waiting to be vaccinated. All the while feeling increasingly powerless.

Paul Hurst now has the power to do something to reverse Town's fortunes – but if he fails he must carry the responsibility for taking us back out of the league. Both enviable and unenviable: another footballing catch-22. UTM